By Adult Swim and Crunchyroll have revealed that Shenmue the Animation will be debuting on February 5, 2022. Coming to both Toonami (Adult Swim’s anime block) and Crunchyroll’s streaming service, the show will run for an unspecified amount of episodes in season one that looks to cover the entirety of the first game in the series.
Originally announced back in 2020, it has been a couple of months since we last heard about Shenmue the Animation. Our first look was back in October of last year and it doesn’t show much more of what the show will be about. Curiously, though, an English dub trailer showcases different scenes and frames the plot almost completely different from this Japanese trailer.
Considering how many anime run for the same number of episodes, I’m guessing Shenmue will be 12-episodes that culminate in Ryo’s showdown with Chai on the docks of Yokosuka. A climactic battle that brought Ryo’s journey full circle, it would make for an excellent ending point to the first season.
What I do want to know is where Shenmue the Animation will end up. Does the series simply stop after season two after adapting the second game? Will we get some extra insight into Shenmue 3? Will this anime be taking the place of a proper conclusion to the game series? I’m probably jumping ahead of myself, but it’s still a curious situation that this series has found itself in.
Source: YouTube
