Shenmue Dojo Blog

This post have spoilers of the games The Shenmue story has many intriguing and mysteries elements, one of these mysteries is what happened in Meng Cun between Iwao Hazuki (Ryo's Father) and Sunming Zhao (Lan Di's Father). Lan Di killed Ryo's father in the beginning of the first game, Lan Di did that because he thinks that Iwao killed his father, he did because of revenge, now Ryo want the same thing, Ryo want revenge as well. It is interesting to notice that Lan Di didn't killed Ryo, Ine-san and Fuku-san. Lan Di could have killed these characters if he wanted but he didn't do that. Lan Di killed Iwao, he took the Dragon Mirror and leave the Hazuki Residence. In Shenmue II Lan Di could have killed Ryo in the rooftop part if he wanted but he didn't do that, in Shenmue III Lan Di could have killed Ryo in the fortified castle but he didn't do that. Maybe deep down Lan Di can relate with Ryo because Ryo wants reveenge for the same reason, the death of his father. This to me means that Lan Di is not a person that enjoy killing, so far Lan Di killed because of revenge, just like how our hero with a jacket Ryo wants to do, so Lan Di really is a bad person or he is a victim in the story? with Shenmue III we learned that after Sunming Zhao's death Lan Di was raised by The Chiyoumen, that in one part of the story his father had the mirros. With this information we can imagine that maybe when Sunming Zhao died Lan Di was just a kid, so for some reason The Chiyoumen took care of Lan Di and raised him. I can imagine Lan Di as a kid with 6 years old suffering because his father died, i can imagine The Chiyoumen twisting with his mind to make Lan Di think that Iwao killed his father, we don't know what really happened in Meng Cun between Iwao Hazuki and Sunming Zhao, maybe Iwao killed Sunming Zhao or maybe not, we still don't know, but i believe that the Chiyoumen twisted with Lan Di's mind, so Lan Di probably grew up with a lot of hatred for Iwao. I can imagine Lan Di training since he was a kid to defeat Iwao, to achieve his revenge, Lan Di went to the path of evil and achieved his revenge, just like how Ziming probably did it, and just like how our hero Ryo wants to do as well, these 3 characters have a lot in common because of that. It is interesting to notice how much Lan Di and Ryo are similar, the motivation of both characters are revenge, both characters have a scar on the face, someone did this scar in Lan Di's face? in my opinion someone did this scar, when everything happened Lan Di was in Meng Cun as well? he saw everything that happened between Iwao Hazuki and Sunming Zhao just like how Ryo saw his father dying? maybe, we still don't know. Final Thoughts In my opinion Lan Di is a victim in the Shenmue story, when i say this it doesn't mean i agree with what Lan Di did in the story, it just means that probably Lan Di have reasons for being the way he is, that probably Lan Di is not the real villain of this story, that maybe the real villain of the story twisted with Lan Di's mind since he was a kid, so if this happened Lan Di grew up with a lot of sadness and hatred in his heart. Lan Di killed Iwao because of revenge, he killed Iwao and took the Dragon mirror with him, Lan Di also want the Phoenix mirror, but why Lan Di want both mirrors? Lan Di really want to do bad things with the mirrors? maybe someone said to him that with the mirrors he can revive his father, maybe this is why Lan Di wants both mirrors so much, because probably the real villain twisted with Lan Di's mind since he was a kid. If this really happened then i understand why the character is the way he is, if this really happened i hope in one part of the story Lan Di and Ryo can understand each other, their fathers were friends, friendship is one of the themes in the Shenmue Story, so i hope Ryo and Lan Di can understand each other in one part of the story. If the Chiyoumen really twisted with Lan Di's mind maybe Lan Di will even want revenge against the Chiyoumen, this can be a awesome plot twist, so maybe we will see Ryo and Lan Di fighting together at one point in the story to defeat the true leader of the Chiyoumen Tentei, this would be really exciting to see in my opinion. Maybe Lan Di will have a heroic death or something like that, in many stories i saw things like this happening, characters regretting the bad things they did in their lives and then having a heroic death. All i know is that if Shenmue IV happen i hope we can see more revelations about these things, Shenmue III is like the first game and i love that, especially in Bailu Village like a second home for Ryo, now for Shenmue IV i think Yu Suzuki will focus a lot in relation to the story, i think Shenmue IV will progess the story a lot, and that will be really intense about the story, intense with a lot of action/fights, revelations, training, maybe important characters dying and much more. What do you think about this? Lan Di is a bad person and the villain of the story or he is a victim in the story? share your opinions in the comments below, thank you all for reading, and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you, see you all in my next blog post, bye bye. ~

The Shenmue Series have many interesting and mysterious details, to me one of these mysteries is if Xiuying and Ziming lived in Miao Village, if Miao Village is the home village of Ziming and Xiuying, today i will share my opinions about this subject. This post have spoilers In Shenmue II we saw that Ziming Hong is the brother of Xiuying Hong, their parents were killed by someone, we don't know who killed their parents, Xiuying and Ziming were both orphaned as children because their parents were murdered. After that they stayed at an orphanage, an orphanage where Fangmei Xun would eventually stay as well. Xiuying and Ziming also grew up in the Thousand White Convent in the Thousand white Building in Kowloon. Ziming is similar to Ryo so Ziming decided to go to the path of revenge, Ziming's plan was to join the Chi You Men, Ziming believed the organization would know who was responsible for the murder of his parents, Ziming decided to leave Xiuying, Ziming decided to go away, when this happened where were Ziming and Xiuying? this place is in Kowloon or near Miao Village? we don't know where is this place. When Miao Village would fit in Ziming and Xiuying story? i want to share my thoughts about that. When Ryo say goodbye to Xiuying we see a flashback between Ziming and Xiuying where the characters are in a house, after Switch analysis about this house and Miao Village we can imagine that in one part of the story Xiuying and Ziming lived in this house, and that this house is in Miao Village. To see Switch's analysis about this go here >>>>>> https://www.phantomriverstone.com/2022/04/part-three-secret-of-miao-village-house.html In the house we can see an outfit that some people in the village use, and the house is similar to the houses we see in the pictures of Miao Village, also as far as i know Miao Village is near Hong Kong so it makes sense. The image on the left is an art of Ziming and Xiuying, this art is not in the game. In this art we can see a place that it looks like a village, with a lot of nature surrounding them and a house similar to the houses in Miao Village, also Ziming is leaning his hand on what looks like another house, I'm not sure about that but that's what it looks like to me, to me this place is Miao Village. The image on the right is the photograph that Xiuying have in the game, we can see that Ziming and Xiuying are doing the same pose as the image on the left, but the place in the photograph looks different, maybe this place is in Kowloon, i'm not sure but it feels different to me, and Ziming is leaning his hand on what looks like a tree. Yu Suzuki and the team decided to cut Miao Village of Shenmue II so is interesting these differences, but i really don't know where are Ziming and Xiuying on the photograph on the right image, maybe Miao Village, maybe Kowloon, i really don't know. Where are Ziming and Xiuying in both images? share your opinion in the comments below This image is one of the parts of Chapter 3 of the manga Shenmue Side Story, the name of the chapter is Chapter 3: Xiuying & Ziming. In this part we can see Xiuying training and Ziming watching Xiuying. We can see that this place have lots of nature, really looks like Ziming and Xiuying are in a village, and it looks like this place is the same place that we can see in the other image, the image that we can see a house, to me this place is Miao Village. Final Thoughts In my opinion Miao Village is the home village of Ziming and Xiuying. I think Ziming and Xiuying were born in Miao Village. Ziming and Xiuying probably lived in Miao Village with their parents, after their parents were killed they went to the orphanage and the Thousand White convent in Kowloon, but i think that from time to time Xiuying and Ziming visited Miao Village to see their home village, to see their house, to train in the village and much more. After some time Ziming decided to go away and pursue revenge, maybe from time to time Xiuying still visit Miao Village. To me is interesting to imagine this way, all i know is that i will put Miao Village in my Shenmue Books series project, i will put Miao Village in the second book. These are my thoughts about if Ziming and Xiuying lived in Miao Village, Ziming and Xiuying were born in Miao Village? Miao Village is the home village of Ziming and Xiuying? what are your thoughts about this subject? share your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you all for reading, and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you, see you all in my next blog post, bye bye. ~

This post have SPOILERS of the games. In Shenmue II we see a flashback, a flashback of Shenhua's parents, in this blog post i will talk about this scene, i will talk about Yunshen Yuan as well, Yunshen Yuan is Shenhua's adoptive father, and i will talk about my theory who are Shenhua's parents. In this part of the game Shenhua show the Shenmue tree for Ryo, she say that the Shenmue tree holds a special meaning for her, after that the flashback with her parents begins. In the flashback we see a beautiful place with a lot of trees, all of these trees are Shenmue trees? maybe, one is a Shenmue tree but maybe the others are Shenmue trees as well, we don't know yet, but probably there are at least 2 Shenmue trees in the story, one in Bailu Village and one in Luoyang. In my opinion this place is not Bailu Village, this place is probably Luoyang, the old capital of China, and the place in the tapestry in Shenhua's house is Luoyang. In the flashback we see Shenhua's parents looking at a baby near the Shenmue tree, this baby is Shenhua. In the game there is nothing about their names, we still don't know the names of Shenhua's parents. The dialogue between Shenhua's parents is this way. Shenhua's Father: The Shenmue tree has its flowers in bloom again this year. Shenhua's Mother: Shenhua... a beautiful flower. Shenhua's Father: I know... we will name our child Shenhua. Shenhua's Mother: Shenhua. That is wonderful. The Shenmue tree shall protect her. After that the flashback ends and this is the only flashback with Shenhua's parents in the Shenmue Series. In Shenmue III Shenhua say to Ryo that she have vivid dreams where she is in a city where the emperor once lived long ago, that her father and mother stood before her, that she was just born and they spoke her name. This city that Shenhua mentioned is probably Luoyang. This scene with Shenhua talking about this city have a connection to Shenhua's parents flashback in Shenmue II. In another part of Shenmue II we see Shenhua with 5 years old, we see her swinging and the Shenmue tree but no sign of her parents there, and we can clearly see that this place is Bailu Village. In one scene with Ryo she say that her parents died, that she don't even know how they died, Yunshen Yuan raised her, but how Yunshen Yuan knew Shenhua's parents? Yunshen Yuan was in Luoyang or in Bailu Village when everything happened? when Shenhua's parents died and he decided to take care of Shenhua. I don't know, but i wonder about what happened at that time, how Shenhua's parents died? probably has something to do with the mirrors, maybe Shenhua's parents had the mirrors and someone killed Shenhua's parents to get the mirrors, i think this is possible. How Yunshen Yuan is connected with this part of the story? probably because of the mirrors as well. Did Shenhua's parents before dying asked Yunshen Yuan to take care of Shenhua? in my opinion it was probably this way, probably something bad happened with Shenhua's parents, before Shenhua's parents die Yunshen Yuan accepted their request to take care of Shenhua, this is what i think about this situation. Who are Shenhua's parents? In my opinion Shenhua's parents are probably from the emperor and empress family, i say that because the house in the flashback is big, Shenhua's parents clothes and much more give me this vibe about these characters. This house and Shenhua's parents give me a feeling that with this flashback we saw a little bit of the emperor and empress story, that we saw a little bit of Luoyang, and in Shenmue III we saw that an emperor envoy went to Bailu Village because of mirrors. Maybe Shenhua’s parents are actually the Emperor and Empress, probably Shenhua’s parents had the mirrors at one point in the story, maybe someone from the Chiyoumen knew that and then killed Shenhua’s parents to get the mirrors, probably the one pulling the strings, Tentei. Maybe Yunshen Yuan arrived there in their last moments then Shenhua’s parents asked Yunshen Yuan to take care of Shenhua, i think it was something like this, if we see this flashback i think it will be one of the most emotional moments of the Shenmue Series. I really feel that Ryo and Shenhua will go to Luoyang in Shenmue IV, and probably in Luoyang we will see more revelations about Shenhua's parents, the mirrors, the Shenmue tree and even about Shenhua's powers. If Shenmue IV happen i hope we can see more revelations about these things, to me the story about Shenhua's parents is an interesting and mysterious part of the story of Shenmue. What do you think about all of this? Shenhua's parents are part of the emperor and empress family? how Shenhua's parents died? How Yunshen Yuan is connected to Shenhua's parents story? the place in the flashback is Luoyang? we will see revelations about Shenhua's parents in the next chapters of the story? share your opinions in the comments below, thank you all for reading, and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you, see you all in my next blog post, bye bye. ~

Many Shenmue fans know that in the early days Shenmue was called Virtua Fighter RPG, and that the main character was not Ryo, the main character was Akira, also many Shenmue fans know that Yu Suzuki wrote the story first with the name The Legend Of Akira. In this post i want to share my thoughts about the many common things between Akira and Ryo, and if Akira and Ryo are the same character. This post will have spoilers of the games and the anime. In the early 1990s Yu Suzuki spent two weeks in China, Yu-san spent these two weeks in China gathering material for his upcoming game Virtua Fighter II, also what Yu-san saw in this trip influenced his creation of Shenmue. 1996 was the year of Virtua Fighter RPG, the concept arts, in this image we can see the chapter cards for all the 11 chapters in the story, the complete story that Yu Suzuki wrote at that time. 1998 was the year that Yu Suzuki decided to change the title of the game series, VF RPG became Shenmue, and Akira Yuki became Ryo Hazuki. Yu Suzuki changed the name of the game series and the name of the protagonist, but Yu-san decided to continue with the same story for the protagonist, so because of this decision Ryo have many things in common with Akira. In the interview 64 Rapid-Fire Questions the interviewer did this question for Yu Suzuki. Interviewer: Does Shenmue takes place in the same universe as Virtua Fighter? Yu Suzuki: That's tough. With Yu Suzuki's reaction i understood that is really tough for him to explain if Shenmue takes place in the same universe as Virtua Fighter. Yu-san didn't answer if Shenmue takes place in the same universe as Virtua Fighter, he just said that's tough. With this i understood that it is tough for him to explain everything about this. In the anime and in the game Shenmue II Ren say Junnen Hayai da yo many times, Junnen Hayai da yo is one the phrases Akira Yuki say when he wins a fight in Virtua Fighter, this is another beautiful connection with Virtua Fighter, and this is one of the things about the theory if Ren will die, to learn more about this connection and theory you can see my blog post about that. Now i will make a list of the common things between Akira and Ryo. 1. Ryo is physically very similar to Akira. Both are japanese, brown eyes, hair is really similar, the height of Akira in the first Virtua Fighter is 176cm, Ryo have the exact same height. 2. Akira and Ryo were born in 1968, but Akira's birthday is on September 23 and Ryo's birthday is on November 29th. 3. In Virtua Fighter V we can see Akira with a scar in his face, as far as i know Virtua Fighter V is the only game that have Akira with this scar. Ryo have a scar in the face as well, the difference is that Akira is not wearing a bandage to cover the scar. 4. Ryo is learning Bajiquan moves in the journey, Ryo learned with Xiuying the Counter Elbow Assault, Ryo learned the Body Check with Master Sun, and he learned the Reverse Body Check with Grandmaster Bei, all these moves are moves of the fighting style Bajiquan, Akira's fighting style is Bajiquan. 5. In Virtua Fighter we can see that there is a Dojo called Yuki Dojo, in Shenmue is the Hazuki Dojo. 6. When Akira Yuki was a kid he learned the Bajiquan fighting style from his grandfather in Japan. Iwao Hazuki was a practitioner of Bajiquan, Iwao trained Ryo about martial arts since Ryo was seven years old. 7. Akira and Ryo share many of the same moves. If i remember other things in common between Ryo and Akira i will edit this post. Final Thoughts Akira and Ryo are the same character? to me Ryo is the counterpart of Akira in Shenmue and Akira is the counterpart of Ryo in Virtua Fighter, Ryo complements Akira and Akira complements Ryo. I know that a lot of things changed since VF RPG days, but in my opinion when Yu Suzuki changed to Shenmue he didn't changed the main journey of the protagonist. Yu Suzuki changed the name of the protagonist but the main journey of the protagonist remained the same. This is the reason we see Ryo learning Bajiquan moves, Akira's fighting style is Bajiquan, this is the reason Ryo have similar things with Akira, this is the reason why it looks like Ryo is a younger version of Akira. This is the reason why it feels like we are seeing Akira's development as a martial artist trough Ryo as well, because Yu Suzuki didn't changed the main journey of the protagonist, Yu-san just changed the name of the protagonist but didn't changed the main story of the character. The main journey of Ryo is the same story since VF RPG days, the journey that leads Ryo to become knowledgeable and skilled in the Bajiquan fighting style, this is how i feel about this. In Shenmue when we see Ryo improving as a martial artist in some way we are seeing how Akira improved as well, how Akira trained, improved and became skilled in the Bajiquan fighting style. In my opinion is not wrong to say that Ryo is like a younger version of Akira, i personally like to look about the situation this way, the characters complement each other, and it makes a lot of sense to think this way because of the reasons i said above. I love Shenmue and Virtua Fighter so the connections between these two games series are beautiful, both series created by Yu Suzuki and his team. You see Ryo and Akira as totally different characters or Ryo for you is like a younger version of Akira? share your opinions in the comments below. Thank you all for reading and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you... see you all in my next blog post, bye bye. ~

Welcome to my blog post where i will share my opinion about a wonderful theory. This blog will have SPOILERS of the games and the anime. Ren Wuying is one of the most popular characters in the Shenmue series. Ren is an important character in the story. There is a theory that Ren will die sacrificing himself to protect Ryo, in this blog i will share my thoughts and ideas about this theory. Ren first appeared in the story in the game Shenmue II. In the game we see that Ren cares a lot about money/treasures, it is the thing that Ren cares the most, during the game Ren help Ryo and we can see that deep down Ren cares about Ryo in some way, but after Kowloon Ryo go alone to Guilin. In Shenmue III Ryo see Ren again in Niaowu, Ren helped Ryo again, and in some scenes we can see that deep down Ren cares about Ryo, especially in the ending when Ryo was losing against Lan Di and Ren tries to save Ryo, but Lan Di kick Ren and Ren fall on the ground, in the other moment of this fight Ren say for Lan Di that he will give the Phoenix Mirror if he let Ryo go, it was a fake Phoenix Mirror, when Lan Di let Ryo go Ren throw the Fake mirror to outside of the Fortified Castle, this way saving Ryo again in the battle. The castle was on fire but Ryo still wanted to fight Lan Di, but Ren was there and he pushes Ryo so Ryo can go out of the castle. Ren made Ryo give up about continue this fight, in other words, Ren saved Ryo again in this fight. Ren saved Ryo 3 times in this fight, and especially in this fight we can see how much this friendship is important for Ryo to not go to the wrong path in extreme situations, Ren is an emotional support in these moments, for Ryo to gain his sanity back in this moments, and all of this was possible with Ren protecting and helping Ryo in these extreme situations. If Shenmue IV happen we will probably see Ryo, Ren and Shenhua travelling together, we will probably see these characters getting even more closer to each other. In the anime Ren shows even more how much he cares about Ryo, Ryo made an impact in Ren's life, Ren decides to follow Ryo. In the rooftop part Dou Niu was about to hit Ryo but Ren was there and saved Ryo, Ryo was losing his sanity because he wanted revenge against Lan Di, but Ren managed to calm Ryo and Ryo even thanked Ren because of this, again Ren being an emotional support for Ryo in these extreme situations. Like i said Ren helped Ryo to gain his sanity back in this moments, and all of this was possible with Ren protecting and helping Ryo in these extreme situations. Can you all imagine if Ren was not there in these situations in the games and in the anime? probably something bad would have happened to Ryo, but Ren was there to save Ryo in all these situations and this is really beautiful, and this shows that deep down Ren cares about Ryo. In the anime It is interesting that Ren said a lot of times the phrase Junnen Hayai da yo, Akira phrase when he wins a fight in VF, probably in the Legend of Akira scripts/novels Ren say this phrase a lot, probably is his catch phrase. I think in the scripts/novels Ren die and as a way of honoring and remembering his friend Ryo (Akira) decide to use Ren's bandana as his headband, and decide to say Junnen Hayai Da Yo a lot as well. As a way to honor his friend that died protecting him, and through pain and sadness i feel Ryo will finally understand the last words of his father... "Keep friends... those you love... close to you." Some people only learn lessons in life in the hard way, i can talk about myself as an example, i don't want to talk about my life in detail on the internet anymore, but for people here to understand the theory about Ren i will say one thing. I lost my mother, my mother is not here with me but i'm still learning lessons with my mother, about the things that my mother used to say to me, i learned some lessons in life in the hard way. i don't think is a bad idea to go this route with Ryo, for Ryo to lose Ren and after that finally learn the lesson to "keep friends... those you love... close to you." Ryo need to fully learn 2 important lessons 1. "Keep friends... those you love... close to you." Ryo only see the path of revenge in front of him, Ryo is not focusing on love and friendship, Ryo right now in the story only care about revenge, so probably at one point of the story Ryo will fully learn this lesson, maybe in the hard way with Ren's death, if Ren die it will probably have a big impact to the story and in Ryo's life so i like this theory. 2. "Martial arts are used to protect people's lives. If you use your fists otherwise, you will walk on the path of evil, too!" Same thing i said in the other lesson, Ryo right now only see the path of revenge in front of him, in the final moments Ryo will probably learn this lesson, Ryo will probably not go to the path of evil like Ziming went. Ziming is like a Ryo but a Ryo that went into the path of evil. Maybe in this chapter card is Ren's face in the up part of the card, and in the other part is Akira probably holding Ren after he died. If this happen it will probably be one of the most emotional moments of the entire Shenmue series. If Ren die it will probably have a character development for him before he die, probably Ren will realize that money/treasures are not the most important things in life, that the real treasures are friends. Ren will probably realize how much he cares about Ryo, and how much he see Ryo as his friend and then will sacrifice himself for Ryo, Ren will protect Ryo again but this time it will be the last time, Ren will not resist the injuries and will die, but before that he will admit for Ryo how much he cares about him, how much he view Ryo as a friend. One of the Shenmue themes is friendship so this is possible As a way to honor his friend that died protecting him Ryo will pick Ren's badana and use as his headband. I know that a lot of things changed since VF RPG days, but in my opinion when Yu Suzuki changed to Shenmue he did not changed the main journey of the main protagonist. This is the reason we see Ryo learning Bajiquan moves, Akira's fighting style is Bajiquan, this is the reason Ryo have similar things with Akira, this is the reason why it looks like Ryo is a younger version of Akira, because Yu Suzuki did not changed the main journey of the protagonist, the main journey of Ryo is the same story since VF RPG days, the journey that leads Ryo to become knowledgeable and skilled in the Bajiquan fighting style, this is how i feel about this. All i know is that i like this idea, if Ren die it will probably have a big character development for him before he die, it will probably have a big development for Ryo, it will have a big impact in the story and in Ryo's life so i love this theory, it will be really emotional if this happen, if this happen it will be one of the most emotional moments of the entire Shenmue Series. And you? how do you feel about this theory? Ren will die sacrificing himself to protect Ryo? share your opinions in the comments below, thank you all for reading, and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you, see you all in my next blog post, bye bye ~