The following article contains spoilers for Shenmue: The Animation.
Traveling is always an exciting prospect and Ryo Hazuki’s Hong Kong arrival will meet most expectations as theShenmueanimebegins a new journey into the franchise’s second title, whose more expansive world and setting already starts to show its effects on the animated series.
That is becauseas one of the Dreamcast’s last games,Shenmue 2really raised the bar from its predecessor by refining nearly every gameplay aspect in it, plus having the added advantage of taking place in a massive city like Hong Kong. All in all, episode six encompasses events from roughly the first three and half hours of theShenmuesequel, and though some corners are cut the outcome should still satisfy most fans.
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The episode starts off with a small recap of what went down in the first five entries with an unchanged opening,so essentiallyShenmue 1, but things do get going quite fast as Ryo meets Joy without any of the prior arm wrestling and vending machine fun he goes through in the game. This can be considered the pivotal moment for the episode since Ryo’s encounter with Joy greatly defines his journey Hong Kong, however, there are some noticeable changes.
Unlike their video game story, Ryo and Joy don’t exchange names the first time they see each other, and this version of Joy seems a bit more mysterious, simply telling Ryo to watch out for himself while in the city. Small changes like these can be seen throughout the episode, and they’re complemented by Joy clearly having one of themost detailed character designs in the animeso far.
Regardless of everyone making a smooth and flawless transition from game to anime, both Nozomi Harazaki and Joy feature more meticulous designs, almost as if the artists really wanted these two main characters to really stand out from the rest. It’s a subtle detail but very much welcome nonetheless for the show’s female leads.
As for the environment,Shenmue’squest-minded approachreally doesn’t leave much room for wide-angle shots that showcase Hong Kong properly, so most of the viewer’s familiarity with the city comes from the small alleys where Ryo is constantly fending off thugs. Nevertheless, the script does refer to thehandover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdomto China, which is possibly one of the events that shaped Yu Suzuki’s vision for the city, even 10 years before that transition finally took place.
Anyhow,Shenmueisn’t all about wanderingacross a city, because Ryo also has to learn some martial arts along the way which in this case are a requirement for him to continue his adventure and find the elusive Yuanda Zhu and Lishao Tao. While in the game Ryo’s first visit to the Man Mo Temple directly old him about the Wude’s existence, the four essential teachings of martial arts, here our protagonist is left off to find out about such wisdoms on his own.
It would be easy to dismiss this small plot change as a shortcut for Suzuki to cycle through the game’s plot more quickly, yet it also works as a way to make Ryo’s anime adventure less mission-based, and thus more organic. Instead of hunting down for four Wude, here Ryo only learns “GON” (to train everyday without neglect) from the old man at Lotus Park, which also rescues a very cool moment from the game.
It’s not clear what this means for the other characters who also pass on these teachings to Ryo as, for example, he’s already met the old lady a the Yan Tin apartments (Guixiang Lee) he eventually helps by fighting off some gang members. Most crucially this should be taken as a further sign of Suzuki’s willingness to adapt and expand the series’ story tobetter suit anime storytelling, and naturally deliver a more entertaining show.
On that end, there’s really not much fighting going here because Ryo only has to use his fists a couple of times when he first gets robbed by Wong and company, plus once more when he goes to get his stuff back. This could also be seen as a way for the episode to convey the lesson Ryo must learn from Tai Chi, that martial arts come in many shapes and forms and that the style his father taught him is just the tip of the iceberg.
Overall, the sixth episode is nothing liketheShenmuepart 1 finale from last week, this is Ryo’s introduction to a whole new world of danger and possibilities, but it does look like a more promising setting. The Iron Palm technique, Joy, tai chi and master Lishao Tao, they’re all here, it’s just a matter of waiting a bit for all these elements to come together and put Ryo on an even more exciting path than he was before. Hang on for the credits though,because Ren is finally here too.
