Shenmue the Animation

I didn't watch many anime this season, but of the few I watched this was my favorite. Shenmue the anime is an incredibly faithful adaptation of the first 2 games and finally helps tell the story of Shenmue the way the game's creator always wanted it told without any of the hardware limitations of the Sega Dreamcast or budget worries.

So, what the Hell is a Shenmue? Before we get into the anime review, we have to talk about one of the most unusual franchises in the history of gaming. The story of Shenmue begins with its creator Yu Suzuki. This guy was 25 years ... old when he made his first hugely successful arcade game in 1983. Throughout the 1980s, he just made hit after hit for the arcades. Games like Space Harrier, Hang-On, Out Run, etc. He was a programming wunderkind and everything he touched was gold. Then in the 1990s, he directed Virtua Fighter 2, which was a huge step forward for competitive fighting games and had a heavy influence on series like Tekken, Dead or Alive, and Soul Calibur. By 1999, Sega trusted Yu Suzuki so much that they were willing to sink the equivalent of 123 million dollars in today's money into Suzuki's dream of creating the video game version of a Shaw Brothers Kung-fu film. Yu Suzuki really, REALLY likes 1970s Kung-fu films! Since the Dreamcast wasn't the bestselling console, the game lost quite a bit of money. However, Sega doubled down and gave Suzuki a boatload more money for Shenmue 2, which also lost an ungodly amount of money and helped lead to Sega's bankruptcy and purchase by Nintendo. For 20 years, Yu Suzuki promised that he was working on Shenmue 3. However, he admits that he didn't pay any attention to gaming developments during that time or play any games. Instead, he spent a large sum travelling around the world riding roller coasters. However, he was eventually able to kickstart and release Shenmue 3, which played exactly like a Dreamcast era Shenmue game on the PS4. Reviews were mostly negative, although I personally found it amusing.

I mentioned that Shenmue was heavily inspired by Suzuki's love of kung-fu films, and I really mean that. Our hero Ryo is a goodhearted teenager whose father is the local martial arts master. One day, a cruel yet powerful kung fu master from a rival school kills his father and sets Ryo on the path of vengeance. Ryo must now track down various kung fu masters and train under them to learn the techniques to avenge his father. Meanwhile, Ryo also wishes to uncover more about his father's past. His father was somehow entrusted with 2 mirrors that hold the key to unlocking the world's largest treasure, which is pursued by triad gangsters who wish to resurrect the Qing Dynasty. The plot is straight out of a kung fu film and is pretty damn fun!

Unfortunately, Kung Fu films rely on a lot of training montages and don't actually have that much meat to their stories on average. In the game, Shenmue decided to pad its length with menial, repetitive chores. An NPC will send you to the shop to get milk and you have to wait 15 minutes in real time for the shop to open. One thing the Shenmue games received both praise and criticism for is just how little they care about player convenience. Shenmue is the gaming world's closest thing to art for art's sake. Yu Suzuki wants you to experience his vision and doesn't give a shit if you're not having fun. Shenmue the anime has a bit of padding to stay faithful to the games. For example, we still get about 5 minutes of Ryo learning how to operate a forklift. However, the anime is overall MUCH better paced and feels like a real story. The anime is able to flesh out some characters that didn't get as much time in the game. Another way that the anime improves on the games is explaining things a little better. In the games, the main villain just fucks off at the end of the 2nd game and players thought he was ducking Ryo. This is why players got very upset that Ryo couldn't touch him in Shenmue 3. However, the anime has the villain briefly fight Ryo and realize he isn't nearly worthy as a challenge before fucking off, so it is much clearer what Ryo's skill level is compared to the villain. It was a minor touch, but the anime has tons of these little moments that polish up the story. The people who made this anime weren't just taking a paint by numbers approach. They truly cared about and loved Shenmue, which was cool to see!

When you look up the production to Shenmue, you immediately encounter something horrifying. Crunchyroll. Original. Anime. Immediately, all expectations of quality go soaring out the window! However, in this instance those fears aren't justified. Shenmue looks just fine. It's pretty well directed. It's not Ghibli quality but it's a HUGE leap forward since Ex-Arm!

Overall, this was a fun little anime that I'm kind of sad almost nobody watched while it was airing. I highly recommend watching this one if you've never played the Shenmue games and are interested to see what the franchise is about. I would also recommend this to longtime Shenmue fans as well. As someone who enjoyed the game trilogy, I had a great time with the anime. Basically, this is a fun, underrated little anime that is very much giving a watch.

For the uninitiated, Shenmue might just be another series that people are willing to take a back seat on binging all at one time, but for the true diehards, Shenmue is a masterpiece of a franchise that's like no other: it's arguably one of Sega's most beloved IPs with a heavy cult following with the first two games released on Sega's once-beloved but short-lived final game console, the Sega Dreamcast in 1999 and 2000, and Shenmue III making a revival in 2019. And fans might've wondered what an anime adaptation of Shenmue would look like if it was made modern, and courtesy of series creator ... Yu Suzuki and One Punch Man S2 director Chikara Sakurai, we finally got it thanks to Crunchyroll and Adult Swim's Toonami collab (that's thankfully no longer under their once-maligned Crunchyroll Originals banner).

Let's get this out of the way for the true diehards: According to producer Yu Kiyozono, the anime was in development for around two to three years during the time Shenmue III was produced and released, but it wasn't released until after the game came out. Kiyozono also stated that the production crew went to Yokosuka to get an accurate feel of the city's streets and atmosphere, while the anime will see most of the core Japanese voice actors return from the video games (i.e. Masaya Matsukaze with Ryo Hazuki and Takahiro Sakurai with Lan Di), although some of the cast will include new voice actors to appeal to the game's younger fanbase. Producer Joseph Chou of Sola Entertainment mentions that Yu Suzuki was heavily involved in the production to plan out the narrative with backstory information that was never implemented in the games, while director Chikara Sakurai added that some free roaming aspects were included with Ryo talking to people in the streets. So take in all of these, and you can see the care and passion of the staff team in bringing the Shenmue dream alive to the small screen, and they've largely succeeded.

For the newcomers who don't largely know what Shenmue is all about (largely because time is lost to this beloved IP), Shenmue the Animation adapts the overarching story from the Dreamcast games into one package. The premise is that Ryo Hazuki is the son of a family dojo, and so sets the story that his father was murdered by this clan called the Chi You Men through Lan Di, and that Ryo Hazuki is bent on getting revenge, crossing paths with people and learning the way of martial arts until he reaches his goal to defeat Lan Di. Sounds way too simple for modern-day standards, but I'd tell you that back in 1999/2000 this was something very different than your typical RPG that defies genres and even causes polarizing opinions till to this day.

The core characters are back with Ryo Hazuki and Lan Di (their VAs are the same as the Japanese version of Shenmue), while some others like Shenhua and Nozomi Harasaki get some new VAs in order to make the anime sound fresh to newcomers. That's why diehard fans have craved for a Shenmue revival after the Dreamcast was discontinued in 2001, and Shenmue III was released to fanfare in 2019 to feature more of the same, but yet still having the same polarizing opinions. And this is where the new younger fanbase comes in to experience what would the first 2 original games would've felt like, without getting too flashy on its character appeal that's all the same if you've played both games before (and not the overzelaous English version which were some of the worst but hilarious dialogue VOs).

Being a subsidiary of TMS Entertainment, Telecom Animation Film did decent on the visuals and action overall, it just did enough to service the plot with a tight budget. But I've gotta say that it's such a treat to finally watch Shenmue summed into 13 episodes which I feel is the perfect duration to flesh out both games in general without losing too much of its mostly side-quest appeal and the alluring story that was so far ahead of its time back in the day. But I miss the Lucky Hit segment, wish there was more of it. Music was decent-to-good as well with Kashitaro Ito churning out another banger song of an opening with Narudora's calm ending that also fits within Shenmue's draw of musical proportions that while is not close to famed composer Yuzo Koshiro's stellar composition in the games, it's just good enough to glide over the series in the most general way.

Fans of Shenmue, DO NOT MISS this adaptation. It's a faithful replication of the Dreamcast games, and I can reassure you that you won't be disappointed at all. As for the newcomers, please don't take the somewhat maligned score for what it is, try it out for yourself and experience the Shenmue franchise the way that it's supposed to be in its own greatness.

Shenmue The Animation is an adaptation of the masterpiece game series Shenmue.

A game series that revolutionized the game world in 1999, Shenmue and Shenmue II are games way ahead of its time. Shenmue is more than games to me, Shenmue it is a beautiful experience that i will never forget, and now we got a anime and this is wonderful. The more Shenmue in more media the better

This adaptation tells the story of the games Shenmue I and Shenmue II.

I'm a Shenmue fan and i love the anime, the anime added more informations and even more screen time and development for a lot of characters, ... this way adding many things that don't have in the games.

Some things that have in the games were cut out in the anime, and other things changed but i understand why, the anime is another version of Shenmue and i'm okay with that.

The anime expanded the story, the lore and the characters of Shenmue and this is beautiful. The anime team had the attention and the care to the details about the Shenmue world.

The action/fights are good, the story is wonderful, the characters are interesting, the soundtrack of the anime is beautiful and much more, a great adaptation.

I love the opening and the ending of the anime, beautiful animations and beautiful songs.

The anime complement the games and the games complement the anime.

The anime is recommended for everyone, for the Shenmue fans and also for the people that never played the games, if you never played the games then the anime is a good way to start in this beautiful franchise.

If someone want to have the complete Shenmue experience with all the details then i recommend the anime and the games.

If you love the anime then i recommend the games as well, the games are special and unique experiences. Some things i prefer the anime version and other things i prefer the games version.

I'm so happy that the Shenmue franchise is alive, and i have hope that one day we will see the conclusion of this wonderful journey in the games and in the anime, i will always support Shenmue.

I hope one day we can get a Shenmue Anime Blu-ray release and Shenmue Anime soundtrack.

I love the anime and i hope we can get the second season, beautiful adaptation

The anime in my opinion is a companion to the games, it is not something to replace the games, it is not something to look 100% like the games, it is something to walk side by side with the games and to me this is wonderful.

Shenmue is an amazing story about martial arts, family, friendship, revenge, is about dealing with the pain of losing someone important and many other things.

It is about the people Ryo meet and what he learns from them, it is about Ryo improving as a martial artist and as a character, all of this done in a beautiful way. It is so unique and special to see Ryo's journey.

I lost my mother. I relate to the Shenmue story in many ways

Shenmue is so special to me and help me in many moments in my life, Shenmue help me dealing with my mother's death and much more.

When any kind of art manages to help someone in life in some way it's something very beautiful and special. Shenmue is important to me and to many other Shenmue fans around the world. Shenmue is a wonderful journey and experience.

Shenmue touched my heart in a deep way that i will never forget, Shenmue means a lot to me.

Shenmue is a beautiful and special journey, a unique experience. Watch it and judge it for yourselves.

I cannot begin to describe how much joy seeing the Shenmue story adapted into the anime medium has brought me. Shenmue the Animation is an outstanding companion piece to the original game series and also stands on its own as a great way to experience Yu Suzuki’s grand tale of revenge and discovery.

The pillars of Shenmue’s plot are investigation, mystery, and martial arts action. The series does a great job weaving between these elements in a way that is true to the multi-faceted gameplay of the source material. The action scenes are well animated and always incorporated as means to advance the story. Every ... fight has a purpose in Shenmue the Animation, just as it was for Shenmue 1 and 2 on Sega’s Dreamcast.

Certain characters benefitted greatly from the extra screen time given to them in the adaptation. Ryo’s school friend Nozomi Harasaki, in particular, had her role increased from the games and I appreciate her character now more than I did in the original game. Ryo Hazuki has become a better rounded character in the anime as well. He demonstrates a sense of humor, intelligence, and willingness to express himself that wasn’t always present in the games. Other minor characters get updates for the better throughout the first 5 episodes.

Rating the production quality, I give the art and animation good marks. Some characters could use a little extra detailing here and there, but they come across solid overall. The fighting animation in general is of high quality and certain fight scenes hold a “WOW” factor to them that I love to see. The English dub is does a decent job but I recommend Japanese audio on Crunchyroll. The Japanese voice actors from the games are back and doing an excellent job, plus a few minor details get lost in translation in the dub.

The sound design is great. Shenmue has one of the best soundtracks in all of gaming and Kana Shibue, the anime’s composer, has beautifully woven pieces of that soundtrack into the episodes. I’ve gotten goosebumps multiple times hearing the main theme Sedge Tree and Shenhua’s theme playing during sequences. ‘UNDEAD-NOID’ by Kashitarou Itou and ‘Sympathy’ by Narudora are both lovely tracks that open and close the show.

Waiting by the TV for a new episode to drop each is the highlight of my week and I strongly encourage any anime fan to give this show a try.

[No Spoiler Review] I have just finished the first 5 episodes which makes up the equivalence of the first "Shenmue" game and i'm really impressed.

All the main story beats I remember have been covered, there have been some chops and changes to suit the anime formula but on the whole, without heading into spoiler territory, I am really enjoying what the production team have achieved. The anime leans on the more serious side of things, but there are plenty of humorous bits and certain parts that make you punch the air with satisfaction.

I was concerned after the first episode that each fight scene would ... be short , one hit knockout affairs but as Ryo has encounterd more skilled opposition the quality of both the fight scene animation and choreography have improved with it. Some of the fight scenes are very slick and the backgrounds are beautifully drawn.

Additionally I really like the opening titles, though the ending theme I could take or leave , however the artwork is nice.

I'm really excited for the remaining episodes and how they will adapt "Shenmue II"

A great anime adaptation of console masterpieces.

Recommended both for those who have never played the video games, as well as for the fans of them.

Very faithful to the originals, but at the same time introduces interesting changes that are not at odds with the story or the characters, in addition to adding new scenes.

The production staff are fans of the games due to the love and passion they have put into the project.

The pacing is really good and it keeps the intrigue and interest going at all times. very well adapted to the anime medium.

The animation is quite successful, especially in the action and the ... music is the same as in the games and is very well used in each scene.

The voice actors in Japanese are the same as in the games and their acting is really good (I can't comment on the dubbing since I'm only seeing it in Japanese at the moment, but in the trailer did look good too.).

Do not pay attention to the bad score of this page or some negative reviews since it is clear that some of those people have not even bothered to watch the anime or only want to do harm to the franchise.

Watch it and judge it for yourselves, surely you will not regret it.

Wow! I'm so impressed with the Shenmue The Animation . It captures the key moments of the games in the series, both big and small. It's very accurate to the games, and manages to expands upon them with new / sound details. The translation of both games' pacing to work as a show feels just right. It shows the moments in the games that move the plot, while not feeling rushed and doesn't skip over the small things we diehards remember. My hope is that this series will spark new players to try the Shenmue game series and see what a ground breaking series it ... was for the open-world game genre. Here's to the possibility of Shenmue 4!

Shenmue is a divisive series. On one hand it is a relic of the past, an ambitious attempt at an open-world game that has failed so that other games can surpass it. On the other, fans swear that it is a timeless masterpiece that deserved to be celebrated among the best games ever made. Personally, I love the games I think it has a charm and story that are not seen often in other martial arts stories. However, I also agree that the video game’s biggest barrier is its nigh outdated game design and English dub which makes it a struggle to play through. When ... I saw that it was getting adapted into an anime, I was very skeptical since most video game adaptations end up in disappointment (Bayonetta, Persona, Tekken, etc). Luckily that is not the case. This is as close as you can get to the perfect adaptation of a video game. Newcomers to the series will enjoy a modernized take on Shenmue with script, writing, and voice acting adapted to an enjoyable anime experience without having to go through the outdated slog of the old video game. If you are a fan of martial arts, travel, or authentic East Asian culture, there is plenty to enjoy. For fans of the Shenmue, there is added context to what we have experienced before. New plot points and an already loveable supporting cast are even more fleshed out making the experience fresh and equally nostalgic.

In the beginning, you may think that Shenmue is a generic revenge story. In martial arts action, a common trope is your main character is an invincible fighting force that goes on a raging rampage for that sweet revenge often sprinkled with lessons on morality surrounding revenge (e.g: Fist of Fury, Hokuto No Ken, Kill Bill, etc). That is not the case with Shenmue. Our protagonist Ryo is a high school student whose skills are good as a karate high school champion, yet somehow he has to travel the world with barely has any allowance, infiltrate an international crime syndicate and somehow take revenge on his father’s murderer who is also one of the leaders of said organizations that beats Ryo’s ass in less than 10 frames in episode 1.

Shenmue is more of a coming-of-age/murder mystery story about people's effects on each other told through an epic adventure of a young man unraveling his father's murder. As Ryo gets deeper into the mystery, he traces back to his father’s footsteps meeting a colorful cast of characters and equally shady individuals. It is the best at depicting the highs and lows of travel and its encounters with strangers. The best among them will leave you with a memory that lasts a lifetime, and the worst will screw you over. Ryo meets gang members that end up being friends, wise martial arts masters who impart their wisdom to him, local citizens, etc. In these encounters, you can see how Ryo grows as a character and a martial artist. Through Ryo's lens, we also remember them for the effects they have on Ryo and us by extension which is what makes them memorable. These characters may have 1 episode of screentime, yet these characters are still fan favorites in the community. It is like remembering your best high school teacher or a random encounter you had in the streets. You part ways eventually but something about them sticks with you.

Speaking of travel, The efforts of Yu Suzuki’s research of the environment in the story takes place for his ultra-realistic project translated well into the anime in the forms of great world-building. You can see a very distinct shift in moods from the first and second half of the season as Ryo transitions from his hometown of suburban Japan Yokosuka and following his adventure to Hong Kong as he has to deal with different cultures, customs, and environments. Admittedly, I think this was done better in the games due to the immersive strength of the medium, but if you are a fan of east Asian culture you may find real locations for your next travels.

I can’t talk about Shenmue without talking about its music. There is something almost ethereal with its use of Erhu (The Chinese fiddle, an instrument you may have heard in Kung-fu Panda’s Oogway Ascends). The leitmotif of Shenmue’s main theme will be stuck with you as you can’t help but feel something when you hear it. You will experience that in the opening section of the show.

To me, Shenmue has a lot to say about relationships with people know or meet along the way and how they affect your life told in an epic adventure full of wonderful people and places with elements that tie well into each other. If you like martial arts, East Asian culture, or heck even travel I highly recommend that you experience this show yourself. It may not be your favorite thing ever, but you may have a good time or at least understand why people love it.

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS**

tl;dr: It's a good adaptation that tries to quickly tell the story of the first two games in 13 episodes but misses what made Shenmue what it is. You are free to watch this without playing the games but doing so may make the story, characters and world feel less impactful and interesting.

As a fan of Shenmue since its release (or close to) seeing an anime of it is welcome, but also quite confusing. In my opinion, Shenmue is a game that is about the minutiae of everyday life that you should really experience for yourself at your own pace. ... Even if you can't appreciate that factor, it still is an incredibly unique experience for everything it has to offer. A semi-open world game set in a rural 80's Japan where you can walk, talk and interact with pretty much everyone and everything made in 1999! The game oozes soul from the moment you start exploring the world and it just keeps it up, it's incredible to think a game like this could exist back then and that's one of the things I love about the game.

Seeing an anime of Shenmue feels like it is cheapening the experience, like most (keyword "most") video game adaptations the source material is always the best way to experience it, and Shenmue is no exception. If you are interested in Shenmue in anyway you should always play the games as they are what Yu Suzuki wanted and a majority of fans have experienced. That is to say, watching the anime is by no means a substitute for playing the games. This is an anime made for the fans (and almost made BY the fans) and if you're not a fan you probably won't enjoy this anime that much. It will seem rushed, confusing and overall not something that represents what Shenmue is all about.

However, the Shenmue anime isn't entirely terrible. I feel that it is around a 7.5. The anime gives a cleaner, faster and to the point experience of showing the viewer the story, characters and world of Shenmue. Letting you experience around 40 hours of content in 13 episodes and so far (4 episodes) it has done a good enough job.

The anime even goes as far as giving more content. Scenes such as the martial arts tournament that occurred the same day Ryo's father was killed at the beginning of the game was added to the 1st episode, Ryo also talks and hangs out with his friends (well Nozomi) more often than he did in the game, more scenes showing Shenhua (the mysterious girl who seems to know of Ryo's impending journey) in her village were added and even backstory relating to the inner workings and discussions of the underground crime syndicate as Ryo interacts with them during the game were added. The anime feels like it knows that it can't replicate the games 100% and instead opts for a faster and skewed perspective on the plot, adding interesting changes to the show for better or for worse.

The animation is decent, fights are few and far between (much like the game) but when they occur they hit hard. Punches and kicks feel and sound POWERFUL and make each encounter quite entertaining to watch, with QTE's also becoming quite the display of Ryo's strength and dexterity instead of loud beeping in your ear as you fail to press A on the Dreamcast controller in time, seeing Ryo fall to the floor wincing in pain due to your own mistake. The art is...fine, it's pretty standard for modern anime of the time and portrays each character well enough to recognize them but it's nothing incredible, it does suffer from the horrible 3D background characters in certain shots, but it doesn't entirely detract from the show.

Voice acting is great. Making emotional and dangerous scenes feel more impactful, serious and is honestly better for it. The Japanese dub for Shenmue even back on the Dreamcast was quite good and this anime even has the same voice actors for Ryo and Lan Di giving the exact same performance as they did 20+ years ago.

As for the story; it feels rushed and it's an understandable compromise, while it does get to the point faster it misses out on the smaller parts of the game. Scenes such as the tattoo parlour and sneaking into warehouse number 8 are removed in favour of speeding up the plot. It's not bad and you could argue removes some of the "fluff" the original game had but it does make the overall pace of the show feel faster and and misses the point of Shenmue being a slower experience. I do also think that when told directly as this anime is doing, the story will seem subpar, perhaps even cliche for the average viewer.

Characters are also a mixed bag. While some are made to be less important than they are. Such as Tom, the man who sells hot dogs in the first episode who is a valuable friend to Ryo in the first game, is regulated to one conversation in the first episode and that's it. Others such as Nozomi (Harasaki), Goro and Fuku-san are given much more screentime in the anime, even going as far as having additional scenes not shown in the games, I actually really like this change since it makes the characters feel a lot more important to the plot and to Ryo.

The music is probably the biggest disappointment for me. I love the original tracks that the games had and wish I could've heard more of them replicated or remixed here, but instead this anime has pretty forgettable tracks I find, serving as nothing more than background noise to listen to while scenes play out. In the Ace Attorney anime, a majority of the music from the games was remixed to play when they would've in the games, it's a shame that Shenmue didn't try and take this approach with the anime and the only tracks from the games that I have heard so far being the main theme and Shenhua's theme.

Overall, the anime is not bad. I will say that if you have any intention of watching this anime you might instead want to look into the games instead and watch this afterwards to compliment it. However, if you're fine with watching it then Shenmue is a decent attempt at adapting the games for the viewer removing "fluff" and getting straight to the point of the story.

Pros
----------------
Mostly an accurate and faithful retelling of the games (with some caveats)
Original VA's for Ryo and Lan Di
Animation is good enough
Additional scenes not seen in the games

Cons
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A small selection of music from the games
Side characters lose a lot of spotlight when they were integeral to the games
Plot has to be rushed so it can fit into 13 episodes
Multiple changes to the story could be seen as differing too much from the source material

If you're looking for an anime that involves the typical shitty big boob girl animes that have horrible writing, Shenmue The Animation is not for you. Shenmue The Animation is based off the first two Shenmue games, which involves the protagonist, Ryo Hazuki, as he sets out to get revenge on the man who killed his father, Lan Di.

Story 10/10.

Shenmue The Animation's story is based on the games Shenmue I & II. The story involves Ryo setting his sights on getting revenge against the man who killed his father, Lan Di. Ryo's journey starts in Japan where he goes around his hometown of Yokosuka to ... a harbor in Amihama to Hong Kong where he gets help from a martial artist to being affiliated with a person named Ren, who runs a gang named 'The Heavens'. Ryo and Ren team together to fight a high-leveled gang who is with the Chi You Men (a big Chinese cartel with one of the leaders being Lan Di) called 'The Yellow Heads', who's leader is named Dou Niu. The Yellow Heads are searching for Yuanda Zhu, the man who knows why Lan Di killed Ryo's father. The Yellow Heads manages to Yuanda Zhu, so Ryo and Ren invade The Yellow Head building where they rescue Yuanda Zhu. Ryo learns from Yuanda Zhu why Lan Di murdered his father and also finds out Lan Di has gone to Bailu Village, so Ryo heads there.


Art 9/10.

Shenmue The Animation's art work is surprisingly good for a low budget anime. The characters look really accurate to their video game counterparts, the world itself is stunning at times while other places like Kowloon look gritty and trashy like it did in real life. The art style sometimes seems to fit more with a 90s style animation at times instead of current day anime design which I prefer to be honest. Shenmue The Animation uses 3D animation sometimes for backgrounds such as people and buildings, the buildings look perfectly fine, but the humans walking look like early PS1 models at time, the characters look much better when hand drawn, luckily the 3D models don't appear that often. Overall, the art is really good.


Sound 10/10.

The music for Shenmue is probably one of the greatest OST in video game history and the anime doesn't disappoint. The anime recreates a lot of the classic songs and reworks them for the fighting scenes where they use the main Shenmue theme. The anime also uses original songs for the anime which are pretty nice.


Characters 9/10.

Shenmue The Animation does most of its characters amazingly, it brings a lot of side character more story to flesh them out which is really nice, we learn more about characters like Guizhang, Goro, Zongquan, Mark, Joy, and Wong. Characters like Ren, Chai, and Fuku-san, for example, are mostly kept the same as their video game counterpart, but that's no problem because they were fleshed out just fine in the games. Our protagonist, Ryo has been changed to have a bit more of a personality which is nice (although, I do miss robot Ryo). Some characters like Master Baihu, for example, were screwed over big time in the anime. Overall, they helped a lot of character, but missed out on a couple like Baihu and Ine-San.


Enjoyment 9/10.

Shenmue The Animation was without a doubt entertaining for me, it's nice to see the story of the games I love again and it was cool to see some of the changes although, some changes I did not like which also goes back to the small budget, I feel like we should've got 16 episodes instead of 13 to flesh some things out like the fight scenes were sorta lacking, minus that, what they did though with those 13 episodes were great and fun to watch, seeing the things they were able to do was great and I'm very happy to see what they have done with the series bringing it to new fans while doing things to please the old fans. Overall, Shenmue The Animation is a very enjoying experience for me.


Overall 9/10.

Shenmue The Animation is a great anime, it captures the plot of the games while adding new things to flesh out the side characters and the locations themselves. Shenmue is an enjoyable anime and I recommend this series easily!

I enjoyed Shenmue the Animation very much and was glad I could feel lot of the original vibe throughout all the episodes, something I was really hoping for. I found in particular the visual art pleasant, with various places resembling the atmosphere of their video games counterparts very nicely, like the peaceful and spiritual Man Mo temple, the Hazuki Residence, the Yokosuka harbour or the Bailu landscapes for example.

I also appreciated the soundtrack and the faithful representation of the various characters, just to say some, Ryo, Shenhua, Joy and the fascinating master Lishao Tao. Regarding the story, it covers the first two video games main ... events, by also reproducing some unforgettable iconic moments, although I understand some remarks about being narrated in a bit of a rush following the limited number of episodes.

All in all, I’m glad this anime came out and sincerely pleased with the overall result, by also hoping it will serve somehow to reignite the passion for Shenmue story and to finally give it a conclusion in the future. Thanks for reading me!

Ho boy... Shenmue, the anime. You can't write a review of it, without mentioning the fact, that this anime is an adaptation of a video game series, with episodes 1-5 being an adaptation of the plot of the first game (Shenmue I, 1999), episodes 6-13 being an apdatation of the plot of the second game (Shenmue II, 2001).

When adapting the storyline of an interactive piece of media (such as a video game) to a less interactive form of media (such as an anime, live-action movie or TV series), there are so many things that can go wrong, and much to my positive surprise, Shenmue ... the Animation did everything right.
It captured the essence of the story perfectly, it has all the important characters, and at times, it even expanded upon the story a bit, which is quite the feat given, given that...
Well, you see, both of the aforementioned games (Shenmue I and Shenmue II) have a run time of around 23 hours each (adding up to around ~46 hours for both games), while the entire anime series is made up of thirteen 23-minute episodes, adding up to a total playtime of roughly 5 hours. How do you compress 46 hours worth of story down to 5 hours? I don't know, but the creators managed to do it pretty well, if you ask me. In fact, some parts actually felt a bit drawn-out, so maybe they didn't compress it enough?

The animation, soundtrack, voice acting, etc. everything is perfect, no complaints there. The story is engaging and constantly keeps you thrilled and engaged. A ton of eye-candy too for those who are looking for fanservice amidst the serious plot.

A must-watch anime for both Shenmue-fans and people who never played (or even heard of) the original games. Looking forward for the future sequel.

Shenmue is an amazing story that began in 1999 and to this day it's still unfinished. This anime is an adaptation of the first 2 games in the franchise.

I really hate the gameplay elements of both games but the story is just phenomenal. When this anime was announced I was hyped to experience just the good part of the saga. I still believe it's mandatory to experience the games, although I'd recommend to watch someone else play it because the gameplay of the 1st two games is atrocious, as I said before.

Animation & Sound:

1) The visuals look very faithful to the games except ... for Ryo and Ren's faces. I wish Ryo looked more babyfaced but both of their faces look too big compared to their game versions.
2) The animation is quite inconsistent and CGI just ruins whatever good could be happening visually.
3) Most of the cast kept their roles and I'm very happy about it. However Wong should've been voiced by a woman and his character design should've looked more boyish and shorter.
4) I like the soundtrack and the voice acting feels very "old school", like the games did


Story and characters:

1) For the first 7 episodes I was super into it. The way the story develops is very close to how the games progressed without the "game stuff". After this point, more and more things change compared to the games. It bothered me but nothing too "serious". Or so I hoped. The last 2 episodes of this anime present the ending of the 2nd game in a totally different way. This really, really bothers me.
2) The pacing was good for the majority of the anime but during the 2nd half, it felt incredibly rushed so I didn't enjoy it as much


This anime was one I was really excited about but the way they did the ending was a major let down. This is a 6,5/10.

I don't know what's wrong with people giving 9 or 10 to this.
To be honest and don't act like a fanboy, this adaptation is mediocre and definitely not a 10.
Animations are good but it could have been done better, the drawing style is very anonymous, for shenmue I would have used a more sophisticated style.
Some events have been shortened and some skipped but on the other hand summing up all the games in just 13 episodes is not easy.
All in all this series is neither good nor bad, you could certainly do better, but it can be a great way to bring more people ... closer to shenmue.
My final score is 7.

My experience with the Shenmue franchise begins and ends with the couple reviews made by videogamedunkey. to my understanding this covers the plot of the first two games, with plans for a second season to cover the recently released Shenmue 3. Based on what little knowledge I have of those games, I can see now that they probably would have worked much better as a movie or a tv show like this in the first place than as games. While they were a marvel at the time they were released, showcasing realistic human models and expansive open world-cities rivaling even some modern games. On a ... technical level they were impressive to say the least, but in terms of what they had to offer in actual gameplay vs the amount of story they were actually able to tell it was pretty poor.

Shenmue is obviously meant to be story driven and the story on the face of it, is pretty interesting. You have a dramatic murder, and a hunt for answers regarding the circumstances of the death driven by a powerful desire for revenge. It's a classic setup and I would honestly be pretty mad myself if I had to wait 19 years for a sequel that continues not to answer questions and blue ball us at every turn. If they really want to continue the story of Shenmue I'd say just keep it going with this TV series or a series of movies, and don't bother with another kickstarter fueled game project.

The execution of the show is pretty good, it's pretty funny noticing some of the video game logic seeping into the plot in places like how this or that would have obviously been some sort of mini-game or puzzle to solve or how the second half of the season is just him gaining levels and learning new moves from the various martial arts masters in the area. It's neat, I liked it. Overall I think the show has a lot of potential, and as a standalone season I give it an 8/10.

A pulse-pounding and deeply in depth anime version of the amazing video game series! The style is fantastically smooth and retains the drama and internally-driven grit of the original storyline. The characters were just as intriguing, rich, and complex as in the games and I was very pleased how they were written in the series, really made them all the more interesting. Both emotional and spiritually engrossing aesthetic with an intriguing air of mystery that makes Heroic Journey stories such as this one so resonant.

A shame it was not renewed for a second season, I really was eager to see the story continue.

As a Shenmue fan I can confidently say this animation did the games justice with the great animation, VA cast, soundtrack and attention to story. I felt like I was reliving the glory of Shenmue, back when the games were better (unlike the third game).

I do however wish the anime was fully animated, I noticed that background characters were 3d models with no faces, most likely due to the budget. Another issue was the fact that Ryo felt too OP (overpowered) in a lot of his early fights and they just didn't feel like a challenge for him so it felt like he shouldn't ... have found as much success right away, but I think this also may have been due to the budget.

I also wish this had become a full series that finished the story but I understand that Shenmue's story will never be finished because of Yu Suzuki. I can only hope that one day the games will be revived by a great team (like the team that handled Yakuza 0) and that will be enough to add more seasons to the anime.

Despite the shortcomings of Shenmue's creator, I am at least glad that the story and characters will never die since they are immortalized in this anime.