Shenmue Anime Announced

[Happenstance]

Quote

Shenmue is getting an anime.

Shenmue: The Animation is a collaboration between Crunchyroll and Adult Swim, and is based on Sega's cult classic 1999 Dreamcast game.

Crunchyroll said to expect a 13-episode series with animation from Telecom Animation Film (Tower of God, Lupin the Third: Part 5). It's directed by Chikara Sakurai (Magimoji Rurumo, One-Punch Man Season 2). Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki is executive producer.

That's pretty much all we know. Expect more information during tonight's online Crunchyroll Expo Panel.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-09-05-shenmue-anime-announced

[S.C.G]

I see...

[Happenstance]

I want at least 10 of the episodes dealing with finding the sailors, maybe 2 on capsule toys and then the last can be whatever they want.

[martinist]

Is this just foing to cover the first Shenmue? or is it going to go through 1 2 and 3? With 12 episodes you can't really do much. It's probably just going to go through the first game then come out with another season covering the second maybe.

I demand atleast half an episode where Ryo waits for a bus in real time.

[Julius]

I mentioned it in the anime thread because I wasn't sure where to put, but seeing as we've got this dedicated thread, might as well move it here I guess 

Key art:

Description:

Quote

At the iconic annual "Virtual Crunchyroll Expo" (held for the first time in digital format), Crunchyroll announced the new partnership with the Adult Swim platform for the production of "Shenmue" - an original anime series based on the franchise of the beloved counterpart game SEGA.

This co-production will be broadcast globally outside of Japan and mainland China on the Crunchyroll and Adult Swim platforms.

"The first Shenmue video game was released more than 20 years ago and we are excited to work with Adult Swim again to bring this franchise to life through the anime series. We look forward to showing our fans more of this action-packed adventure series, ”said Sarah Victor, head of Crunchyroll Development.

Shenmue is a 13-episode anime series that chronicles the adventure of Ryo Hazuki. After witnessing his father's murder, Ryo dedicates his life to searching for the killer - a mission that takes him from the Japanese streets of Yokosuka to beyond the Hong Kong metropolis. In search of revenge, he will soon find out that mystical forces are involved, and in the meantime he is training to become an expert in martial arts.

"The Shenmue world is fascinating and unique, and we're excited to work with Yu Suzuki (the game's creator) to turn his epic creation into anime and make bestial martial arts," said Jason DeMarco, creative director of Adult Swim.

The production of Crunchyroll and Adult Swim "Shenmue" is directed by Sakurai Chikara in the Telecom Animation Film studios, managed by Sola Entertainment. Video game creator Yu Suzuki is also on the team as executive producer.

Recent collaborations between Crunchyroll and Adult Swim include "Fena - Pirate Princess" and "Blade Runner - Black Lotus". Fans eager to see the launch announcement can register for a free Virtual Crunchyroll Expo badge on crunchyrollexpo.com and can access the Crunchyroll Industry Panel in the V-CRX On-Demand section. 

@martinist, I'm guessing it at least covers the first game and parts of - if not the whole of - the second too, just judging from the description. The "beyond Hong Kong" line could be applicable to both the latter part of II and the whole of III, but if it's only 13 episodes, I can't imagine it getting it to III? Not sure of course, but that would seem...kind of brisk paced, but then I guess a roughly four-episode arc per game could work? Just wouldn't be much room for growth apart from with Ryo though, I guess. And if it's going to be a more mature retelling, filling in some gaps, I'd rather they leave room for future seasons? 

I wonder if this is them gearing up to either continue the story in another medium instead of making IV as a game, or if this is to get more people invested ahead of a potential fourth game. I'm leaning towards the latter, just considering the general reception to III. 

And we better see the forklift races in all their glory! But apparently it's the director from One Punch Man S2, which I haven't seen, but also haven't heard the greatest of things about? 

Something to keep an eye on for sure, either way. 

Edited September 5, 2020 by Julius

[killthenet]

Hopefully it's the shot in the arm that the franchise needs, the kickstarter for Shenmue 3 definitely lost its initial excitement as it went on. Most die hard fans still enjoyed the game when it came out (me included, it was my GOTY for 2019) but it was admittedly a flawed experience. There are lessons Yu and the team at Ys Net will need to learn if they are to make a fourth entry but the main issue is the apparent lack of support from the wider gaming community, if the anime takes off and brings in new fans then the support should be there for another game - even if it's another drawn out Kickstarter. 

The big question though is, will Corey play Ryo in the English dub? 

Will probably have to wait until season two but a two episode arc where Ryo works at a Lucky Hit stand is a must. 

[Happenstance]

 

[Ike]

First episode is available (if you have a subscription, gotta wait a week if you don’t).
 

https://www.crunchyroll.com/en-gb/shenmue-the-animation

[Happenstance]

On 07/02/2022 at 7:48 PM, Ike said:

First episode is available (if you have a subscription, gotta wait a week if you don’t).
 

https://www.crunchyroll.com/en-gb/shenmue-the-animation

Have you had a chance to watch it yet?

[Ike]

11 hours ago, Happenstance said:

Have you had a chance to watch it yet?

Not yet, I’ll add it to my watchlist for Saturday. 

[killthenet]

Unfortunately we won't be getting any more seasons of the Shenmue anime, Adult Swim have confirmed that the series has been cancelled.

Crunchyroll will keep the episodes available to stream but HBO Max will be deleting it from their service.

It's a bit of a shame, it seemed as if it the first season was pretty well received,  and its a big blow to the franchise in general. I watched the first season earlier this year and I enjoyed it, even if it felt a bit rushed (wish they'd focused on the first game, gone a bit more in depth, perhaps fleshing it out with new side stories and characters, rather than cramming the story of the first two games into 13 episodes) but despite some issues it definitely had promise so I'm pretty disappointed we won't be seeing any more episodes. I was hopeful it would renew interest in the series enough for Yu Suzuki to be able to finish telling the story in Shenmue 4 but at the very least I thought we'd get to see it wrapped up in subsequent seasons of the anime - now that its cancelled the chances of Ryo's story being completed seem incredibly remote. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by killthenet

[Helmsly]

That's a shame, I've been watching it recently and really enjoying it although I've not finished it yet. I felt that this is probably the best way to tell the entire Shenmue Story too. Maybe there's a chance someone else will pick it up for Season 2 at some point.