Shenmue the Animation: Another rant

 It's no secret that I love Shenmue. Also, I have been underwhelmed by The Animation. Episode 5 finally finished the Yokosuka chapter... While Episode 1 was Filler City, episodes 2-5 were a Speedrun of the first game.

The anime missed a lot of things that made Shenmue well, Shenmue. 

They blazed through the investigation scenes in montages. The infamous "Looking for Sailors" section of the game was hyper summarized. I kinda understand why they did it, even if I disagree. But that's not the biggest offense. The biggest offense is how they downplayed the role of all of Ryo's friends. Naoyuki, who literally lends his motorcycle to Ryo was reduced to a photo. Same with Ichiro. Megumi and the cat were non-existent here. The cat being an important reference for Shenmue 2 (Fangmei). Tom is severely downplayed and doesn't teach Ryo the Tornado Kick. Even the Hobo Sensei was erased. Even Mark who was on the Anime was heavily downplayed.

Musically speaking, the anime betrayed the game. We BARELY get the Shenmue main theme. None of the game music was used. I've already mentioned Chai's theme not being used... but the 70 minus 55 Battle really needed Earth and Sea

Yeah, they butchered the most epic moment from the first game, the 70 man battle.  They eliminated the Forklift racing and drastically reduced the length of Ryo's time working at the docks. This cut out some interactions with Nozomi, Mark, the Hobo Sensei, Tom.

They erased the reason why Ryo had to work at the docks (Chai fighting Ryo and eating his ticket to Hong Kong).  The Megumi and the cat sidequest hepled showcase Ryo's nature and not just the single tracked mind "I must find Lan-Di" Speedrun version. Also, the tiny moments of the whole Ryo/Nozomi relationship... yes, here comes my favortie scene in the whole game... I literally slow everything down in game to reach it.

Yes, this is the clip where Nozomi isnsad about Christmas being over and that she didn't spend Christmas with Ryo, especially since it's her last Christmas in Japan. The anime glosses on why Ryo's decision to chase Lan-Di is a bittersweet one. The game bothers to show us Ryo's Friends and people that Iwao BEGGED Ryo to keep close, which makes Ryo betraying his father's last wishes in order to find out the truth, or vengeance. The anime made Ryo a loner whose only friends were Nozomi and Fukuhara. Goro and Mark had so little interaction with Ryo for them to be considered friends. Even Tom got shafted and we were robbed of Tom deciding to return home. 

But we still have possibly 8 more episodes to go and to complete Hong Kong... wonder what will be on the chopping block. 

It's NOT Bad, but it does a disservice to Shenmue. It feels like it was made for people who aren't fans of Shenmue. If they somehow gain interest in Shenmue due to the anime, the game might disappoint them. The much slower pace, quirky English dub, badly aged controls. Shenmue is NOT a game for everyone. I'm not saying it as a "gatekeeper", it really isn't. Like I just said, the game has a lot of flaws that newer gamers could find unbearable.