Shenmue the Animation Episode 9: Still Missing the Point

I guess its that time to once again not say nice things about Ryo again. The narrative of the show is obviously against him with our adult characters, mainly Xuiying, telling him that he is missing something. Obviously, the guy is going to think it’s the fourth Wude. Or you know, some hidden message or meaning that he thinks he can just find out into the streets of Hong Kong that will instantly solve what he is told he is missing. So clearly, that isn’t the case right? He is still searching outside for something missing in himself and that won’t work.

Seriously, its pretty clear that Ryo is so desperate to find anything for it that he just goes out into the streets inviting violence on himself so much that he ends up hit in the head with a pipe twice. That means he also wakes up not knowing where he is from a head injury twice. Yet, he still tries to do the same thing over and over again by in sighting violence from random gangs or fall for what our mysterious guy Ren says. The maximum himbo levels.

All of that time, Xuiying was keeping an eye on Ryo and even stealthily beating up some gangsters when no one even noticed her. She is literally awesome. Yet, Ryo thinks learning about her backstory and then guessing that is what she is trying to tell him. It is very interesting to see him read everything wrong as any revenge bound person would to justify themselves. So he leaves Xuiying’s shrine and who knows where he well head out now. Very believable writing.

Such a crazy thing to see all that heroic tone built up from Ryo being and leaving Yokosuka to the slowly decline in it at Hong Kong. The first time that Ryo really has been challenged mentally instead of physically because literally no one doubted him in Yokosuka. All of those false clues and ideas Ryo has built in his head is him trying to think it’s like how he did things back at home. Well, se shall see how that goes as he moves onward and maybe learns that other people can be right.