‘Shenmue’ trailer: the long-awaited anime adaptation of the video game retains all the style that made the classic great

13 episodes full of mystery, martial arts and charismatic characters are what will make up this series that will boot the same way as the 1999 Dreamcast video game designed by Yu Suzuki. There, as here, the action takes place in 1985, in Yokosuka: a mysterious man named Lan Di confronts Ryo Hazuki’s father in a dojo. The devastating consequences of that fight are the theft of a mirror that Ryo’s father had sworn to protect.

Our hero will thus begin an investigation of the murder by China and Japan, in the course of which he will be involved in a war between secret organizations with mysterious hidden plans. This starting point will continue in the series with characters even from the first sequel to the game, as seen in the preview posters, where Wuying Ren and Joy appear. We also have a promise that the series will include footage cut from the games back in the day due to budget or age rating issues.

February with Ryu

February 6 is the date for the premiere of this production by Telecom Animation Film, responsible for series such as ‘Tower of God’ or ‘Lupine the Third: Part 5’. We will have it on the Crunchyroll anime streaming platform, and in the United States it will be seen on Adult Swim, Warner’s adult animation channel. In this way, and unless there is a conflict of rights with Crunchyroll, it is possible that at some point it will reach HBO Max.

‘Shenmue’ is one of the most ambitious video games of the 32-bit era. His mix of role-playing game, simulation of daily tasks, mini-games and elements such as the passage of time that was surprising in its day and became a key influence for the modern genre sandbox. Its first two sequels were sales flops, multiplied by the skyrocketing cost to Sega, and Suzuki (who is listed in the series’ credits as an executive producer) financed a third installment in 2019 through crowdfunding.