Although the original manga launched more than 20 years ago, Shaman King continues to grow as a franchise. Since the original anime and manga ended, Shaman King has become nostalgic in the West, many thinking back on its original run. However, series creator Hiryouki Takei is still hard at work expanding the franchise's story for a new generation of characters and readers.
Well known for being part of the anime wave of the mid- and late 2000s, the series is often mentioned in the same breath as One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh! While it isn't nearly as popular as some other properties of the era, it was a unique shonen series whose quirks inevitably showed up across the genre. Here's a look back at the spiritual series that's spawned an entire franchise worth of manga.
Shaman King
The Shaman King manga followed Yoh Asakura, a young medium able to contact and channel spirits of the dead. With these powers, he hopes to win the Shaman Fight. The victor of this metaphysical war will inherit the title of Shaman King, and thus be able to reshape the world as they see fit. Traveling with his fiancee Anna, Yoh encounters other fighters with their own stories on his quest to win the title. Along with his friends Ryu, Tao Ren and the jovial Chocolove McDonell, he also faces off against the powerful, antagonistic Hao. Hao intends to massacre the human race if he wins the title of Shaman King, leaving shamans as the rulers of the planet. What seems like a simplistic sh0nen tournament storyline eventually takes surprising twists and turns, revealing the tragic reasoning behind the worldviews of the heroes and villains.
The original manga ran for 6 years before it was suddenly cancelled. Author Hiroyuki Takei had commented that, by that point, many of the elements that the series introduced had become commonplace, if not old hat in shonen. The themes of shamanism and spirituality were particularly underused in the genre at the time, as was the series' central theme that fighting was ultimately pointless. Despite this, a combination of fatigue and lost luster saw Takei end the manga sooner than he intended. Shaman King was originally published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump before coming to its abrupt end. In 2008, however, Shueisha published large volumes of Shaman King Perfect Edition, which included the originally intended, "true" ending.
Marcos and Other Spinoffs
Though he may have been fatigued by the production demands of Weekly Shonen Jump, Takei certainly wasn't tired of the franchise that he had created. Since the original, he's written and drawn numerous spinoffs, some of which are either just now ending or still being published. The first of these was Poem of Funbari, a series of short stories starring Hana - Yoh and Anna's son - as he gathers his parents' old friends together to celebrate the opening of his family's hot spring resort. Essentially the true ending of the series, it reveals where the characters had been for the last seven years. The series lasted for one year after the original ended, and was published in Akamaru Jump.
Next came Shaman King: Zero, which was published in Jump X from 2011 to 2014. As its name would suggest, it showcases the early years of the series' various characters, relaying how they came to want to enter the Shaman Fight. Running from 2012-2014 in the same magazine was Shaman King: Flowers, which was the first full-fledged sequel to the first series. Taking place 16 years Shaman King and following an older Hana, the story follows the spoiled and lazy son of Yoh having to defend his family's existence in the Flower of Maize tournament - a battle between literal gods. The tournament sees Hana fighting in a team led by none other than former antagonist Hao.
Shonen Magazine Edge published the recently-ended Shaman King: Red Crimson, as well as the still-running Shaman King: The Super Star. The former followed Tao Jun and Lee Bai Long - the sister of Tao Ren and her companion spirit - as they dealt with the tragic legacy of the Tao family, stretching back over thousands of years. Meanwhile, The Super Star is another sequel, continuing the story from where Shaman King: Flowers left off. It's also worth noting that, back in 2017, Kodansha acquired the Shaman King publishing license from Shueisha. This means that they now own one of Shueisha's (formerly) most profitable franchises, one that's still continuing to this day. This includes Shaman King Marcos, a spinoff involving another side character, which was meant to be released in April.
Anime and Video Games
As popular as the manga was, it only made sense that it got an anime adaptation. The anime ran from 2001 to 2002, ending a good two years before the manga. This left its ending notably incongruous with the source material, with many story arcs left unadapted. Due to this, there have been talks over the years of remaking the anime, finishing the manga's story in the new version, similar to the second anime adaptation of Fruits Basket or Fullmetal Alchemist. While Takei was initially onboard with the idea, he inevitably declined since the project wouldn't involve the original voice actors.
There were also several video games for the franchise, going all the way back to the Game Boy Color. Due to releasing long before the franchise hit Western shores, some of these games, such as the Shaman King Chou Senjiryakketsu series, only saw release in Japan. The titles ran a wide gamut of genres, from Metroidvania style adventures, hack-and-slash action titles, and fighting games. The series' characters have also appeared in the Jump Super Stars crossover games.
The franchise hasn't seen much action outside of Japan since the original anime and manga, owing mainly to the lack of new content crossing over. Despite this, Shaman King's spirit remains strong, with an ever loyal fanbase of Japanese viewers and those who first saw it on 4Kids and read it in Borders.
