For the last three years (2016, 2017, 2018) I’ve started the year by making some predictions on what will happen within the upcoming year. So far my predictions haven’t panned out but that’s not going to stop me from trying!
Before we get into 2019’s predictions, let’s see how I did with 2018 predictions:
New Shaman King chapters will be based around the “Funbari No Uta” short chapters
Didn’t Happen – When the 20th Anniversary was first launched, we didn’t know when and how the new Shaman King chapters would fall into the mix. To keep some of the “classic” character designs, we get to see Yoh & Hao in the Great Spirit in The Super Star. So that’s how Hiroyuki Takei was able to get around that for now. Which was a smart choice!
All of Shaman King becomes a single series (No more “Zero” or “Flowers“)
Didn’t Happen – Rather than attempt to recombine everything together into a single story, they opted to keep it separate for the most part. The exception is changing the content of the later volumes to include all 300 chapters within 35 volumes of manga. So the series is just for the main line: Shaman King, Shaman King Zero, Shaman King Flowers, and Shaman King The Super Star .
No news of Jumbor in 2018
Correct Prediction – I did it! First correct prediction! Outside of a reference here or there about the series, there was no news or progress on restarting the Jumbor manga series in 2018. It was clear that 2018 was going to be about Nekogahara and Shaman King, so there wasn’t any room for Jumbor.
Kondasha Comics (USA) licenses the new Kodansha eBooks of Shaman King
Didn’t Happen – It would have been nice to get the manga coming out in English again… but it didn’t look like it happened in 2018. Let’s see where the future takes us!
Nekogahara concludes in early 2019
Partially Happened – So the Nekogahara manga actually did a speed run to the conclusion in early 2018. Rather than drag out the series with some awesome fight scenes and a longer epilogue… Hiroyuki Takei jumped right into the final fight quickly and wrapped up the series before starting Shaman King The Super Star. Even all of the volume releases were published in Japan and in English-speaking countries (including online internationally) before the end of 2018. I’ll still mark it as a partial, since we knew it was coming to a close, just quicker than predicted.
New Shaman King anime announced for 2019
Didn’t Happen (Yet!) – The dream is still alive. While getting a new anime in 2018 wasn’t going to happen, the chances for 2019 are still strong! Normally these things need a bit of a lead-in time so hopefully it’s being looked into for the future!
2018 turned out to be my best year yet for predictions with one that happened and 2 that are partial! So let’s jump into the predictions for 2019!
The following are predictions for headlines for 2019. These are guesses and are NOT real news stories until reported on later.
New Shaman King Anime Announced for 2019/2020
At first you don’t succeed, then try again! With new Shaman King merch selling very well, the new volumes of manga doing decently well… it’s on track for an anime series sometime in 2019 into 2020. Everything from last year’s prediction still applies, but now there are some stronger metrics for getting investors.
The new developments that occurred this year is that the manga series Ao-chan Can’t Study! has gotten an anime adaptation. This is extremely noteworthy as this manga is from the Shonen Magazine Edge magazine that ran Nekogahara and is currently running Shaman King The Super Star and Shaman King Red Crimson. So if that does well, it could help put more backing into Shaman King getting an anime.
It’s also worth considering that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics can be a factor. Having an anime series that helps show a diverse, international cast of characters, would be something that could gain more attention during the Olympics. The series would need to line itself up for a full adaptation, so starting in Fall 2019 would be a great start to continue through 2020.
New Shaman King Mobile Game Announced
After the successful runs of the collaboration events for 2 other mobile games… 2019 is the year where Shaman King will get it’s own stand-alone mobile game! There is a ton of content to reference from the manga and there is a proven fanbase for digital game content for the series. Additionally some of the merch that has been released has been stylized in chibi-like format which works well in mobile game formats. Plus if an anime is coming out from the previous prediction… then this is a way to join that production committee and keep the game alive during the run of the new anime series.
Shaman King Manga Licensed Worldwide!
There has been some rumors that there was some legal hold-up with the original Shaman King manga not being able to be printed in 2018… but within 2019 that restriction may be lifted! Doubled with Kodansha now managing the license, the floodgates could be opened and Shaman King would be coming out around the world! Complete English releases of the original Shaman King manga! Italian releases of The Super Star and Red Crimson! Entire reprints (and more) of the Shaman King manga in France! Argentina can continue on with it’s printed volume release of the Shaman King manga! It might not be consistent for each area, but it would turn 2019 into a very busy year! Oh, and within all of those countries… they love to license manga that will be getting an anime adaptation!
2019 will still be a great year for Shaman King fans even if none of these predictions come true. 2018 was one of the best years for the series and the 20th Anniversary celebration continues into 2019!
