With the barrage of gritty reboots plaguing 2020, one would be wise not to trust another OG series resurfacing. But there’s one I’ll give a pass to―maybe it’s my bias as a weeb speaking, but maybe it’s a reboot that actually looks good for once. And I’m here for it.
“Shaman King” left a lot of fans (that’s me, I’m fans) with quite an abrupt ending, considering that the anime caught up to the manga and didn’t use a lot of filler episodes to drag the series a little longer (looking at you, “Naruto”).
For those unfamiliar (and not gonna blame you, it’s been 20 years since it ended), it’s like “Yu-Gi-Oh!” but with less cards and more weapons. Individuals battle it out to become the next Shaman King, the lucky bitch who gets to control the Great Spirit and reshape the world with its almost limitless power.
Unlike other well-loved series in its era like “Yu Yu Hakusho” and “Yu-Gi-Oh!”, it gradually lost its popularity over time. Back in 2017, series creator Hiroyuki Takei revealed that there were plans to revive it but he had to turn it down because they couldn’t get the original voice actors back on board.
じつを言うと本格的なところまで再アニメ化の話はありましたが…前作の声優さんや楽曲が使用できないとのことで、お断りさせていただきました。またチャンスがあるといいですね https://t.co/gk4i5TsFEi
— 武井宏之 (@takeimokei) February 14, 2017
But now, the reboot is real (slated for release in April 2021, BTW) and the preview is surprisingly good―with a cleaner animation style that fits perfectly among new releases today yet still maintains the style and character designs of the original “Shaman King.”
Not bad, not bad. Props to Studio Bridge (the guys behind supernatural fantasy series “Fairy Tail”) for picking this series up. Maybe we can see it on Netflix someday, too? Hey, if our OG faves are on there, it’s not a stretch.
Still from “Shaman King” PV
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