Shenmue

As a fan of the Shenmue franchise for over twenty years, I set the bar high for Shenmue: The Animation. After watching the first episode (twice) I am blown away at the quality that was delivered. It felt both fresh and familiar. It has exceeded my expectations, and I eagerly await the next episode to drop.

This series is amazing so far! When first announced, I had my doubts as I don't watch anime outside of Studio Ghibli movies, and it was based on my favorite game series of all time. However, the animators have captured what makes the story so special. One of the biggest complaints people had about the games as the slow pacing, but with the TV format, they definitely have picked up the pace while keeping all the important scenes intact. The animation and music have been great! The english voice acting is on par with most English anime dubs and the Japanese voicing is good as well if you chose to watch it that way.

The plot is very well thought out and adds new layers to the characters. In video games, due to technical and dubbing issues, the voices are somewhat flat. In this adaptation, in the version with Japanese audio, they are the same voice actors but adding all the expressiveness that was not possible in the games.

The animation of the series is correct, it is not dazzling and the low budget is noticeable in some scenes where the saving of frames is very evident. But instead of subtracting it seems to complement very well with the story whose development is more leisurely. So maybe it's a creative decision.

With an engaging story and high production value this martial arts murder mystery ought to appeal to fans of anime, fans of videogames, and fans of good storytelling.

I never played the games but I've enjoyed the first 10 episodes enough to call myself a fan. I recognized the voice of Ryo, Masaya Matsukaze from his role as Colt in Attack on Titan. He's a good actor and bring a lot to the main role. The other cast do a good job too. M A O is great as Joy in the second half of the season.

I like the overarching plot and how it's a journey carrying the main character forward to grow and learn in new places. He's headstrong and needs to become wiser if he's going to uncover the truth, which I think is the point of the story. It's nice to see all these eastern locales depicted. I'm going to give the games a try now!