In a surprising move, Crunchyroll announced at the Virtual Crunchyroll Expo an anime adaptation forShenmueis coming, titledShenmue The Animation. It’ll be a 13 episode TV anime produced by Crunchyroll itself and Adult Swim. The anime itself is made by Telecom Animation Film, the studio which recently worked on the anime adaptation of popular Korean mangaTower of God,which was also co-produced by Crunchyroll.Yu Suzuki is credited as Executive Producer for the anime, and it’ll be directed by Chikara Sakurai, a veteran animator who also directedMagimoji Rurumoand the second season ofOne Punch Manat JC Staff. More details like airing date, the cast and further names on the staff will be coming later. It’s likely the cast will be the same one as inShenmue 3. We’ll know for sure when a first trailer comes over. An official Twitter opened for now:
Note that something related toShenmuewas recently reported to be revealed.It turned out to beShenmue The Animation.
Shenmueis a very particular game where players spend most of their time investigating and questioning NPCs. It’s often compared to theYakuzaseriesbut it’s actually very different. Mainly in howShenmuehas way less action and fights. Most notably the firstShenmuegame, which I assume is what will be adapted with these 13 episodes. If it turns out well, it might be a good entry point into the franchise for those who never owned a Dreamcast or didn’t try out the recent remasters. Keeping all of the above in mind though, I assume there will be a lot of changes made forShenmueto work as an anime series.
Moreover, the story ofShenmuein itself isn’t particularly innovative or interesting. The adventure of protagonist Ryo Hazuki trying to avenge his father by pursuing Lan Di is a typical martial arts story. What makesShenmueso impressive and memorable is its game package. How it encompass this story, its charismatic characters and resonating themes. It’s still one of the most immersive games ever to this day. I have a hard time imagining how the anime will reproduce Ryo questioning everyone, knocking on every door, and longingly examining every shelf and drawer he comes across. If it does manages to pull it off though, it’ll definitely be a fun experience for any 20 years longShenmuefan.
Shenmue 3did a lot of things wrong, most notably its battle system, but itwasn’t as bad if you actually like the series.Personally, my main gripe was how it barely advances the overall story, especially considering how Yu Suzukiteased ita few weeksbefore release.Maybe this anime will be a good way for fans to waituntilShenmue 4.
In a short video interview forShenmue The Animation, Yu Suzuki said he hopes fans will warmly welcome the series. Director Chikara Sakurai mentioned he was too poor to buy the game back when it released, so he’s really happy to be working on this project now. However, he needs to be careful and not go overboard with doing everything he wanted to back then but couldn’t:
Crunchyroll in the past has already been onanime production committeesof certain anime series, guaranteeing itself the licensing rights to stream those series in the process. On June 05, 2025, Crunchyroll announced a new “Crunchyroll Originals” label that will include everything it produces or co-produces. Shenmue The Animationshould be under that label.
Shenmue IIIis available now on PS4 and PC.Shenmue I&IIthe remaster compilation, is on PS4, PC, and Xbox One if you’d like to discover the series.
