Episode Recap - Shenmue the Animation S01E13: Shenmue

We made it to the end. Here’s the recap of the Season 1 finale: Shenmue.

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An Epic Showdown

Ryo Hazuki blasts through the roof access doors of Kowloon’s Yellow Head Building to reveal a scene that will prove to be the most perilous moment of his journey yet. Don Niu stands at the edge of the building, holding Wong off the side and prepared to drop the boy to his death unless his commands are obeyed. Yuanda Zhu is closely guarded by two Chi You Men enforcers. Presiding over this chaos is Lan Di, hanging in the air over the building and holding the rope ladder of a helicopter adorned with his syndicate’s insignia.

The sight of his father’s killer sends Ryo into an absolute vengeful rage, focusing him solely on attacking Lan Di. With pure red in his eyes, Ryo charges fist forward as the villain steps foot onto the roof of the building. The Chi You Men leader seems genuinely surprised to see the Hazuki son, as he intercepts Ryo’s punch with ease then pushes him back a couple feet with a kick. Don Niu, dissatisfied to have lost control of the situation, prepares to act on his threat to Wong’s life before Lan Di stops him by simply raising a hand in the air. He is prepared to take on Ryo’s challenge and signals him to attack.

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Ryo charges again, mustering every bit of offense he can in his attacks, but is swatted away each time. Lan Di notes his martial ability has improved a small amount from their first encounter. A few attacks more from Ryo make no difference and Lan Di decides to end the lopsided bout with a strike to Ryo’s gut, mirroring the takedown he used on him at the Hazuki Dojo. Ryo flies backwards while the rage in his eyes finally breaks and has to be caught by Ren on the way down.

Yuanda Zhu has seen enough. Not wishing to be witness to a young man’s death, he offers up the information Lan Di seeks from him to end the conflict. Wong is released from captivity at the insistence of Zhu and chagrin of Don Niu. He tells Lan Di the item is "in Bailu Village”, presumably referring to the Phoenix Mirror held by Ryo just a few feet away. Satisfied, Lan Di signals for his rope and returns to the helicopter, while Don Niu sees his chance to dominate Hong Kong slipping away underneath a sea of failures. As a last opportunity to impress Lan Di, the Chi You Men enforcers instruct the behemoth man to clean up the mess that festered on his watch. He turns to our heroes, intent on stomping out the rats before him.

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The Giant Falls

Ryo can’t accept that his father’s killer is getting away again and is utterly consumed as Don Niu moves to take him out. Ren rushes to pull him out of the way but Ryo still takes a massive fist to his back, sending the two flying. Still consumed by nothing but vengeance against Lan Di, Ren finally steps in to shake him out of his stupor, letting him know it’s blinding him from his ultimate goal: learning the reasons for his father’s death. Ren’s words remind him of Xiuying warnings and he finally realizes what he was about to lose sight of. Thanking Ren, Ryo turns toward Don Niu, finally prepared to defend his friends and end this dangerous situation.

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As Ren takes on the two remaining Chi You Men members, Ryo strikess right at Don Niu’s head, landing a powerful yet inconsequential blow on the giant. In turn, Don Niu lifts Ryo by his head and slams him to the ground, leaving him writhing underneath the gangster’s massive sandals pressing into his neck. In this moment of despair, Ryo calls forth all the lessons learned throughout the season, starting with his father’s words of wisdom and ending with Xiuying's guidance to clear his mind like the surface of the water. Snapping to, he frees himself with a shot to Don Niu’s ankle and stands before him, eyes closed.

While Yuanda Zhu can see the techniques being employed that will win Ryo this fight, Don Niu belives he’s giving up and ready to be finished. The ogre charges and is shocked to find his punches are now being expertly deflected. Ryo catapults off the big man to deliver a Swallow Dive to stun him. More punches are blocked with ease as the young Hazuki is focused entirely on maintaining a state of serene clarity in this fight. He redirects the energy of Don Niu’s last attack, opening up the opportunity to land a perfect rendition of the Counter Elbow Assault taught to him by Xiuying on Don Niu’s midsection. The Yellow Head leader goes down hard, completely defeated and never to live out his dream of owning Hong Kong. Finally seeing the criminal who killed her mother receiving his moment of justice, Joy looks on with gratitude in her eyes. Meanwhile, Ren has taken down the Chi You Men grunts to end the danger completely. Lan Di turns away from watching the outcome of the fight, flying off on the helicopter as Ryo swears they are far from finished with one another.

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Sins of the Fathers

Back at Ren’s hideout, the gang hears the answers Yuanda Zhu has to give. We learn Lan Di’s real name is Longsun Zhao, son of Iwao’s old friend Sunming Zhao. Lan Di killed Ryo’s father for revenge, firmly believing him to be the man responsible for Sunming’s death. Zhu is unable to validate that Iwao was involved in Zhao’s death. Ren moves them along to the mirrors, thrilled to find out that when brought together they act as a key to accessing a trove of treasures, sealed away for the purpose of reviving the old Chinese Qing Dynasty. Sunming Zhao held the mirror before it landed in Iwao’s possession.

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Joy correctly notes that little light has been shed on the truth Ryo is seeking, so Zhu advises the next step in his journey will be to travel forth to the Guilin region of China and visit Bailu Village. Lan Di is headed that way now and there will be answers to seek from the descendants of the craftsmen that created the two mirrors from the Phantom River Stone, native to that area. Ren notices Ryo has finally managed to stop reaching for the scar left by Lan Di, and Yuanda Zhu ends the conversation reminding Ryo to keep faith in his father throughout his journey.

Promise to Return

A day or two later, it’s time to say farewell to the friends made in Hong Kong. First up are Joy and Wong, greeting Ryo on the streets of Aberdeen. They remind him not to do anything stupid, which he agrees to before leaving their view. The two reflect their belief that Ryo will be fine and they’ll see him again someday.

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Fangmei diligently sweeps the entrance to Man Mo Temple as Ryo appears and thanks her for the help she gave while in Hong Kong. Hanhui emerges from the courtyard and inquires if Ryo mastered Xiuying’s teachings, to which he replies he must go to Guilin to find out. Visiting with Xiuying inside the temple, she remains concerned about his path and imparts one last time her wish he not live out a rage-filled life as a martial artist, like her brother did. To that effect, she gives him her white half of the Yin-Yang symbol she once shared with Ziming.

Ryo tells Xiuying he can understand the anger her brother felt, but also knows deep down she has experienced it as well, before learning to master it. Ryo plans to do the same and swears not to get killed, before telling Xiuying he believes her brother is alive and out there somewhere as well. The light in her eyes reveals a moment of faith in Ryo as he says goodbye and thanks her for everything she’s done for him.

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In a final send off for the Hong Kong gang, we see Joy pleasantly surprised to see fresh flowers from her father resting at her mother’s grave. She resolves to visit him herself, indicating the family estrangement is finally coming to an end. Elsewhere, Wong is living up to his promise to lead a better life, setting up a banana stand at the port. Ren’s henchmen gawk, wondering if the boy has lost his mind when their leader reminds them no one in the town had it to begin with. Ren looks off to the horizon, thinking of the riches he is certain to wait for him in Guilin…

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Day of Destiny

Ryo arrives in Guilin by river ferry and begins to make his way to Bailu Village, after receiving directions to cross over the nearby mountain path by a local. He’s forced to crouch at a river bank as dark clouds turn into a downpour. Ryo notices a small goat struggling to stay afloat in the river currents and then spots a girl jumping in to rescue the animal. Knowing she’s just put herself in grave peril, he swims after her and implores her to let go of the goat so she doesn’t drown. She refuses to let the animal die, so Ryo has to think quickly to save both of them. He sees a branch hanging low enough to reach. With every ounce of strength he has, Ryo pulls all 3 of them out of the bustling river currents and onto the bank before passing out from exhaustion. While unconscious, Ryo dreams of his father and reflects that his journey is ultimately to gain what Iwao deemed him to be lacking. He swears to continue pressing forward.

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Awakening in an unfamiliar bed, Ryo is greeted by the girl, Shenhua, who took him back to her house for rest after the river encounter. She expresses her gratitude for helping her and they exchange introductions before revealing they are in the very Bailu Village Ryo seeks. He rushes out of her house and immediately has a momentary vision of his father at a magnificent tree standing in the yard. This is the Shenmue tree, he’s informed by Shenhua. She gets her own name from the beautiful pink Shenhua leaves that blossom on the tree this time of year.

They head back inside and Ryo learns that Shenhua lives here with her father, while her mother has passed on. Ryo is amazed to spot a diagram on a table with the Dragon and Phoenix mirror designs. He places the Phoenix Mirror in front of her and she can hardly believe he would have this item in his possession. The mirrors were crafted in her village by order of China’s Emperor long ago and became the subject of terrible conflicts that claimed many lives, due to a hidden power within them. Believing her father may know more, the pair rush to the cave where he’s been working nonstop the past couple of weeks.

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The entrance to the cave’s work area, usually carefully locked, is ajar and Shenhua senses something is amiss. Inside they find an ornate sword and a letter from her father advising her the fateful day has arrived and his life’s work of completing the Phoenix Mirror is complete. The letter instructs her to entrust herself with the man bearing the Phoenix and undergo what he calls the ‘Trial of Proof’. He’s left her the family heirloom Sword of Seven Stars and wants her to keep it with them on their journey. The letter closes with a message that he’s always watching over her.

The season closes out the same way it began, placing the Phoenix Mirror into the cave pedestal to trigger the reveal of the two giant mirrors carved into the cave walls as the series prophecy is recited by the voice of Shenhua once more. Ryo then stands face to face with her atop a Guilin cliff as a single star shines down upon them from the sky. Destiny has brought them to each other to traverse the rocky path they must face together.

The Story Goes On…

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Comparison to the Games
Full spoilers for Shenmue 2 & 3 in this section.

He Got Off the Chopper: Lan Di finally got tired of holding that rope ladder and stepped foot onto the Yellow Head building, something that does not happen in the games. This sequence brought elements of Ryo’s encounter with Lan Di in the Old Castle at the end of Shenmue 3 into the fight. The quips about Ryo’s improved fighting skill and his inability land a blow on the villain both happen during the final boss fight of the third game.

Justice for Joy: A nice touch was to add additional payoff for Ryo’s defeat of Don Niu via the Counter Elbow Assault. Joy gets to walk away from this encounter knowing her father’s killer will never ascend to ruling Hong Kong’s criminal underworld. Because her backstory is not fleshed out this way in the games, the Don Niu fight doesn’t carry this additional weight there.

Banana Man: Wong realized there’s money in the banana stand and gave up petty theft. The end of the Kowloon section in Shenmue 2 might leave you feeling Wong could be better off as he waves goodbye to Ryo, but nothing of the boy improving his life is ever shown in the games.

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Those Mountains Look Like Hills: Shenmue 2 features a lengthy section of traveling with Shenhua to Bailu Village over the mountains after Ryo saves her and the goat in the river. During this time, the player is given dozens of opportunities to converse with Shenhua, learn about her, the village, and life in rural China. Pressed for time, the anime cuts this section and fast forwards the introductions to take place at her house in the village. I had wondered how an action focused series would handle this serene sequence, which is a complete change of pace from the rest of the game that took place before it. Ultimately, the answer is they chose not to handle it at all.

Gravity Bound Sword: The Sword of Seven Stars is a part of the trigger mechanism for revealing the giant cave mirrors in the game. It defies gravity and floats in Shenmue 2’s ending sequence. This was later retconned in Shenmue 3. Since this was the first time seeing the sword in the anime, it’s worth noting they didn’t use it to light up the cave.

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Final Thoughts on the Season

That was one heck of a ride. This finale had some real Shenmue magic to it in the form of the face off with Lan Di and Don Niu. I had a legitimate excitement for the sequence that I frankly didn’t expect to have, given it was revealed Ryo would fight Lan Di in some of the earliest promotional key art. Also, after getting over the shortening of the Guilin sequence, I again had goosebumps at the end. I’ve seen this sequence in the cave play out dozens of times now yet the anime managed to get me excited for it all over again. It really speaks to the power and potential of Shenmue’s narrative.

The past 13 weeks have provided episode after episode that faithfully adapted, and in some ways, strengthened the story of Shenmue. A number of subplots were cut and fans have noted what’s missing thoroughly. I feel an extra four or five episodes would have allowed them to cover everything that was missed, but ultimately 13 episodes is what was possible. I choose to give the showrunners grace and say I’m okay with what was left out, considering what they were able to add was pretty great.

I appreciated how they went the extra mile to provide additional depth to many side characters and give them more to do throughout all the episodes. Nozomi, Goro, Wong, and Joy were the main beneficiaries of this and I say each of them comes out of this series better off than they were going in. Ryo himself got a decent personality upgrade. I hope that carries over into Shenmue 4.

I’m thankful this anime series was made. It has been an opportunity for people completely unaware of Shenmue to learn why it has a legion of fans that never gave up on the series and continue to fight for its continuation to this very day. I see comments online almost every day of someone saying they’re going to try the games because they liked the anime. I’m heartened by that and see a bright future for Shenmue.

If you’ve been following these recaps over the past 13 weeks, I’d like to say thank you for reading. I don’t consider myself a writer and putting these together was no small challenge. I ended up with a much higher word count than I thought I would hit coming into this. It has been, and will continue to be an honor to participate in a community as great as this one.

Now let's hope to see Season 2 of Shenmue the Animation in the near future!

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4 or 5 more episodes would have been great like you said, probably because of budget we couldn't get more episodes, it is what it is but just the fact that now we have a Shenmue anime is amazing, really beautiful moment for the Shenmue community. ❤️

In my opinion with 13 episodes the anime team managed to tell the story of Shenmue I and II in a beautiful way. It is not easy to do this with 13 episodes but to me overall the anime team did a beautiful job, one of the beautiful things about the anime is the characters getting more screen time and development like Shenmue III characteres appearing, Yamagishi-san, Lan Di, Shenhua, Guizhang, Master Chen, Wong, Joy and much more.

The anime to me is a companion to the games.

Beautiful recap, thank you for everything you did for the Shenmue community over the past 13 weeks.
 
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