Random Shenmue Anime Thoughts

[tomboz]

How long has the Shenmue anime been in development. Haven't they been developing since the announcement of Shenmue 3. I was hoping the anime would release this year. Man Covid is ruining everything.

#Covid

Iirc, they finalized the deal around the time of S3’s release, not its announcement. Even then, pre-production probably took quite a bit of time; especially as there was no real reason to rush things. People need to remember that while this is a huge deal for us, it’s one of many projects they’re working on and probably one of the least anticipated to boot. It will come when it comes, but I still wonder why they announced it so early.

 

[Down by Law]

I still wonder why they announced it so early.

I'd wager a guess it that it makes pitching Shenmue IV somewhat easier to potential publishers. A tie-in anime has a crossover appeal that can't be underestimated

 

[Revan]

I wonder if releasing Shenmue 4 to coincide with the release of the anime would be a smart idea.

 

[the_phoenix_mirror]

I hope I see Ryo do an inertia drift with the forklift like in Initial D.

 

[orient]

If the anime releases in 2022, maybe it could coincide with a S4 announcement?

In all honesty, I doubt they have any concrete plans either way right now, but I can't imagine a world in which we get S4 next year. If they only had a pitch demo at the start of 2021, 2023 seems like the earliest it could possibly happen, and that's if they've already found a publisher and have got the ball rolling, etc.

 

[Kintor]

Ideally it would make sense to try and coincide the anime with Shenmue 4 but development cycles are never certain, especially given all the Covid disruptions over the last year. If one project is ready before the other they'd probably want to release it anyway as soon as possible. The hype generation by the anime or conversely Shenmue 4 is going to generate hype that will only help the other once it finally released.

 

[bcdcdude]

If the anime releases in 2022, maybe it could coincide with a S4 announcement?

In all honesty, I doubt they have any concrete plans either way right now, but I can't imagine a world in which we get S4 next year. If they only had a pitch demo at the start of 2021, 2023 seems like the earliest it could possibly happen, and that's if they've already found a publisher and have got the ball rolling, etc.

I was thinking this too. It reminds me of Persona in a sense. They would do a concert and at the end a new announcement is made. They did a similar thing at the Final Fantasy concerts too. It would make for maximum exposure at any rate!

 

[shendom]

I think a good way to combat having enough airtime for each game would be to have shenmue 1 be shown in 6 episodes and having 2 be another 6 episodes.
That way their’s enough time shown for each game.