Welcome to my Shenmue anime Analysis, this time for EP10 Comeback, this Analysis will have SPOILERS of the anime and the games.
The episode begins in Shenhua's house with Yunshen Yuan getting ready to leave the house. Yunshen Yuan is Shenhua's adopt father. Shenhua start a conversation with him, she say good morning and noticed that he is up quite early, she ask if he is off to the stone quarry and he respond yeah. Shenhua say that she will make the breakfast right away but Yunshen say there is no need, for Shenhua to listen closely, that his next job is a very important one he must see through, that he won't be returning for some time, Shenhua say okay, that she will bring his food when it's ready then.
Yunshen Yuan leave the house while we see Shenhua looking at him, at this time Shenhua noticed that the Shenmue Tree is blooming more and the scene ends. Really nice to see Shenhua with her father in this scene, as far as i remember her father appeared for the first time in Shenmue III, these scenes expand more the story, really nice, i loved it.
Outside of the Man Mo temple we see Ryo doing the bow and leaving. In the next scene we see Ryo encountering Wong, Wong say for Ryo that Ren is waiting for him, for him to come with Wong.
In Ren's hideout Ren saw them and say is about time and that Wong can go, Wong say for Ryo "Later Ryo, I will be around if you need me" and Ryo say okay. Wong leave and Ren say for Ryo... "All right. Let's say you actually find Yuanda Zhu. You think that he got time for a chump like you? "The guys practically a legend in the underworld." It is interesting that Ren say that Yuanda Zhu is practically a legend in the underworld, there is a theory that Yuanda Zhu is the real villan of the Shenmue story, a theory that Yuanda Zhu is Tentei, i will write my thoughts about this theory another day.
Ryo say that this is not a problem, that he have a letter. Ryo pick the letter to show to Ren but the photo of his father with Sunming Zhao fall on the ground, Ren pick the photo and ask if this is Ryo's father.
Ren remember that Ryo said that he were looking for his father killer. Ren ask if he hook Ryo up with Yuanda Zhu then what will be the next step, Ryo respond that is none of his business. Ren say not so fast, that he haven't forgotten about that weird mirror. That Ryo got "big score" written all over him and then said for Ryo to follow him. Ren say that he know a guy know of Yang who worked for Yuanda, that they will try him.
Kowloon
In the next scene we see Kowloon while an airplane is passing near the buildings. It is really nice to see Kowloon in the anime but i hope we can see even more details about Kowloon.
Inside Yang say for Ryo and Ren that he hope they hoodlums aren't there looking for trouble, because that's the last thing he need. Ryo say that he would like to meet with Yuanda Zhu, Yang ask why would he trust Ryo, then Ryo show Yuanda Zhu's letter, after seeing the letter Yang say that he will arrange a meeting for Ryo. Yang continues, he say... "Find the man in black at the location i give you.
Then tell him this password." While Yang say this we see Ryo and Ren going to the location, the duo see the man in black, the man ask what they want and Ryo say the password "Dragons don't sleep." The man in black say for them to keep walking to the door with the dragon, to enter there, Ryo say understood and the duo start to walk again.
Another man in black was there and shook his head for the other, Ren was walking but saw everything. The duo arrived at the door with the dragon, Ryo ask for Ren what's wrong, Ren explain that the guy in black just now... that he looked to Ren that he dignaled another guy, that he had a bad feeling about this, Ryo say that all they can do is press on, Ren say he will stay and keep watch there.
Ryo say okay and enter the room. Ryo see someone and ask... "Hello, are you Yuanda Zhu?" and the person respond "Yuanda Zhu ain't as handsome as me" we see that this person is Dou Niu, another NPC from the game, nice to see Dou Niu in the anime.
After that we see 2 goons behind Ryo, one of them say "We meet again" and Ryo ask whats this all about. Dou Niu say Ryo is not the only one looking for Yuanda Zhu, the goon that know Ryo say for Dou Niu that Ryo is the one who gave them trouble in the Golden Quarter. After hearing this Dou Niu say he is gonna make Ryo regret sticking his nose into the Yellow Heads business.
Ren enter the room and bests Dou Niu's goons and say for Dou Niu that he is the one who needs to mind his own business. Dou Niu say that he never thought that he is part of all this, Ren say the same, Dou Niu say that he will just give them both a beatdown and tries to attack the duo, the duo tries to attack Dou Niu but Dou Niu say... What was that? Did a mosquito prick me?" Dou Niu bests Ryo and Ren and starts to laugh.
The goons is on the ground and Dou Niu waked them and say for them that Ryo knows something and to lock them up. In the next scene Ryo and Ren are locked. Ryo woke up and Ren ask if he had a nice nap, Ryo ask where they are, Ren say probably the lair of the Yellow Heads or something. Ryo say... "The Yellow Heads?" and Ren explain that it's a sprawling criminal organization led by Dou Niu.
Ren say that back in the day, there was a huge group called the White Thai that controlled all of the casinos in Hong Kong. The Yellow heads were just a pack of bodyguards who served them, as Ren was saying these things a flashback of that time started.
Ren continues that 10 years ago, they arranged it so the head family lost power, and then rose to the top of the food chain in Hong Kong. while Ren said that a woman pass one of her hands in the head of a little girl, the woman enter in a car and after the car left the car explode, some people were there and went to the car to see what happened, the little girl standed in the same place.
To me the little girl is Joy and the woman is her mother. Maybe her father was in the car as well and died, maybe Joy stayed with someone else, this is my theory about this, really nice to see more about Joy's story, this don't have in the game, this expanded more the story, really nice, i hope we can see more about that in the next episode.
Ren continues that ever since then, they call the shots for the whole town, while Ren said this we see Yuan and Dou Niu looking at everything, Yuan and Dou Niu were the ones that made this plan.
The flashback ends and we see that Ren is angry, Ren say... "Why the hell didn't you tell me they were involved" Ryo say that he never asked for his help in the first place, for Ren to stop complaining and think of a way out of there. Ren say that for Ryo that he must be tripping if he think he can order around. It is interesting that in japanese Ren said... "Juunen hayai da yo" this is one of Akira phrases when he wins a fight in VF so is interesting seeing Ren talking like this, in the games is like that as well? i don't remember right now.
Ryo say "fine then. I guess we will just be stuck like this." Outside of the room we see one of the Dou Niu's goons, Ren start to knock on the door to call for the goon, the goon go there and ask what's the problem, Ren say that Ryo's about to kick the bucket and he ain't kidding. The goon open the door and Ryo and Ren punch the goon in the face at the same time, the duo look for the key of the handcuffs but didn't found.
Other goons heard the noises and go there to see what happened, Ryo and Ren start to run to escape. Ryo pick a way and the goons appeared, the duo bests them and Ren say for Ryo to quit telling him what to do and chose a way this time. The duo arrive in a place where they can see the sky, the big dipper is there just like in the game, nice detail but it is sad that the big dipper in the anime don't have many informations like in the game, in the game this part about the Big Dipper is super detailed, so is sad to not see this informations in the anime as well, but at least the Big Dipper is in the anime, Ryo and Ren decide to rest for a bit in this place, but Ren say again for Ryo to no tell him what to do.
The duo lay on the ground and Ren ask how he got into this mess, Ryo say that he was the one who wanted to come, Ren say that he didn't know the Yellow Heads were involved, Ren ask if Ryo have any idea how tough it is to be on their bad side, Ryo respond not really.
Ren say that Ryo is such an amateur. We see again the Big Dipper, Ren ask for Ryo if there is no safer way to reach the guy who killed his father, Ren also ask who in the hell Ryo is after, Ryo touch the plaster and say "His name is Lan Di" Ren say "Lan Di of the Chi You Men?"and Ryo ask if he know Lan Di, Ren say that The Chi You Men are a totally different league of terrifying from the Yellow Heads, that Lan Di is one of their big shots.
While Ren said this the scene change to Lan Di near a window and looking outside, Lan Di ask about Yuanda Zhu, we see that Dou Niu and Yuan are there, Dou Niu say nothing yet, Yuan say that they did wrangle up some guys who are looking for him, and it is a safe bet they might know a thing or two about Yuanda. Zhu.
Dou Niu gets angry and say that nobody cares about Ren or that japanese kid. Yuan apologized and Lan Di say "Japanese kid?" and Dou Niu say that they will definitely find Yuanda Zhu and get him for Lan Di. Yuan say that if they prove worth and the Chi You Men see fit to bring the Yellow Heads into their affiliation, then the mighty Dou Niu can rule over Hong Kong, Lan Di say he will allow it.
One of the Lan Di's goons say that a member of the Yellow Heads has an urgent message, Dou Niu goon say that Ren escaped. I love this scene, this add more to the story, we saw how Lan Di found out that Ryo is in Hong Kong/Kowloon, in the game Lan Di just appeared in the helicopter but here we had more context about the situation, this add more to the story, i loved it.
In the next scene we see Ryo and Ren again, they are trying to leave the place, Ren press the button of the elevator, the door of the elevator open and the duo see Yuan, Yuan say "Well, look who's here. I will slice you both to ribbons" and tries to attack the duo, the duo bests Yuan and Yuan fall on the ground. The door of the other elevator open and we see Dou Niu, Yuan terrified look at Dou Niu for help, Dou Niu gets angry and say "How dare you hurt my cute little Yuan! I'm gonna tear you limb from limb!" Ren say that they will not doing this now and start to run away.
The duo runs out to the emergency door but when they open they see that the emergency door is gone. Dou Niu is running after them and Ryo say they need to jump to the next building, Ren think that Ryo lost his mind but Ryo say to get a running start, Dou Niu is getting near but the duo jumps to the next building at the last second. The duo is now in the other building and Ren say that Dou Niu can't catch him that easily.
Dou Niu say they will never get away. It is interesting that in japanese this is another scene that Ren say... "Junnen hayai da yo" one of the phrases when Akira wins a fight in Virtua Fighter, in Shenmue II and Shenmue III Ren say this phrase as well? i don't remember, if someone know please share in the comments below, but it is an interesting detail in the anime, i love that, and i will talk more about that one day my thoughts about the theory that Ren will die in the story.
Ryo and Ren return to Hong Kong, the duo go to Wong's place and we see an easter egg, the capsule toy of the first game, nice detail. Wong say they are good to go, Ren say that nobody picks a lock better than wong there.
Joy say she is surprised that Ryo and Ren are getting on like brothers. Ren disagree and think that Ryo roped him into a real mess, that Ryo is serious about taking on the Yellow Heads. After hearing this Joy is surprised by that, Wong ask what's wrong, Joy say that is nothing, she just astounded by the level of stupidity. Ren say they can talk about this later, the duo return to Yang,
Ren is angry with him because Yang set the duo up, Yang say that Dou Niu forced him into it, Ren say that doesn't mean he is getting off the hook and he put Yang on the ground. Ryo say to hold up, Ryo ask for Yang to tell the truth this time about where is Yuanda Zhu. Yang say he don't know but when he look at Ryo's eyes he got scared and said to try the Huangs place, that Ryo might be able to find a lead there.
Ren san if Yang mean about Huang the wiretapper, Yang say yes and Ryo ask for Ren if this person is someone he know, Ren responde that more or less, Ryo say "Then please tell me, where can i find him?" Ren say... "Here we go again. Come on" and the scenes ends. The duo go there but Huang is not there at the moment.
Ren say that shoud be tapes somewhere, Ren found the tapes and say he is afraid to ask what is Ryo's plans, Ryo say that there has to be a clue in this tapes somewhere. Ren ask if Ryo will go through all of them, Ryo say yes and Ren say he is at his limit. Ren say for Ryo to not get any funny ideas, that like he said before, that he is getting a "big score" feeling off Ryo.
In the next scene we see Xiuying at Man Mo Temple, she start to remember moments with Ziming again when they were young. Ziming say he will not give up, that he swear that he is going to track down whoever killed mom and dad, Xiuying ask how, Ziming respond that The Chi You Men will know, that he will get revenge even if he have to sell his soul, that they will pay dearly, after that Ziming left and the flashback ends, Xiuying make a sad face and close her eyes and the scene ends.
We go back to the duo, Ryo is hearing the tapes while Ren is on the coach, Ren ask "Still nothing, after going through so many? You are seriously barking up the wrong tree, buddy" then in the tape that Ryo put they hear Yuan saying "I just found a new toy" Ren get up to pay attention to the tape. Yuan say that snagged one of Yuanda Zhu's flunkeys, a man by the name of Shuqin Zhang, Yuan's bird repeat the word Snagged two times. Dou Niu say that this is great and ask where is Yuanda Zhu, Yuan say that will make him cough it up.
Ren noticed that this is Yuan and Dou Niu, Ryo say that they got Shuqin, Ryo say that he guess Shuqin couldn't get away after they found him the first time, the tape continue and Dou Niu say for Yuan that this is fine, that Yuan can handle it but to make it quick, that The Chi You Men don't like to be kept waiting. Ryo stand up to leave and Ren say for Ryo to hold on, Ren ask for Ryo if he even heard what they just said, that if he keep looking for Yuanda Zhu, he will be going against both the Yellow Heads and a giant Chinese cartel.
Ryo say so what and that the only thing that he is out to do is uncover the truth behind his father's murder, that it doesn't matter who or what gets in his way, that whether back in Japan or in Hong Kong he will go to the ends of the Earth if he have to. After hearing this Ren made a satisfied face and tell Ryo to hold on, Ren ask if Ryo even know where to look for the Yellow Heads, Ryo say no and Ren say for Ryo to learn to use his head, Ren ask if Ryo heard that bird squawking in the recording, that this is his clue. The duo go to a bird's shop.
The attendant say that Yuan is a customer there who dresses in flashy clothes and wears earrings, Ryo say that's Yuan without a doubt, Ren ask if Yuan come by often, the attendant say yes, everyday for bird feed and it's the finest stuff they have available.
Ryo and Ren look at each other in a happy way. The duo hide near the bird shop, Ryo ask why Ren is helping him so much, Ren say that this is a good question, that he guess this is to cut a deal, that he is positive that when Ryo dig up that true his after, some serious treasure is gonna come along with it. Ryo ask how Ren figure about this, Ren say that first the Yellow Heads and now the Chi You Men, that these guys don't bring out their big guns just for nothing, that there's gotta be some real money on the line.
Ryo say that doesn't matter to him and Ren say that's why he wanna cut a deal, that he will help Ryo however he can, but when they eventually hit the jackpot, he will keep his fair share, Ryo respond that he can't give any guarantees. Yuan arrive at the shop and buy the food for the bird, Ryo stand up and Ren say for Ryo to wait, that they need to stay out of sight until they figure out where Yuan is holding Yuanda Zhu, that is better to stalk Yuan and Ryo agree. The duo follow Yuan, Yuan enter in the room and say for the bird that the food is there, the bird repeat what Yuan said, someone knock on the door, Yuan open the door and Ryo bests Yuan.
Yuan fall on the ground. Ren said that this was solid, the bird repeat "stop thief Stop thief" and Ren say for the bird to put a lid on it, ask the bird if the bird wanna be fried chicken, the bird just repeat what Ren said, Ren say that he will stand guard and for Ryo to find the guy.
Ryo start to search for Shuqin and found him, Shuquin is on the ground and unconscious, Ryo was able to wake up him, Ren enter the room and say they have big trouble, that Dou Niu is there, that they will come back for Shuqin later, Ryo say for Shuqin to act like he is out cold. Ren open the door of the closet and say near the bird "Hide in the closet" after that Dou Niu knock on the door but no reaction so Dou Niu open the door and see Yuan unconscious on the ground, Dou Niu get angry and yell what the hell happened there, after that the Bird repeat what Ren said about hide in the closet.
Dou Niu heard that and open the door of the closet, he search there but no one was there, Ryo and Ren is behind and both kick Dou Niu, Dou Niu fall inside the closet, the duo lock Dou Niu in the closet and Ryo help Shuqin to get out of the place. Dou Niu is angry and is trying to get out of the closet, Ren say "How do you like us now, stupid Dou Niu" and the bird repeat what Ren said. The Duo went to somewhere safe to talk with Shuqin, Ryo ask if Shuqin is okay and he say yes and that he was able to make contact, that Zhu is currenty in the Ghost Hall Building.
Ren say that then they got no time to lose, that he will have Sam and the gang shelter Shuqin in his hideout. Shuqin give the four animals keys to Ryo and ask for Ryo to please keep Zhu safe. It is sad that a lot of things about these animals were cut out in the anime, it is so interesting in my opinion the informations we have in the game, but i understand why the anime team cut out but i like the scene where Ryo and Ren used all the keys while the Shenmue theme was playing, really nice.
The Duo go to the Ghost Hall Building and used all the keys, the duo finally encounter with Yuanda Zhu, Yuanda Zhu is sitting. Really nice to see Yuanda Zhu in the anime and i love his design for the anime.
Ryo say... "You must be... Yuanda Zhu" Zhu respond "And you are?" Ryo tried to respond but Yuan appear laughing, Yuan thanked Ryo and Ren for doing all the hard work of finding Yuanda Zhu for them, and we see that Yuan is not alone, Dou Niu and two goons are there as well. Dou Niu say... "We finally found you, old codger" and Ren say that this is not good, that this is time to scram, Dou Niu say the are not going anywhere, Ren jump off the window but Ryo was still there, Dou Niu attack Ryo and the attack is so strong that Ryo is thrown out of the building.
Dou Niu jump off the building and say that Ryo wasted enough of his time, and that now Ryo is gonna pay the price for it. Ryo is on the ground feeling a lot of pain when Xiuying appear in front of him, Xiuying stared at Dou Niu while Ryo is on the ground and the episode ends.
What can we expect to see in the next episode?
I feel that in the next episode we will see the fight Xiuying VS Dou Niu, something will happen and Xiuying will probably decide to run away with Ryo. Maybe we will see Xiuying training Ryo, maybe we will see the leaves training in the next episode, it is not impossible and to me this is important, it is important to me for Xiuying to teach Ryo the importance of a clear and serene mind as a polished mirror, it will probably not happen in the same location in the anime, i just hope that this part is not cut out in the anime.
We will probably see more action of Ryo and Ren in Kowloon, and maybe more about Wong and Joy as well, maybe in this episode we will see Ryo VS Baihu, would be really interesting to see this fight in this episode, as far as i know Baihu is confirmed for the anime so this is really nice. I hope we can see more scenes with Shenhua and more scenes with Lan Di as well. Maybe the episode will end with Ryo VS Dou Niu beginning, or maybe a little bit before that, i'm looking forward for the next episode.
What NPCs do you want to see in the next episode?
I want to see Baihu, Joy, Wong, Ren, Ziming, Niao Sun, Wong, Yuan, Dou Niu, Yuanda Zhu and many other characters, and you? what NPCs you want to see in this episode? share with us in the comments below.
Final Thoughts
This episode is fast pace, a lot of things of the games were cut out, in the game is more slow pace, in the game a lot of things happen in Kowloon before Ryo meet Yuanda Zhu, it was sad that a lot of things were cut out but in my opinion EP 10 is a good episode, i loved it.
We saw Shenhua's father in this episode talking with Shenhua before leaving, we saw more about Joy's past, and that probably her mother and father died in the car with that explosion because of the Yellow Heads, was really nice to see more story about that, and we even saw more scenes of Lan Di with Yuan and Dou Niu, we saw how Lan Di found that Ryo is in Hong Kong, these things don't have in the games and add so much to the story, this things expand the story more and this is beautiful.
I love that we got more flashback of Xiuying with Ziming, this time Ziming telling the reason he is leaving, this flashback is for the audience to see why Xiuying decided to follow Ryo and appeared in the ending of the episode, and also for the audience to see that Ziming have a lot of things in common with Ryo, Ziming is like a Ryo but a Ryo that went into the wrong path in life, and when the time comes Ryo will probably not make the same decisions that Ziming did, and then probably Ryo will forget about revenge, i love this flashback.
Shenhua and Yunshen Yuan in the beginning of the episode, more about Joy's past, scenes of Lan Di with Yuan and Dou Niu and we see how Lan Di found out that Ryo is in Kowloon, these scenes don't have in the game, it is a beautiful way to expand the story, like i said other times, the anime complement the games and the games complement the anime, if someone want to have the complete Shenmue experience then i recommend both the anime and the games.
This episode is what I was imagining, lots of action with Ryo and Ren in Kowloon, the action scenes are really good, it looks like the anime team cut out a lot of things in Kowloon because Ryo didn't found Yuanda Zhu that fast in the game, it was slow pace in the game, as far as i remember a lot of things happened in Kowloon before meeting Yuanda Zhu but it's okay, when i miss the games version i can just play. Some things that the anime team cut out in the anime was sad but i'm enjoying the anime.
It is really nice to see a different version of Shenmue and see some parts of the story getting expanded, like more scenes with Shenhua and more scenes with Lan Di, we even saw Shenhua's father in this episode, really nice, i loved that. I hope we can see the catching leaves part in the anime, to me the lesson of a clear and serene mind as a polished mirror is important.
i don't know if catching leaves will be in the anime but at least the lesson i think Xiuying will teach Ryo. I say this because in the previous episode Xiuying said to Fangmei... "His mind is still not where it needs to be, a clear and serene mind." Something like this that Xiuying said so i imagine that Xiuying will teach this for Ryo. I hope we can see the catching leaves part in the anime, to me is important but now i don't know if will happen.
We are almost reaching the end of the season, now i feel more that the season will end in Guilin, maybe episode 12 will end with Ryo arriving in Guilin and episode 13 will probably be only for Guilin, and i think the final episode will end in the cave just like in the game, but if the season ends in Kowloon it will not be a problem in my opinion. I love the final scene that Xiuying appeared to save Ryo, nice way to end the episode to leave the audience wanting for more.
It is a fast pace episode and a lot of things were cut out but i really enjoy how the anime adapted this part of the story, i just hope next episode they slow a bit so we can see more about Kowloon, EP 10 is an episode with a lot of action, important flashbacks of Xiuying with Ziming, things getting add to the story like Shenhua's father appearing, more about Joy's past, more scenes with Lan Di and much more, overall EP 10 is a good episode and i'm looking forward for the next episode.
Just 3 episodes left to end the season... when the season ends i will miss this time of Shenmue content every week.
Next week i will come back with my analysis of episode 11 Entangled, thank you all for reading and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you, bye bye. ~
The episode begins in Shenhua's house with Yunshen Yuan getting ready to leave the house. Yunshen Yuan is Shenhua's adopt father. Shenhua start a conversation with him, she say good morning and noticed that he is up quite early, she ask if he is off to the stone quarry and he respond yeah. Shenhua say that she will make the breakfast right away but Yunshen say there is no need, for Shenhua to listen closely, that his next job is a very important one he must see through, that he won't be returning for some time, Shenhua say okay, that she will bring his food when it's ready then.
Yunshen Yuan leave the house while we see Shenhua looking at him, at this time Shenhua noticed that the Shenmue Tree is blooming more and the scene ends. Really nice to see Shenhua with her father in this scene, as far as i remember her father appeared for the first time in Shenmue III, these scenes expand more the story, really nice, i loved it.
Outside of the Man Mo temple we see Ryo doing the bow and leaving. In the next scene we see Ryo encountering Wong, Wong say for Ryo that Ren is waiting for him, for him to come with Wong.
In Ren's hideout Ren saw them and say is about time and that Wong can go, Wong say for Ryo "Later Ryo, I will be around if you need me" and Ryo say okay. Wong leave and Ren say for Ryo... "All right. Let's say you actually find Yuanda Zhu. You think that he got time for a chump like you? "The guys practically a legend in the underworld." It is interesting that Ren say that Yuanda Zhu is practically a legend in the underworld, there is a theory that Yuanda Zhu is the real villan of the Shenmue story, a theory that Yuanda Zhu is Tentei, i will write my thoughts about this theory another day.
Ryo say that this is not a problem, that he have a letter. Ryo pick the letter to show to Ren but the photo of his father with Sunming Zhao fall on the ground, Ren pick the photo and ask if this is Ryo's father.
Ren remember that Ryo said that he were looking for his father killer. Ren ask if he hook Ryo up with Yuanda Zhu then what will be the next step, Ryo respond that is none of his business. Ren say not so fast, that he haven't forgotten about that weird mirror. That Ryo got "big score" written all over him and then said for Ryo to follow him. Ren say that he know a guy know of Yang who worked for Yuanda, that they will try him.
Kowloon
In the next scene we see Kowloon while an airplane is passing near the buildings. It is really nice to see Kowloon in the anime but i hope we can see even more details about Kowloon.
Inside Yang say for Ryo and Ren that he hope they hoodlums aren't there looking for trouble, because that's the last thing he need. Ryo say that he would like to meet with Yuanda Zhu, Yang ask why would he trust Ryo, then Ryo show Yuanda Zhu's letter, after seeing the letter Yang say that he will arrange a meeting for Ryo. Yang continues, he say... "Find the man in black at the location i give you.
Then tell him this password." While Yang say this we see Ryo and Ren going to the location, the duo see the man in black, the man ask what they want and Ryo say the password "Dragons don't sleep." The man in black say for them to keep walking to the door with the dragon, to enter there, Ryo say understood and the duo start to walk again.
Another man in black was there and shook his head for the other, Ren was walking but saw everything. The duo arrived at the door with the dragon, Ryo ask for Ren what's wrong, Ren explain that the guy in black just now... that he looked to Ren that he dignaled another guy, that he had a bad feeling about this, Ryo say that all they can do is press on, Ren say he will stay and keep watch there.
Ryo say okay and enter the room. Ryo see someone and ask... "Hello, are you Yuanda Zhu?" and the person respond "Yuanda Zhu ain't as handsome as me" we see that this person is Dou Niu, another NPC from the game, nice to see Dou Niu in the anime.
After that we see 2 goons behind Ryo, one of them say "We meet again" and Ryo ask whats this all about. Dou Niu say Ryo is not the only one looking for Yuanda Zhu, the goon that know Ryo say for Dou Niu that Ryo is the one who gave them trouble in the Golden Quarter. After hearing this Dou Niu say he is gonna make Ryo regret sticking his nose into the Yellow Heads business.
Ren enter the room and bests Dou Niu's goons and say for Dou Niu that he is the one who needs to mind his own business. Dou Niu say that he never thought that he is part of all this, Ren say the same, Dou Niu say that he will just give them both a beatdown and tries to attack the duo, the duo tries to attack Dou Niu but Dou Niu say... What was that? Did a mosquito prick me?" Dou Niu bests Ryo and Ren and starts to laugh.
The goons is on the ground and Dou Niu waked them and say for them that Ryo knows something and to lock them up. In the next scene Ryo and Ren are locked. Ryo woke up and Ren ask if he had a nice nap, Ryo ask where they are, Ren say probably the lair of the Yellow Heads or something. Ryo say... "The Yellow Heads?" and Ren explain that it's a sprawling criminal organization led by Dou Niu.
Ren say that back in the day, there was a huge group called the White Thai that controlled all of the casinos in Hong Kong. The Yellow heads were just a pack of bodyguards who served them, as Ren was saying these things a flashback of that time started.
Ren continues that 10 years ago, they arranged it so the head family lost power, and then rose to the top of the food chain in Hong Kong. while Ren said that a woman pass one of her hands in the head of a little girl, the woman enter in a car and after the car left the car explode, some people were there and went to the car to see what happened, the little girl standed in the same place.
To me the little girl is Joy and the woman is her mother. Maybe her father was in the car as well and died, maybe Joy stayed with someone else, this is my theory about this, really nice to see more about Joy's story, this don't have in the game, this expanded more the story, really nice, i hope we can see more about that in the next episode.
Ren continues that ever since then, they call the shots for the whole town, while Ren said this we see Yuan and Dou Niu looking at everything, Yuan and Dou Niu were the ones that made this plan.
The flashback ends and we see that Ren is angry, Ren say... "Why the hell didn't you tell me they were involved" Ryo say that he never asked for his help in the first place, for Ren to stop complaining and think of a way out of there. Ren say that for Ryo that he must be tripping if he think he can order around. It is interesting that in japanese Ren said... "Juunen hayai da yo" this is one of Akira phrases when he wins a fight in VF so is interesting seeing Ren talking like this, in the games is like that as well? i don't remember right now.
Ryo say "fine then. I guess we will just be stuck like this." Outside of the room we see one of the Dou Niu's goons, Ren start to knock on the door to call for the goon, the goon go there and ask what's the problem, Ren say that Ryo's about to kick the bucket and he ain't kidding. The goon open the door and Ryo and Ren punch the goon in the face at the same time, the duo look for the key of the handcuffs but didn't found.
Other goons heard the noises and go there to see what happened, Ryo and Ren start to run to escape. Ryo pick a way and the goons appeared, the duo bests them and Ren say for Ryo to quit telling him what to do and chose a way this time. The duo arrive in a place where they can see the sky, the big dipper is there just like in the game, nice detail but it is sad that the big dipper in the anime don't have many informations like in the game, in the game this part about the Big Dipper is super detailed, so is sad to not see this informations in the anime as well, but at least the Big Dipper is in the anime, Ryo and Ren decide to rest for a bit in this place, but Ren say again for Ryo to no tell him what to do.
The duo lay on the ground and Ren ask how he got into this mess, Ryo say that he was the one who wanted to come, Ren say that he didn't know the Yellow Heads were involved, Ren ask if Ryo have any idea how tough it is to be on their bad side, Ryo respond not really.
Ren say that Ryo is such an amateur. We see again the Big Dipper, Ren ask for Ryo if there is no safer way to reach the guy who killed his father, Ren also ask who in the hell Ryo is after, Ryo touch the plaster and say "His name is Lan Di" Ren say "Lan Di of the Chi You Men?"and Ryo ask if he know Lan Di, Ren say that The Chi You Men are a totally different league of terrifying from the Yellow Heads, that Lan Di is one of their big shots.
While Ren said this the scene change to Lan Di near a window and looking outside, Lan Di ask about Yuanda Zhu, we see that Dou Niu and Yuan are there, Dou Niu say nothing yet, Yuan say that they did wrangle up some guys who are looking for him, and it is a safe bet they might know a thing or two about Yuanda. Zhu.
Dou Niu gets angry and say that nobody cares about Ren or that japanese kid. Yuan apologized and Lan Di say "Japanese kid?" and Dou Niu say that they will definitely find Yuanda Zhu and get him for Lan Di. Yuan say that if they prove worth and the Chi You Men see fit to bring the Yellow Heads into their affiliation, then the mighty Dou Niu can rule over Hong Kong, Lan Di say he will allow it.
One of the Lan Di's goons say that a member of the Yellow Heads has an urgent message, Dou Niu goon say that Ren escaped. I love this scene, this add more to the story, we saw how Lan Di found out that Ryo is in Hong Kong/Kowloon, in the game Lan Di just appeared in the helicopter but here we had more context about the situation, this add more to the story, i loved it.
In the next scene we see Ryo and Ren again, they are trying to leave the place, Ren press the button of the elevator, the door of the elevator open and the duo see Yuan, Yuan say "Well, look who's here. I will slice you both to ribbons" and tries to attack the duo, the duo bests Yuan and Yuan fall on the ground. The door of the other elevator open and we see Dou Niu, Yuan terrified look at Dou Niu for help, Dou Niu gets angry and say "How dare you hurt my cute little Yuan! I'm gonna tear you limb from limb!" Ren say that they will not doing this now and start to run away.
The duo runs out to the emergency door but when they open they see that the emergency door is gone. Dou Niu is running after them and Ryo say they need to jump to the next building, Ren think that Ryo lost his mind but Ryo say to get a running start, Dou Niu is getting near but the duo jumps to the next building at the last second. The duo is now in the other building and Ren say that Dou Niu can't catch him that easily.
Dou Niu say they will never get away. It is interesting that in japanese this is another scene that Ren say... "Junnen hayai da yo" one of the phrases when Akira wins a fight in Virtua Fighter, in Shenmue II and Shenmue III Ren say this phrase as well? i don't remember, if someone know please share in the comments below, but it is an interesting detail in the anime, i love that, and i will talk more about that one day my thoughts about the theory that Ren will die in the story.
Ryo and Ren return to Hong Kong, the duo go to Wong's place and we see an easter egg, the capsule toy of the first game, nice detail. Wong say they are good to go, Ren say that nobody picks a lock better than wong there.
Joy say she is surprised that Ryo and Ren are getting on like brothers. Ren disagree and think that Ryo roped him into a real mess, that Ryo is serious about taking on the Yellow Heads. After hearing this Joy is surprised by that, Wong ask what's wrong, Joy say that is nothing, she just astounded by the level of stupidity. Ren say they can talk about this later, the duo return to Yang,
Ren is angry with him because Yang set the duo up, Yang say that Dou Niu forced him into it, Ren say that doesn't mean he is getting off the hook and he put Yang on the ground. Ryo say to hold up, Ryo ask for Yang to tell the truth this time about where is Yuanda Zhu. Yang say he don't know but when he look at Ryo's eyes he got scared and said to try the Huangs place, that Ryo might be able to find a lead there.
Ren san if Yang mean about Huang the wiretapper, Yang say yes and Ryo ask for Ren if this person is someone he know, Ren responde that more or less, Ryo say "Then please tell me, where can i find him?" Ren say... "Here we go again. Come on" and the scenes ends. The duo go there but Huang is not there at the moment.
Ren say that shoud be tapes somewhere, Ren found the tapes and say he is afraid to ask what is Ryo's plans, Ryo say that there has to be a clue in this tapes somewhere. Ren ask if Ryo will go through all of them, Ryo say yes and Ren say he is at his limit. Ren say for Ryo to not get any funny ideas, that like he said before, that he is getting a "big score" feeling off Ryo.
In the next scene we see Xiuying at Man Mo Temple, she start to remember moments with Ziming again when they were young. Ziming say he will not give up, that he swear that he is going to track down whoever killed mom and dad, Xiuying ask how, Ziming respond that The Chi You Men will know, that he will get revenge even if he have to sell his soul, that they will pay dearly, after that Ziming left and the flashback ends, Xiuying make a sad face and close her eyes and the scene ends.
We go back to the duo, Ryo is hearing the tapes while Ren is on the coach, Ren ask "Still nothing, after going through so many? You are seriously barking up the wrong tree, buddy" then in the tape that Ryo put they hear Yuan saying "I just found a new toy" Ren get up to pay attention to the tape. Yuan say that snagged one of Yuanda Zhu's flunkeys, a man by the name of Shuqin Zhang, Yuan's bird repeat the word Snagged two times. Dou Niu say that this is great and ask where is Yuanda Zhu, Yuan say that will make him cough it up.
Ren noticed that this is Yuan and Dou Niu, Ryo say that they got Shuqin, Ryo say that he guess Shuqin couldn't get away after they found him the first time, the tape continue and Dou Niu say for Yuan that this is fine, that Yuan can handle it but to make it quick, that The Chi You Men don't like to be kept waiting. Ryo stand up to leave and Ren say for Ryo to hold on, Ren ask for Ryo if he even heard what they just said, that if he keep looking for Yuanda Zhu, he will be going against both the Yellow Heads and a giant Chinese cartel.
Ryo say so what and that the only thing that he is out to do is uncover the truth behind his father's murder, that it doesn't matter who or what gets in his way, that whether back in Japan or in Hong Kong he will go to the ends of the Earth if he have to. After hearing this Ren made a satisfied face and tell Ryo to hold on, Ren ask if Ryo even know where to look for the Yellow Heads, Ryo say no and Ren say for Ryo to learn to use his head, Ren ask if Ryo heard that bird squawking in the recording, that this is his clue. The duo go to a bird's shop.
The attendant say that Yuan is a customer there who dresses in flashy clothes and wears earrings, Ryo say that's Yuan without a doubt, Ren ask if Yuan come by often, the attendant say yes, everyday for bird feed and it's the finest stuff they have available.
Ryo and Ren look at each other in a happy way. The duo hide near the bird shop, Ryo ask why Ren is helping him so much, Ren say that this is a good question, that he guess this is to cut a deal, that he is positive that when Ryo dig up that true his after, some serious treasure is gonna come along with it. Ryo ask how Ren figure about this, Ren say that first the Yellow Heads and now the Chi You Men, that these guys don't bring out their big guns just for nothing, that there's gotta be some real money on the line.
Ryo say that doesn't matter to him and Ren say that's why he wanna cut a deal, that he will help Ryo however he can, but when they eventually hit the jackpot, he will keep his fair share, Ryo respond that he can't give any guarantees. Yuan arrive at the shop and buy the food for the bird, Ryo stand up and Ren say for Ryo to wait, that they need to stay out of sight until they figure out where Yuan is holding Yuanda Zhu, that is better to stalk Yuan and Ryo agree. The duo follow Yuan, Yuan enter in the room and say for the bird that the food is there, the bird repeat what Yuan said, someone knock on the door, Yuan open the door and Ryo bests Yuan.
Yuan fall on the ground. Ren said that this was solid, the bird repeat "stop thief Stop thief" and Ren say for the bird to put a lid on it, ask the bird if the bird wanna be fried chicken, the bird just repeat what Ren said, Ren say that he will stand guard and for Ryo to find the guy.
Ryo start to search for Shuqin and found him, Shuquin is on the ground and unconscious, Ryo was able to wake up him, Ren enter the room and say they have big trouble, that Dou Niu is there, that they will come back for Shuqin later, Ryo say for Shuqin to act like he is out cold. Ren open the door of the closet and say near the bird "Hide in the closet" after that Dou Niu knock on the door but no reaction so Dou Niu open the door and see Yuan unconscious on the ground, Dou Niu get angry and yell what the hell happened there, after that the Bird repeat what Ren said about hide in the closet.
Dou Niu heard that and open the door of the closet, he search there but no one was there, Ryo and Ren is behind and both kick Dou Niu, Dou Niu fall inside the closet, the duo lock Dou Niu in the closet and Ryo help Shuqin to get out of the place. Dou Niu is angry and is trying to get out of the closet, Ren say "How do you like us now, stupid Dou Niu" and the bird repeat what Ren said. The Duo went to somewhere safe to talk with Shuqin, Ryo ask if Shuqin is okay and he say yes and that he was able to make contact, that Zhu is currenty in the Ghost Hall Building.
Ren say that then they got no time to lose, that he will have Sam and the gang shelter Shuqin in his hideout. Shuqin give the four animals keys to Ryo and ask for Ryo to please keep Zhu safe. It is sad that a lot of things about these animals were cut out in the anime, it is so interesting in my opinion the informations we have in the game, but i understand why the anime team cut out but i like the scene where Ryo and Ren used all the keys while the Shenmue theme was playing, really nice.
The Duo go to the Ghost Hall Building and used all the keys, the duo finally encounter with Yuanda Zhu, Yuanda Zhu is sitting. Really nice to see Yuanda Zhu in the anime and i love his design for the anime.
Ryo say... "You must be... Yuanda Zhu" Zhu respond "And you are?" Ryo tried to respond but Yuan appear laughing, Yuan thanked Ryo and Ren for doing all the hard work of finding Yuanda Zhu for them, and we see that Yuan is not alone, Dou Niu and two goons are there as well. Dou Niu say... "We finally found you, old codger" and Ren say that this is not good, that this is time to scram, Dou Niu say the are not going anywhere, Ren jump off the window but Ryo was still there, Dou Niu attack Ryo and the attack is so strong that Ryo is thrown out of the building.
Dou Niu jump off the building and say that Ryo wasted enough of his time, and that now Ryo is gonna pay the price for it. Ryo is on the ground feeling a lot of pain when Xiuying appear in front of him, Xiuying stared at Dou Niu while Ryo is on the ground and the episode ends.
What can we expect to see in the next episode?
I feel that in the next episode we will see the fight Xiuying VS Dou Niu, something will happen and Xiuying will probably decide to run away with Ryo. Maybe we will see Xiuying training Ryo, maybe we will see the leaves training in the next episode, it is not impossible and to me this is important, it is important to me for Xiuying to teach Ryo the importance of a clear and serene mind as a polished mirror, it will probably not happen in the same location in the anime, i just hope that this part is not cut out in the anime.
We will probably see more action of Ryo and Ren in Kowloon, and maybe more about Wong and Joy as well, maybe in this episode we will see Ryo VS Baihu, would be really interesting to see this fight in this episode, as far as i know Baihu is confirmed for the anime so this is really nice. I hope we can see more scenes with Shenhua and more scenes with Lan Di as well. Maybe the episode will end with Ryo VS Dou Niu beginning, or maybe a little bit before that, i'm looking forward for the next episode.
What NPCs do you want to see in the next episode?
I want to see Baihu, Joy, Wong, Ren, Ziming, Niao Sun, Wong, Yuan, Dou Niu, Yuanda Zhu and many other characters, and you? what NPCs you want to see in this episode? share with us in the comments below.
Final Thoughts
This episode is fast pace, a lot of things of the games were cut out, in the game is more slow pace, in the game a lot of things happen in Kowloon before Ryo meet Yuanda Zhu, it was sad that a lot of things were cut out but in my opinion EP 10 is a good episode, i loved it.
We saw Shenhua's father in this episode talking with Shenhua before leaving, we saw more about Joy's past, and that probably her mother and father died in the car with that explosion because of the Yellow Heads, was really nice to see more story about that, and we even saw more scenes of Lan Di with Yuan and Dou Niu, we saw how Lan Di found that Ryo is in Hong Kong, these things don't have in the games and add so much to the story, this things expand the story more and this is beautiful.
I love that we got more flashback of Xiuying with Ziming, this time Ziming telling the reason he is leaving, this flashback is for the audience to see why Xiuying decided to follow Ryo and appeared in the ending of the episode, and also for the audience to see that Ziming have a lot of things in common with Ryo, Ziming is like a Ryo but a Ryo that went into the wrong path in life, and when the time comes Ryo will probably not make the same decisions that Ziming did, and then probably Ryo will forget about revenge, i love this flashback.
Shenhua and Yunshen Yuan in the beginning of the episode, more about Joy's past, scenes of Lan Di with Yuan and Dou Niu and we see how Lan Di found out that Ryo is in Kowloon, these scenes don't have in the game, it is a beautiful way to expand the story, like i said other times, the anime complement the games and the games complement the anime, if someone want to have the complete Shenmue experience then i recommend both the anime and the games.
This episode is what I was imagining, lots of action with Ryo and Ren in Kowloon, the action scenes are really good, it looks like the anime team cut out a lot of things in Kowloon because Ryo didn't found Yuanda Zhu that fast in the game, it was slow pace in the game, as far as i remember a lot of things happened in Kowloon before meeting Yuanda Zhu but it's okay, when i miss the games version i can just play. Some things that the anime team cut out in the anime was sad but i'm enjoying the anime.
It is really nice to see a different version of Shenmue and see some parts of the story getting expanded, like more scenes with Shenhua and more scenes with Lan Di, we even saw Shenhua's father in this episode, really nice, i loved that. I hope we can see the catching leaves part in the anime, to me the lesson of a clear and serene mind as a polished mirror is important.
i don't know if catching leaves will be in the anime but at least the lesson i think Xiuying will teach Ryo. I say this because in the previous episode Xiuying said to Fangmei... "His mind is still not where it needs to be, a clear and serene mind." Something like this that Xiuying said so i imagine that Xiuying will teach this for Ryo. I hope we can see the catching leaves part in the anime, to me is important but now i don't know if will happen.
We are almost reaching the end of the season, now i feel more that the season will end in Guilin, maybe episode 12 will end with Ryo arriving in Guilin and episode 13 will probably be only for Guilin, and i think the final episode will end in the cave just like in the game, but if the season ends in Kowloon it will not be a problem in my opinion. I love the final scene that Xiuying appeared to save Ryo, nice way to end the episode to leave the audience wanting for more.
It is a fast pace episode and a lot of things were cut out but i really enjoy how the anime adapted this part of the story, i just hope next episode they slow a bit so we can see more about Kowloon, EP 10 is an episode with a lot of action, important flashbacks of Xiuying with Ziming, things getting add to the story like Shenhua's father appearing, more about Joy's past, more scenes with Lan Di and much more, overall EP 10 is a good episode and i'm looking forward for the next episode.
Just 3 episodes left to end the season... when the season ends i will miss this time of Shenmue content every week.
Next week i will come back with my analysis of episode 11 Entangled, thank you all for reading and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you, bye bye. ~
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