Spoilers Shenmue The Animation: Episode 1 - Thunderclap - Thread

It was amazing!

I watched it on Crunchyroll this morning and then switched to watch the English dub that I recorded last night on TV. While I will always prefer the Japanese audio, I was impressed with the English dub.

I love Corey's voice and he will always be the English voice of Ryo, but this dub was superior overall to any game (including III).

Not that my opinion matters, because I'll always choose the subtitles. But, if Shenmue IV comes along, I would hope they would spend the same time and care on the dub that they did with this animation.
 
Englishhedgehog said:
The decision to have Ryo glo up enough to defeat Chai was terrible. I know he only exists as a mini-boss in the grand scheme of the series, but if the anime was my first experience to Shenmue, I'd immediately have no emotional investment and Chai at all. And the growth of Ryo's wiseness as a martial artist didn't feel natural in the least.
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I didn't exactly hate it and I don't dislike it as much as you did, but I did find it incredibly cheesy (but it is an anime at the end of the day). It's just a minor criticism for me, but I do agree it didn't feel natural. I was hoping Ryo was going to get his ass kicked and then Fuku-San would barge in with some of his friends and Chai would then run off. Also, how dense is Ryo? It was obvious what Iwao's advice meant anyways.
 
Loved it.

I know what people mean about the pacing being slightly quick but that's because we as shenmue fans want it to explore the world more, it can't move too slow as otherwise would put of newcomers

I would have ended the episode on the death of his father. I would have had more pre-story at the tournament and they could have had the action there.

Was also suprised when he laughed which is unnatural for Ryo and especially so soon after death. Loved that he actually spent time with Nozomi though

9/10
 
Just finished watching the first episode and I must say I'm still floored by how great this is! I love the gritty, dirty and sinister look and their new take on the soundtrack. I also feel that this first episode was the perfect exposition to the entire story, they've got all pieces set in their place and Ryo's motives established perfectly.

No English voice acting for non-English-Speaking countries, it seems. We only got to choose Japanese dub with German subtitles. I'm not complaining though. Masaya and Sakurai are in top of their game. Vintage performance by Masaya Matsukaze, especially!
 
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I loved it.

Were the cave mirror close-ups straight up taken from Shenmue III in the beginning?

So many meticulous little details. I've got so much more to say but it's late for me.

Reprise said:
Also, how dense is Ryo?
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Have you played Shenmue? :ROFLMAO:

In all seriousness, I thought the Chai fight itself was cool as heck. The blows are so satisfying in the anime. Chai's JP voice, and his look, are incredibly creepy. Whether this defeat dilutes him as a character, it's too early to say, but I'm not worried. They aren't sticking to the game's specific story beats so Chai's purpose is likely different in the anime.
 
I didn't expect Chai to get owned this quickly :LOL:

I really enjoyed it. The animation looks so crisp and Ryo has more personality.
 
I enjoyed it a lot.
I wonder if each cold open is gonna be a scene from Shenmue 2-3 or further.

Really my only critics are...


1. I'd have liked to know what transpired those few days after Iwao's death. It's always skipped over.

2. Nozomi doesn't seem like Nozomi.


Anyway, the wait for Daybreak begins.
 
I absolutely LOVED it! The one thing that really stood out to me was just how high quality and polished the entire production was. It's so great to see the anime get such an amazing treatment.

I've also really enjoyed reading everybody's opinions and what they liked/disliked. I can see why some people might not be 100% on board with the faster pace or restructured story beats, but as I've said in the past I don't mind at all that things are being shaken up for this. It's a completely different medium for a new audience after all. I'm trying not to draw too many comparisons to the game as I watch. In my mind, this is a different experience.

But yeah - if the first episode is an indication of the rest of the season, I think we're in for a real treat here!
 
Watch the first episode of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and then tell me Shenmue the Animation is fast paced :ROFLMAO:

There were a few places I thought, "that was a fast cut", particularly during Iwao's death scene and a few scenes following, but overall I thought it was really well done. They covered a lot, which is a good thing for a series that is constantly lambasted for being slow and boring. This was not that!
 
I really enjoyed the english dub. The japanese dub is objectively much better, but I like hearing the english voices more. Ryo's voice actor is really good. The majority of the english cast sound good. Only ones that will throw you off is lan di and possibly nozomi.

Nozomi' english voice grew on me throughout the episode and the voice actress managed to communicate her character well enough towards the end.

Lan Di seems to have the same issue as he did in shenmue 3 with his voice. He sounds much better, but certain dialogue may throw you off.

But overall, the dub is solid. I think i may watch it this way going forward. Dub first, sub later
 
Hermit said:
This comes across like you think it isn't a valid complaint. They were the ones that put themselves in this position, if they couldn't tell the story of the first two games without it feeling rushed, then they should have addressed that problem. I always said the first series should have focused on Shenmue 1 only. Spreading 2 games across 13 episodes was something I was concerned about from the day it was announced. I am even more concerned now because they are adding their own spin on things.
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I think it's valid for you to feel this but I just saw a video review (also positive and a person who barely played the original game) saying to please bear with how slow the anime moves.

I'm with you that I would like the stakes to build slowly, but we're speaking from a place of being invested in the series and knowing how the story unfolds. Their goal with the show is to reach a wider audience. If people unfamiliar with the games are saying that it's slow, I think that reasseses objectively what the pace really is in terms of the medium itself.
 
I think what people have to realize is that this is an adaptation of the game its not a 1:1 recreation of the game in anime form.
Things are going to be different. It's called Shenmue: The Animation not Shenmue: The Game - The Animation

Also so far it's already much better and faithful than Persona 4 the animation, Persona 4 Golden Anime and Persona 5 the animation.

Persona 3 Anime movies are kinda different but really good though.
 
I finished watching the episode now, i even cried watching, it was an emotional moment for me, one of the reasons is that it was a long time ago since i saw an anime.

I stopped watching anime because of personal problems that i don't want to talk in the forums, i always wanted to come back about watching anime but now with Shenmue i finally came back in relation to watching anime, and the other reason is because Shenmue is super important to me.

People saying that Ryo laughing is out of character and that Nozomi doesn't look like Nozomi. I will say the same thing i said in other post, if people go to watch the anime with the mindset that the anime needs to be 100% like the games than they will get dissapointed with the anime, i will not be surprised if Ryo show more his feelings, like seeing Ryo crying, laughing, feeling fear and much more, and this way the viewers will connect even more with the character Ryo in my opinion.

I really disagree, Ryo laughing moment with Nozomi was nice, and Nozomi looks like Nozomi, we have the games, now we are seeing another version of Shenmue, of course is important for the anime to be faithful to the games but does not have to be everything.

I will not be surprised if Ryo and Nozomi have more romantic scenes in the anime and even more emotional in the anime. I love the games but i don't want the exact same experience with the anime, we even saw Nozomi in school, probably in Suka High. In the first episode we can even see Ryo question more things about his father, Ryo even questioned these things more something that doesn't happen in the first game, I love that.

A lot of scenes of the first episode are not in the game, the anime will not be 100% like the games and i am super okay with that, i love the first episode and i'm looking forward for the second episode, i love this new take in the Shenmue story and franchise.
 
ShenSun said:
I really enjoyed the english dub. The japanese dub is objectively much better, but I like hearing the english voices more. Ryo's voice actor is really good. The majority of the english cast sound good. Only ones that will throw you off is lan di and possibly nozomi.

Nozomi' english voice grew on me throughout the episode and the voice actress managed to communicate her character well enough towards the end.

Lan Di seems to have the same issue as he did in shenmue 3 with his voice. He sounds much better, but certain dialogue may throw you off.

But overall, the dub is solid. I think i may watch it this way going forward. Dub first, sub later
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How are you watching it dubbed?
 
Hiki said:
I finished watching the episode now, i even cried watching, it was an emotional moment for me, one of the reasons is that it was a long time ago since i saw an anime.

I stopped watching anime because of personal problems that i dont want to talk in the forums, i always wanted to come back about watching anime but now with Shenmue i finally came back in relation to watching anime, and the other reason is because Shenmue is super important to me.

People saying that Ryo laughing is out of character and that Nozomi doesn't look like Nozomi. I will say the same thing i said in other post, if people go to watch the anime with the mindset that the anime needs to be 100% like the games than they will get dissapointed with the anime, i will not be surprised if Ryo show more his feelings, like seeing Ryo crying, laughing, feeling fear and much more, and this way the viewers will connect even more with the character Ryo in my opinion.

I really disagree, Ryo laughing moment with Nozomi was nice, and Nozomi looks like Nozomi, we have the games, now we are seeing another version of Shenmue, of course is important for the anime to be faithful to the games but does not have to be everything.

I will not be surprised if Ryo and Nozomi have more romantic scenes in the anime and even more emotional in the anime. I love the games but i don't want the exact same experience with the anime, we even saw Nozomi in school, probably in Suka High. In the first episode we can even see Ryo question more things about his father, Ryo even questioned these things more something that doesn't happen in the first one, I love that.

A lot of scenes of the first episode is not in the game, the anime will not be 100% like the games and i am super okay with that, i love the first episode and i'm looking forward for the second episode, i love this new take in the Shenmue story and franchise.
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Good post!
 
I'm gonna wait with my 'review' until the whole thing is finished,
otherwise its gonna be hard to know where they are going with all the little tweaks
and i dont want to rectify / adjust things that i wrote about earlier episodes later.

But one thing is already clear, the japanese voices are pretty much perfect.
 
@Taarabt Thanks.

Also i love to see Shenhua with more screen time, i have a feeling we will see more about her life in Bailu Village like we saw in the first episode. Sadly the funeral scene that i imagined didn't happened but it is possible to appear in a flashback in the next episode, i hope so.

I love the song and the ending animation

Beautiful episode, i will watch again now.
 
I haven't posted in a minute. Hey dudes!

Holy shit was that good. Second time this week a show has made me cry.

I had some concerns but man was this well put together. The animation is perfect for the story and holy shit that music, unreal. I appreciate some of the liberties they are taking with the story too, so its not just detective Ryo walking around alone. There is no way in hell they could mirror the game 1:1 and make it entertaining for people that aren't already fans of the series.

The entire scene in the Dojo with Chai was so perfectly done. I can't wait to see how the rest of this series plays out.

Maybe I need to play Shenmue 3 sooner than later...
 
Ok, it'll be easier and quicker for me to tell what I dislike in this first episode, because there is only one thing I disliked, it's the Character Design. I dunno, the Characters, most of them, feel weird. Especially Nozomi that looks so not like the game. Ryo also has a less round and gentle face and more spiky-angry one. Couldn't recognize Fuku-San either, it was weird at first I thought it was another student of the dojo.

The rest is just f'in great. The music is magnificent, the animation and general direction is perfect, the narration was done right (maybe a little too fast, but i'm nitpicking here), the japanese dub is excellent, it's beautiful. I'm very excited for the other episodes haha
 
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