Shaman King Sets Netflix Return Date

Shaman King has finished summoning the last half of its first season, as Netflix has finally revealed a new trailer and release date for Part 2 of the series.

Netflix's official Twitter account posted a new video announcing the details for Shaman King's return to the streaming service. Fans of the series were given a sample of the anime's new opening theme, performed by singer and voice actor Nana Mizuki. The Netflix trailer also teases the debut of important characters who will make their first appearance in the rebooted series, such as Lyserg Diethel, Chocolove McDonnel and the X-Laws. "7 DAYS until...#SHAMANKING Season 1 Part 2," Netflix announced.

Shaman King Season 1 Part 2 picks up right after Yoh's and his group's arrival to America, following their search for Patch Village and their meeting with the series' big-bad, Hao. While excitement for the new season is high, some viewers have complained about Netflix's four-month delay between Part 1 and Part 2, while others pointed out the show's rapid pacing in comparison to the 2001 adaptation.

Shaman King is a shonen manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Takei, who is also known for Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai and Ultimo. It was originally published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump from 1998 to 2004, and was collected into 32 volumes. A sequel entitled Shaman King Flowers ran from 2012 to 2014, centering around Yoh and Anna's son, Hana Asakura as well as the other children of the original series' main cast.

The latest entry in the franchise, Shaman King The Super Star began serialization in 2018 on Shonen Magazine Edge. The ongoing series covers the journey of Alumi Niumbirch, a member of the Patch Tribe and the daughter of Silva. At the time of writing, six volumes have been published, but the series recently went on indefinite hiatus due to Takei's other commitments.

The first anime adaptation of Shaman King was produced by the now-defunct animation studio Xebec (Love Hina, To-Love Ru) and released in 2001, running for 64 episodes from July 2001 to September 2002. While the early parts of the series stayed true to the source material, it later deviated from the original storyline, consequently skipping over important arcs which were covered in the manga. A reboot of the series produced by animation studio Bridge (Nobunagun, Talentless Nana) was released in 2021, featuring a more faithful adaptation of the original manga's storyline.

Shaman King (2021) is available for streaming on Netflix, with the second half of Season 1 set for release on Dec. 9.

Source: Twitter