The Tekken series has a long history of not very well-received adaptations, but the latest show looks like a big departure from what came before. Bandai Namco just announced Tekken! Cartoon, a series that looks much more inspired by American animation than anything that’s come out of the series so far.
The trailer shows the brawling bear Kuma, the chainsaw-wielding robot Alisa, samurai freak Yoshimitsu, series protagonist/villain Kazuya Mishima, and Paul. All five characters are loosely based on their Tekken 8 designs but shrunk into chibi form. The stylized look is very reminiscent of Cartoon Network shows from the ‘90s and aughts, as emphasized by the trailer’s VHS crackle and silhouettes that look ripped straight from Dexter’s Laboratory.
The teaser doesn’t offer specifics like the show’s plot or format (will it be a series of shorts or full-length 23+ minute episodes?), but the YouTube video’s description does include an extensive staff list. Japanese animator Amehiro is the character designer for the project, and you can clearly tell from the similarities between their previous work and the show’s art style.
Perhaps the biggest hint is that Sohta Ozawa will direct the series. They’re the creative director at the talent agency NERD, which represents music artists such as Hololive VTuber Hoshimachi Suisei and lyricist and singer Taku Inoue (who has worked on Tekken’s music in the past). NERD has helped with music videos like Suisei’s viral hit “Bibbidi-Ba” and Bump of Chicken’s “I,” the ending song for the latest season of My Hero Academia. Considering that this talent company helps produce music and music videos, it may not be too much of a stretch to assume there will be a significant music component to Tekken! Cartoon.
The full staff list is as follows:
- Character Designer & Animator: Amehiro
- Music & Sound Designer: in the blue shirt
- Cast: Tsubasa Tobinaga
- Brand Supervisor: TEKKEN Project
- Planner: Masateru Miyamoto
- Creative Director/Planner: Syohei Hashimoto
- Creative Director/Planner: Hironori Hasegawa
- Business Producer: Mihoko Nakashima
- Director: Sohta Ozawa (NERD)
- Director of Photography: Yuta Kakei
- 1st Assistant Camera: Yuki Urakami
- 2nd Assistant Camera: Shingo Naramura
- Lighting Director: Kazuya Imose
- Lighting Assistant: Ko Sato / Shota Yamanaka
- Production Designer: Shiho Onuma
- Art Assistant: Tomohiro Hirota
- Digital Imaging Technician: Seiji Uchida
- Hair&Make-up: Hanako Kaiya
- Stylist: Minoru Sugahara
- Offline Editor: Asuka Mochizuki
- Colorist: Elder Zulpukarov (TREE Digital Studio)
- Online Editor: Ryunosuke Hayashi
- Sound Mixer: Ken Takahashi
- Character Designer & Animator: Amehiro
- Music & Sound Designer: in the blue shirt
- Designer: Shimpei Umeda
- Casting: Nozomi Yabuki (FORMEN)
- Assistant Director: Sora Kanesaki
- Production Manager: Numanao
- Production Assistant: Ryoma Saito / Rio Toyoshima
- Business Producer: Asumi Nishiki (NERD)
- Producer: Minami Komatsu (NERD)
Tekken has a long history of animated adaptations. The first was 1998’s Tekken: The Motion Picture, a mostly maligned straight-to-DVD anime that loosely adapted the first game in the series. In 2011, there was the 3D-animated film Tekken: Blood Vengeance, which centers on Alisa and Xiaoyu. The most well-known adaptation is likely Netflix’s recent Tekken: Bloodline, an anime loosely based on Tekken 3. The show was mostly criticized for its lackluster visuals and underwhelming storytelling.
As a series, Tekken has been in a weird spot as of late, with long-time director Katsuhiro Harada recently leaving Bandai Namco to join SNK. Many hardcore players have been extremely unhappy with Tekken 8 as of late due to poorly received balance changes and general discontent over the game’s emphasis on offense. But hey, at least it scored one of the strangest crossovers in fighting game history with Yujiro Hanma from the unhinged manga/anime Baki joining the cast in early 2027. That’s certainly weird!
