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Crunchyroll Unveils Shenmue Anime Series' First Look Video, Art
posted on by Alex Mateo
Crunchyroll revealed during a New York Comic Con panel on Thursday a first look video for Shenmue the Animation, Crunchyroll and Adult Swim's anime series adaptation of Yū Suzuki's Shenmue game series.
The company also unveiled new key art:
Crunchyroll will stream the 13-episode series worldwide outside of Japan and mainland China, and Adult Swim will air it on its Toonami block in the United States.
Chikara Sakurai (One Punch Man season 2, Magimoji Rurumo, Lost Song) is directing the anime at Telecom Animation Film. Sola Entertainment is credited for production management. Shenmue game series director Yū Suzuki is the executive producer for the project.
SEGA released the first Shenmue game on its Dreamcast console in Japan in 1999, and in North America in 2000. The company released Shenmue II on the Dreamcast in Japan in 2000, and in North America in 2001. Shenmue II also received an Xbox version in 2002. The series was originally planned as a trilogy.
Sega released the Shenmue I & II game collection in North America and Europe for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in August 2018.
Shenmue III was originally slated for release in December 2017, but was pushed back to the second half of 2018 and then to 2019. The game was then slated for release in August 2019, but was delayed again before finally debuting in November 2019. The game was initially funded through a Kickstarter campaign in 2015, which set a new record for the highest funded video game Kickstarter campaign at the time. The campaign closed after raising US$6,333,295 from 69,320 backers.
Crunchyroll and Adult Swim are also collaborating on the Fena: Pirate Princess and Blade Runner: Black Lotus anime.
Update: Thursday's panel and the video above announce the anime's 2022 release.
Source: Email correspondence
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