It’s becoming more and more common to get full anime reboots. You need only look at entries like Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and the latest Fruits Basket series to see more faithful re-creations of beloved franchises. Well, now we’ve got another one coming for 2021 — Shaman King.
Created by Hiroyuki Takei, Shaman King follows Yoh Asakura, a teen descended from a long line of shamans, or those who can communicate and control spirits. Yoh is drafted into the Shaman King competition, a tournament that happens ever 500 years in which the winner is named the Shaman King, allowed to communicated with the Great Spirit, and change the world as they see fit. Along the way, he meets up with friends, enemies, and must battle his twin brother/reincarnated ancestor Hao.
The new show will cover all 35 volumes of the manga, and potentially some of the events that happen after (if only for the sake of completion). The original 2001-2002 anime series deviated from the plot to the point where the ending was completely different. No word yet on casting, but the use of the original anime’s first OP, “Over Soul” by Megumi Hayashibara, could point to some re-using of the same cast and music, which Takei wanted when he got an offer to do a reboot in 2017.
Shaman King is set to premiere sometime in April 2021.