Shenmue is getting a 13 episode original anime series which is based on the SEGA game franchise. WarnerMedia’s Crunchyroll and Adult Swim will be working on it. This project will be a co-production which will stream worldwide outside of Japan and mainland China on Crunchyroll and it will air on Adult Swim’s Toonami in the domestic U.S. The animators that will be working on this haven’t been all revealed but Sakurai Chikara who worked on the second season of One Punch Man as well as Naruto will directs with animation production by Telecom Animation Film, and production management provided by Sola Entertainment.
Furthermore, Yu Suzuki who is the creator of the game will be serving as an Executive Producer. Sarah Victor, head of development at Crunchyroll said “The first Shenmue video game was released more than twenty years ago and we’re so excited to be working again with Adult Swim to bring this franchise to life through anime. We’re eager to show our fans more of this action-packed adventure series as we move through production.” Sarah also added, “The world of Shenmue is fascinating and unique, and we are so excited to partner with Yu Suzuki to bring his epic creation to anime- and make a kick-ass martial arts epic!” said Jason DeMarco, svp/creative director on-air for Adult Swim.
This isn’t the first time that these companies working together on a project, previously these two companies announced that they are work on Fena: Pirate Princess, which is an original anime series that will be premiering on Adult Swim’s Toonami and on Crunchyroll in 2021. There is more, Blade Runner – Black Lotus, an animated series inspired by the Oscar-winning movie Blade Runner 2049, for Adult Swim’s Toonami. For those who don’t know Shenmue is an action-adventure game that was first released back in 1999 which was an amazing game that becomes one of the best games of their time.
There is still a huge and dedicated fanbase of Shenmue who waited 20 years for the third part of the game. The third game recently got released and it was a game fan have been waiting for. As for the plot, Shenmue follows the story of Ryo Hazuki. He witnessed his father’s murder at the family dojo, Ryo then dedicates his life to find the person that is responsible for his father’s murder. His journey takes him to a lot of places which takes him closer to achieving his goals. The cast of the anime hasn’t been revealed yet but in the future, we will get more information on that.
This is great that these types of things are happening which is that games are getting an anime adaptation. There was news that Cyberpunk will be getting an anime adaptation as well and it is been handled by some of the best people in the anime business like Hiroyuki Imaishi who worked on Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Promare. Yoshiki as well as Masahiko Otsuka. Moreover, the soundtrack is the work of Akira Yamaoka who is known for hai work in Silent Hill.
