Netflix is no stranger to martial arts anime thanks to the likes of Baki and the UBER-awesome Kengan Ashura. But Netflix has announced a brand-new anime series called Tekken: Bloodline, based on the iconic 3D fighting game Tekken set to premiere sometime in 2022. The news was accompanied by a first look trailer, which provides fans with a sneak peek at what to expect from the upcoming adaptation.
The new teaser centres on Jin Kazama, son of the game series’ original protagonist and poster boy, Kazuya Mishima, and showcases the series’ stylish 3D animation. Jin is shown training with his mother, Jun Kazama, outside a little cabin in the woods. Jin’s mother tells him through voice-over that ‘the first opponent you must fight in any war is yourself,’ implying that Jin will have to grapple with the devil within him (both literally and figuratively). Jin utilises his training to defeat a gang of bullies, but the situation becomes even more serious when a demon called Ogre (whom fans of the game series will likely recognize), lays the smackdown upon Jin and his mother.
In the aftermath, Jin seeks out his grandpappy, the super-powerful (and way too jacked for an old man) Heihachi Mishima, to train him in order to exact revenge. Heihachi is a brutal teacher, just like he is in the games (seriously, the man chucked his own son into a volcano) and proceeds to beat Jin down to prove he is worthy of his ancestry. Other characters from the extensive fighting roster, including Leroy Smith, Paul Phoenix, and King, are teased in the closing moments, as is a shot of the three Mishima generations changing into one another.
You can check out the trailer for Tekken: Bloodline below:
Based on what was shown in the trailer, it’s possible this series will take place around Tekken 3, which was both Jin’s debut game and featured Ogre as a major antagonist. The only drawback to this is that Brazillian Capoeirista hottie Christie Monteiro didn’t show up until 2001s Tekken 4, but as we said, the trailer showed Leroy Smith, who didn’t debut until Tekken 7. So we can only hope, right? Anyway, nothing much else is yet known about the upcoming series.
Tekken, which debuted in 1994, is still one of the most popular fighting games in the world, with 2015s Tekken 7 being the most recent entry. The series revolves primarily around the dysfunctional Mishima family’s inner conflict, as they and other fighters compete in various King of the Iron Fist tournaments hosted by the Mishima Zaibatsu, the family’s corporation. The renowned tournament attracted fighters from all over the world, with later entries putting the leadership of the entire Zaibatsu up for grabs.
Tekken: Bloodline isn’t the first time the game series has been adapted for animation: Tekken: The Motion Picture, a two-part OVA anime series, was released in 1998, and Tekken: Blood Vengeance, a full-length CGI-animated film, was released in 2011. The series has also been adapted into a live-action film and several comic books.
Tekken: Bloodline will join other Netflix video game adaptations, including Castlevania and Arcane. Both series have received critical and popular acclaim as adaptations of their respective source materials and as stand-alone shows.
When the time comes, Tekken: Bloodline will hopefully join their ranks. Other video game adaptations on Netflix include an animated Devil May Cry series created by the same team that created Castlevania as well as the second season of Arcane, both of which have yet to be released.
