The Flame
and the
Rose

Street Fighter episode 21
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For a detailed overview of this episode, click here.

Fearing that the world will be destroyed, Rose takes action against the two she believes will be responsible: Blanka and Ken.
Original USA broadcast date: December 9th, 1996

Contents
1) Synopsis
2) Notes
3) Errors


Synopsis

Rose, a master of soul power, has nightmares of the entire world being destroyed in flame. Believing that it will be caused by a beast and a fool, she goes to search for the ones she believes will be responsible for the end of the world. She believes Blanka to be the beast, and finds him fighting off some thieves. She captures him and then finds the fool, who she believes is Ken. Ken is on a mission with Ryu to protect a key witness, but thanks to Ken wanting to take her out, they are under attack by a gang. They defeat the gang, but Rose then captures Ken, taking him away without Ryu being able to stop her.

In Rose's psychic plane, Ken and Blanka fight each other, with Rose hoping they will wipe each out. However when she witnesses Ken spare Blanka's life, she realizes she was wrong with her judgment, and doesn't believe the two of them are evil. Rose explains things to them and believes there is a doomed man who threatens the world, but she doesn't know who it is. Meanwhile, Bison is hiding at a castle, and once again uses the Kali statue to heal himself. Cammy warns him that the power of Kali should not be over-used, and even Bison has heard that people who use Kali's powers are in danger of becoming her slave rather than her master, but he decides to continue using Kali's power regardless.

Rose transports Ken and Blanka back to the physical plane, and they arrive back at her home. She has them enter the rite of revelation, so they can discover the truth. Rose shows them a memory of a man she once met who she could sense evil from, and Ken and Blanka tell her it's Bison. Now knowing who her real enemy is, Rose is able to locate where Bison is hiding. She has a plan: she will distract Bison on the psychic plane, whilst they are to go to the castle and attack his physical body whilst he's vulnerable. Bison senses a challenger and confronts Rose on the psychic plane, whilst Ken and Blanka arrive at the castle. However, Cammy and Zangief stop them from attacking Bison.

During Rose's battle, Bison states he will show her Kali's limitless power that's now within him. Realizing where Bison's power comes from, she psychically contacts Ken and Blanka, and tells them to destroy the statue. Blanka manages to do this, resulting in a large explosion which totally destroys the castle. Rose comes back to the physical plane and finds Ken and Blanka, and tells them that Bison and Cammy have escaped. But for now, the battle is finished. She wonders if Bison represented the fool, the beast and the doomed, or if she herself represented all three for not knowing her true foe, bringing them into her battle and if she loses her ultimate battle with Bison. She decides to retire and contemplate these mysteries, but thanks them both for giving her hope. Ken says next time Bison appears, he'll still have to face the Street Fighters, but he and Blanka then see that Rose has disappeared.

Notes

-This episode originally aired just over two weeks after the previous one, and was broadcast on a Monday, rather than a Saturday. It was the only new episode of the series to air in December '96.

-This is another episode which doesn't have Guile in it.

-During the Tokyo scene, there is a sign with the word Toto on it. Toto is Japan's largest toilet manufacturing company.

-Another shot has a sign with the word Konica on it, and another with "EIKO" on it -most likely a reference to Seiko.

-When Rose snatches Ken, there's a sign in the background with the word "PARCO" on it. Parco is the name of a Japanese department store chain.

-Cammy uses her thrust kick for the first any only time in this episode. She doesn't call the move out by name.

-Last time Cammy used her cannon drill, she yelled "cannon drill kick". In this episode, she only says "cannon drill", like in the games.

-Bison refers to his power as "psycho power" in this episode, previously he's referred to it as being magnetic. The SF Alpha games had been calling it "psycho power" at the time this episode was aired.

-Zangief also get in on the special move action at last, as he's seen using his spinning clothesline for the first and only time.

-Bison also actually says "psycho crusher" when using said attack. Last time he used it, he didn't call it out by name.

Errors

-During this shot, Ken's gloves aren't drawn right -the one on his right arm is missing, and the one on his left arm looks more like an arm band. His left fist also doesn't appear to have been finished, lacking any details.
-Rose's fireplace is not animated, so the flames don't move at all whenever it's seen.
-Bison's red sleeves are colored the same as his skin during this shot.
-Rose refers to Bison as a "huge red flame" during her memory of him, but the flame is colored pink.
-It's never explained how Ken and Blanka manage to get to Bison's castle so easily. They seem to cover the 7 kilometers in a matter of minutes.
-Bison's arms are skin colored again during this shot.
-When Zangief seemingly beats Blanka, he makes this victory shout. Bison makes the exact same noise a little later, when using his psycho crusher.
-The end of the battle is a bit confusing. Rose suddenly appears in the castle, pointing to the statue -but later on she tells Ken and Blanka she awoke in her home and then came to the castle. Ken was also getting his butt kicked by Cammy, but she's suddenly gone when he runs up to the statue.