Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 13
Source: Video Game
Episode Summary: Ryo is an accomplished student and well-known as a martial artist. The training he received from his father allows him to lead his high school’s Karate club to victory. When Ryo returns home to his father’s dojo, however, he notices a conspicuously open door and finds his father fighting a losing battle against a man dressed in striking green kung-fu robes. The man blames Ryo’s father for an individual’s death, all while demanding the location of a mirror his father possesses. After learning its location, the man dressed in green finishes off Ryo’s father.
The aftermath of this incident is confusing – who was this man and why did he label Ryo’s father a killer? Some folks around town suspect the Chinese Mafia based out of the port of Yokohama might be to blame. It turns out that Ryo may not have known his father as well as he may have thought. As he begins to put the pieces together, Ryo finds himself under attack again, though this time his father’s teachings and wisdom prove invaluable. Rather than continue on to college as he’d planned, Ryo decides to use this time to learn more about his father’s dealings and perhaps gain more insight into his family’s past.
Impressions: Shenmue is one of those video games I’ve always heard talked-up quite a bit over the years. It’s also a game that I’ve never had the opportunity to actually play myself. I wasn’t lucky (or aware) enough to have ever gotten my hands on a Sega Dreamcast; while in retrospect I can now appreciate the groundbreaking nature of the game system, at the time I had fully bought into the notion that gamers were to segregate themselves based on company loyalty and I was definitely team “PlayStation,” so I didn’t really pay it any mind. Now that I’m older and don’t have a lot of time to play video games anymore, hindsight has allowed me to lament the things that I’ve missed. So it’s a nice convenience when an old story gets dusted off and re-shared in a format that I do have more time for.
Shenmue: The Animation bridges the gap between two things that I really enjoy seeing depicted – the aesthetics of old kung-fu movies, and the milieu of 1980’s Japan. Its place in time is subtle, to be sure; aside from some brief glimpses of automobiles and perhaps some of the fashion, it wouldn’t be out-of-line to believe that this is a story set in the modern day with some old-style sensibilities. Yet, there’s some essence of it that feels definitively old-school in a similar way to Yakuza 0 (which, judging by having actually played that through somehow, seems like it might have a lot of similarities to Shenmue as a video game). If I were more of a historian I’d probably have something more substantial to say about it, but I’m not; it’s simply a feeling and an atmosphere that I have a difficult time quantifying.
Leaving that aside, this episode serves as a good jumping-off point for what seems to be a solid, entertaining, and almost defiantly trope-y action-adventure series. It gives off some real Karate Kid II vibes (and not just because Ryo is educated in and uses karate to fight). Its martial arts flavored story, which appears to take place between multiple nations, just hearkens back to that sort of tale in my mind. To be honest, I went into this viewing with few expectations – I’ve been a little bit underwhelmed by some of the other Crunchyroll/Adult Swim partnership productions. This one, however, starts off on the right foot and seems like it could be a lot of fun.
Perhaps someday I might even give the games a try!
Pros: This is a nice-looking show which does a good job capturing the look of the characters from the game while also ensuring that they don’t retain too much of the “early CG cut-scene” rubber-faced look that ensures that it and many of its contemporaries seem extremely dated today. It seems to be one of those shows that puts its animation resources where they’ll be most appreciated – in the action scenes – which isn’t the criticism it might seem to be; it’s more that the animation quality is functional most of the time but there are moments that are more visually-interesting to look forward to.
Cons: I’m often a little bit wary when it comes to Japanese depictions of other Asian nations and nationalities, considering their history in the region. I watched an interesting video essay recently which talked about Hollywood’s use of Asian cultures and tropes in movies over the years, and the things that might make them successful or not in the eyes of people from those cultures. Obviously that’s Hollywood and not Japan, but I think the same sort of critical eye is required when watching fiction created from the perspective of a culture that has, in relatively recent history, done the oppressing. Is this simply a question of paying homage to kung-fu movies, or are the allusions to the “Chinese Mafia” something more? It’s hard for me to say at this point, but I think it’s something worth keeping in mind.
Content Warnings: Violence, including martial-arts hand-to-hand-combat with blood and a fight resulting in a character’s death offscreen.
Would I Watch More? – Before watching this episode, I wasn’t really interested in the series. Now that I’ve gotten a sense for what the story is about, I’m a lot more interested. That said, though I have limited time lately I’m tempted to pick up the game(s) on Steam (at least the first two of the three in total; I hear the third was a real let-down, especially after so many years). And in that sense, perhaps this anime adaptation is serving its purpose – bringing in new fans to a story that’s spent years cultivating a cult following.