Hideki Kawabata's Renders, Part 2 - Shenmue I Characters Deep Dive

In this continuation of our review of the renders by AM2 developer Hideki Kawabata (if you haven't yet read the introductory post, go here for the overview), we will look at several Shenmue I characters that are of particular interest - as well as some early unused characters.

Former Student of the Yūki Dojo: Masayuki Fukuhara

Fuku-san's character render sheet contains a table of information relating to the model which is similar to the one found on the other characters in the collection. This includes key information such as:

Character Name: Fuku-san / Masayuki Fukuhara
Filename: FUK_M
Skeleton type for the model: OHS
Polygon count: 1200
Fingers sway: Completed - this may refer to a checklist task to ensure finger movement animations are provided for the character
Swaying objects: Belt - items that require special information, in this case the belt on his gi
Submission date: 27th October 1998 - approximately one year before the Japan release

Render dated 27th October 1998

Interestingly, we can see written on Fuku-san's gi in the above image the dojo name of "Yūki" (結城), suggesting that even at this somewhat late point in the development process, the renaming of the protagonist from Akira Yūki to Ryo Hazuki had not yet occurred.

Also included in the set of renders is one showing Fuku-san in casual clothes - complete with "Fuk-san" embroidered on the breast of his jacket! The model information specifies that the "skirt" (hem) of his jacket is something that should sway as he moves.

Render dated 20th May 1999

The above image of Fuku-san is the one that was revealed at a live-stream event promoting the release of Shenmue I & II at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2018. The news that Fuku-san had originally been planned as the Mad Angels kidnapping victim came as quite a surprise at the time, followed by an amusing comment from a member of the development team: "When Yu-san saw it, he said, 'No one would want to save this guy!'"

This explains why, in the model information table, there is a note under his name that says "uninjured". The "injured" model of Fuku-san, with bruises on his face and hands, has been previously discovered as an unused model on the What's Shenmue demo disc:

Injured Fuku-san: unused model on the What's Shenmue demo disc

"Years Ago, I Was Chinese"..?

This character's model can be recognized as Kame Shibukawa, the elderly lady with bad eyesight visiting Yokosuka, whom Ryo can optionally choose to help find the house of her friend, Yamamoto-san, in Sakuragaoka.

While the model's appearance is unchanged in the released game, the model information table at the time of this render's creation, in November 1998, shows that she was originally given the name of Fū (楓, meaning "maple" like the tree). This kanji is widely-used as a first name in Japanese, although here it has a reading that is not normally found in Japanese. One possible explanation for this is that this model had originally been intended as a Chinese character, before its eventual role as a Japanese visiting Yokosuka.

Render dated 26th November 1998

The Mysterious Jean Brighton

This character's name is given as "Jean Brighton" (spelling assumed, as only the pronunciation in Japanese is provided):

Render dated 8th July 1999

While there is no official backstory available for this character, and she cannot be met or interacted with in the game, she does in fact make a fleeting appearance in the distance, in a single cutscene that plays near the end of the first game: the scene in which Ryo walks through Dobuita, on his way to the boat for Hong Kong. (This was confirmed and shared by Stuart Peacock and Joe Kitchen).

The enigmatic Jean Brighton appears only in the background of this cut scene

Neither is this character displayed in the list of characters that can be viewed on the Shenmue Passport (or the fan-made app, Suka Pass), however her profile headshot image can actually be found on the disc. The filename is labelled "PROF078":

Headshot of Jean Brighton from the Shenmue Passport disc

During research on this character, I discovered a printed headshot image has also been archived on the comprehensive Orchard Slope website, which is administered by a Japanese fan. Along with her name, an additional fact is noted: her age of 19. This suggests that a mention of her may have been made in a Japanese guide book or game magazine at some point, possibly prior to the game's release, back in the day.

Headshot of Jean Brighton from what appears to be an unspecified printed source (the comment is by the site administrator of the Orchard Slope website; text auto-translated into English)

Jean Brighton's appearance also reminds me vaguely of the character of Eileen Edelweiss in Shenmue II - perhaps they might have been derived from the same base - or I may be way off track!

Eileen Edelweiss (Shenmue II)

Unused Early Character Render: Grandma Toshihisa

This is an unused character model whose name is given as "Grandma Toshihisa" - the use of "grandma" here may simply be referring to an elderly lady. The date on the model sheet of February 1998 suggests it was created earlier than many of the other Shenmue I characters seen, but did not end up being included.

Render dated 2nd February 1998

Even Earlier Saturn Render: Japanese Businessman

This character, simply called "Japanese Businessman", does not appear in the games at all.

Render dated 16th January 1997

Of particular interest is the early date of the render's creation (January 1997), together with its filename of "nip_m_saturn.jpg". This suggests that this model was prepared during the earlier stages of development, at a time when the game was still being prepared for release on the Sega Saturn.

Investigation: Was Wang's Model Based on a Developer?

A small but interesting clue that stands about the next character's information table is that this character's model name is specified as "X71", and the name in "Matsuda" in parentheses. Most of the other character models have their name given first, with an ID in parentheses.

Before discussing the significance of this, first let's introduce the model itself - he is readily recognizable as the polite but freeloading Wang Guang Ji, who likes to ambush Ryo at the vending machine.

Render dated 22nd February 1999

It is known that the Shenmue developers used the likeness of several project members in the creation of characters (we had a look at several of these in this post). This raises the question as to whether this character may be another similar case - might Wang's model have been based on a developer named Matsuda?

In fact, the collection of renders includes another character whose model has been confirmed to have been based on a developer, namely the slot-machine playing character of Yoshihito Nishii whose face was modeled on developer Masato Nishimura. The information table for this character gives the name as "X72 (Nishimura)", lending credence to this idea.

Checking the Shenmue credits reveals that there was in fact a CG Designer who worked on the first two games, by the name of Takashi Matsuda. Matsuda went on to found his own software development company called Toydea in 2012. This is a photo from the recruiting page on the company's website:

Former Shenmue developer Takashi Matsuda (Toydea homepage)

Let's try giving Matsuda a pair of specs and compare them side by side:

Wang Guang Ji (left) vs Takashi Matsuda with added eyewear (right)

Certain features such as the nose, lips and eyebrows look pretty close... I'd say we have a match! What do you think?

Investigation #2: A Second Developer-Based Character?

This brings us to a second character in the set whose name is also given as an ID followed by a name in parentheses - a prime candidate for a second investigation!

The name information states: "X74 (Nitta)".

Render dated 22nd January 1999

Searching the Shenmue credits again, we have a promising match on the name of "Masataka Nitta", one of the core music composers on the first two Shenmue games (in addition to being credited for Sound, Music and Sound Effects Editing).

Will the Real Nitta Please Stand Up?

After further online research, I believe that "Masataka" Nitta was actually pseudonym of Tadahiro Nitta, an accomplished musician who is still active as a game music composer and with live musical performances today. This is backed up by other sources citing him for Shenmue music credits, and several of the other Shenmue music composers also follow his account on X.

Regarding Shenmue music, Nitta composed the tense orchestral piece "The Uninvited" which sets the mood during Shenmue's opening cut scene when Ryo arrives home to find unwelcome visitors, as well as Chai's creepy theme music "Chai's Attack".

Now, can any resemblance be observed between the X74 character render and a recent image of Mr. Nitta? Here is a comparison:

Character "X74" (left) vs Tadahiro Nitta (right)

I'm not the best at matching faces, but for me the distinctive shape of the eyes is a strong indication that he was indeed the model for this (unfortunately unused - so far!) character.

That's all for this post on Hideki Kawabata's renders. In the next, we'll continue with more characters, this time ones for Shenmue II onwards.

Source: Hideki Kawabata's Shenmue project page (archived)

Saturday, August 16, 2025