Shenmuefans will not have to wait for the announced anime nearly as long as they did for the last game. The first trailer forShenmue: The Animationconfirms that the series will be premiering in 2022.
TheShenmueanime had been officially confirmed in September of last year, with the main draw for it being that it would bring the series creator Yu Suzuki on board as executive producer. This new 13-episode entry in theShenmuestory is aCrunchyroll and Adult Swim production, with animation duties going to Telecom Animation Film under direction from Chikara Sakurai (One-Punch Man).
Related:10 Video Game Sequels That Took Longer To Arrive Than Grand Theft Auto 6
With that in mind, the trailer forShenmue: The Animationdoes not appear to disappoint in any way, giving an early tease at some of the fights that will take place in it, but without giving away much of the story it will cover. The trailer is narrated by Shenhua Ling, literally Ryo Hazuki’s dream girl, who tells the legend of the dragon and phoenix mirror. It also foreshadows that the anime will extend itself ontoShenmue 2’s plot, as Ryo is seen on a boat possibly on his way to China from Japan.
Among the characters who can be spotted in the trailer are series villains Lan Di and the sneaky Chai, as well as Ryo’s father Iwao Hazuki and Guizhang Chen, all featured in brief glimpses of some of the game’s iconic scenes. Although there’s no specific 2022 premiere date, it was disclosed thatShenmue: The Animationwill be an Adult Swim exclusive in the United States, with Crunchyroll handling distribution in the rest of the world, save for Japan.
Suzuki has been quite vocal about some of his intentions forShenmuein the past, claiming the game’s story is far from complete, possibly being about 40% done according to him, a number that makes sense consideringhow many questionsShenmuegames leave unanswered. Whether or not Suzuki will ever get to realize that vision in video game form in an entirely different matter, asShenmue 3was considered a flop for keeping aged mechanics and tropes from open-world games that came out nearly two decades ago.
Still,Shenmuehas a thriving community of fans and modders that to this day areworking on updatedShenmue 1 and 2remakesthat seek to modernize both visual and certain gameplay aspects from these classics. As Suzuki puts it, anime is a far easier art form to tell stories because of its linear nature, so hopefully, he can make amends for the disappointment that wasShenmue 3.
Shenmuewill air on Adult Swim’s Toonami and stream on Crunchyroll in 2022.
