The new Shaman King anime will take a 2-week break while Japanese broadcasters reorganize their schedules to make room for Olympics-based programming.
The official Twitter account for the rebooted anime adaptation of Hiroyuki Takei's classic shonen manga confirmed that the series' broadcast schedule will be pushed back by two weeks to accommodate the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The Tokyo Olympics have been delayed numerous times, but will now officially begin on July 23, despite Japan declaring a new state of emergency related to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The anime will resume with its 18th episode, now scheduled to air on Aug. 12, four days after the end of the Olympics. It is unknown if this delay will affect Netflix's upcoming release of the series, which is still scheduled to debut on Aug. 9 with a new English dub.
【放送休止のお知らせ】
— 『SHAMAN KING』プロジェクト公式 (@SHAMANKING_PR) July 22, 2021
7月29日、8月5日の「SHAMAN KING」は、オリンピック中継に伴う特別編成のため放送休止予定となります。
第18廻：7月29日→8月12日
第19廻：8月5日→8月19日
の予定となります。
※変更の場合があります。
楽しみにしていただいている皆様、申し訳ございません。#SHAMANKING
Shaman King tells the story of Yoh Asakura, a young man who can command spirits and who seeks to become the Shaman King and remake the world to match his wishes. The original manga was serialized from 1998-2004, and was first adapted into an anime in 2001. The anime series was one of the first directorial works by Seiji Mizushima, who would later direct Fullmetal Alchemist and Mobile Suit Gundam OO. Similar to Fullmetal Alchemist, the original anime series diverged into an original storyline separate from the manga during its second half. A rebooted anime series from studio Bridge, best known for their work on Fairy Tail, began airing in 2021 and is promoted as being a more faithful adaptation of the original source material.
While the decision to hold 2020 Tokyo Olympics amid a global pandemic has been met with controversy, especially in Japan, where over 80% of the population opposed the idea of continuing with the games, but a number of anime industry luminaries have still contributed to the event. One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda and Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi provided illustrations that for the games' official program guide, and Studio Ponoc, an animation company made of former Studio Ghibli staff, has created a new animated short celebrating the spirit of the Olympics.
Source: Twitter, via Crunchyroll
