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.
