Audience reviews
15 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Ganymede1135
A pulse-pounding and deeply in depth anime version of the amazing video game series! The style is fantastically smooth and retains the drama and internally-driven grit of the original storyline. The characters were just as intriguing, rich, and complex as in the games and I was very pleased how they were written in the series, really made them all the more interesting. Both emotional and spiritually engrossing aesthetic with an intriguing air of mystery that makes Heroic Journey stories such as this one so resonant.
A shame it was not renewed for a second season, I really was eager to see the story continue.
Read at the sourcemetalhead33
Ho boy... Shenmue, the anime. You can't write a review of it, without mentioning the fact, that this anime is an adaptation of a video game series, with episodes 1-5 being an adaptation of the plot of the first game (Shenmue I, 1999), episodes 6-13 being an apdatation of the plot of the second game (Shenmue II, 2001).
When adapting the storyline of an interactive piece of media (such as a video game) to a less interactive form of media (such as an anime, live-action movie or TV series), there are so many things that can go wrong, and much to my positive surprise, Shenmue the Animation did everything right.
It captured the essence of the story perfectly, it has all the important characters, and at times, it even expanded upon the story a bit, which is quite the feat given, given that...
W…
Read at the sourceGarlandReese
It is safe to say that after many, many attempts over the years, someone making an adaptation of a video game for the purpose of TV or film is going to be perceived, at best, with a sense of high scrutiny. Such was my reaction when I saw Crunchyroll and Adult Swim had teamed up to create "Shenmue the Animation", based on Sega's open-world fighting game franchise that is more notable for it's long-hiatus between Vol's 2 & 3. As a younger man, I played some of the Shenmue games on the Dreamcast and enjoyed the beat 'em up aspect and the freedom of a sandbox world, while trying not collapse from the woefully poor voice acting. I felt this was a fine choice to adapt into an anime. Lots of martial arts fighting, a spiky-haired, teenage protagonist, and the long, winding road of a quest for reve…
Read at the sourcelamaraptor
My experience with the Shenmue franchise begins and ends with the couple reviews made by videogamedunkey. to my understanding this covers the plot of the first two games, with plans for a second season to cover the recently released Shenmue 3. Based on what little knowledge I have of those games, I can see now that they probably would have worked much better as a movie or a tv show like this in the first place than as games. While they were a marvel at the time they were released, showcasing realistic human models and expansive open world-cities rivaling even some modern games. On a technical level they were impressive to say the least, but in terms of what they had to offer in actual gameplay vs the amount of story they were actually able to tell it was pretty poor.
Shenmue is obviously…
Read at the sourceaoikimahri
I have never played the games so have no high expectations nor can I be utterly devastated. It looks exactly like the trailers. Very average, perfunctory, and ultimately forgettable. It's something you can throw on the background and sort of zone out while doing other things, much like a mundame crime procedural e.g. CSI. It won't offend or excite. It's just there. There is zero character development or emotional drama. You won't care for any of the characters. Everyone is very simple and one-dimensional. Same for the repetitive dialogue. It's a simple revenge story involving a murder mystery that's really just an excuse for yet another martial arts battle. You can clearly see the game-centric nature of the storytelling. He finds some martial arts master, the master gives him a one-line me…
Read at the sourceDevinitas
Shenmue was, at its time, a marvel of a game, an accomplishment in more ways than one. The first true Open World Game loong before the genre became popular. And while that certainly was an impressive feat, the game is probably even more remembered for its characters and its philosophy.
And the latter ones, the most important parts, are what this Anime actually managed to capture really well.
Ryo, despite not being an overly interesting or complex character, is nevertheless very likable and even endearing as a protagonist. He's straight as an arrow, which initially makes him fit neatly into the "young boy on a revenge quest" archetype, but together with all the other characters, he actually develops very nicely alongside the people he forms a connection with. And while the gamey elements…
Read at the sourceMur-CuoreDiVirgo
I enjoyed Shenmue the Animation very much and was glad I could feel lot of the original vibe throughout all the episodes, something I was really hoping for. I found in particular the visual art pleasant, with various places resembling the atmosphere of their video games counterparts very nicely, like the peaceful and spiritual Man Mo temple, the Hazuki Residence, the Yokosuka harbour or the Bailu landscapes for example.
I also appreciated the soundtrack and the faithful representation of the various characters, just to say some, Ryo, Shenhua, Joy and the fascinating master Lishao Tao. Regarding the story, it covers the first two video games main events, by also reproducing some unforgettable iconic moments, although I understand some remarks about being narrated in a bit of a rush followi…
Read at the sourceCataOrShane
Shenmue is an amazing story that began in 1999 and to this day it's still unfinished. This anime is an adaptation of the first 2 games in the franchise.
I really hate the gameplay elements of both games but the story is just phenomenal. When this anime was announced I was hyped to experience just the good part of the saga. I still believe it's mandatory to experience the games, although I'd recommend to watch someone else play it because the gameplay of the 1st two games is atrocious, as I said before.
Animation & Sound:
1) The visuals look very faithful to the games except for Ryo and Ren's faces. I wish Ryo looked more babyfaced but both of their faces look too big compared to their game versions.
2) The animation is quite inconsistent and CGI just ruins whatever good could be happ…
Read at the source-Hyunckel-
A great anime adaptation of console masterpieces.
Recommended both for those who have never played the video games, as well as for the fans of them.
Very faithful to the originals, but at the same time introduces interesting changes that are not at odds with the story or the characters, in addition to adding new scenes.
The production staff are fans of the games due to the love and passion they have put into the project.
The pacing is really good and it keeps the intrigue and interest going at all times. very well adapted to the anime medium.
The animation is quite successful, especially in the action and the music is the same as in the games and is very well used in each scene.
The voice actors in Japanese are the same as in the games and their acting is really good (I can't comment…
Read at the sourceTacoshell69
If you're looking for an anime that involves the typical shitty big boob girl animes that have horrible writing, Shenmue The Animation is not for you. Shenmue The Animation is based off the first two Shenmue games, which involves the protagonist, Ryo Hazuki, as he sets out to get revenge on the man who killed his father, Lan Di.
Story 10/10.
Shenmue The Animation's story is based on the games Shenmue I & II. The story involves Ryo setting his sights on getting revenge against the man who killed his father, Lan Di. Ryo's journey starts in Japan where he goes around his hometown of Yokosuka to a harbor in Amihama to Hong Kong where he gets help from a martial artist to being affiliated with a person named Ren, who runs a gang named 'The Heavens'. Ryo and Ren team together to fight a high-l…
Read at the sourceWATAAAAAAAAA
Shenmue is a divisive series. On one hand it is a relic of the past, an ambitious attempt at an open-world game that has failed so that other games can surpass it. On the other, fans swear that it is a timeless masterpiece that deserved to be celebrated among the best games ever made. Personally, I love the games I think it has a charm and story that are not seen often in other martial arts stories. However, I also agree that the video game’s biggest barrier is its nigh outdated game design and English dub which makes it a struggle to play through. When I saw that it was getting adapted into an anime, I was very skeptical since most video game adaptations end up in disappointment (Bayonetta, Persona, Tekken, etc). Luckily that is not the case. This is as close as you can get to the perfect…
Read at the sourceliteraturenerd
I didn't watch many anime this season, but of the few I watched this was my favorite. Shenmue the anime is an incredibly faithful adaptation of the first 2 games and finally helps tell the story of Shenmue the way the game's creator always wanted it told without any of the hardware limitations of the Sega Dreamcast or budget worries.
So, what the Hell is a Shenmue? Before we get into the anime review, we have to talk about one of the most unusual franchises in the history of gaming. The story of Shenmue begins with its creator Yu Suzuki. This guy was 25 years old when he made his first hugely successful arcade game in 1983. Throughout the 1980s, he just made hit after hit for the arcades. Games like Space Harrier, Hang-On, Out Run, etc. He was a programming wunderkind and everything he t…
Read at the sourceBowlerConspiracy
"It's called the Shenmue tree."
-- the following is a brief paragraph on my overall thoughts, followed by spoilers of story structure. reader discretion advised. --
Feel like I'm in the minority here, but I found Shenmue: The Animation to be an absolute slog and consistently boring. An overpowered protagonist who almost never loses and when he's on the verge, there's a plot device to save him out of the situation or a flashback that gives him the motivation to suddenly defeat his adversary. Being an adaptation of two separate games, there's a giant divide between the two halves as every character is basically forgotten as we make the switch from game 1 to game 2. The art is lackluster (looking at background characters is always my favorite and Shenmue doesn't disappoint in that departmen…
Read at the source-_Persephone_-
Shenmue The Animation is an adaptation of the masterpiece game series Shenmue.
A game series that revolutionized the game world in 1999, Shenmue and Shenmue II are games way ahead of its time. Shenmue is more than games to me, Shenmue it is a beautiful experience that i will never forget, and now we got a anime and this is wonderful. The more Shenmue in more media the better
This adaptation tells the story of the games Shenmue I and Shenmue II.
I'm a Shenmue fan and i love the anime, the anime added more informations and even more screen time and development for a lot of characters, this way adding many things that don't have in the games.
Some things that have in the games were cut out in the anime, and other things changed but i understand why, the anime is another version of Shenmue…
Read at the sourceKANLen09
For the uninitiated, Shenmue might just be another series that people are willing to take a back seat on binging all at one time, but for the true diehards, Shenmue is a masterpiece of a franchise that's like no other: it's arguably one of Sega's most beloved IPs with a heavy cult following with the first two games released on Sega's once-beloved but short-lived final game console, the Sega Dreamcast in 1999 and 2000, and Shenmue III making a revival in 2019. And fans might've wondered what an anime adaptation of Shenmue would look like if it was made modern, and courtesy of series creator Yu Suzuki and One Punch Man S2 director Chikara Sakurai, we finally got it thanks to Crunchyroll and Adult Swim's Toonami collab (that's thankfully no longer under their once-maligned Crunchyroll Origina…
Read at the source