An annoucement about shenmue is coming ?

Status
Not open for further replies.
tomboz said:
But why waste the money? Some fans might like it, but in all likelihood we’re never going to see most of these characters again. Anybody who never played or didn’t like Shenmue 3 isn’t going to give them a second look.
Click to expand...
It depends where the money is coming from really. If it's paid by Crunchyroll, then it's not like that money would have gone towards Shenmue IV anyway. It's also a way to increase the value of the brand and to push more units if Shenmue IV does come. An increase in fans (inside and outside of the gaming bubble) also can help capitalise on additional revenue streams from other goods such as Merch, DVD releases, Soundtracks etc. Even without physical merch/increased revenue streams, the fact that Ysnet could say that "the Shenmue anime has over X million minutes watched/viewers" is something they can use when pitching a Shenmue IV to a publisher in the future as it's all value added to the brand itself. Shenmue at the moment is a pretty niche IP, so any help in sector is very welcomed and a great move.

Revan said:
He says this project is more for those "who care about Shenmue's story".

To me that sounds less like a project designed to appeal to a new audience, but something that caters to fans who are already invested in this ongoing saga.

I can't see this being a simple retelling of Shenmue in a different format to get a new audience on board based on that wording. It's probably something new that ties into the story and builds upon it.
Click to expand...
That's my thoughts too. If it's a retelling, designed to catch people up & draw in more people to the story, I'm sure it will flesh things out as well. For example, if they are going to be covering the story beats of Shenmue I & II, I'd assume that they would finally have the chance to tell/and expand on the boat incident that bridges to two games.
If this is an anime, from someone who has only seen Valkeryia Chronicles and a bit of Persona 4 the Animation, what's the chance we get a physical version of this on DVD? :p
 
Down by Law said:
It could focus on Lan Di and the Chi You Men, running parallel with the games' story
Click to expand...
I like this idea. That or Iwao and Sunming.

Given that we’re shown events almost exclusively through Ryo’s perspective, this would be a great way to give us some of the story that doesn’t directly involve Ryo whilst also introducing and developing characters that will be important later in the story. It would compliment the games rather than simply mirror them.
Sheephead said:
It depends where the money is coming from really. If it's paid by Crunchyroll, then it's not like that money would have gone towards Shenmue IV anyway. It's also a way to increase the value of the brand and to push more units if Shenmue IV does come. An increase in fans (inside and outside of the gaming bubble) also can help capitalise on additional revenue streams from other goods such as Merch, DVD releases, Soundtracks etc. Shenmue at the moment is a pretty niche IP, so any help in sector is very welcomed and a great move.
Click to expand...
It could also create a fan base whose expectations of what a Shenmue game should be are completely at odds with the way that they are in reality and lead to Yu being forced to alter the design of future games to cater to these new fans. Or the show overtaking the games and Yu losing interest in wrapping up the series in game form. Or it could fall flat on its face and be used as another stick with which to beat the franchise.

It’s true that if it’s successful it could open up new revenue streams, but where exactly would this money go? Last time I checked, Sega won the Shenmue IP. The same Sega who seem to have very little interest in producing new Shenmue games.

Whatever this is could prove to be very good for the Shenmue franchise, but it could just as easily destroy it.
 
Last edited:
tomboz said:
But why waste the money? Some fans might like it, but in all likelihood we’re never going to see most of these characters again. Anybody who never played or didn’t like Shenmue 3 isn’t going to give them a second look.
Click to expand...
Agreed, it would have been a better concept to release prior to Shenmue 3 and get people excited to see certain NPC's in Shen 3
 
tomboz said:
It could also create a fan base whose expectations of what a Shenmue game should be are completely at odds with the way that they are in reality and lead to Yu being forced to alter the design of future games to cater to these new fans. Or the show overtaking the games and Yu losing interest in wrapping up the series in game form. Or it could fall flat on its face and be used as another stick with which to beat the franchise.

It’s true that if it’s successful it could open up new revenue streams, but where exactly would this money go? Last time I checked, Sega won the Shenmue IP. The same Sega who seem to have very little interest in producing new Shenmue games.

Whatever this is could prove to be very good for the Shenmue franchise, but it could just as easily destroy it.
Click to expand...
I guess that's why we have to wait and see the announcement :p I'm sure we will learn who's behind it, where the cash came from, and then we can work these things out. The IP is Sega's so they will get a kickback of course, but will be interesting to learn the rest.

Either way, I don't see it being a bad thing at all. It's great news just to see more Shenmue. Whatever the announcement is, even as someone who doesn't watch anime, I'm extremely happy :p, and will be there day 1 to support it!
 
Tosh said:
To me the "for people who care about Shenmues story", "its not Shenmue 4" and the "sour" part
makes it sound a little bit like its like a prequel / spin off thing where other characters are the main focus.
Click to expand...
But would a spin off really be covering ‘Shenmue’s story’ though? In many ways I think that a spin-off has a lot more potential than simply retreading the same ground that the games have already covered, but I can see them doing the latter to best leverage our love of the series.
Sheephead said:
I guess that's why we have to wait and see the announcement :p I'm sure we will learn who's behind it, where the cash came from, and then we can work these things out. The IP is Sega's so they will get a kickback of course, but will be interesting to learn the rest.

Either way, I don't see it being a bad thing at all. It's great news just to see more Shenmue. Whatever the announcement is, even as someone who doesn't watch anime, I'm extremely happy :p, and will be there day 1 to support it!
Click to expand...
I’ll watch it, but based on my history with anime I’m not too optimistic. I certainly won’t be signing up for a crunchy roll membership to watch it, but I’ll probably buy any physical media they put out just to show support.
 
Why do you guys think it is going to be an Anime? Are there some hints I missed? And how is this Anime going to work?

I like Anime to some degree. Still watch some very old ones from the 80s and 90s and I am always glad when I find a hidden geme. Not so fond of the modern anime though. The animation still looks less nice then the hand drawn stuff and mature stories are quite rare in the modern productions compared to the past.

And how is this Anime supposed to work? A generic Shonen Anime with Action and Comedy is the least thing that Shenmue needs.

A more mature approach would be better, but this approach would sell the least. They would make the most Cash if they turn Shenmue into generic Shonen Martial Arts Anime with comedy segments.
 
Tosh said:
To me the "for people who care about Shenmues story", "its not Shenmue 4" and the "sour" part
makes it sound a little bit like its like a prequel / spin off thing where other characters are the main focus.
Click to expand...

To me, the "something entirely brand new" pairing with the "sour" suggests that it's not a game.
"More than a book series and less that Shenmue IV": I would consider a Shenmue 0 as the same level as a Shenmue IV.
 
tomboz said:
But would a spin off really be covering ‘Shenmue’s story’ though? In many ways I think that a spin-off has a lot more potential than simply retreading the same ground that the games have already covered, but I can see them doing the latter to best leverage our love of the series.
Click to expand...

But whats the sour part then when we get some kind of anime or show thing that retells the old story
and it probably has nothing to do with Sega / Koch Media / Deep Silver directly
so it wouldnt even really affect the chances for Shenmue 4?
"For people who care about Shenmues story", so for people who already are fans?
Like how can it be a new project for people who care about Shenmues story
and then its just the story we already know?

Ok, so the sour part then just means that its not Shenmue 4 and we already know the storyline of 1-3
but how does this and "a new project for people who care about Shenmues story" match?
Something doesnt sound right there
 
Tosh said:
But whats the sour part then when we get some kind of anime or show thing that retells the old story
and it probably has nothing to do with Sega / Koch Media / Deep Silver directly
so it wouldnt even really affect the chances for Shenmue 4?
"For people who care about Shenmues story", so for people who already are fans?
Like how can it be a new project for people who care about Shenmues story
and then its just the story we already know?

Ok, so the sour part then just means that its not Shenmue 4 and we already know the storyline of 1-3
but how does this and "a new project for people who care about Shenmues story" match?
Something doesnt sound right there
Click to expand...
The sour part could also be that it doesn't have the original voice actors, or the original music or something. That's all I can get from it.
 
9dragons said:
Why do you guys think it is going to be an Anime? Are there some hints I missed? And how is this Anime going to work?

I like Anime to some degree. Still watch some very old ones from the 80s and 90s and I am always glad when I find a hidden geme. Not so fond of the modern anime though. The animation still looks less nice then the hand drawn stuff and mature stories are quite rare in the modern productions compared to the past.

And how is this Anime supposed to work? A generic Shonen Anime with Action and Comedy is the least thing that Shenmue needs.

A more mature approach would be better, but this approach would sell the least. They would make the most Cash if they turn Shenmue into generic Shonen Martial Arts Anime with comedy segments.
Click to expand...
One clue might be the Crunchyroll event this weekend. There are no other “conventions” or shows scheduled for the weekend and it seems like something that has been scheduled for a while. Otherwise, no one really knows.
 
Tosh said:
To me the "for people who care about Shenmues story", "its not Shenmue 4" and the "sour" part
makes it sound a little bit like its like a prequel / spin off thing where other characters are the main focus.
Click to expand...

if it's a game (prequel, spin off) it would be the best news we could have (apart shenmue 4 annoucement of course).
 
Tosh said:
But whats the sour part then when we get some kind of anime or show thing that retells the old story
and it probably has nothing to do with Sega / Koch Media / Deep Silver directly
so it wouldnt even really affect the chances for Shenmue 4?
"For people who care about Shenmues story", so for people who already are fans?
Like how can it be a new project for people who care about Shenmues story
and then its just the story we already know?

Ok, so the sour part then just means that its not Shenmue 4 and we already know the storyline of 1-3
but how does this and "a new project for people who care about Shenmues story" match?
Something doesnt sound right there
Click to expand...
The sour part could be that it’s not a game, that it’s not ‘new’ story, that there won’t be an English dub, that they’ve recast the English actors, etc.

Given that Sega own the IP, I’m not sure how anybody could make a Shenmue anime without going through them. Regardless of who is involved, if it flops, it could be seen as another example of how there just isn’t a market for Shenmue.
orient said:
I honestly don't see how. I really doubt the future of Shenmue hangs on a multi-media spin-off. If anything destroys Shenmue it'll be the (assumed) low sales of III.
Click to expand...
Well it can’t have done that badly if somebody is prepared to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into an anime spin-off, can it?

As I said in a previous post, there are many ways that an anime could damage the game series - and I’m not strictly speaking about it never happening.
 
I think an anime is a great idea. Some people know Shenmue in name only. If the producers can capture the feel of the games and tell the same story there’s a good chance it will pull new people in. It’ll probably be an adaptation of the first game in a 6-13 episode season. If it performs well they’ll do another season or two for Shenmue 2 and another for Shenmue 3.

B6AA9F9A-848E-4652-BC2E-5333DD007DBE.jpeg

I don’t agree with this style..at least not Ryo’s face. That’s too slice-of-life/high school anime. I don’t see that Ryo trying to take down a Chinese crime syndicate. I see that Ryo accidentally falling on a girl and cupping her boobs and going “Uwaaaaah!” Sharpen his features a little and it would be a lot better.
 
tomboz said:
I don’t think that’s really the case these days. The ratio of good to bad animes is probably a lot higher outside of Japan than in. They just need to find people who know what they’re doing.
Click to expand...

The problem is the style. Western animation would not suit Shenmue.
Also the quality of western produced cartoons is now pretty low.
 
Suzaku said:
The problem is the style. Western animation would not suit Shenmue.
Also the quality of western produced cartoons is now pretty low.
Click to expand...
I can't imagine it'll look like CalArts rubbish. Look at Netflix's Castlevania, the west can do good animation when it tries!
 
I don’t know what has become of this, but this is the only anime I can find that Cedric appears to be involved with -

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top