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!'"

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Q&A With Composer Ryuji Iuchi: Fan Questions (Part 1/2)

Recently composer Ryuji Iuchi held a special end-of-year Shenmue-themed livestream for everyone on his YouTube channel, a fun two-hour session that was filled with live music performances and chat. Throughout the stream, Ryuji also answered questions from fans, with many having been submitted from overseas fans, via the Shenmue Dojo.

As there were people who were unable to join the livestream, Ryuji has kindly given his permission to translate the Q&A into English and share them here on the blog.

The translation begins from here.

Q: For musical pieces with lyrics, like Shenhua's Theme and Wish, were the lyrics written first, or added afterwards? If I recall correctly, in the case of Wish, Yu Suzuki requested a song that would be like First Love*...

* First Love was a best-selling song (and album of the same name) by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada released in early 1999.

Ryuji Iuchi (RI): For both of these songs, I wrote the music first, and the lyrics were added in afterwards. For Wish, I remember that Yu Suzuki did ask for a song like First Love. The thought was that it would be great if it was something that could rank on Oricon [the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart].

Q: Recently you've been creating a lot of music for TV programs. Are you credited in these, and if so, what kind of programs are they? Are they still being shown on TV?

RI: I'm credited in some of the programs, and not in others. I think the ones in which I'm credited have all finished showing now as far as I'm aware, but if you live in Japan, then you'll definitely be familiar with the programs in which my music has played. Many people may perhaps have heard it without realizing. Some of it is background music, but there is also theme music - however, in most cases uncredited. As well as TV, my music can also be heard elsewhere such as on the radio, or at soccer events and so on.

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