It's been a long road for Shaman King. While it technically never went anywhere, going strong with several spinoffs and sequel manga that continue to this day, the series has largely been radio silent outside of Japan. The original manga was never completed in English and, after Viz Media lost the rights, it seemed it never would be. Likewise, the series hasn't been seen in anime form since the original 2001 show.
But, despite everything, 2021 is shaping up to be Shaman King's year. After digitally releasing every Shaman King manga -- including the previously untranslated volumes 33, 34 and 35 -- into English last year, Kodansha is gearing up to print "3-in-1" omnibus editions of the original series, starting on March 23. But fans will finally get the full story in anime form as well, with a reboot of Yoh Asakura's adventures just over the horizon. Here's everything we know about the return of Shaman King.
The Story So Far
Shaman King follows Yoh Asakura, a Japanese middle-schooler with the ability to speak to and channel spirits, as he prepares to enter the Shaman Fight. A tournament that only happens every 500 years, the Shaman Fight is a brutal competition that pits spiritualists from cultures across the world against each other in a bid to make the Great Spirit -- the source of all life and creation -- their personal companion to shape the world as they see fit. Trained by his fiancee Ann Kyoyama and joined by his spirit partner Amidamaru, best friend Manta and other shamans they meet along the way, Yoh must become strong enough to prevent the impossibly-powerful Hao from winning the tournament and creating a world where only shamans can exist.
Trailers
An official trailer was released to Netflix's YouTube channel on March 3, 2021. The video introduces Yoh, Anna, Tao Ren and the rest of the core cast, while also explaining the purpose of shamans and the Shaman Fight.
The official Shaman King website released the following promotional video on the same day, previewing the anime's opening theme "Soul Salvation" by Megumi Hayashibara.
News to Know
Many of the Japanese voice cast of the original 2001 Shaman King anime will reprise their roles in the 2021 reboot, including Katsuyuki Konishi as Amidamaru, Megumi Hayashibara as Anna Kyōyama, Romi Park as Tao Ren, Yūji Ueda as Horohoro, Takehito Koyasu as Faust VIII, Yoko Soumi as Lyserg Diethel and Motoko Kumai as Joco "Chocolove" McDonell. Older fans of the series might be wary of Joco's return but, thankfully, the character has finally received the racially-sensitive update he so desperately needed.
The upcoming series is directed by Joji Furuta at Bridge (Fairy Tail, Talentless Nana), scripted by Shoji Yonemura with character designs by Satohiko Sano. Yuki Hayashi, who has worked on My Hero Academia, is composing the music for the series. The anime's opening and ending theme songs, "Soul Salvation" and "#Boku no Yubisaki" (My Fingertip) respectively, are performed by Anna voice actress Megumi Hayashibara, who performed the themes of the 2001 anime as well.
Release Date
Shaman King premieres in Japan on April 1 and will be available to English audiences on Netflix at some point this year, though a specific date has not yet been given.
