Shenmue The Animation S01E13 Shenmue - Analysis

Welcome to my last Shenmue anime Analysis of the first season of the Shenmue anime, this time for the season finale, EP13 Shenmue, this Analysis will have SPOILERS of the anime and the games.


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The episode begins again with Ryo, Ren and Joy climbing the stairs to get to the rooftop, the door open and Ryo see Lan Di, Lan Di is in the ladder of the helicopter.

Ryo and Lan Di look at each other, Ryos eyes begin to turn red, in this moment Ryo remember when Lan Di killed Iwao Hazuki, his father. Ren and Joy arrived there and see that now Yuanda Zhu is with the 2 Chi You Men members, Ren see that and say what the hell, Joy say what is this. After that someone yell and we see that it is Wong.

Dou Niu is threatening to throw Wong off the building just like in the game. Dou Niu say that this is far enough, that if Joy and Ren try something then he will throw Wong off the building. Dou Niu say that is sarting today he will work under the great Lan Di, Wong say to cut it out, for Dou Niu to get his hands off and to let him go. Wong try the way he can to escape but nothing work.

Dou Niu continue... he say that this whole city will soon be groveling at his feet. The helicopter get more near to the rooftop and Ren say that the person must be Lan Di.

Ryo is angry and touch the plaster, Lan Di gets off the helicopter to the rooftop, Ryo make the position to fight and we see Ryo's eyes more red than before, this in my opinion is to show how much Ryo is losing his mind and sanity, the red eyes is to show how much Ryo want revenge and this is a beautiful detail, loved it.

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Ryo yell Lan Di in a angry way, Matsukaze-san did a wonderful job with this, just with this yell i can feel the anger, sadness and pain Ryo is feeling in this moment, wonderful job.

Ryo yell more and in a attack position Ryo start to run to Lan Di, Ryo try to punch him but Lan Di blocked the punch, he blocked the punch and say... "It's you... the Hazuki boy." After that Lan Di kick Ryo two times, in the same way that happen in their fight in Shenmue III, really interesting detail.

Ryo and Lan Di look at each other again. Dou Niu ask if they don't care what happens to Wong and Lan Di make a gesture with the hand for Dou Niu to stop, Lan Di make the position to fight and say... "Come" for Ryo.

Ryo try to attack but nothing worked, Ryo try to punch but Lan Di grab Ryo's arm and say... "You have improved, somewhat." It is interesting that this phrase is really similar to the one that Lan Di say in his fight against Ryo in Shenmue III, another detail of the Shenmue III fight that the anime team put in the anime.

Ryo try to kick but didn'tworked, Ryo try a little bit more but with no success, then Lan Di do the same move he did against Ryo in the first episode, Ryo fall in the ground. Joy say "Ryo" and Ren run to help Ryo.

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Ren say for Ryo to no let Lan Di get him so wound up, Ryo and Ren look at Lan Di, Yuanda Zhu say enough and Lan Di's goons try to hold him, Yuanda Zhu say that there is nothing to be gained by bringing harm to these people, that he will tell for Lan Di what he want to know, but to first put Wong down. Dou Niu gets angry and say that Yuanda Zhu don't give the orders there, that he will not put Wong down, but Lan Di say very well, for Dou Diu to release Wong.

Wong feel happy about that, Dou Niu gets angry and throw Wong to the ground in a strong way, Joy run to help Wong. Lan Di make a hand gesture for his goons to not hold Yuanda Zhu anymore, with his wheelchair Yuanda Zhu get closer to Lan Di and wee see a nice shot that all the characters are paying attention to this.

Yuanda Zhu say... "It's in Bailu Village." Lan Di without questioning just grab the letter of the helicopter to leave the place, Ryo get up and say Lan Di in a angry way but Ren say for Ryo to quit it with this.

Dou Niu is worried and say... B-b-but what about... my total domination over Hong Kong...?" Lan Di's goons say for Dou Niu to hurry and clean up this mess, that this is a valuable opportunity for Dou Niu to show to Master Lan Di that he can do something useful.

Dou Niu gets angry and say that he will squash Ryo and his friends flat into the dirt, Joy say that this is not good and Wong is worried as well, Ren get near Yuanda Zhu to help him and say for them that they are making a break for it, and ask for Ryo if Ryo is hearing him, but Ryo can't stop looking at Lan Di, Ryo's focus is on Lan Di, Lan Di look at Ryo as well.

Dou Niu start to run to attack Ryo but Ryo don't move because his focus is on Lan Di, Yuanda Zhu say to watch out, Ren pushes Yuanda Zhu's wheelchair and say for Yuanda Zhu to make himself scarce.

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Ren start to run to help Ryo, Dou Niu is about to punch Ryo but Ryo just don't care because his focus is on Lan Di, at the right time Ren manages to grab Ryo while Dou Niu punch Ryo in the back and Dou Niu start to laugh. Ryo and Ren are sent away, but Ryo again say "Lan Di" in angry way like the only thing that matters is his revenge.

Ren gets angry and grab Ryo's tshirt, Ren say for Ryo to use his head, to snap out of it already, that his obsession with revenge is making him blind to everything happening right in frong of him.

After that we see a short flashback of Xiuying saying for Ryo "Becoming blind..." Ren continues and say for Ryo... "Listen to me! You're not the only one whose ass is on the line now! Remember what you said? You can't stop until you reach your goal, dammit!" We see a short flashback of when Ryo say that he can't stop, the flashback ends and Ren say for Ryo to move, Ryo touch Ren shoulder and say... "Yeah... you're right, thanks" and we see that Ryo's eyes are not red anymore, meaning that Ryo is more calm now about the situation, i love this details in the anime. We see Wong, Yuanda Zhu and Joy looking at them.

As far as i remember this scene with Ren trying to calm Ryo down don't have in the game, it is a itense scene and show that deep down Ren cares about Ryo, this is one of my favorites scenes of the episode, beautiful addition.

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Ryo make the position to fight and say for them to make a break for it, Joy say okay but Lan Di's goons are there and say not so fast, that noone of them are going anywhere.

Ren go there and say to leave the suits to him, for Ryo to kock Dou Niu down a peg. Dou Niu gets angry and say that he is sick and tired of dealing with goddamn annoying brats. Ryo punch Dou Niu's head but it felt like it was nothing to Dou Niu, he even smile, Dou Niu grab Ryo's head, throws him on the floor and stepped on Ryo's head and say that Ryo can't beat him.

Joy and Wong are worried about Ryo. Ryo say... "Father... what more must I do?" and a flashback begins where Ryo remember a lot of different moments of him with a lot of characters.

First Ryo remember Iwao saying for him that it's still not enough, that he is lacking and to keep that in mind, the second character Ryo remember is Yamagishi-san saying for him that a father does not show all of his faces to his son.

The third character Ryo remember is Master Chen saying for him that he refuse to lead a young man like Ryo into such a lions den, the fourth character Ryo remember is Guizhang telling for him that if he were in Ryo's shoes he I'd do exactly the same. After that Ryo remember Hanhui Liu asking him why he practice martial arts.

The last character Ryo remember is Xiuying saying that like the stillness of the surface of water, Ryo must clear his mind, to become free from distraction and channel his focus entirely on his mind itself.

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The flashback ends, Ryo open his eyes and punch Dou Niu's feet, Ryo managed to escape. After that Ryo decide to close his eyes again, Dou Niu say... "Is there a problem? You've got your eyes shut tight! I guess that means you're ready to die!" Joy and Wong see that and get worried, Wong say "What's wrong? and Yuanda Zhu say... "Wait, that technique..." Dou Niu say for Ryo to burn in hell, Dou Niu try to attack him, with his eyes closed Ryo was able to block Dou Niu's punch, Ryo open his eyes, Ryo jumps on top of Dou Niu and attack Dou Niu with a kick, Dou Niu gets angry,

Wong say this is a sweet move and Yuanda Zhu say that Ryo can master it. After that we see Ren bests Lan Di's goons, and after that Ren say... "Sorry, fellas. You will need a few decades of training to even come close to beating me!" It is interesting that Ren said again Junnen hayai da yo, one of the phrases that Akira Yuki say when he wins a fight in Virtua Fighter.

Ren say this phrase in the games as well? i don't remember right now but this is a beautiful detail, it is Ren's catch phrase in the anime, loved it. Dou Niu gets angry and say that he is gonna wring the life right of Ryo, Ryo start to think... "Channel all of my focus..." while he was thinking Dou Niu run saying that he will kill Ryo.

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Ryo continues..."Entirely... on the mind!" Dou Niu try to attack Ryo but Ryo manages to stop all the attacks, in the last one Ryo grab Dou Niu's arm and push Dou Niu to the side, after that we see Ryo with a serious face and red eyes preparing to do a move, all the characters looking at him, Ryo do the Coulter Elbow Assault in Dou Niu.

Dou Niu fall on the ground and Ryo win the fight. Wong is happy and say way to go, Yuanda Zhu say that Ryo achieved the serenity of a polished mirror. Joy is looking at Dou Niu, the killer of her mother, knowing that Dou Niu is defeated she makes a calm face with her hands together, Joy is finally at peace in relation to this situation, beautiful addition, i love that we see more of Joy's story in the anime, loved it.

Ren look at Joy and smile, Ren know Joy's story so it is a nice touch to see Ren looking at her and smiling this way, deep down Ren cares about Ryo, Joy and Wong.

Lan Di was there looking at everything in the ladder of the helicopter, Ryo look at Lan Di and the helicopter go away, Ryo say... "Lan Di... We are not done" and the scene ends.

Overall the rooftop part is intense and beautiful with beautiful additions, loved it.


Ren's Hideout

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In Ren's Hideout Yuanda Zhu got to know that Iwao died at the hands of Lan Di, he say that fate is a cruel mistress indeed, Ryo ask for Yuanda Zhu why would Lan Di kills his father.

Yuanda Zhu say for revenge, that Lan Di sought retribuition for the death of his own father, Sunming Zhao. A small flashback begin where Lan Di ask Iwao if he remember Sunming Zhao, the flashback ends and Ryo say that Lan did mention the name Sunming Zhao.

Yuanda Zhu explain that Lan Di's real name is actually Longsun Zhao, and that he firmly believed that Ryo's father, Iwao Hazuki was the one who killed Sunming Zhao, Lan Di's father, however Yuanda Zhu do not know the truth behind that accusation.

Ryo make a sad face and say i see. Ren was in the couch and say for Yuanda Zhu "Hey, gramps" Ren get up and say for Yuanda Zhu to tell them what is the deal with the mirror that Ryo has, for Ryo to show the mirror for Yuanda Zhu.

Ryo show the mirror and say that his father kept ahold of this mirror. Yuanda Zhu say he know of it, that this mirror used to belong to Sunming Zhao, Lan Di's father, that this Phoenix mirror is paired with another known as the Dragon Mirror, and together they form a key.

This key is the key to a massive fortune of hidden treasures that are intended to revive the Qing Dynasty. Ren is excited to hear this and say that he knew it, that nobody got a better intuition for this stuff than him.

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Wong and Joy say at the same time... "Uh-huh, sure" and Ren ask for Yuanda Zhu how can they get their hands on this treasure. Yuanda Zhu say that only by bringing both mirrors together will the secret to that be revealed, Ren make adisappointment face and say that the Phoenix Mirror alone doesn't do squat. Joy say that this is not the real problem there, that after all this, hardly any light has been shed on the truth surrounding the murder of Ryo's father.

Yuanda Zhu say that Ryo should go to Guilin. Ren say "Guilin?" and Yuanda Zhu continue, he say that Guilin is the place where Sunming Zhao (Lan Di's Father) and Iwao Hazuki (Ryo's father) once underwent training together, that Guilin is also home to the rare Phantom River Stone, which was used to craft these mirrors, that the descendants of the craftsmen should be living there, too, that Lan Di is making his way there now.

Ryo get up of the chair and say... "Lan Di?! Back then..." We see a short flashback and Yuanda Zhu say for Ryo... " That's right, that he told Lan Di about Bailu Village in Guilin. Ryo make a serious face and say "Bailu Village... Lan Di! at this moment Ren noticed that Ryo stopped touching the cut on his cheek. Yuanda Zhu say that the answers should lie there, for Ryo to have faith in Iwao... in his father and to keep pursuing the truth. Everyone look at Ryo, Ryo say "I will!" and the scene ends.

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In the next scene we see Ryo, Wong and Joy on the streets of Aberdeen. Ryo is walking when Wong say "Hey Ryo! You're leaving, huh?" and Joy say for Ryo "Don't Go doing anything stupid." Ryo turn around and say... "Of course. I owe you both so much. Thank you." Wong wave at Ryo and say bye for him, Ryo say later and then leave.

Wong say that Ryo will be okay, that Ryo is toughter than nails, Joy agree and say they will see see him again someday. Outside of the Man Mo temple we see Fangmei with the broom cleaning, Fangmei see Ryo and Ryo ask "How've you been, Fangmei?" and thanked for all her help. Fangmei make a sad face and say that it is true, that he is leaving Hong Kong soon, Ryo say yes.

Hanhui Liu appear and say... "Well then, does that mean you've made sense of the Master's teachings? Ryo respond that he is not sure yet about that and that's why he is going to Guilin, Hanhui Liu wish good luck for Ryo, Fangmei say that she got it all figured out, that the reason why Hanhui Liu gave Ryo so much guidance was because he had Master Xiuying in mind the whole time, Hanhui Liu just say that she talk too much. Ryo thanked Hanhui and Fangmei for everything. Hanhui say for Ryo that Xiuying is waiting him inside the temple, for Ryo to go and see her, Ryo say "right" and go inside the temple.


Ryo is in front of Xiuying, Xiuying say... "So, you're choosing to leave. And chase after Lan Di." Ryo respond no, that he is going after the truth, Xiuying get near Ryo and say "Take this" and give to him the white half of Yin-yang symbol she once shared with Ziming.

Ryo ask "What is it?" and Xiuying say... "I don't want you to end up being like my brother. A martial artist fueled by rage, barreling toward his own destruction, while Xiuying say this we see the flashback of when Ziming and Xiuying were young. Xiuying continue... "More than anything, I hope you avoid that path." Ryo say... "To some extent, I understand how your brother felt. And deep down... I know that you do, as well." Xiuying is so surprised that she turns aroud to look at Ryo.

Ryo say that he is not going to die, that he is certain that somewhere her bother is alive too, Ryo thanked Xiuying for everything and do the bow for her, Xiuying look at Ryo in a serene way, probably having hope that Ryo will not take the same path as her brother.

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I love this scene, it is a emotional scene, seeing Xiuying saying all of this for Ryo and concerned about him, all of this while we see Xiuying and Ziming flashback. Ryo is like a Ziming that propably will not go to the same path, this scene is really emotional to me, i even cried.


In the next scene we see Hong Kong Tea Shop, inside the Tea Shop we see Guixiang Lee, Jianmin Tao and the attendant of the shop, without saying a word all the characters look at Ryo in a proud way while seeing Ryo leaving Hong Kong. In the cemetery we see white flowers in the grave of Joy's mother, Joy is there and she say... "Huh? Hey Mom... Did dad come to pay you a visit? I guess sometimes I should visit him myself.

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Beautiful ending to Joy's story in the events of Shenmue II in the anime, we see that the things about her past is resolved and now Joy can move on with her life, beautiful to see that Joy story got expanded in the anime, and wonderful to see a lot of character development for Joy in the anime, a beautiful closure to her story in the events of Shenmue II, loved it.

Elsewhere we see Ren’s henchmen gawk looking surprised at something, Ren appear and say... "Hey. What's with all the dumb looks?" they say for Ren to just look, we see Wong saying... "Come one, come all! Step right up and be amazed! I've got the best deals on fresh bananas that you've ever seen! It's first come, first served, folks! buy before they're gone!" and we see some people there, one of them looks like the character Deling from the game, really nice to see this character in the anime as well.

Beautiful character development for Wong, Wong changed his life and it is not robbing people anymore, now he is a salesman. Wonderful character development, and wonderful closure for Wong's story in the events of Shenmue II, loved it.


Ren’s henchmen gawk continue... "Him? A salesman? Has he totally lost his marbles?" and Ray say for them to not be stupid, that there never been anybody in this town with their head on straight to begin with. While saying this Ren walk away, Ren look at the sky and say... "Guilin, eh? Sounds like a good time" and we see the sky is changing from Hong Kong to Guilin

In Guilin


Ryo is in the river ferry, Ryo look at the back of the photo and say... "Bailu Village." Ryo look at the photo and say... "And this man, standing next to my father... He might be." Ryo look at the sky and see that a storm is coming.

Yingshuihe River

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Near the Yinghuihe River rain begin to fall, Ryo decide to stop his trip because of the rain. Ryo think that he wasn't prepared for a downpour.
Ryo remember that according to the locals, he need to pass through the mountains on this path to reach Bailu Village.

A goat is in danger in the river, because of the storm the river is rough and the goat is in trouble. Ryo sees that and it is surprised. Shenhua is there as well and decide to jump on the river, Ryo say "Seriously?" and enter on the river as well, Ryo manages to hold Shenhua and ask for Shenhua to let the goat go, that if Shenhua don't do that she will drown. Shenhua say no, that the goat will never make it without her.

Ryo say "Dammit!" and try to find a way to go out of the river, Ryo sees a branch hanging low enough to reach and say "There" and manages to reach, Ryo managed to save Shenhua and the goat but passed out from exhaustion while Shenhua look at Ryo and the scene ends. The scene with the goat is nice.

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Ryo is unconscious and dream with his father, in the dream in a self reflection moment Ryo say for his father... "Father... you were always getting on my case. Telling me that i'm lacking. Now, after meeting so many people, it's finally hit me. Maybe the thing i've been searching for is whatever is lacking. That's why i've come so far. Father... I'm not done. I'm going to keep moving forward..." and the Ryo wakes up in Shenhuas house.


I love this self reflection moment of Ryo and with a beautiful song, emotional scene for me, it is so beautiful to see Ryo's journey, Ryo growing as a martial artist and as a character little by little, beautiful scene.


Shenhua enter in the room and thanked Ryo for saving her, she say that the baby goat made it out too. She also say... "My name is Shenhua. And you?"

Ryo say his full name for Shenhua and ask where is this place, Shenhua say is Bailu Village, Ryo
say "Really?!" Ryo start to run and get out of the house, he have a vision of his father for
a moment.

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Ryo stop and say... "That tree..." Shenhua get near Ryo and explain that the tree it's called the
Shenmue tree, that it blooms those beautiful flowers around this every year, that
the Shenmue tree is like family to her, that she grew up with it, and that the flowers that
bloom on the Shenmue tree are called Shenhua. In this moment we see flashbacks when
Shenhua was a baby and a child.

Ryo say "Huh?"Shenhua look at Ryo and say that yes, it is her namesake. Shenhua say "let's go
back inside." Ryo go back with Shenhua to the house, Ryo ask if Shenhua live there on her own.

Shenhua say no, that she live together with her father, that her mother is gone. Ryo look at the
Diagram of the mirrors on the table, Ryo say he don't believe it, Shenhua ask what's the metter and
Ryo ask what is this diagram. Ryo pick the Phoenix Mirror in his jacket.

Shenhua explain that her father told her that it's been passed down in their family for many
generations.

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Ryo put the Phoenix Mirror in the Diagram and see that they match. Shenhua ask where did she get
that mirror, Ryo say that it's something that his father had. Shenhua say that the mirror it's made
of Phantom River Stone, Shenhua is surprised and ask for Ryo how on earth did it end up with him.

Ryo ask what's wrong, Shenhua explain there's a legend in Bailu Village, that long ago, special mirrors
were made from Phantom River Stone at the direct order of the Emperor, but there were terrible
disputes over their ownership, due to the hidden powers they contained, many lost their lives, that
her father may be able to tell for Ryo more about the mirrors.

Ryo ask for Shenhua to please take him to meet her father, Shenhua say sure and we see the entrace
of the cave.

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Inside the cave Shenhua say that the door is ajar, Ryo ask what's on the inside, Shenhua say she
dont' know, that her father has never allowed her inside. Shenhua say this isn't normal, that
something is wrong there, Ryo say... "Shenhua, let's go in" and both enter in the place.


Shenhua find a letter that her father wrote for her, we also see the Sword of Seven Stars there.

Shenhua begin to read the letter... "Dear Shenhua. My purpose is now fufilled. I have completed
the Phoenix Mirror, our family's life work."

At this moment we hear Shenhua's father voice talking what he wrote in the letter,


"Village lore has long spoken of this fateful day. Shenhua, my girl. Take the bearer of the
Phoenix and undergo the trial of proof. Then entrust yourself to him. And go forth, together. I
bequeath to you our family heirloom, the Sword of Seven Stars. Think of me as the sword and keep
it by your side. Know that i am watching over you, forever."

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Shenhua finish reading the letter, Ryo put the Phoenix into the cave pedestal to trigger the reveal
of the two big mirrors carved into the cave walls. Ryo and Shenhua are so surprised looking at
the giant mirrors, for a moment Iwao appear and say "Ryo" and a serious Ryo say the name of his
father.

While looking at the giant mirrors we hear Shenhua talking about the prophecy again... "Coming across
the sea, from a distant land in the east, he shall appear. A Young man, unware of his own strength
A strength that can both destroy him, and bring his dream to fruition."

Ryo and Shenhua look at each other, after that the universe appear and we see images of a lot of
characters, we see Joy with Wong in one image, Xiuying training with Hanhui and Fangmei watching
in other image, Nozomi Harasaki near Aida florist, in the other image we see Master Chen and Guizhang
with a crutch because of his injured.

The next image we see Ren in his hideout, next image we see
Lan Di in a place that it is probably Niaowu, a location in Shenmue III, and in the last image
we see Iwao Hazuki and Sunming Zhao at the time where the two trained together in Bailu Village,
these characters are Ryo's father and Lan Di's father.


While the images were appearing Shenhua continue... "When he is ready, he shall seek me. We will
traverse this barren road together. As it was written upon the stars, from long, long ago. A
Dragon will rise from the earth, conjuring dark clouds to blot out the heavens."

The scene change and we see Ryo with Shenhua atop a Guilin cliff. Shenhua
continue... "A Phoenix will descend from above, delivering purple winds with a flap of its wings.
Yet even as the sky is devoured by darkness, a single morning star radiates it's bright light."

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Shenhua and Ryo look at each other and after that to the sky as a single star shines upon them from
the sky.

The scene ends and we see the Phoenix and the Dragon like the first episode. Shenhua
finish "That long, winding tale... shall now... begin." On the screen appear "The story Goes On..."
and the episode ends.


What can we expect to see in the next season of the anime?

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The second season is not confirmed but i can imagine what will happen, i feel that first we will
get the game Shenmue IV maybe in 2024 or even next year, it will depend if the development is
advanced, i have hope that Shenmue IV is in development, after the release of Shenmue IV i think that we will see the
announcement of the second season of the anime.

If things happen the way i imagine then the second season will probably tell the story of Shenmue III
and Shenmue IV.

I imagine that Yu Suzuki will share even more pages of the story with the anime team, i
think we will see an expanded version of the story of Shenmue III, with more details, more scenes
and character development for characters like Master Sun, Master Feng, Shiling Lin, Qiu Hsu, Grandmaster
Bei and many other characters.


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Probably we will see even more stories with the side characters in Bailu Village, characters like
Xiuyu Yeh, Master Sun, Yanlang, Master Feng and many others.

i hope we can see flashbacks of the time Iwao trained with Sunming Zhao there, maybe Ryo talk
with Master Feng and then the flashbacks will begin, these flashbacks don't have in the game and
will be a beautiful way to expand the story of Shenmue III.

Would be really nice to see all the night conversations of Ryo with Shenhua there, Bailu Village to me
is like a second home for Ryo, will be nice to see a lot of scenes of Ryo and Shenhua talking similar to the game, this
night conversations are part of the story as well. Would be nice to see more about Shenhua's powers in the
second season.

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In Niaowu the story will probably get expanded as well, i hope we can see more scenes and character
development for the characters Shiling Lin, Qiu Hsu and Grandmaster Bei, the characters are
interesting to me, i just feel that the characters needs more scenes with Ryo and character
development, this way when Ryo leave Niaowu will be really emotional for the viewers.

I love Shenmue III characters, i just think that some of them need more scenes with Ryo and things like that like
Shiling Lin for example.

The anime team will probably expand the Red Snakes and Blue Spiders story and characters.

The second season of the anime is a beautiful opportunity to make Shenmue III even better, i love
Shenmue III but some things could have been better like more story and scenes for the side characters in
Niaowu like Shiling Ling, Qiu Hsu and Grandmaster Bei, so the second season is a beautiful opportunity
to expand the story and the characters of Shenmue III even more, i think will be beautiful if
the anime team do that with Yu-san helping them sharing more pages of the story.

Maybe in the second season we will even see Baisha, the place that was cut out in Shenmue III, maybe
with the second season Yu-san will have the opportunity to see his story the way he imagined about
these wonderful locations, i really hope we can see Baisha in the second season of the anime, it
is a different, unique and beautiful location and i hope we can see in the anime.

I don't know how the story of Shenmue IV will be, but i feel that it will be these cards...

Some of these cards or all of them.

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We will probably see Ryo, Shenhua and Ren travelling together, and will be really interesting to
see this in anime form.


It will probably be the Chi You Men Arc, we will probably see all the leaders of the Chi You Men, we will
probably see Ziming, i feel that one of Ryo's next master will be a Shaolin Monk in Luoyang, Shaolin Temple/Pagoda
forest and Dengfeng, Ryo will probably learn important moves, Ryo will probably learn more Bajiquan
moves in Shenmue IV, these Bajiquan moves are super important and advance the story, Shenmue
is a martial arts story, so everytime Ryo learn important moves and improve as a martial artist this advance
the story as well.

We will probably see Ryo fighting Ziming, maybe Ryo or Ren fighting Niao Sun or the other leaders, maybe
we will see Ryo fighting against Lan Di again and much more.

So everything i wrote now about Shenmue III and Shenmue IV could easily be an entire Shenmue The Animation
second season with 13 episodes.

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Would be nice if the second season have more episodes, but maybe it will
be 13 episodes again because of budget and things like that, and i understand that, all i know is that i hope we
can get the game Shenmue IV, and after that the second season of the anime telling the story of Shenmue III
and Shenmue IV, i hope we can see a Shenmue Manga as well, this is my dream for the future of the Shenmue franchise


What NPCs do you want to see in the second season?

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In Bailu Village i want to see more of Iwao Hazuki, Sunming Zhao, Akane Hazuki, Master Feng, Master Sun,
Zhen Wei, Lin Zhou, Zixiong Su, Yanlang, Wenxu Su, Chai, Calzhe Zhou, Shenhua, Xiuyu Yeh,
Guangming Mo, Guanzhong Tao, Huang Hu, all the martial artist that train in the Bailu Hall,
the temple nun in the Man Yuan Temple and many other characters in Bailu Village, maybe even a
little bit of Lan Di and Niao Sun there.

The anime can expand more a lot of these characters in Bailu Village.

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In Niaowu i want to see more of Shenhua, Ren, Lan Di, Niao Sun, Longqi Ge, the story and members
of the Red Snakes and Blue Spiders, Shiling Ling, Qiu Hsu, Grandmaster Bei, Shuqin Zhang, Jialing Ma and
many other characters in Niaowu. The anime team can expand more a lot of these characters in Niaowu.



Final thoughts of the Episode and Final Thoughts of the Season

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In my opinion the Lan Di VS Ryo fight is okay, i'm just curious about what the anime team will do in the Fortified Castle when the times comes. we will see the Fortfied Castle in the anime? i'm not sure about that. It is interesting that Yuanda Zhu said for Lan Di to go to Bailu, without even questioning
Lan Di return to the ladder of the helicopter to go to Bailu, as far as i remember this don't have in the game, interesting addition.

In this version Lan Di went to Bailu Village, Ryo is there now as well, in the second season Ryo will find Lan Di there? probably not but it is interesting to think about it, was a big moment to me seeing Yuanda Zhu talking about Bailu to Lan Di and Lan Di deciding to go there, really interesting.

Ryo was losing his mind and sanity because he want revenge, then what happened? REN SAVED RYO, Ren even managed to calm Ryo down, as far as i remember this don't have in the game and it was a intense scene to me, amazing addition, we can see that Ren really care about Ryo. This scene with Ren trying to calm Ryo down is super intense to me, one of my favorite scenes of the entire season, loved it.

I love the fight Ryo VS Dou Niu, i love the way the anime team did it and i'm glad that this part is in the anime, beautiful fight and conclusion to the rooftop situation. Character development for Ryo, Ryo got stronger in a lot of ways because of everything that he learned we the people he met, beautiful development.

It is interesting that Ren said again Junnen Hayai da yo, Akira phrase when he wins a fight in VF, probably in the Legend of Akira scripts/novels Ren say this phrase a lot, probably is his catch phrase. I think in the scripts/novels Ren die and as a way of honoring and remembering his friend Ryo (Akira) decide to use Ren's bandana as his headband, and decide to say Junnen Hayai Da Yo a lot as well, as a way to honor his friend that died protecting him, and through pain and sadness i feel Ryo will finally understand the last words of his father... "Keep friends... those you love... close to you."

Some people only learn lessons in life in the hard way, i can talk about myself as an example, i don't want to talk about my life in detail on the internet anymore, but for people here to understand the theory about Ren i will say one thing. I lost my mother, my mother is not here with me but i'm still learning lessons with my mother, about the things that my mother used to say to me, i learned some lessons in life in the hard way.

i don't think is a bad idea to go this route with Ryo, for Ryo to lose Ren and after that finally learn the lesson to "keep friends... those you love... close to you"

Ryo need to fully learn 2 important lessons

1. "Keep friends... those you love... close to you."

Ryo only see the path of revenge in front of him, Ryo is not focusing on love and friendship, Ryo right now in the story only care about revenge, so probably at one point of the story Ryo will fully learn this lesson, maybe in the hard way with Ren's death, if Ren die it will probably have a big impact to the story and in Ryo's life so i like this theory.

2. "Martial arts are used to protect people's lives. If you use your fists otherwise, you will walk on the path of evil, too!"

Same thing i said in the other lesson, Ryo right now only see the path of revenge in front of him, in the final moments Ryo will probably learn this lesson, Ryo will probably not go to the path of evil like Ziming went.

Overall the climax in the rooftop part is really good and intense, i enjoy a lot.

The talking with Yuanda Zhu is nice, i think some things were cut out but i understand.

The goodbye scenes are beautiful and emotional to me, the scenes with the songs really touched my heart and i cried, when Wong appeared trying to sell banana, we can see that Wong really changed after meeting Ryo, and we see that now Ren will go to Guilin as well, i don't remember if in the game Ren talked about going to Guilin, but here in the anime was a nice scene that Ren talked so interested about going to Guilin, if this is not in the game is a nice addition, and explain more Ryo seeing Ren again in Niaowu.

All the goodbye scenes and seeing Xiuying talking with Ryo and remembering about Ziming and seeing that Joy and Wong really changed made me cry, really emotional.

Beautiful character development for Joy and Wong, Beautiful closure to their stories in the events of the Shenmue II, intense and emotional,
loved it.

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Ryo made a impact in Guizhang, Mark, Joy, Wong, Xiuying, Ren and many other characters in the story, it is beautiful to see these character developments in the story.

About the Guilin part... well... i never imagined that the anime team would cut out the entire journey to Bailu Village, i thought that some cuts would happen but not the entire journey. Ryo just woke up in Shenhua's house, this make it seems that her house is really near.

It is really sad to me that one of my favorite parts in videogame history was cut like that in the anime but i really understand, with just 13 episodes is understandable. I love the part when Ryo save Shenhua and the goat, as far as i remember in the game is a deer, but this change is okay to me.

I love seeing Shenhua showing the Shenmue tree for Ryo, Shenhua explaining about the tree for Ryo, nice scene.

The ideal would have been a Shenmue anime with 24 episodes or even 34 episodes like VF anime, but probably because of budget we couldn't get more episodes and i really understand that, it is what it is, but to me just the fact that we got a Shenmue anime is amazing.

With 13 episodes the anime team managed to tell the story of Shenmue I and II in a beautiful way with a lot of new content, new stories for the characters, more development for them, a lot of characters getting expanded like Guizhang, Nozomi, Joy, Wong, Ren, Lan Di, Shenhua and much more, this is one of the beautiful things about the anime to me.

Some things that i love were cut out in the anime like everything about Shozo Mizuki, Ryo learning the tornado kick with Tom and the goodbye scene, Nozomi confessing her love for Ryo, the journey to Bailu Village and much more but i really understand, with 13 episodes is really understandable

Some things i prefer the anime version and other things i prefer the games version.

The season began in the cave scene and ended a little bit after the cave scene, the circle is completed now in relation to this.

The anime in my opinion is a companion to the games, it is not something to replace the games, it is not something to look 100% like the games, it is something to walk side by side with the games and to me this is wonderful.

I hope one day we can get a Shenmue Anime Blu-ray release and Shenmue Anime soundtrack.

I have hope that we will get the announcement of Shenmue IV this year, and i have hope that one day we will get the second season of the anime telling the story of the games Shenmue III and Shenmue IV.

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I would like to thank all the people who read my anime analysis, your support means a lot me, it was really intense to me
doing this every week, english is not my first language, and it is not easy to put everything together in analysis like this in a weekly basis,
but i managed to do it and i'm really happy with the result.

From now on i will do more posts here in the blog, i will write about a lot of things about Shenmue.

What a beautiful journey it has been to follow the Shenmue anime with everyone here, thanks everyone, and remember to keep friends... those you love... close to you... see you all in my next blog post, bye bye. ~

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Great work, and great analysis of what is to come too, I agree at all, with the anime some things are more clear.
I'm so sorry about your mother, and yes, we humans are like that, many times we only learn the lessons the hard way.
I want to add, that a thing that I want to see in next games too is the fight between the Phoenix and the Dragon, to me that is a must. For the people on the towns (npcs), could be a natural disaster, like a hurricane, and for the protagonists the real thing. I definitely want the super natural elements, I think it is one of the most attractive things about shenmue.
In my opinion Yu Suzuki should do the games he wanted to do in DC times, and not try to adapt them to current times in any way, at least in what the story is.
It has been a pleasure to read these awesome analyses, thank you very much.
 
Great work, and great analysis of what is to come too, I agree at all, with the anime some things are more clear.
I'm so sorry about your mother, and yes, we humans are like that, many times we only learn the lessons the hard way.
I want to add, that a thing that I want to see in next games too is the fight between the Phoenix and the Dragon, to me that is a must. For the people on the towns (npcs), could be a natural disaster, like a hurricane, and for the protagonists the real thing. I definitely want the super natural elements, I think it is one of the most attractive things about shenmue.
In my opinion Yu Suzuki should do the games he wanted to do in DC times, and not try to adapt them to current times in any way, at least in what the story is.
It has been a pleasure to read these awesome analyses, thank you very much.

Thank you for your kind words. ❤️

Yeah, some people learn lessons in life in the hard way, so maybe it will be like this for Ryo. Right now in the story Ryo's focus is not on friendship and love, Ryo still only care about revenge, i'm talking about what happened in Shenmue III.

So i like the theory of Ren dying to protect Ryo, Ren already protected Ryo in the final episode of the anime and in Shenmue III, so i think is possible.

Ryo losing Ren, after that maybe Ryo will remember Iwao's words... "Keep friends... those you love... close to you" and will finally learn this lesson. If Ren die it will probably have a big impact in the story and in Ryo's life so i like this theory.

Maybe in this chapter card is Ren's face in the up part of the card, and in the other part is Akira probably holding Ren after he died. 😿

If this happen it will probably be one of the most emotional moments of the entire Shenmue series.


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Maybe we will see the prophecy happening, if the Phoenix and Dragon moment happen it will be the most super natural moment of the entire Shenmue series, i'm looking forward to see what exactly will happen when the two mirrors are together, some people say that maybe the mirrors have multiple functions, i think is possible, i hope we can have more answers about that in Shenmue IV.

I love the super natural/mystical things about the Shenmue story so i hope we can see more about that with the mirrors, Shenhua and the Shenmue tree.

I agree with you, Yu-san should make the games he really want, with the pacing he wants and much more in relation to the story, Shenmue to me is a slow pace story and i love that, probably Shenmue will end in Shenmue V.

If this happens i think the Shenmue story will have a nice and beautiful conclusion, but if Yu-san decide to end in Shenmue IV i will understand and respect his decision, all i know is that i hope Yu-san can have the opportunities to complete this wonderful journey in a way that will be satysfing to him as well, i say this because Shenmue is his story so i hope Yu-san can end Shenmue in a way that will be good for him as well.

Thank you very much for all your support, it means a lot me. LetsGetShenmueIV LetsGetShenmueSeason2 ❤️
 
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Great stuff as usual @Hiki , I love reading your thoughts. So sorry to hear about your mother as well, I recenly lost mine too (as well as my dad), and I know how hard it can be ❤️
 
Great stuff as usual @Hiki , I love reading your thoughts. So sorry to hear about your mother as well, I recenly lost mine too (as well as my dad), and I know how hard it can be ❤️

Thank you for your kind words. ❤️

I lost my mother and other important people in my life so i know how hard it can be as well, the Shenmue story has a bigger impact on me than before because of that.

Shenmue helps me dealing with my mother's death and other losses i had in my life, maybe it is the same feeling for you now.

Now scenes like this one has a bigger impact on me now.


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I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, this is really hard. If you need to talk about your situation i'm here for you. Please remember that If you need help the Shenmue community is here for you ❤️
 
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