Art of Fighting

Summary: >

Ryo is a karate master who needs money. Robert is the heir to the Garcia family fortune. Together, these two wild and crazy guys stumble into the middle of a hunt for a stolen diamond. While they didn't steal it, a case of mistake in identity pins them as having it. In order to get their cooperation, crime boss Mr Big kidnaps Ryo's sister Yuri. Obviously when a bad guy has a name like "Mr Big", he's got to go down!

Thoughts: >

I have yet to hear anyone praise this anime for any reason, so I was prepared for the worst. I know anime can be bad, and I know anime based off fighting games can get REALLY bad. Art of Fighting is bad, but at least it's not as bad as most fighting game anime titles.

Art of Fighting was a competitive fighting game in the early 90s. Aside from being an early prototype for what would later become King of Fighters, there is nothing to say about it. Instead of horrible game related plot, Art of Fighting becomes an action film. A really bad action film. Some baggage from the game does carry over though. Little is said about why the characters know each other, and their relationships are vague. There isn't a single person in this show that's worth remembering. The story likewise doesn't make any sense, nor does it go anywhere that makes it worth the watch. The story fails in more places than I care to type, but the core of it surrounds Mr Big trying to obtain a diamond to increase his wealth. In the process he seems to destroy or abandon far more in his own assets then he could possibly sell the diamond for.

Art of Fighting may have enough of a cheese factor to make it worth watching but I'm not convinced it's worth it. If you're the sort who likes to find technical faults with plot holes and details, Art of Fighting really shines here, as it's riddled these kind of flaws. Some guys shoot up a door with generic machine gun sounds, but when the burst into the room they're all carrying pistols. One scene has a pool with a diving board that Ryo uses to springboard onto a helicopter. Later he and Yuri jump from about 40 feet in the air into the pool. A few seconds later this pool is shown to be waist deep. No joke, I could write another 10 paragraphs on logic failures in this one. The dub is bad, lets just leave it at that. Heck, even the Japanese cast isn't very good.

Not much more to say about this one. I didn't hate it, but wouldn't watch it again. Considering what was accomplished and the entertainment value, it's a waste of time. If you want a cheesy bad action anime, this one at least isn't offensive. Most people will want to avoid it.

Screen Caps: >