Street Fighter II #6

Feb 1995. Cover price 95p.
40 pages. Full colour.
Manga Publishing Ltd.

Edited by Cefn Ridout.

Cover by Masaomi Kanzaki, finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color.
r: UNKNOWN.

Contents:

 2 A New Breed of Heroes for the Nineties! in-house advertisement for Appleseed.

 3 Street Fighter II Battle 08: Warrior w: Masaomi Kanzaki, translated by William Flanagan; a: Masaomi Kanzaki, lettering and finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color. / Indicia

r: UNKNOWN.

 4 Ryu (one fifth page) fact file.

 6 Ken (one fifth page) fact file.

 8 Guile (one fifth page) fact file.

10 Zangief (one fifth page) fact file.

12 Dhalsim (one fifth page) fact file.

14 Blanka (one fifth page) fact file.

16 E. Honda (one fifth page) fact file.

18 Chun-Li (one fifth page) fact file.

20 Street Fighter II poster 6 (of 8); a: Masaomi Kanzaki, finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color.

r: UNKNOWN.

23 Street Fighter II Battle 07: King of Kings w: Masaomi Kanzaki, translated by William Flanagan; a: Masaomi Kanzaki, lettering and finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color. / Indicia

r: UNKNOWN.

24 Balrog (one fifth page) fact file.

26 Vega (one fifth page) fact file.

28 Sagat (one fifth page) fact file.

30 M. Bison (one fifth page) fact file.

32 Po-Lin (one fifth page) fact file.

34 Wong-Mei (one fifth page) fact file.

36 Gouken (one fifth page) fact file.

38 After her long search, Chun-Li finally gets revenge for her father by defeating Vega (one fifth page)

39 Pack Up Your Troubles! competition to win Street Fighter II back pack.

40 Crying Freeman - the Last Two Chapters in the Series on 1 Video in-house advertisement for videocassette release.

M. Bison, not content with being the Chief of Police, announces his intention of making Shad his own independent kingdom. Guile reveals to Chun-Li that M. Bison was using Doll to do experiments on humans, when he was a military commander, and a group of his guinea pigs just happened to be Guile's unit:

There was a day when I was the only soldier in my unit who didn't eat my c-rations.

I wasn't sure what was happening at first, but everybody acted like they were hopped-up on something then they started killing each other.

Before I knew it, I had to kill my best friend, Charlie!

Ryu is disqualified for missing his appointed fight, as an iron cage match is announced...

Chun-Li finds herself battling Vega, the man she believes killed her father, while Guile takes on Sagat. The fight with Sagat is complicated when Guile realises that his legs haven't healed since his fight with Zangief, and it appears that he has been outmatched in the ensuing battle. Sagat ponders how Guile could have learned so much about the Doll supply chain, telling Guile that he won't live to tell anyone about it.

Calling out Vega's claw attacks as cheap and cowardly, after being on the receiving end of their tips, Chun-Li attempts to even her chances against Vega. The decisive moment is when Vega tells her that he has fought a man who uses the same techniques as her, and all that is left of the man is a stain on his claws. By throwing everything she has into the fight, Chun-Li defeats Vega, but is completely exhausted in the process.

Ken, whose memory has returned, stops Sagat killing Guile, challenging him.

There have been large pauses in movement, as small events are drawn out, but when the story gets into motion (as here) it really barrels along. The extreme issues with pacing aren't specifically a manga problem, but the perception has been emphasised by some of the material chosen for reprinting - and, in complete fairness, Street Fighter II is far from the worst when it comes to such issues.

This issue delivers magnificently in both action and story.

If only every issue was this satisfying.

#05

Street Fighter II

#07