Shenmue, the series that is somehow both a jiu-jitsu revenge saga and a slow-burn slice-of-life drama about forklift driving and collecting capsule toys, is being adapted into an anime series.
It’ll be a joint production between Crunchyroll and Adult Swim (like the upcoming Blade Runner: Black Lotus series), and Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki will serve as executive producer. It’s being directed by Chikara Sakurai, who directed the second series of One Punch Man, with animation production from Telecom Animation Film. Shenmue: The Animation is planned to run for 13 episodes, which means they might make it halfway through the first game.
Shenmue 3 was released last year, after an 18-year gap following Shenmue 2. Andy Kelly enjoyed the calm sedateness of the experience, saying in his review, “This unlikely sequel sticks so closely to the formula of the first two games that it’s almost as if the last 18 years of game design never happened. And honestly, as a fan, I couldn’t be happier.”
