For the last five years (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, & 2020) we’ve started the year by making some predictions on what will happen within the upcoming year. Most of the years we were a bit off the mark but let’s take a look back at how close we got for our predictions for 2020!
Shaman King Manga Slowly Rolls Out Worldwide!
Correct! We got this one right on the mark! The entire Shaman King manga series came out in English through digital volumes from Kodansha USA in 2020 and print editions are planned for 2021. A whole bunch of countries also started getting the new editions of the Shaman King manga as well.
Yahabe Anime Returns for Free Streaming Online
Incorrect! It appears that the Yahabe (translated as “YVS” in the English manga) anime episode is going to be left in the dust for quite some time more. Who knows when or if that will ever resurface again…
A New Shaman King Anime Series is Announced!
Correct! We just keep asking and it finally happened. Another one that was right on the mark, since we said just that it would be announced, not released.
Another Shaman King Novel is Announced and Released!
Incorrect! No new Shaman King novels were announced this year, but Kana in France did license the Shaman King: Faust 8 – Eternal Eliza novel for a release in 2021. We also got Shaman King: Marcos and Shaman King: & a garden in 2020 for the manga series, so the expansion of the series was continuing still.
Shaman King Exhibition Goes International & Opens Up Online Sales!
Mostly correct! So this is a hard one to judge. Due to COVID-19 precautions, the number of attendees to some of the Exhibitions were limited so online sales (via a “mail order” system) were setup within Japan only. Using a proxy/3rd-party service, it was possible to get some of that merch, but shipping costs increased the challenge quite a bit. From the Shaman King Exhibition Fan Meet-up Twitter Venue – Day 3, Hiroyuki Takei’s editor commented this (in roughly translated English) as well…
The Shaman King Exhibition internationally…? Actually it was in discussion briefly, but all of stopped due to the turmoil during this time. May the world return to peace!
So that’s a confirmation that it was in the works at one point. Hopefully this will be able to be revisited again in the future!
The predictions for 2020 were the closest year yet, with almost 3 (out of 5) right! 2018s predictions are now in 2nd place with 1 correct and 2 partial predictions (out of 6).
The following are predictions for headlines for 2021. These are guesses and are NOT real news stories until reported on later.
20th Anniversary Anime Music Album Released!
We know that there is a strong chance that some more Shaman King news will be announced on January 6th, 2021 and that Megumi Hayashibara is returning to the creator role for the new Shaman King anime opening and ending themes… but we’re going to guess there is more! Launching around the time of the new anime, a “20th Anniversary” album will also be released featuring some of the original tracks from the 2001 Shaman King anime. “Over Soul”, “Northern Lights”, and other songs like “Brave Heart” would be included. There may also be some new remixes or live versions, or possibly covers included on the album. It’s a great way to cash-in on those original songs and have a nice all-in-one album for fans to grab, and likely stream online via Spotify/Apple Music/etc.
The Trading Card Game Makes Its Return!
One of the biggest money-makers and successes from the original Shaman King anime was the original Trading Card Game that was produced by TOMY in Japan. It had many expansion packs and videogames to keep it rolling. It even outlasted the original anime series since it was so successful. With COVID-19 precautions, having a physical card game is less likely, but still doable. Whomever is producing this newer/updated version of the card game will likely create a mobile game app version for a larger appeal.
New Shaman King Anime Licensed by Funimation!
The two most likely companies to pick up the new Shaman King anime are either Crunchyroll or Funimation. With Funimation having the English dub for series like Attack on Titan and Cells At Work, both Kodansha-owned series, they are the more likely option to win out. Their further pushes into Latin America and other established markets like Australia, while producing English-language dubs could give them the edge on locking in this license.
New Shaman King Anime Airs on Toonami!
While just not stopping with an English dub, the new Shaman King anime will also take to the airwaves in the US on the Toonami programing block for Cartoon Network. The Japanese production appears to be moving at a good pace as they have already started dubbing the show in Japanese, this should hopefully provide enough of a lead-in time for Funimation to turn around an English dub so that it can broadcast on Toonami without too much of a delay behind the Japanese release to start off with.
Funko Pops Appear!
If you need a marker for “this is a popular series” and the need to get some quick turn-around for some mass-market products… Funko Pops will get you that Yoh and friends ASAP! Hopefully there will be more merchandise than just that which will hit store shelves in mid-to-late 2021… but we got to start with the lowest hanging option first!
As mentioned in our looking forward to 2021 post for enhancements on Patch Cafe, we’d like to again thank all of the readers who stopped by in 2020. With a new anime coming out soon and multiple series running in Japan it’s a great time to be a Shaman King fan and we hope that some of these wild predictions for 2021 do come true!
