Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf

Original Title: バトルファイターズ 餓狼伝説
Romanized: Battle Fighters Garou Densetsu
Literal: Battle Fighters - Legend of the Hungry Wolf

Plot Synopsis

Two brothers, Terry and Andy Bogard, witness the brutal murder of their own father, killed by a crime boss for the scrolls that hold the secrets to his family's martial arts abilities. The boys are told by their mentor to travel the world and hone their skills, preparing for the day when they will be taught the ultimate technique, one so secret it was never written down. Ten years later, Terry has returned to Japan, where he befriends Joe Higashi, an old brawling companion of Andy. He also becomes involved with Lily, a beautiful woman taken in by the man responsible for the murder of the brothers' father ten years back. As it turns out, the aging crime lord now controls a corrupt martial arts tournament from behind the scenes. Both brothers and Joe join the tournament as a way to get to the man at the top, but the tournament is less than honest. And even if they can find the man responsible for the destruction of their family, will they be able to beat him?

Quick Review

Rating: 2 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2000-10-08

Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf: Yet more fighting game-based anime. Not being a fan of this particular game, I can't say how true the characters or plot are to the button-masher, but fortunately familiarity isn't a prerequisite. The story starts from the beginning and supplies enough basic detail that it functions as a stand-alone piece of anime, albeit a relatively generic action-based one. The characters aren't terribly well fleshed out, but they get the job done, and the plot is functional if entirely unoriginal. The things that distinguish it most from similar series are the relatively small number of pointless side characters and a fairly down-to-earth action style--there's the occasional battle aura when it's really important, but it's largely realistic. Sadly, the animation is weak, so the action is largely unimpressive.

If you like the Fatal Fury games or are a big fan of martial arts action flicks, you'll probably enjoy Legend of the Hungry Wolf, but it doesn't come highly recommended. Unless, that is, you follow through with the other two parts of the series, which are much better.

US DVD Review

Available on a joint VIZ-Pioneer DVD together with the second OAV (New Battle); the disc includes character bios and both English and Japanese language tracks.

Content Guide

Some relatively intense violence makes it about 13-up.

Violence: 3 - Some relatively bloody fights, but nothing really graphic.

Nudity: 1 - Nothing significant.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - One romantic scene.

Language: 1 - Not noteworthy.

Notes and Trivia

Based on the series of Fatal Fury 2-D fighting games by SNK, released for the Neo Geo throughout the '90s. Later, there were several adaptations for various home consoles.

Note that the Fatal Fury series is essentially a trilogy with an ongoing story; Legend of the Hungry Wolf starts it, is followed by The New Battle, and the story is wrapped up by The Motion Picture.

In the Japanese language version of this OAV, Joe Higashi is voiced by Masaaki Satake, a real-life kickboxer who was reasonably successful in the Japanese K-1 kickboxing league during the '90s. More recently he has moved to the "anything goes" mixed-style martial arts circuit PRIDE. This was Satake's only anime role; Joe Higashi was voiced by a different (professional) actor in both the second OAV and the movie.

Availability

Available in the US from VIZ on hybrid DVD (a joint production with Pioneer which also includes the sequel OAV). Was previously available on dubbed VHS, first on its own and later combined with the sequel OAV on dubbed VHS ("One Two Punch").

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