Anime Japanese Voice Cast Announced: Joy, Ren, Dou Niu & Wong | Shenmue The Animation

Fans in Japan will soon be able to join the rest of the world in watching Shenmue the Animation as its release in the Japan domestic market was confirmed for next month (April 2022). Also announced today were a further four members of the Japanese-language voice cast, for the characters of Joy, Ren, Dou Niu and Wong, together with release dates for download/streaming of the the anime's opening and ending theme music. We've translated the messages and announcement below.

Shenmue the Animation will be distributed in Japan from April. It was also announced that M.A.O., Osamu Taira, Shota Hayama, and Takahiro Sumi will appear in the anime.

M.A.O. [the stage name of Mao Ichimichi] plays Joy, a woman with a vivacious and open personality; Taira plays Wuying Ren, the head of the Heavens street gang; Hayama plays Wong, a boy in the Heavens; and Sumi plays Dou Niu, the boss of the Chinese mafia, the Yellow Heads. Messages from each of the four cast members have also been received.

Cast Announcement (Round Three) & Messages!

■ M.A.O. (as Joy)

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Opening Theme "UNDEAD-NOID" Lyrics & Analysis | Shenmue The Animation

The opening theme for Shenmue The Animation goes by the intriguing name of "UNDEAD-NOID" and was written and performed by Kashitaro Ito.

We have taken a stab at transcribing and translating the lyrics to help those who wish to sing along and get into the Shenmue spirit! As a general disclaimer, though: some differences may have crept in compared to the actual lyrics as these have been transcribed by ear.

Commentary on each of the lines, and possible references, follows the video.

Video: Opening Theme with Lyrics

Artist Profile: Kashitaro Ito

Here is brief profile of the artist:

"He started his career performing music covers on the Internet and made his major label debut in 2014. Since then, he has released three albums, all in the top 10 of the Oricon rankings. In parallel with his own activities, he also provides music and production work for other artists. He has also published a novel selling over 60,000 copies, and his talents include singing anime songs and voice acting.

He does not show his face in the media, with a fox mask being his trademark."

One other note of interest is that the artist also has a great admiration for the Beatles, and has previously written a promotional song inspired by John Lennon's Imagine.

Analysis of the Lyrics

While at first glance the lyrics may not seem to bear much relation to Shenmue, I believe this song was written specifically for the anime as there a few definite, though subtle, connections that exist within. 

Let's take a closer look.

"Hesitating before the criminals"

The lyrics open with a mention of "criminals" in the first line, which is rather general but but in the world of Shenmue the most likely suspects are the members of Lan Di's dark organization. When we have moved to the next line, we will see a hint to the location of Ryo's home town of Yokosuka, and so this line would fit a description of the confusion and uncertainty felt by the 18-year old Ryo when he enters the Hazuki Dojo and encounters Lan Di and his men.

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Shenmue The Animation: Episode One Releases & Opening Theme

At the time this post is being written, the first episode of Series One of Shenmue The Animation, called Thunderclap, has now been released worldwide - outside of Japan - on CrunchyRoll, which has the Japanese voicing with English subs, and on AdultSwim in the US with the English dub.

The opening theme sequence is impressive, with a dynamic flurry of characters and images set to the catchy beat of the official Opening Theme by Kashitaro Ito, which is named "UNDEAD-NOID" - we are curious about the meaning behind this name! This was in fact played at the end of Episode One, but will presumably play at the start of each episode going forward, together with the (yet-to-be-heard) official Ending Theme called Sympathy.

From our point of view, the Japanese-voiced first episode did not disappoint! All the key story beats were covered, while much of the slower-paced exploration scenes were condensed or skipped to keep the story flowing smoothly, and this worked well for an anime. Noticeably, Ryo's human side was allowed to show through more than in the game, including some nice additional interaction with his father. 

For a deep-dive review of the first episode, check out Stuart's great post on Shenmusings.

Shenmue Forever has also produced this summary of the overwhelmingly positive reactions in a poll on Twitter. A great deal of positive feedback has been reported from the wider anime community.

#ShenmueTheAnimation Episode 1 is 🔥 at 94% (429 votes) according to the #Shenmue fans!

Consensus: A fresh, fast-paced, nostalgic episode that sets the stage for an epic journey. Feels like home.

Get ready for Episode 2 “Daybreak”, this Saturday February 12, at midnight (ET)! https://t.co/Xw7hG5Qt7S pic.twitter.com/cqx63vwVto

— Shenmue Forever (@ShenmueForever) February 7, 2022

Episode Two, which is called Daybreak, will follow within the week:

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[Part Two] Twenty Striking Observations from the 2022 Shenmue the Animation Main Trailer: #10 to #1

View of Yokosuka, discussed in Observation #1

We continue on with our trailer analysis, presenting #10 to #1 of the twenty observations that impressed us most! See our previous post to review those in Part One.

Observation 10: Opening Theme Music "UNDEAD-NOID"

Music is an integral part of the Shenmue experience, and the music in the trailers show that this facet has not been neglected either.

The backing music in the action-oriented trailer is instrumental, with atmospheric tones and percussion that set the mood well but without tunes or melodies.

The story-oriented trailer, on the other hand, breaks into a catchy drum-backed piece of vocal music called "UNDEAD-NOID", performed by Japanese singer-songwriter Kashitaro Ito, that is the anime's official opening them music.

Towards the end the sound of what may be an erhu, or Chinese violin, can be heard. This is a nice additional link to Shenmue's world.

• More about the theme song artist can be read here: Shenmue the Animation official press release (translation)

The music from the original games has not been ignored, either, as the trailer starts with a tension-filled arrangement of the classic Shenmue theme.

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Shenmue Anime Premiere Date Announced & Two New Trailers!

The premiere date for the release of Shenmue Anime has been announced! The new anime will be premiering on Crunchyroll & Adult Swim on 5th February 2022.

This comes together with the simultaneous release of TWO new and varying trailers. The first contains the premiere date announcement and English-language voicing, while the other features Japanese-language voicing by two of the original voice actors who are reprising their roles from the games (Masaya Matsukaze as Ryo Hazuki and Takahiro Sakurai as Lan Di) as well as showcasing the official opening theme music.

Following the videos is our full translation of the official Japanese-language press release material, which includes new artwork images.

As usual, keep an eye on the blog for analysis of these incredible new trailers!

-Switch

Trailer #1 (Crunchyroll / Adult Swim Premiere Date Announcement, English)

Trailer #2 Japanese, featuring Masaya Matsukaze & Takahiro Sakurai) 

Japanese Press Release [Translation]

• Trailer released, featuring latest footage!
• Key art also released, depicting several characters!
• Main character roles to be voiced by Masaya Matsukaze (Ryo Hazuki) and Takahiro Sakurai (Lan Di)
• Opening theme also announced: "UNDEAD-NOID" by Kashitaro Ito!

The legendary action-adventure game Shenmue was released in 1999 on Sega's Dreamcast home video game console, and has influenced many other games. An animated version of the game, "Shenmue the Animation," is scheduled to be released in 2022! The animation will be produced by Telecom Animation Film, the company behind Lupin the 3rd Part V: Misadventures in France and Blue Thermal, and directed by Chikara Sakurai (One Punch Man Season 2).

A trailer with latest footage from Shenmue the Animation has now been released. Beginning with an account of the dramatic past of the protagonist Ryo Hazuki, it goes on to feature intense action scenes involving his sworn enemy, Lan Di, and a story filled with mystery. Set in the nostalgic and beautiful city of Yokosuka, it depicts the epic story of the protagonist as he grows stronger.

A spectacular piece of key art featuring main characters from the anime has also been released. The main protagonist features prominently, blazing with a passionate fighting spirit, along with a succession of distinctive characters who also appear in the games.

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