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Streaming service Netflix seems to be on a roll in taking inspiration for its next projects from gaming and geek culture. This can be seen in the platform's recent live-action adaptations of Cowboy Bebop and The Witcher series. Now, the service is taking another popular gaming franchise and turning it into an animated series. This time, Netflix announced that it is producing a Tekken anime that is slated for release this 2022, and will be focusing on one of the franchise's main protagonists, Jin Kazama.
When Netflix's Cowboy Bebop was released in November 2021, the series garnered mixed reviews that led to its cancellation only after one season. However, this setback did not seem to deter the Netflix team as it continues to announce new live-action projects, specifically for long-running anime One Piece. With a lot of success seen for Netflix series that are based from video games like Arcane, Castlevania, and DOTA: Dragon's Blood, it is not surprising for the platform to turn its sights onto Tekken, one of the most well-known fighting game series around the world.
To announce the new animated series, Netflix released a short teaser trailer of Tekken: Bloodline. The trailer footage shows that the main focus seems to be Jin Kazama of Tekken 3. With the story seemingly set between the timelines of Tekken 2 and 3, Jin starts out training with his mother, Jun Kazama, and ultimately ends up looking for his paternal grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, one of Tekken's most iconic antagonists. According to the official description on the Netflix YouTube channel, Jin's quest to gain power and strength will lead to his participation in The King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Fans of the Tekken series will likely find the trailer entertaining, and may spot a few of their favorite characters from the video games. Aside from showing Jun Kazama and Heihachi Mishima, snapshots of other popular Tekken characters were shown briefly at the end of the short trailer. Some of these include King, Leroy, Paul, and Jin's very own father, Kazuya Mishima. Though there is no indication that Devil Jin will make an appearance in the animated series, there is a brief clip of what seems like a silhouette of Devil Kazuya's form shown in the trailer.
Hopefully the new Tekken animated series by Neflix will not disappoint fans of the video game series. With some of the community's members starting their fandom way back when the first title of the series was released, Netflix's anime may have big shoes to fill in terms of accurate story and characterization.