The announcement of a Shenmue anime in production is a testament to the collaborative power between Crunchyroll and Adult Swim. The anime will be produced as a 13-episode series and will stream worldwide on Crunchyroll and Toonami. What makes the idea of a Shenmue anime especially interesting is that the latest and most anticipated game in the series, Shenmue 3, isn’t the end of the series as a whole. The plot will continue in later installments, according to the game’s director.
While the anime will most likely begin and end with the events of the first game, it’ll be interesting to see how the series evolves in order to make room for any potential changes in lore from future games. The series will be directed by Sakurai Chikara (One Punch Man, Naruto), with animation production by Telecom Animation Film and production management by Sola Entertainment. Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki will also be on hand as an Executive Producer.
Shenmue was originally released for the Sega Dreamcast in 1999, and the sequel Shenmue II was released in 2001. The long-awaited sequel, Shenmue 3, was released in 2019 for the PS4. For those unfamiliar with the Shenmue series, the synopsis, courtesy of the Shenmue 3 official website, is as follows:
In the suburbs of Yokosuka, the Hazuki Bukan Jujutsu Dojo is visited by some mysterious men. The master of the dojo, Iwao Hazuki, confronts the man in the deep green Chinese long gown but is vastly overpowered and falls. His son tries to help but is easily brushed aside. Held captive, Ryo was questioned by the mysterious man.
“Where is the mirror?” The man pressed. With nothing else he could do, Iwao tells of the mirror’s whereabouts.
The mysterious man, now in possession of the bronze mirror inscribed with a dragon, turns to Iwao and says, “You remember Zhao Sunming? You killed him!” And with that, the man delivers Iwao the killing blow.
The man turns to leave with the bronze mirror, and is called by his underling, “Lan Di.” On his back is embroidered a dragon, flashing wickedly.
“Keep friends, those you love, close to you.”
With Iwao’s last words his heart, Ryo sets off on a long journey, swearing to avenge his father.
While it remains to be seen how the anime will be received in comparison to the games, it’ll certainly be interesting to see the plot play out outside of the cutscene and side-quest heavy elements of the games. As long as they have a duck race reference in the series, things should be just fine.
Source: Deadline, Shenmue 3 Official Website
