Shenmue: The Animation, a, yes, animated adaptation of Sega’s cult Dreamcast game from 1999, finally has a release date and is hitting the docks, staring at sailors, starting February 5 on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim.

A Shenmue anime was originally announced in September 2020, with Telecom Animation Film (Tower of God, Lupine the Third: Part 5) producing, and will see original series creator Yu Suzuki serve as executive producer. while Chikara Sakurai (One-Punch Man). Season 2, Magimoji Rurumo) is taking on a director role.

Unsurprisingly, Shenmue: The Animation is a new take on the video game saga (much of the original Japanese voice cast will return), beginning with the murder of the father of teenage martial artist Ryo Hazuki and ending with… Well, that’s not exactly clear. Sadly, the games took their time chronicling Hazuki’s adventures (with that nearly two-decade gap between parts 2 and 3) and the third installment also ended on a cliffhanger, prompting questions about how she might choose to conclude the series. .

Of course, a trailer released last October suggested that the 13-episode anime would at least go all the way to Shenmue 2, and as Martin Robinson of fr.techtribune.net pointed out at the time, there have been rumors for quite some time that the Hazuki story might finish in a way outside the games.

Shenmue: The Animation is a collaboration of Crunchyroll and Adult Swim and will be available through their respective services on February 5, though no specific regional viewing information has been shared yet. Crunchyroll, of course, requires a monthly subscription while, in the UK at least, adult swim shows typically appear via All 4 and E4.