Shenmue The Animation Announced

If we're fortunate enough to get a second season, I'd have absolutely no issue with the story advancing beyond the games. In fact, I'd be happy enough to see it reach a resolution in anime form ahead of the games wrapping up, especially if it follows Yu's initial manuscripts and planned chapter structure.
After making the mistake of continuing to watch Game of Thrones after the show overtook the books on which it had been based, I think I’d probably have to hold off on watching a second season until after I’d played Shenmue 4.

That said, the TV show completely killed GRRM’s motivation to the point where he still hasn’t even written one of the two remaining books - so I’d still be waiting. Given how poorly the last few seasons of the show were handled though, I’m not sure that I care about reading them anymore.

I’d hate to find myself feeling that way about playing Shenmue 4 or 5.
 
The only way they would ever continue the story past Shenmue 3 is if the anime is a huge success and they would be crazy not to commission another season (or 2 or 3), with or without existing games to base it on. Otherwise though, I suspect Yu would not be keen about divulging plans and stories for future games - and allowing them to be used - unless there is literally no chance those games will ever be made.

Wouldn't it just kill our excitement for Shenmue 4 if we already knew the story?
 
The only way they would ever continue the story past Shenmue 3 is if the anime is a huge success and they would be crazy not to commission another season (or 2 or 3), with or without existing games to base it on. Otherwise though, I suspect Yu would not be keen about divulging plans and stories for future games - and allowing them to be used - unless there is literally no chance those games will ever be made.

Wouldn't it just kill our excitement for Shenmue 4 if we already knew the story?
It’s a tough call.

If the anime is successful, it’s highly likely they’ll want to make a second season straight away. If at that point Shenmue 4 still hasn’t secured funding, is it worth them risking the future of the anime by indefinitely delaying it to wait for something that might never happen?

Even if Shenmue 4 has entered production by that time, I doubt Crunchyroll and Toonami will be too keen on taking a 2 year plus break to wait for Shenmue 4 as there’s a chance that fans will move on (not to mention they’d have the exact same problem a year later anyway if Yu sticks to his 5 game plan).

I agree that Yu might not be too keen on the show overtaking the game, but how much say does he really have in the matter? Sega owns the IP and afaiaw, they have all of the remaining scripts to complete the story at their disposal. I could definitely see them pushing ahead with the anime in this instance even if it’s against Yu’s wishes, especially if it’s bringing in a decent amount of money for them.
 
That said, the TV show completely killed GRRM’s motivation to the point where he still hasn’t even written one of the two remaining books - so I’d still be waiting. Given how poorly the last few seasons of the show were handled though, I’m not sure that I care about reading them anymore.
I do not think it was the tv show that killedthe books Martin wrote mostly as a "hobby" and delayed the writting since forever because he does not need the money and its a hobby.

It feels is more like Half life 3, each time someone asks about the release date he delay it for an extra month. :D
 
Lets wait and see. Who knows how the plans of Adult Swim look like.
Maybe the Adult Swim guy thinks that the season 1 already has a perfect ending
and he doesnt want to show anything else when theres not enough content without the real official Shenmue ending.
Or maybe Yu Suzuki isnt even interested in more seasons as long as theres no Shenmue 4.
Segas animation studio doesnt work for free
so this has to be clarified between Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Sega and Yu Suzuki
otherwise they wont draw a single frame more then they have to.
 
Even if Shenmue 4 has entered production by that time, I doubt Crunchyroll and Toonami will be too keen on taking a 2 year plus break to wait for Shenmue 4 as there’s a chance that fans will move on (not to mention they’d have the exact same problem a year later anyway if Yu sticks to his 5 game plan).
Adult Swim is almost at meme levels with how their shows tend to take years off between seasons. They operate very differently from typical network television. Even Rick & Morty (probably their most successful show ever) has gone through long periods of production between seasons.


Well, at least Sega is now promoting it.


always good to see Sega HQ acknowledge Shenmue
Well, I suppose that pretty much confirms that they are intending to distribute in Japan, in some form. Like clockwork, the ninth reply is asking about whether the original VA will return for the minor roles that were changed in Shenmue III.
 
Adult Swim is almost at meme levels with how their shows tend to take years off between seasons. They operate very differently from typical network television. Even Rick & Morty (probably their most successful show ever) has gone through long periods of production between seasons
But in anime is quite nirmal to have years between. It tends to happen if they run out of source material.

Some examples are one punch man season 2 came after 4 years because there was not enough source material or how Full metal alchemist had to do its own ending and then 4-5 years later they released the second tv show with the true ending.
 
But in anime is quite nirmal to have years between. It tends to happen if they run out of source material.

Some examples are one punch man season 2 came after 4 years because there was not enough source material or how Full metal alchemist had to do its own ending and then 4-5 years later they released the second tv show with the true ending.

Yea Rick and Morty doesn't have all of the story already mapped out by the creators. They take time to come up with the stories/motivation for a new series.... Yu's got the whole Shenmue Saga mapped out and the anime gives him the chance to get closer to his original vision than the games allowed I'd guess...

Ps. I don't get the complaints around announcing too early- we crave info and then when it comes that's the first reaction? Really?! I know we're hard fans to please because we care a lot but damn lol
 
Last edited:
Yea Rick and Morty doesn't have all of the story already mapped out by the creators. They take time to come with the stories/motivation for a new series.... Yu's got the whole Shenmue Saga mapped out and the anime gives him the chance to get closer to his original vision than the games allowed I'd guess...

Ps. I don't get the complaints around announcing too early- we crave info and then when it comes that's the first reaction? Really?! I know we're hard fans to please because we care a lot but damn lol

Facts
 
So, Dusk Golem leaked that the series would cover the events of 1 and most of 2.

We now have official confirmation of this information from the people involved.


Since Shenhua is on the cover, I suppose the Guilin chapter will be more than flashbacks in this first season.

Which probably means they will cut once again the lost scenario chapters from Yu's original story (3&4 - Suzhou & Shanghai), that were between Hong-Kong and Guilin. That would be so lame !

It will all depend on the pace of the storytelling, and the filler they will want to include (new stuff from the animation team VS Yu's original story chapters). But I suppose it would be too rushed to cover all 4 locations in 4 to 5 hours. :unsure:

Anyway, I really hope they take some distance from the Shenmue games story to tell what happened back there. Because besides a possible manga by Shibuya prod, there's little chance we will get another occasion to learn about those contents :cautious:

 
Last edited:
Yeah, Shenhua's pronounced presence on the promo image puzzled me as she doesn't really show up properly until the very end of Shenmue II.

I wonder if we're going to get some kind of Shenhua subplot in Guilin that runs parallel to the main story. That would be really cool to see!
 
That's what I'm thinking. You'll probably get more glimpses of her life than we ever did in the games.
 
Also, the past 2 days my phone keyboard has been closing automatically every time I press Enter or Backspace, only on here, and I'm about to rip my hair out and quit posting forever.

This should be fixed now and if not within the next few days. The bug isn't on our side, it's a bug with Chrome/Firefox/Safari, but it seems to be fixed on my Android device running Chrome.
 
I hadn't really thought about it until now, but we were informed that the story will follow Shenmue 1 and part of Shenmue 2, right?

Am I the only person kinda disappointed that the story will only include part of Shenmue 2? I know it makes sense, since it's just 13 episodes and hopefully more will be covered in season 2, but Shenmue 2's story, characters and environments are just so vibrant and fun! I think they would work really well in an anime and more so than Shenmue 1.

I would have much preferred it had they left Shenmue 2 out of the first season entirely. I have seen plenty of 13 episode anime shows over the years, and the majority of them feel very rushed with a messy ending. This is my biggest worry with the series in all honesty and I have said it a few times since it was announced. Can all of the first game, part of the second game and new stuff be covered in just 13 episodes without it feeling rushed? It's something I have serious doubts about.
 
You can fully flesh-out 'mue in 6 episodes, of a 13 episode anime.

I'm not positive it can be without it feeling rushed. It's a tv show, it needs it's slower moments to build on character development. I am seeing people in other threads saying things like having the letter translated by the second episode. That is a big chunk of the first game to get through in a single episode. I see that kind of thing a lot in anime when it's an adaption of the manga, and it always feels rushed.
 
Back
Top