Art of Fighting

For a detailed overview of this special, click here.

Ryo and Robert must save Yuri.
Original Japanese broadcast date: December 23rd, 1993

Contents
1) Synopsis
2) Notes
3) Releases
4) Voice Cast


Synopsis

Martial artist Ryo Sakazaki tracks down a missing cat, wanting to catch the cat to claim a reward. He's joined by his friend Robert Garcia, but the cat enters someone's apartment. The two also head inside, and as Robert pours himself a drink, the cat suddenly leaps out, causing him to spill the drink and send some ice out of a window. Just then, some guy called Ray bursts in, followed by a bunch of thugs led by Jack. Ray attacks them, but gets shot and killed. Jack suspects Ryo and Robert have a gem, and demands they give it to him.

Ryo and Robert have no idea what he's talking about, and after getting the cat, the two leave the apartment and drive off. Jack returns to his boss, Mr. Big, along with his underlings John and King. They find out where Ryo lives, so Jack and some men head out. King finds out that Ryo also has a sister called Yuri. Meanwhile, Ryo and Robert return the cat, only to find out it's not the right cat.

They head back to Ryo's place, but Jack and his men show up and start fighting. Jack's group are defeated, but the police then show up. They go to the police station, where they are questioned by Lieutenant Todo. Todo explains about the missing gem, which is known as the Sirius stone. He believes Mr. Big stole it, but also believes the two of them were involved with Ray. They claim they know nothing about any of this, and are allowed to leave. But when they get back to Ryo's place, a truck smashes into Robert's car. Ryo finds a note inside the cab, which states Big has Yuri, and if they want her back, they must bring the Eye of Sirius to the casino.

Whilst they don't have the Sirius stone, Robert and Ryo go to the casino. Robert meets King, who takes him to where Yuri is. He pulls out a grenade, but there is a sheet of bullet proof glass between them. Ryo then smashes through a window and starts fighting John and King, just as Todo shows up with the police. During the confusion, Big manages to get Yuri, and a platform takes them, along with King and John, to a helicopter. Big demands Ryo and Robert be at his house tomorrow by 8pm, otherwise Yuri will die. Ryo and Robert also escape, leaving Todo frustrated.

Ryo and Robert head back to Ray's apartment, and Robert figures out something -the ice he sent out of the window earlier had the gem inside it. They head outside and find the gem, so they then go to Big's mansion. Big is given the gem, but decides to continue holding Yuri hostage and attempts to leave with her via helicopter. Ryo gets onto the helicopter, and after throwing John out, Big also falls out of it, along with the gem. They all land in a pool below.

Robert fights and defeats King, whilst Ryo defeats Big. John recovers and manages to grab Yuri, only for Todo to show up and knock him out.

Big's group are arrested and taken away, although Big warns there isn't a jail in the world that can hold him. Todo wants to know where the Eye of Sirius is, so Ryo and the others point to the pool. Todo and the police jump in and start searching for the gem. Sometime later, Robert and Yuri watch Ryo, who is chasing after another cat.

Notes

-This special aired in Japan exactly one year after the first airing of the first Fatal Fury special.

-In this anime, Ryo has brown hair, whilst in the first game, it was orange. It's not known why this change was made, although it's not the first time something like this has happened in an SNK anime adaption. Curiously, in the live action Japanese commercials for both the first and second Art of Fighting games, the actors playing Ryo have brown/black hair.

-Ryo also wears a jacket in the anime, something he doesn't have in the games. Concept art of him for Art of Fighting 2 does show him wearing a jacket, but this design was not used in the game.

-When King brings up Ryo, Robert and Yuri's profiles, there is some strange text at the bottom of each one. It seems to be talking about something Microsoft related. Ryo's bio also misspells karate as "carate".

-The outfit Robert wears in the last scene is something he also wears in one of the Japanese live action commercials for Art of Fighting 2.

-The credits sequence features the song "Yasei no Kaze". During the credits there are some extra animated sequences (which have no dialogue), showing Ryo training some kids, Todo at the pool and Robert driving his car.

Releases

The special has seen a few different releases over the years, click here to read about the more notable ones.

Voice Cast