Tekken is a 1998 two-part OVA series, based on Namco's video game franchise Tekken. The story is an amalgamation of the first two games in the series, focusing on the first King of Iron Fist Tournament while giving a prominent role to Jun Kazama, who was introduced in Tekken 2. The two OVA episodes were edited into one and released on VHS and DVD in North America by ADV Films and has occasionally been aired on cable television in the U.S.

Plot outline

The film starts with a flashback featuring Kazuya Mishima, a child studying martial arts under his father. He meets a young girl named Jun Kazama, who is crying after seeing a bobcat kill a defenseless rabbit. When Kazuya offers to kill the bobcat, Kazuya's father, Heihachi Mishima, appears and drags Kazuya away. To make his son prove his strength, Heihachi throws Kazuya into a deep ravine, but not before ripping a locket containing a picture of Kazuya's mother from his son's neck and tossing it aside. Kazuya screams as he falls into the chasm. Jun, who tried and failed to locate Kazuya, finds the locket and keeps it with her into adulthood.

Sixteen years later, Jun is now working for Interpol, and is sent to infiltrate the upcoming King of Iron Fist Tournament, hosted by the infamous Mishima Zaibatsu, and investigate it's alleged criminal activities including the smuggling of endangered species for experiments. To her horror, the sponsor of the tournament is none other than Heihachi, the man she witnessed throwing his son into the ravine. Tagging along with her is Hong Kong police detective, Lei Wulong, who is taken with her, although she does not return his affections. Meanwhile, it transpires that Kazuya survived the fall and has grown into a bitter, vengeful man. Heihachi knows about this, and plans to meet his son at the upcoming tournament, possibly handing the Mishima Zaibatsu over to him. Heihachi's foster-son, Lee Chaolan, opposes this, and tries many times to have Kazuya assassinated, by seducing the Williams sisters, Nina and Anna (who despise one another), and using them to do his dirty work, neither of them aware that their feelings for Lee are unrequited. Every attempt fails.

On the day of the tournament, Jun and Lei arrive at the port to catch the boat carrying the fighters to the Mishima resort. There, they encounter Jack-2 and a little girl, demanding to be allowed on board. The guards refuse, and Lee orders his bodyguard, Bruce Irvin, to stop Jack-2. Irvin is no match for the bulky android, and defeated with a single punch which sends him into the water, from where he does not resurface. Lee allows Jack-2 on board, along with Jun and Lei. During the voyage, Kazuya, who knew Nina was waiting for him at the port, boards the boat by jumping off a bridge. That night, Kazuya trains alone, and is visited by Jun, who tries to return the locket to him and talk him out of taking his father's life, but Kazuya stubbornly refuses to give up, stating that he went as far as to sell his soul to Devil in order to survive the fall and take his revenge. Just then, Kazuya is ambushed and almost strangled by Nina, but Jun stops her, and Kazuya subdues Nina just when Anna arrives with a bazooka and tries to kill them all with one blast. Kazuya, Jun and Nina escape, and Anna vows to kill Kazuya at the tournament before fleeing.

The next day, Heihachi greets the competitors before the tournament begins, during which a fellow fighter, Michelle Chang, attempts to kill Heihachi, but Heihachi outsmarts Michelle and tells her, along with the others, that he will be waiting in the resort's tower for the final round. The fighters beging making their way through the jungle while Lei and Jack-2 infiltrate the underground lab: Jack-2, instead of fighting, has come to the island looking for Dr. Boskonovitch, the only man who can save the life of the dying girl with him. They are cornered by a group of P. Jacks, whom they defeat, and later Roger, a boxing, humanoid kangaroo who attacks Lei until Boskonovitch appears and calls Roger off. Meanwhile, none of the fighters are aware that they are also being used as test subjects by Lee for his new experiment: revived, human-sized dinosaurs named Rex (but based on Alex), so as none of them will arrive at the tower. Eventually, Kazuya comes face to face with Michelle, who proves to be no match whatsoever for him, although she refuses to give up, on the basis that she is the only one who deserves to kill Heihachi, who burned her village and killed her family and friends in the process. Kazuya feels sympathy for her, but berates her for her incompetence, eventually beating the stubborn Michelle into unconsciousness. Before he can kill her, however, Jun arrives and stops him.

Elsewhere, Nina and Anna begin their own battle to settle their own score. A Rex appears and devours Anna from behind in front of a horrified Nina, who flees for her life. Kazuya and Jun hear Anna's scream, and are ambushed by the dinosaurs. They sratch Kazuya and Jun several times, until the hatred inside Kazuya comes to life and he literally tears them apart, enjoying himself in the process. Beaten, battered, but not defeated, Kazuya arrives at the tower, where Lee confronts him, but is defeated and then swiped away by Heihachi for his stupidity. As Heihachi and Kazuya fight, Lee, knowing that he will not receive the Zaibatsu now, sets off the self-destruction sequence, remaining in the tower as it explodes. Hearing the alarm, Lei, Jack-2, Boskonovitch, Roger and everyone else in the lab flee, Jack-2 sacrificing himself to keep the door open long enough for Lei and Boskonovitch to escape with the girl. Kazuya, after receiving a vicious beating, gives in to his hatred and violently overpowers Heihachi, preparing to throw him into a river of lava formed by the dying resort. Again, Jun stops him, and this time, Kazuya almost strangles Jun to death until he sees her crying for him, something nobody has ever done before. Finally realising the futility of his ways, Kazuya spares his father, and the act of good will expels the Devil's influence from his mind. Heihachi tries to knock Kazuya off the cliff, but Jun takes the blow, and the three of them fall. With the resort moments away from exploding, Lei and Boskonovitch arrive in a submarine, and the surviving fighters board while Heihachi escapes by helicopter as the island finally disappears.

In a brief epilogue, Jun is by herself sewing something among some trees with some animals when her young son, Jin Kazama, who bears a strong resemblance to Kazuya when he was a boy, runs up to her, telling that he wants to hear the rest of the story she was telling him the previous day. Jun then senses a change in the winds (possibly the forshadowing of the arrival of Ogre), but denies any worries from Jin, and they walk off together.

Cast

Character	English voice actor	Japanese voice actor
Jun Kazama	Edi Patterson	Yumi Toma
Kazuya Mishima	Adam Dudley	Kazuhiro Yamaji
Lei Wulong	Gray G. Haddock	Tomokazu Seki
Lee Chaolan	David Stokey	Shinichiro Miki
Heihachi Mishima	John Paul Shepard	Daisuke Gōri
Nina Williams	Ellie McBride	Minami Takayama
Anna Williams	Claire Hamilton	Kaori Yamagata
Young Jun	Lucy Farris	Sendai Eri
Young Kazuya	Jacob Frachek	Minami Takayama
Michelle Chang	Jessica Robertson	Narumi Hidaka
Jack-2	Mark O'Brien	Akio Ohtsuka
Jane (credited as "Jack 2's Little Girl")	Jessica Schwatz
Doctor Boskonovitch	Christian Burac	Tamio Ôki
Bruce Irvin	Peter Harrell Jr
Jin Kazama	Jacob Frachek
Baek Doo San (credited as "Competition Fighter" in Dub)	Lowell Bartholomee	Kyôsei Tsukui

Reaction

Tekken: The Motion Picture has been variously hailed and panned by fans and critics alike. The root of the movie's popularity stems from the action and the fighting, which fans consider to be outstandingly realistic. But the designs and English voices for some of the characters have led others to dislike the film, especially for Kazuya's incredibly deep voice and striking resemblance to Dragon Ball Z's Vegeta. Also noteworthy is the incorrect pronunciation of Heihachi's name ("Haihachee"), although Kazuya, at one point, pronounces it correctly.

Tekken (2009 film)

Tekken is a 2009 live action film adaptation of the series. The film follows Jin Kazama played by John Foo in his quest to rid himself of the devil that plagues his soul. Now a man, he must confront his father Kazuya Mishima played by Ian Anthony Dale and his grandfather Heihachi Mishima played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. The film is being directed by Dwight Little and is set for a 2009 release date.

References

External links

• Tekken: The Motion Picture at The Internet Movie Database