Shenmue anime series in the works at Crunchyroll and Adult Swim

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The series is coming to Adult Swim in the US and Crunchyroll elsewhere

(Image credit: Sega/Shenmue Project)

Crunchyroll and Adult Swim have announced that they're developing an anime series based on the Shenmue franchise. The 13-episode series will air on Adult Swim in the US and stream on Crunchyroll worldwide outside of Japan and mainland China.

Yu Suzuki, who created the game series, is signed on to executive produce, with Sakurai Chikara directing. Chikara is known for serving as animation director on Naruto and directing One Punch Man season 2.

"The first Shenmue video game was released more than twenty years ago and we're so excited to be working again with Adult Swim to bring this franchise to life through anime," said Sarah Victor, head of development at Crunchyroll. "We're eager to show our fans more of this action-packed adventure series as we move through production." Here's the first official poster for the upcoming Shenmue anime series:

(Image credit: Sega/Shenmue Project)

The story follows series protagonist Ryo Hazuki, who's on a quest to track down those responsible for the murder of his father. In doing so, Ryo travels far and wide, from Yokosuka, Japan to Hong Kong, and elsewhere. The premise sounds very similar to the video game story, so it sounds like we're getting a fairly faithful adaptation. Hopefully, along with plenty of revenge-seeking and dramatic showdowns, the series includes some of the slice-of-life elements from the game series. I want to see Ryo hang out an arcade, use a toy dispenser, and nurture a kitten back to health.

"The world of Shenmue is fascinating and unique, and we are so excited to partner with Yu Suzuki to bring his epic creation to anime- and make a kick-ass martial arts epic!" said creative director Jason DeMarco.

Here are the best anime games to play while you wait for the Shenmue anime series.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.