Crunchyroll have announced a Shenmue anime, and that it is currently in production, during their Virtual Crunchyroll Expo.

For those unfamiliar, Shenmue was an action-adventure video game that launched in 1999, and developed by Sega AM2. Starting in 1986 Japan, the game followed teenager Ryo Hazuki on his quest for revenge against Lan Di. He is a member of the Chinese cartel, and killed Ryo’s father.

The game featured the infancy of open-world gameplay and life-simulation mechanics, such as NPCs having a routine based on the time and day of the week. A sequel would launch in 2001, before Shenmue III was crowdfunded in 2015 (raising over $6 million USD), and launching in 2019. Despite poor sales and mixed receptions to Shenmue III, the series has a cult following.

Crunchyroll states they are working in collaboration with Adult Swim for the third time to produce the 13 episode series. It will be animated by Telecom Animation Film (Tower of God, Lupin the Third: Part 5). Confirmed cast include director Chikara Sakurai (Magimoji Rurumo, season 2 of One-Punch Man), and executive producer Yu Suzuki (the creator of the games).

Further details are promised to be released at a later date. You can find the full version of the promotional image below.

The Shenmue III video game is available on Windows PC (via the Epic Games Store), and PlayStation 4. In case you missed it, you can find our review on Niche Gamer here (we highly recommend it!)

Anime and shows based on video games have made a resurgence, most likely inspired by the success of Netflix’ Castlevania. That was confirmed to be getting a fourth season earlier this year. Netflix have also announced a Dragon’s Dogma CG anime, and a Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell anime.