Overview Clocking in at around 3 hours total for the entire series Tekken: Bloodline is an easy Netflix anime to spend an evening watching loosely understanding and taking in its mixed to solid level of animation. Outside of that... you may struggle to enjoy it especially if you arent a fan of the now 3decade established fighting game series. The Main Points Tekken: Bloodline uses the third instalment of the Tekken franchise as the basis for the show with lead protagonist Jin Kazamas story of entering the King of Iron Fist providing the central storyline. The show features Jins comingofage story initially formed by unseen tragedy and continued with his quest to become stronger and ultimately complete the goal of winning the King of Iron Fist tournament a knockoutbased tournament featuring the best fighters from around the world. This is all whilst his powerhungry grandfather Heihachi Mishima tests Kazamas strength and willpower in order to unlock his truly fearsome potential. Jin fights a host of combatants but his true aim is to find and slay the demon Ogre. Heihachi r and a young Jin l readying to fight in the Mishima dojohttps://www.cheatsheet.com/wpcontent/uploads/2022/03/TekkenBloodlineTrailerJinKazamaHeihachi.png In the short time it has Bloodline does well to flesh out Jins character direction classic morality choices establishing friendships guidance of more experienced fighters the typical stuff youd expect to see in a Shounen. It does feel a little cookiecutter but it doesnt do anything wrong just nothing particularly new. The show does a better job of developing Jins grandfather Heihachi and makes sure the character doesnt fall too deeply into the classic hardasnails tutor trope without establishing him as a force in other ways something true to the source material. Along the way youll see some of the other Tekken staple fighters in Bloodline but in just 6 episodes its very difficult for any of them to provide any substance outside of fans having the oh hey its Insert fighter name here. This is probably the biggest issue with Tekken: Bloodline as a Tekken fan with such an eclectic and large roster that Tekken boasts its a shame that we only get any development of 2 or 3 characters some of which can be very surface level stuff. Juila l and Paul r introducing themselveshttps://cdn.oneesports.gg/cdndata/2022/08/TekkenBloodlinePaulPhoenixJuliaChang.jpg This is paired with the somewhat middling animation particularly in the fight scenes. In 2022 the level of detail and choreography in anime fights is at an alltime high so Tekken: Bloodlines more meticulous and careful fight scene offering could be seen as slow and often times lazy. Tekken as a game in all fairness is quite slow and methodical and that gameplay is adapted paceforpace for better or for worse. Outside of the fights the modelling and graphic detail of the show is wonderful but the animation is a little mixed. I do think this is a bit of a problem with anime in general so its not something I would hold against Tekken: Bloodline too strongly. How to improve 3 simple steps One thing Id like to do in my anime reviews is to suggest three 3 simple improvements I wouldve liked to see in the show. Im not an animator or writer so do take this all with a pinch of salt More episodes I mean this is a given for a 6 episode show. A lot of the character development gripes could have been dealt with had the writers been given more episodes and time to flesh out the other fighters the relationships of those outside of Jins circle and more time for fights. Jins character traits Jin is very very plain. I appreciate the idea of making a main character somewhat nonspecific so a watcher can try to relate to them more but it does hurt the development of said character. Jin really falls into this for me I wouldve liked to see more of his personality outside of brooding kid who wants to get stronger. Antagonist focus the main antagonist in Tekken: Bloodline Ogre couldve really done with more of a focus. The character needed far more time on screen in all aspects so the viewer could grow to hate them in the same way Jin does but we dont really get that opportunity. Unfortunately it makes Ogre a very boring villain who is a villain for nothing more than Ive hurt you and also Im green and strong. Ogre the big green friendhttps://cdn.oneesports.gg/cdndata/2022/08/TekkenBloodlineAncientOgre1024x576.jpg Final Thoughts On a personal note Im a huge fan of the stories and lore in the Tekken franchise from the wacky to the wonderful. As a show I couldnt help but smile when you see the same hitconfirm effects reflected in fight scenes within Bloodline or seeing the interactions between some of the characters as menial or minimal as they are at times. Tekken: Bloodline has its flaws and doesnt really break any new ground for those who have watched mainstream Shounen but as an entrylevel anime for those newer to the genre or for those wellversed with the game series it hits the spots it should. And for those who are fans of the Tekken series its better than the 90s motion picture. Any improvement is still improvement right?