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What would be the most fitting end for Shenmue’s anime adaptation? To be cancelled with its story incomplete, of course. And so it is: Shenmue The Animation isn’t getting a season two.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted that the anime had been removed from Adult Swim’s website, causing SVP of anime/action series at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios Jason DeMarco to confirm the news on Twitter.
“Sorry guys. This happened,” wrote DeMarco. “You can still watch all of the anime on Crunchyroll and it will still be available as digital downloads. And yes, it’s looking like no S2 of Shenmue, even though sadly- it did well enough that we were gearing up for S2. Maybe one day…”.
The first season of 13 episodes premiered back in February. The anime follows the story of the first Shenmue game, covering the early days of Ryo’s efforts to avenge the death of his father. It’s a story that remains incomplete – and that even the crowdfunded Shenmue 3 passed up the opportunity to resolve.
In the pantheon of recent game-to-anime adaptations, Shenmue The Animation looked considerably more traditional – and lower budget – than the likes of Arcane or Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. More significantly, I don’t know anyone who actually watched it. If you want to, you can stream all the episodes for free from Crunchyroll with English subtitles.