Japan & USA version differences -RQ87's Street Fighter II Movie coverage

Street Fighter II Movie has seen several different releases over the years, which have various differences between them.

When the film was first released in America on video, there were two versions: a PG-13 rated version, and an un-rated version. The rated version apparently removes some shots that have blood in them (such as when Sagat gets hit by Ryu's dragon punch) and also has a tamer English dub where the swear words aren't present. For example, Guile says "I'll rip your filthy heart out" in the rated version, but says "I'll rip your fucking heart out" in the un-rated version. The rated version removes all shots of Chun-Li in the shower, whilst the un-rated version retains most of them.

In 2006, a new DVD set was put out, which features two different versions of the movie: the original unedited Japanese version, and then the slightly altered American version.

In the Japanese version, the front used for the opening credits was quite small, and is colored white. For the American version, the credits feature a much larger font that's colored orange.

In Japan, the film is called Street Fighter II Movie. Initially, in America it was called Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. Certain later releases of the film would keep the original title.

During the logo fade out, in the Japanese version, the word "MOVIE" vanishes from the logo completely. In the American version, the full logo fades out.

Any subs for the American version are surrounded by a black box, which was not the case in the Japanese version.

Shot edits

Between the Japanese and American versions, there are several small changes to certain shots, which involved shortening them. Take this example -here's a shot of Ryu and Fei Long walking towards the camera:

Fei Long and Ryu walk for longer in the Japanese version than they do in the American version, which cuts the shot early. The full list of changes are as follows:

-In the Japanese version, Ryu and Fei Long walk out of frame during this shot. In the American version, this shot cuts here -well before either character walks out of frame.
-The Japanese version has Ryu walk for longer during this shot, in the American version it cuts here.
-During this shot, the Japanese version stays on it for about 4 seconds. In the American version, it only stays on it for about 3 seconds.
-When Ryu bumps into the girl, the American version cuts this shot entirely. This shot also gets cut.
-This shot of the girl's mother lasts slightly longer in the Japanese version than it does in the American version.
-When Ryu walks off down the alley, in the Japanese version, he gets all the way to this point. In the American version, the shot cuts when he's at this point.
-During Chun-Li's shower, the American version removes a shot of her rear, which pans down to her legs. This exterior shot of her apartment was also cut from the American version.
-This shot of Chun-Li's apartment goes on for far longer in the Japanese version -in the American version, it cuts here.
-In the Japanese version, you see a shot of Chun-Li inside the shower, then there's a external shot of the shower. In the American version, these shots were swapped around. However, the exterior shower shot is shorter in the American version.
-The Japanese version has this shot of Ken driving his car. The American version cuts this shot out of the movie.
-The Japanese version also has this shot of Vega's jet moving into position. The American version cuts this shot out as well.
-These two shots are cut from the American version.
-This shot goes on for longer in the Japanese version -in the American version, it cuts here.
-The credits scroll by much faster in the American version than they do in the Japanese version. Because of this, the credits sequence for the American version is much shorter than the Japanese version.
-The Japanese version's credits contain an ad for the live action movie near the end. This ad is not in the American version's credits.

Music

One of the most noticeable things about the American version is that the soundtrack was completely changed when compared to the Japanese version. It gives the movie a very different feel in certain scenes, with Chun-Li's battle against Balrog/Vega being one of the standout examples. The American version features songs from Alice in Chains, Korn and more. Some fans prefer the Japanese soundtrack, others like the American one more. In 2016, Discotek released a blu-ray version of the film, which was the first to feature an option that lets you use the Japanese soundtrack, but keep the dialogue in English, and vice-versa.

Japan	USA

In the Japanese version, the front used for the opening credits was quite small, and is colored white. For the American version, the credits feature a much larger font that's colored orange.

Japan	USA


For those who don't know, the names of a few characters were swapped around in the Street Fighter series. In the Japanese versions, Bison is the boxer, Balrog is the guy with the claw, and Vega is the Shadowlaw leader. In the American versions, Balrog is the boxer, Vega is the guy with the claw, and Bison is the Shadowlaw leader. Early on in the movie, when Chun-Li looks at the profiles of Bison and Balrog, the American version changes their names to Balrog and Vega. However, this only applies to their names in the top left corner -if you look at their comments, their names were left unchanged there.