Yu Suzuki Mini-Interview: "Similarities with Shenmue" | 30th Anniversary of Virtua Fighter Video

Together with the announcement of a new Virtua Fighter game at The Game Awards, Sega released a mini-interview with Yu Suzuki to commemorate the "30th anniversary" of the Virtua Fighter franchise.  As part of this, a short video interview with Yu Suzuki was released.

(Technically, Virtua Fighter premiered in the arcades in 1993, with the December 1994 timing most closely tying in to its release on the Sega Saturn console in November 1994). 

Within the interview, in which Suzuki recalls development of the original Virtua Fighter, Shenmue also gets a mention in relation to the background graphics:

"The backgrounds in particular are a variety of Asian themes, which I like. The detailed renditions were quite noteworthy to me. I faintly* feel some similarities with Shenmue".

- Yu Suzuki (official subtitles)

*Note: Suzuki's words don't actually imply "faintly"; a closer translation would simply be: "I feel some similarities with Shenmue". 

In a past interview with 4Gamer in 2017, Suzuki declared "Going forward, I'm aiming for graphics you can smell". And so we can take his comment about the background and scenery graphics seen for the new Virtua Fighter as high praise:

"They've grown more and more realistic, so much that you can almost smell them."

Suzuki praises the realistic background graphics (image grab from the new Virtua Fighter trailer)

Suzuki is also impressed by the battles seen in the footage for the new Virtua Fighter game, especially its collision detection as seen by the following line. Note: this is a full translation of his words; the video subtitles are incomplete:

"[In particular,] when your punch lands on your opponent, there's a moment where the hit is absorbed by the flesh, and then the power is transmitted, sending them flying".

Achieving this level of detail into battles echoes something Yu-san mentioned he wanted to achieve himself (and demonstrated with a slow-motion punch to his own face!) during the Shenmue community interview by the Shenmue Dojo and Phantom River Stone earlier in the year. 

View the Video

A transcript of the interview subtitles follows below.

Video Transcript: Sega Mini-Interview with Yu Suzuki

Q: Now that Virtua Fighter is looking at its 30th anniversary, could you say a few words?

Yu Suzuki: Happy 30th anniversary! I'd like to thank everyone for these 30 years, building the Virtua Fighter brand into what it is now. When we developed the world's first full 3D fighting game, I can still remember working on it, and excitedly wondering how it would be received by the public.

Q: Could you share your feelings on Virtua Fighter?

Yu Suzuki: The Virtua Fighter characters back then were built out of what looked like cardboard boxes.

They didn’t look anywhere near human. Internally, we called them names like Robo 1 and Robo 2,  since they looked like robots. Virtua Fighter has evolved since then, and now the characters finally look human. Thinking about it fills me with emotions.

Q: Could you talk a little bit about your thoughts on the announcement of a new Virtua Fighter game?

Yu Suzuki: These are just my feelings after watching the footage, but the backgrounds in particular are a variety of Asian themes, which I like. The detailed renditions were quite noteworthy to me. I faintly feel some similarities with Shenmue.

They've grown more and more realistic, so much that you can almost smell them. That's how believable they look now. The part that leaves the biggest impression on me is the battling. Even just the demo looked really good. I get the feeling this one is going to be a big hit.

The main point of focus is the "collision detection". When your punch lands on your opponent, there's a moment where the hit is absorbed by the flesh, and then the power is transmitted, sending them flying.

It feels incredibly realistic, and I feel like the battle systems have gotten really close to what I've always envisioned.

Q: Could you say a few words about the future of the Virtua Fighter series?

Yu Suzuki: Now that I've heard that the RGG [Ryu Ga Gotoku] team is going to be working on Virtua Fighter, I'm very excited. I hope I can play it soon.

That's all from me!

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Steel Paws: Trailer & Images for Yu Suzuki's New Mobile Game

A new mobile game has just been announced from Yu Suzuki and YS Net! Steel Paws is billed as a "feel-good battle action" game for mobile devices. It was revealed by way of a premiere trailer at the recently-held The Game Awards and is set to launch exclusively on Netflix Games in 2025.

Steel Paws: a "Dynamic Action Adventure Game"

The description provided by Netflix for the trailer reads:

"Embark on a dynamic action adventure game as a girl alongside her Buddy Robots to conquer a mysterious Tower that reappears every century".

The Japanese trailer has a similar description, with some additional detail (translation):

 "A girl sets out on an adventure with her companion robots to conquer the mysterious tower that appears once every 100 years. Master abilities, upgrade your companion robot, and take on the enigmatic tower. Defeat enemies, earn rewards, and fight your way through a world beyond imagination!"

The Game Awards Premiere Trailer

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Must Be Seen to be Believed: Dreams of Saturn 2.0 "First Look" Trailer & Mini Games Trailer

Update: the release date is now scheduled for December 21, 2024

George Kitchen has released a "First Look" trailer for Dreams of Saturn 2.0, a major update and expansion for his initial version of his game from last Christmas which made waves across the community, and it looks jaw-droppingly stunning!

It adds a ton of content, in particular a whole new harbor location which was not present in the original, and allows the whole game to be played with a third-person view of Ryo.

Watch the amazing trailer below:

There is so much packed into just this short trailer! Just a few of the many humorous touches and carefully-choreographed scenes to be seen in this extravaganza of brand-new content:

• A tiny new hero? Ryo's cockroach takes part in the adventure.
• Even from this brief preview, the beautifully-rendered sets and landscapes look incredible: from the sky, object lighting and shadows through the detailed individual character animations and facial expressions.
• Ryo is now rendered in third person, bringing it even closer to the feel of the original game.
• A brand new "ride to the harbor" mini-game has been implemented
• In one QTE interaction the player controls Guizhang.
• Ryo traverses areas that were not accessible in the first Shenmue game, running across the rooftop of buildings and even ascending the structure of the gantry crane to operate it.
• An impressive missile launch from a submarine?!
• Does Santa Maeno save the day?
• A homage to Streets of Rage 2
• A sequence featuring Segata Sanshiro.

According to creator George Kitchen, DOS 2 consists of two separate stories (the original story and the new one). Both will be accessible from the main menu.

The release date is planned for 19th December, 2024.

Update: the release date will now be 21st December.

It is hard to believe this is a fan-made game, let alone one created by a single person. What a treat this promises to be!

Screenshots:

Interview with Sega Lounge

15 December Update : Shenmue Dreams of Saturn 2.0 Mini Games Trailer

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The Shenmue III Publishing Torch Has Passed to ININ Games | Community Video Selection

Although several days have passed since the announcement caused a flurry of excitement in the Shenmue community, we could not let it go unmentioned on the blog any longer: with the blessing of YS Net, ININ Games has assumed publishing rights for Shenmue III!

The YS Net Press Release

It all started with a rather inconspicuous news entry added on 19 November 2024 to the YS Net official site, simply titled "Notice Regarding Shenmue III Publishing Change". This linked to a press release  document that announced the immediate transfer of publishing for Shenmue III to ININ Games, stating:

"Following the previous collaboration on Air Twister, this will deepen the relationship between ININ Games and YS NET. Known for their commitment to celebrating beloved titles, ININ Games is excited to shepherd Shenmue III into its next phase.

This collaboration marks the beginning of a new chapter for Shenmue III, with ININ Games working closely alongside YS NET to honor the series' legacy while ensuring its accessibility to even more fans around the world".

 

The ININ Games Press Release

A couple of days later, an online article by Gematsu quoted a press release from ININ Games. After noting the significance of the transfer date coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Shenmue series and the fifth anniversary of Shenmue III, the release continued:

"We at ININ Games are honored to carry the Shenmue torch forward during such a significant moment in the series’ history. As we reflect on two decades of innovation and passion, we remain dedicated to preserving and sharing the journey of Ryo Hazuki with both long-time fans and newcomers".

 (Note, there had been some initial confusion about whether the rights were for the complete franchise, but it was later clarified to be just Shenmue III).

The timing, on the 5th anniversary of Shenmue III, suggests that the previous publisher, Deep Silver, had publishing rights for a period of five years from its release. In addition, the mention of ensuring "accessibility to even more fans" suggests that the exclusivity to Sony's PlayStation platform has now also ended.

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"Years ago... I was Chinese" | Translation Analysis

In the past we have analyzed a number of memorable English translations from Shenmue that have tickled the funny bones of fans everywhere, including the classic "Let's Get Sweaty" and of course "Especially since you bought merchandise" which requires a mini lesson in Japanese grammar to unravel!

Today, we're diving into another humorous phrase that has a worthy place in this collection. It occurs near the start of the game, with the owner of the Mary's Patches & Embroidery store on Dobuita Street, the elderly Itoi-san.

Itoi-san's quirky wording here in the English version earns this phrase a place in our "Say What?" series of posts: "Years ago... I was Chinese."

Let's dig into it!

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Joe & George Kitchen's Magical Fan-made Videos

A hilarious skateboard scene from Episode 7 of the Shenmue Short Stories video series

Anyone who has not yet discovered the collection of fan-made Shenmue videos created by Joe and George Kitchen... you've been missing out on a fantastic experience.

It is truly mesmerizing to see Shenmue's world in such beauty, with a cinematic presentation that pulls the viewer into the stories being told. Joe has hand-crafted the graphics and animations for each video over the course of weeks, months - even years before each video's release. From a technical standpoint, the scenes aren't running on the Shenmue engine, but were built inside animation software from the original assets. The result is just as convincing as if they were part of the original games.

Characters are fully animated and interact within meticulously-recreated environments enhanced with a multitude of stunning visual effects: blossom petals drift down from cherry trees, puddles still glistening from recent rain reflect the surroundings; mist swirls on a mountain road in the evening; clouds gradually change shape as the sun sets behind distant mountains; Christmas lights strung along house roofs softly illuminate a wintry night.

Entirely new environments that weren't present in the original games have been expertly imagined and crafted to the point of being indistinguishable from those of the original games: office and bedroom interiors, mountain cliffs and even the interior of a train.

Making the videos even more special are the gorgeous original musical compositions. Each music piece could easily be mistaken for an official Shenmue track, and they have been written with such detailed attention that the brothers even located and obtained the actual musical instruments and synthesized sounds. The music consists of compositions by both Joe and George.

Some videos bring officially-unused models to life, such as Master Yunhai from Shenmue II's cut Miao Village storyline

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for March 2023

Every month Phantom River Stone holds a poll among our patrons to choose a topic for the blog in the coming month. After tallying the votes (including accumulated votes from previous months), the winning topic that has been voted this time is:

"Years ago... I was Chinese" - Translation Analysis

In the past we have analyzed a number of memorable English translations from the first game that have been a source of amusement for generations of Shenmue fans, including the snappy Let's Get Sweaty and the somewhat more puzzling Especially since you bought merchandise.

In this post we will be looking at another phrase that is similarly often quoted.

It occurs with the owner of the Mary's Patches & Embroidery store on Dobuita Street, the elderly Itoi-san. He is always to be found hunched over his counter during the day, ready for a spot of conversation.

Ryo approaches Mary's Patches & Embroidery, determined to extract a hint as to his next move by engaging with as many local shopkeepers as it takes

Ryo wishes to learn more about something known as the Three Blades and loses no time in starting to interrogate Itoi-san regarding this. 

It is then that Itoi-san declares: "Years ago... I was Chinese."

Itoi-san's quirky wording here in the English version earns this phrase a place in our "Say What?" series of posts. We'll review his character's background and consider alternative phrasing that would sound more natural to English speakers.

Coming soon to the blog.

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Yu Suzuki's Visit to Dobuita Street with IGN Japan | Video with ENG Subtitles

As part of the Shenmue the Animation promotional celebrations earlier this year, IGN Japan's Esra Krabbe met up with Yu Suzuki in the real Dobuita, in Ryo's hometown of Yokosuka (April 2022). As the original video was made available with Japanese audio only, for this post we have added English subtitles so fans around the world can enjoy hearing the series' founder reminisce about the development of the games and the anime series.

This is the extended version with extra footage compared to the originally-released video. I hope you enjoy hearing Esra and Yu-san's comments as they soak up the atmosphere and interact with various shopkeepers.

In a future post we plan to cover the concept and storyboard art shown in this video, which was displayed in several shops around Dobuita as part of the event, in detail.

A transcript with still images from the video follows after.

This topic was selected by the Phantom River Stone blog patrons via our monthly poll on the Phantom River Stone Patreon and was available for early access. Thank you for your support!

Video

Transcript

<Esra Krabbe & Yu Suzuki greet each other outside the Honey Bee restaurant in Yokosuka>

Krabbe: Hello, Yu-san! Long time no see.

So, this is the the "Honey Bee". In the game the name is Funny Bear. This is the place, isn't it. It was the inspiration, so how about we grab a bite?

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The Shenmue Game Yu Suzuki Wants to Make Next | Excerpts from the Yokosuka Livestream

During the recent livestream talk event to celebrate the release of Shenmue the Animation that was held on location in Yokosuka, Yu Suzuki was asked about his plans or intention for his next Shenmue-related project.

The focus of the livestream was naturally on the anime, but in this post we have transcribed extracts from Yu Suzuki that are pertinent to the topic of the Shenmue video games and any plans for a next Shenmue entry (translations by Switch).

Reflections on Shenmue III

While the focus of the livestream was of course the anime, in the latter half the topic turned to Shenmue III. The MC, Esra Krabbe of IGN Japan, pointed out that, while he had held interviews with Yu Suzuki several times in the period leading up to the game's release, there had not been so much of an opportunity to talk with him about the game in the 3 years after its release.

Yu Suzuki: Through the support of long-time players, the game [Shenmue III] was able to be realized through Kickstarter, and they rated it really highly. That's largely because I put my heart and soul into it with fans in mind, and made it just for them. Their high ratings really gave me a feeling of achievement and I was very happy to see that.

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Shenmue x Yokosuka: Livestream with Yu Suzuki, Yu Kiyozono, Masaya Matsukaze and Esra Krabbe

Tune in 29th April at 6pm JST for a special livestream in which Yu Suzuki and other special guests will be talking about Shenmue The Animation!

Featuring special guests:

• Yu Suzuki (anime executive producer, YS Net)
• Yu Kiyozono (anime producer, Telecom Animation Film)
• Masaya Matsukaze (voice of Ryo Hazuki, Japanese voicing)

and with Esra Krabbe (MC, IGN Japan) as MC.

According to the stream description:

"We have invited some illustrious guests related to the anime series to talk about what makes Shenmue The Animation so appealing, as well as details of the Shenmue ✕ Yokosuka Anime Commemoration Project promotion".

Watch: 

Note: the livestream will be in Japanese, but we plan to provide English subtitles, or a summary, in the near future after the stream has ended.

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for March 2022

Every month Phantom River Stone holds a poll among our patrons to choose a topic for the blog in the coming month. After tallying the votes (including accumulated votes from previous months), the winning topic that has been voted this time is:

"Subtitle the Full Video Footage of the 1998 Shenmue Premiere"

The Shenmue Premiere was an extravagant event first held in Yokohama in December 1998 - as well as in five other cities around Japan in the weeks thereafter - at which Yu Suzuki introduced his upcoming groundbreaking new game to the public. The free event lasted for two hours and included a live orchestra, videos and live gameplay.

The blog topic selected for this month will be about creating English subtitles for the full version of the Shenmue Premiere video footage that was later released.

Note: a short digest video of the event, which was around 13 minutes in length, was released by Sega on a Dreamcast Express demo disc, to which I added subtitles to in the past.

The full version, on the other hand, runs at almost 2 hours and contains a great deal more footage, in particular pre-release game scenes.

To date it has not received fan-made subtitles: its poor quality has made it hard to sit through, with a very choppy frame rate and low resolution - the good news on that front is that there have been recent projects by the Shenmue community to enhance the quality by swapping in higher-resolution clips and/or using AI upscaling.

Hence the subtitles, once complete, will be able to be paired with these improved visuals.

IOLI sings Shenhua's Theme live at the Premiere

Early footage of Xiuying

Interview with Yu Suzuki

Watch for an announcement on the blog for the completed subtitles once ready!

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Shenmue the Animation | S1E6 Promo: Kid in Trouble

  *** Minor Spoiler for Episode 6 ***

In this promo for the upcoming Episode Six of Shenmue the Animation, we see that Ryo has set foot in Hong Kong and has apparently wasted no time in following up on the lead given to him by Master Chen: a letter with the name of Master Lishao Tao who lives in the Yan Tin Apartments. His search is interrupted by a small boy who pleads for Ryo to intervene and save him.

"New town, new country -still the same old trash!" mutters Ryo as he sets down his bag...

This is recognizable as the start of the bag snatching scene from Shenmue II, and Cool Z / J, Larry, Sam and Wong have all been reproduced nicely in anime form.

In particular, we see that Cool Z has a similar purple shirt with the word "DRAGON" on it, but without the dragon illustration beneath; and on a chain around his neck is a key, rather than a padlock that he has in the game.

Sam, Cool Z and Larry from the same scene in Shenmue II

We also get a better look at the book Ryo was holding on the boat in one of the early anime trailers, and see that it has the words "Cantonese Course" on it - Ryo is obviously brushing up on his language skills.

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Shenmue the Animation | S1E5 Promo: Ryo and Guizhang vs the Mad Angels

 *** Minor Spoiler for Episode 5 ***

Episode Five of Shenmue the Animation will be releasing very shortly on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim!

Guizhang and Ryo team up to take on the enemy in this short promo clip for the upcoming episode.

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Shenmue the Animation | S1E4 Sneak Peek: Ryo Seeks a Job

The fourth episode of Shenmue the Animation is coming up this weekend on Crunchyroll & Adult Swim! A new sneak peek trailer & a shorter promo clip have been released, and can be viewed tomorrow.

*** Spoiler Warning ***

In the sneak peek trailer, which has a good 3-minute runtime, the cost of a flight to Hong Kong forces Ryo to go off in search of employment, where he runs into a recent acquaintance who is eager to please.

A shorter clip has also been posted on the official Toonami Facebook page, with something fans of the game will have been waiting for - forklifts! Ryo seems to be still getting to grips with its operation during his first day on the job.

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Shenmue the Animation | S1E3 Promo: Ryo Meets Goro

 *** Minor Spoiler for Episode 3 ***

Episode Three of Shenmue the Animation will be releasing very shortly on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim!

In this promo clip, Goro severely underestimates Ryo's threat and ends up making a fool of himself at the harbor. (We shall see whether Ryo will get to use his famous line in the anime version of this scene...)

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Shenmue the Animation | S1E3 Sneak Peek: Translating the Letter

 

The third episode of Shenmue the Animation is coming up this weekend on Crunchyroll & Adult Swim!

*** Spoiler Warning ***

This new sneak peak trailer shows Ryo decoding the mysterious letter from Yuanda Zhu with the help of the owner of a neighborhood antiques shop, a scene that will be familiar to players of the game.

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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 Promo: Episode 2 [Bar Fight]

 *** Minor Spoiler for Episode 2 ***

A new short promo clip for today's upcoming release of Episode 2 of Shenmue The Animation, entitled "Daybreak", has been shared on Adult Swim's Twitter channel. It shows a little more of the bar fight scene at Heartbeats Bar that has been previously glimpsed in a previous trailer.

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Shenmue the Animation | S1E2 Sneak Peek: Ryo Looks for a Translator

*** Minor Spoiler for Episode 2 ***

The second episode of Shenmue the Animation will be released this weekend (Crunchyroll and Adult Swim)!

While we've seen the appearance of Charlie in a short promo for the upcoming episode, this new sneak peak trailer shows Ryo on the hunt for a Chinese speaker to help deduce the meaning of the mysterious letter from Yuanda Zhu.

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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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