Due to the nature of being an animated adaptation of Tekken 3, Late Arrival Spoilers from preceding and subsequent games in the franchise will be left unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Tekken: Bloodline is an anime series created by Studio Hibari (with assistance from Rooster Teeth) and distributed by Netflix. Based on the popular Tekken Fighting Game series by Bandai Namco Entertainment, the show is a loose adaptation of Tekken 3, following Jin Kazama's journey as he trains to avenge his mother's death at the hands of the monster known as Ogre.
Tekken: Bloodline was first announced on March 19, 2022. A teaser
trailer was released the following day, with an official trailer released on July 19, 2022. The show debuted on Netflix on August 18, 2022, with six episodes.
Tekken: Bloodline contains examples of:
- Action Mom: Jun Kazama is Jin's mother and martial arts instructor. She truly shows her skill in the fight against Ogre, where she just barely manages to defeat him, seemingly at the cost of her life, in order to protect her son.
- Adaptational Badass:
- A certified badass no doubt, King got a lot more play as a nigh unstoppable competitor during the events of Bloodline. Attacks barely seem to faze him, and he's treated outright as The Dreaded by majority of the competitors for his silent attitude and intimidating look. He even manages to defeat Paul, who canonically went undefeated during the events of Tekken 3 which Bloodline is an adaptation of. King ends up being the opponent Jin faces at the tournament final, and forces a very close fight which Jin wins by the skin of his teeth, just going to show further how undeniably tough King is.
- Though Xiaoyu already impressed Heihachi himself in canon for her capabilities, her status as a Action Girl can be overshadowed by her main role as a Morality Pet to Jin and a Plucky Comic Relief. Here said skills and Heihachi's Villain Respect for her is emphasized more in Xiaoyu kicking Nina’s ass with Heihachi explaining her skills to the uncertain Jin. Later she also fight True Ogre alongside Jin, Hwoarang, and Paul.
- Adapted Out:
- Eddy Gordo and Bryan Fury are absent from this show despite it adapting the plot of the game they debuted in.
- Marshall is the Law present in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3 instead of his son, Forest.
- The Jack series of robots, including Gun-Jack, the Jack entry for the third tournament. All that exists for a reference to the Jack series is a scene where Jin plays a handheld console game, that isn't actually shown, but judging from the audio it could be a Tekken 2 game where Jun and Jack's sounds are heard.
- Adaptation Personality Change: While still being a Boisterous Bruiser at heart, Paul Phoenix seems more of a Cool Old Guy here than in the games. He gets friendly with Jin and his friends Xiaoyu and Hwoarang. At the same time, he is known as a veteran fighter from the previous tournaments and is still held in high regard, averting his
Badass Decay from the games. - Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Downplayed. On top of the trauma that comes with losing his mother at a young age and being raised by Heihachi, the first episode also shows that Jin was a frequent victim of bullying by local kids. Luckily, he does have ways to defend himself.
- Adaptational Curves: Xiaoyu is noticeably well endowed here, contrasting to the games such as Street Fighter X Tekken where her smaller chest size is a source of upset for her compared to other female fighters.
- Adaptational Early Appearance:
- Steve Fox, Craig Marduk, Feng Wei, and most notably Leroy Smith all appear at the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, where in the games' timeline they don't debut until much later. Out of the four of them, Leroy is the one shown with any actual focus paid to him, as the others are eliminated off-screen.Results
- Nina and Xiaoyu wear their outfits from Tekken 5, while Julia wears her outfit from Tekken 7.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Jin is much more friendly here than he is in the games, showing explicit care for Xiaoyu and Hwoarang as well as compassion for other people like Leroy and King. In the games by contrast, Jin is so consumed with vengeance and brooding angst over his cursed blood that he frequently shuns everyone except his beloved mother Jun.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Heihachi is more overtly malicious here than he was in the original storyline. In Tekken 3, he at least bothered to put up the act of being a caring grandfather to Jin, to the extent that Jin legitimately thought he was a good man up until Heihachi tried to dispose of him. In Bloodline, he subjects Jin to absolute Training from Hell from the moment Jin falls under his care and spends most of his time outside of that demeaning Jin for exhibiting compassion towards his opponents.
- Adaptational Villainy: Implied with Heihachi. In the games, Ogre seemingly appeared out of nowhere. In Bloodline, Julia suspects that Heihachi deliberately released him in order to bring Ogre under his control. This does make sense given Heihachi's comments on the events of Tekken 3 at the beginning of the Scenario Campaign in Tekken 6, where he mentions being interested in the legends behind Ogre and seeking to take his power for himself.
- Adaptational Wimp:
- Though Paul is still a highly-regarded veteran fighter, he's beaten by King (who in turn gets beaten by Jin) rather than being undefeated in the tournament (likely including defeating Jin) and taking down Ancient Ogre in canon.
- Though Xiaoyu herself is no slouch, being trained by Heihachi and Wang, Nina seems to lose her temper easily, given her game counterpart is cool and collected to the point of being The Sociopath, which allows Xiaoyu to exploit her anger to fatigue her, weakening her holds and then knocking her out.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Jin and Hwoarang's relationship is depicted as more of a Friendly Rivalry in this anime, as opposed to the games were they are purely rivals who don't really care much for each other (except for occasionally saving each other's life).
- Likewise, Paul seems to get fairly chummy with Jin and the other young fighters, Hwoarang and Xiaoyu to a lesser extent. He even tells Jin about Kazuya's fights against Heihachi in the two previous tournaments as he recalls them. In the games' continuity, Paul is friends with the Law family and Steve, but no one else.
- Hwoarang and Xiaoyu barely interacted in the games, though the Scenario Campaign dialogue in 6 depicted them as knowing each other, likely due to their mutual acquaintance in Jin, who serves as a rival to the former and a close friend to the latter. Here, they're depicted as being good friends with each other as well, forming a friendly dynamic with Jin.
- Amazonian Beauty: Nina Williams is this in contrast to the games; she was already a beautiful woman, but the anime shows to well toned abs.
- Ambiguous Situation:
- Just like the games, it’s ambiguous as to whether Jun actually died fighting Ogre or not. She clearly attempts a Taking You with Me by holding Ogre in an armlock near a leaking gas tank, but Ogre teleports away just as the explosion goes off. When Jin gets up again it’s framed like Jun has died, but no trace of her body can be seen and it’s entirely possible she got teleported away with Ogre given she was holding onto him.
- Jun’s relationship with Jin’s father Kazuya, again like the games is extremely ambiguous in the show, with no confirmation if they were in love, it was a one-night stand or it something more sinister. Closest we get is Jin asking Jun about his father, but Jun purposely ignores his question. It is theorised by Jin later after he learns about the Devil Gene, that she was protecting him from his father’s demonic legacy by not telling him, but still no word on why or how they came together and how exactly Jun felt about Kazuya or vice versa
- Heihachi never confirms or denies that he released Ogre like Julia claimed, only telling Jin when pressed, "Does it matter?"
- Also, when Julia asks Heihachi where is her mother, she gets no answer, making it uncertain whether Michelle is dead or alive. In the video games, Julia finds Michelle in her ending in Tekken 3 and both return home together.
- Arc Words: "What is it that haunts you? Whose eyes peer at you from the dark?"
- Bittersweet Ending: Jin successfully defeats Ogre and avenges his mother. However, before Jin can walk away, Heihachi shoots him to dispose of his Devil Gene, only to fully awaken it, leading to the birth of Devil Jin. Devil Jin manages to maintain just enough self-control not to kill Heihachi and flies off to an uncertain future.
- Brick Break: Jin's training involves learning to smash through bricks. He goes from hurting his hand from striking a single brick to being able to break through several in one hit.
- Bullying a Dragon: The drunken father of one of the kids who pick on Jin comes to the Kazama home, demanding an apology from Jin over the former beating up his son in retaliation. When the man makes the mistake of insulting Jin's mother, Jin is ready to give him the same treatment he gave his son. Jun being faster and knocking the man over with a push is the only thing that spares him a vicious and arguably well-deserved beatdown.
- The Cameo:
- Baek Doo San, Wang Jinrei, the first King, and Lee Chaolan appear on Miura's tablet as missing fighters.
- Mokujin appears as a billboard statue, and the silhouettes of Roger Jr. and Alex appear on flatscreens.
- Dr. Bosconovich appears consulting Heihachi about the pendant and its relation to Ogre.
- Cold Ham: In contrast to his game counterpart, the English dub version of Heihachi in the anime rarely raises his voice beyond a raspy growl that often simmers with barely-held contempt and rage. His Japanese dub version is just as hammy as his game counterpart, however.
- Canon Foreigner: Heihachi's assistant Miss Miura, who doesn't appear in the games.
- The Corruptor: Heihachi deliberately trains Jin to abandon the concepts of mercy and pacifism that Jun instilled in him, both because of his personal life philosophy and in order to cultivate Jin's Devil Gene to make him a more tantalizing target for Ogre.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Julia attacks Heihachi to take back the pendant to track Ogre, which her mother had hidden away. Heihachi easily defeats her without any effort and doesn't even have a mark on him.
- Designated Girl Fight: Ling Xiaoyu vs Nina Williams.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Hwoarang and Xiaoyu appear briefly during the montage in Episode 2 before being properly introduced in Episodes 3 and 4 respectively.
- Everyone Has Standards: One of Jin's bullies, despite having no problems beating the snot out of Jin, actually tries to talk down his drunken father when said father decides to break the bottle he's holding to turn it into a bladed weapon to attack Jin with.
- Evil Mentor: Heihachi to Jin. See Teach Him Anger.
- It's All My Fault: Heihachi tells Jin that Ogre is drawn towards people of incredible power and fighting skill. As he had been fighting the day Ogre attacked them, Jin comes to feel that his mother's death at Ogre's hands was his fault. Then Julia tells him that she suspects that Heihachi was the one who released Ogre in the first place. When Heihachi refuses to refute the accusation, Jin passes the blame for Jun's death onto him.
- Opposing Combat Philosophies: The Kazama-style of martial arts emphasizes defense, balance and only using the necessary amount of force. The Mishima-style Karate, as demonstrated through Heihachi's brutal training regimen, emphasizes offense, to the point that even its defensive moves are all about inflicting as much damage against the opponent as possible.
- Power Echoes: Jin's voice has a notable echo when he starts manifesting the Devil Gene in episode 6.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Jin's eyes briefly glow red in episode 2, a sign that he has inherited the Devil Gene. His eyes glow an even brighter red in episode 6 as his rage builds over the implication that Heihachi deliberately unleashed Ogre and then when he confronts Ogre himself.
- Shown Their Work: Thanks to the involvement of the games' producers, the characters' fighting styles are accurately represented; even something as basic as the Flash Punch Combo or Hunting Hawk are recognizable during fight scenes. The credits also show that pro Tekken players Yuu and Nobi of Team Yamasa were onboard as battle scene supervisors to ensure further accuracy.
- Sins of the Father: Ms. Miura warns Jin not to advertise his relation to Kazuya as many competing in the tournament tried to kill Kazuya.
- Teach Him Anger: Heihachi pushes Jin to rely on his rage and aggression in contrast to how he was trained by Jun. He even goes as far as telling Jin to see all his opponents as Ogre.
- Training from Hell: Heihachi's tutelage of Jin is extremely brutal, frequently leaving Jin with notable bruises and injuries after each training session. He also makes it a point of hitting Jin while they're in the ring even when they aren't fighting. Jin's training is only considered complete when he is able to fight his way past Heihachi in the ring and leave without Heihachi's expressed permission.
- Use Your Head: Jin finishes off True Ogre with a powerful headbutt—in this case, the Mishima Stone Head uf+1+2 throw.
- Tsundere: Jin and Hwoarang have a Friendly Rivalry here, but when outright suggested to be friends, the two of them are very quick to loudly deny it.
- Villain Respect:
- Despite sneering at Jun's pacifism, Heihachi tells Jin he considers her a wise woman...mostly.
- Heihachi also praises Xiaoyu's skill during her fight against Nina, although this is mostly to spite Jin.
- Weak, but Skilled: Xiaoyu makes up for her lack of power and size with speed, agility and cunning in battle. However, this only gets her so far as seen in her fight with King and Ogre.
- Wrestler in All of Us: Jun's arm bar throw from the games makes a surprise return in her fight against Ogre, where it allows her to pin him down long enough to (almost) kill him with a nearby explosion.
- Would Hit a Girl: Ogre vs. Jun Kazama, and King vs. Ling Xiaoyu.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: After failing to turn Jin into a merciless fighter by the conclusion of the King of Iron Fist tournament, which would've triggered the Devil Gene and summoned Ogre, Heihachi forces Jin to fight him immediately after King in order to push Jin to his limits and create a fight that would attract Ogre's notice. He succeeds.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Even though Jin defeated King in the last round of the tournament, Heihachi still demands that he and Jin fight once more.
