Returning to its weekly trend, the official Shaman King 2021 anime Twitter and website were updated on March 18th at 10:00am local time in Japan to announce two additional character designs and voice cast along with some more news about the streaming within Japan. There is no set schedule for these announcements and tend to only be hinted at when they will be announced from the staff working.
Voice Cast Announcement:
Silva will be voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa (緑川 光) and is returning from his role in the 2001 Shaman King anime.
Kalim wiill be voiced by Eiji Hanawa (花輪 英司). Previously Kalim was voiced by Kazuhiro Nakata (中田 和宏) in the 2001 Shaman King anime.
The official tweet with the announcement (in Japanese) which also included a character summary:
Voice Cast Comments
Similar to the previous voice cast announcements, they asked the voice cast members the same questions for their comments. We’ve included a rough English translation below.
Hikaru Midorikawa for the voice of Silva
Can you tell us about the appeal of this series?
We’ve been living in a very tense world, so I’m always fascinated by Yoh’s laid-back nature. I think it’s really cool that you can be laid-back but then make hard decisions at a moment’s notice. I wish I could be like that. The concept of channeling spirits is also cool since I consider myself a home-chef (^_^;). Give me a spirit partner to help too ♪ !
Can you tell us about how you feel to play Silva again?
I’m very happy to be able to perform as Silva again. Now that my lower register is more refined I should be better than last time. I recall struggling with some of the deeper sounding lines that required a lot of effort. Now that I have more experience I can provide a more austere Silva. Please look forward to it.
Eiji Hanawa for the voice of Kalim
Can you tell us about the appeal of this series?
When it was being published originally, I was always looking forward to reading it every week and bought all of the volumes. I am really honored to be able to participate in this new work. When I was asked what the appeal of the series was, the first thing that came to mind was the cool and cute characters drawn by Takei-sensei. But the phrasing of the dialog, the choice of words, the tempo of the conversations, the unique characters, and most importantly the concept of possessing and combining with spirits with Over Soul all come to mind as well. There is no end to list on it’s appeal.
Can you tell us about how you feel to play Kalim?
I’m a fan of Kalim. And since I am fan, I’d like to get rid of that single-track mind that I see him and ensure he sees things from a level perspective. I will do my best so that not only the fans of this work, but anyone who watches it for the first time, will enjoy the series.
Thank you very much for all of your support.
New Japanese Streaming Information
In addition to the two voice actor announcements some more details about the streaming services for the new anime in Japan have been announced. Netflix Japan will get the same episode that airs on TV broadcast on Thursdays in Japan. Then a week later a variety of other streaming platforms in Japan will get that episode. Effectively there is just a week delay in the non-Netflix streaming services in getting the episode. The list of streaming services and their episode start dates can be found on the official Japanese website. The services are broken up into 3 categories:
- Unlimited Viewing: If you are subscribed to the service you can watch it as many times as you want
- Free delivery: Should be able to watch the episode (likely with ads) for free. May require an account and a IP address located within Japan.
- Pay-per-view/Rental: Need to pay for each episode. They may also have VOD (Video-on-Demand) payments as well.
The Shaman King (2021) will begin its TV broadcast in Japan on April 1st.
Netflix has released a trailer for the new Shaman King anime in English, but has not listed it as a “Netflix Original” which is typically used for their exclusive streaming rights. It may be possible that other services or TV broadcasters are still in discussions for streaming rights for the new anime and could turn landscape similar to Japan where multiple services are streaming the new anime. The exact details on the Shaman King (2021) release schedule for outside of Japan has not been clearly defined.
