Not much, but I noticed this popped up in my Youtube feed today.
Reading the comments section from the lamenting proverbial Ryu Ga Gotoku fanbase stirred my brain a bit. One fan seemed livid as to why Ryu Ga Gotoku is not receiving an anime adaptation while Shenmue is. From a business sense, this makes perfect sense as the former has been more successful than the latter.
In all honesty, I do not know as I do not have any real business acumen. However, I will say that this anime announcement now feels more special given the harsh history of the Shenmue series. When you put everything into context, it is a very romantic narrative when you think about it.
First of all, imagine the epic ending of Shenmue II being engraved in your mind in 2001. Now, imagine how painful it was to learn that Shenmue was for all intents and purposes...dead. Fans had to scavenge for any small hope for the release of a potential Shenmue III. So imagine how vindicating it felt in 2015 for the Shenmue III Kickstarter, there is a reason why the 2015 Electronic Gaming Expo was dubbed "The Expo of Dreams" or why Shenmue III broke Kickstarter records for a video game.
However, the amount of controversy swirling around the said event did not dissipate. Starting with the ambiguity of Sony's relationship with the title that would be cleared up later on. Then there was the infamous live stream with Awesome Japan that did not help matters.
After everything quieted down, we received a bad first impression trailer of the game at the time. It was ruthlessly mocked and criticized (despite being only in the early stages of development) by social media and commentators. Also, it was when I noticed among the fanbase apprehension beginning to set in about the release date and the quality of the title.
Fortunately, that obstacle was overcome as future trailers christened the footage with the "In-development" disclaimer and showed improvement. They even solved the (in my opinion), pedantic issue with the title logo. Unfortunately, another unintended misfortune would hurt the franchise even more. The infamous Epic Games Store controversy which Social Media had a field day with.
While the issue was eventually resolved via refunds from Epic, it left Shenmue with another deep wound it had to suffer. When the title was finally released in 2019, it was met with ambivalent reviews. Compounded by the fact that the Shenmue High-Definition re-releases of Shenmue Chapter One: Yokosuka and Shenmue II did not light the world on fire and having technical issues galore, it seems Shenmue was going to die yet again.
Yet, here we are, still standing after all the trial by fire Shenmue has been mired in. Only soldering onwards due to our love of this franchise. While I am not a fan of Shenmue III, it does not mean I do not appreciate its existence. The only issue Ryu Ga Gotoku has had to endure is two unreleased titles and the series dying with Dead Souls only to be revived in an even stronger state than Shenmue ever had.
I do not say this to disparage Ryu Ga Gotoku, I would love to see an anime adaptation one day. However, the amount of suffering Shenmue fans have had to endure is immense and their determination and passion are insatiable. Without this adaptation, Shenmue might once again fall back into the ether to be forgotten about. Ryu Ga Gotoku on the other hand will be perfectly fine.
Hopefully from here on out brighter days will be ahead for this franchise we all love. And hopefully, the legendary Yu Suzuki will one day be able to show the world the entirety of his grand vision. So for me, this is a time of vindication and celebration.