Dark Horse Comics reminded fans on November 8 at 5 p.m. MST that Martial War, a new manga illustrated by Shaman King creator Hiroyuki Takei, begins its release on April 6, 2027. The publisher describes a country "piecing itself back together," where ninja no longer fight in the streets but in an arena called the Octagon. Takei co-created the series with writers Aidan White and Will Carter. Below is every way to read and watch Shaman King, the series that made Takei's name, from the manga to both anime adaptations and the sequel. Check out the official post down below:
What Is Shaman King?
Kodansha's official description starts with Manta Oyamada, whose class gets a new transfer student from remote Izumo: Yoh Asakura, a shaman in training. Shamans can commune with gods, spirits and the dead, and Yoh wants to become the Shaman King, "the one and only shaman who may commune with the Great Spirit and help remake the world for the better." To get there, he has to win the Shaman Fight, a tournament of battles between spirit mediums that Kodansha notes "is only held once every 500 years."
Yoh fights alongside his guardian ghost, the samurai Amidamaru, and the series builds out a large cast of rival shamans as the tournament grows. The manga first ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1998 to 2004, and its abrupt end in that magazine was resolved when Takei finished the story in a complete edition. That full version is the one Kodansha now publishes in English, and the one the 2021 anime adapts.
The Manga In English
Kodansha publishes the complete series in English in two formats:
- Shaman King: 35 volumes, complete, available digitally
- Shaman King Omnibus: 12 volumes, complete, in print
Kodansha's omnibus volumes collect three of the original books each, so Omnibus Vol. 1 covers Vol. 1-3 and Omnibus Vol. 12 finishes the run. The publisher says the 600-page editions feature "a remastered translation and new cover art" by Takei. Kodansha rates the 35-volume digital edition 16+ and the print omnibus 13+. Both editions carry the same story, from Yoh's arrival in Manta's class through the final rounds of the Shaman Fight, and Kodansha lists each one as complete.
Spin-Offs And Sequels
Kodansha also carries several follow-ups, all listed as complete:
- Shaman King: Zero, digital, side stories set before the Shaman Fight
- Shaman King: Red Crimson, digital, starring Tao Jun and Li Pairon
- Shaman King: Marcos, digital, about the X-Laws after Marco disappears
- Shaman King: Flowers, 6 volumes in print and digital
Flowers is the direct sequel. Kodansha's summary says Hana Asakura, the son of Yoh and Anna Asakura, finds that being their child "isn't all it's cracked up to be," until a fight arrives from his own family. Zero, Red Crimson and Marcos are side stories built around characters from the main series.
The Two Anime Series
Shaman King has been adapted for TV twice. The 2001 series aired while the manga was still running, so it caught up to its source and finished with its own original ending. Xebec produced its 64 episodes, which aired on TV Tokyo from July 2001 to September 2002, and it does not follow the manga's full story. 4Kids Entertainment later dubbed it in English, and that dub aired on Fox's FoxBox block starting in 2003.
The 2021 series, produced by Bridge and directed by Joji Furuta, adapts the complete manga from start to finish. Yoko Hikasa took over as Yoh, while Megumi Hayashibara returned as Anna, the role she voiced in the 2001 series. Its official Japanese site lists 52 episodes, ending with "SHAMAN KING GOD END," and Netflix carries it as SHAMAN KING, rated TV-14. Unlike the 2001 series, it follows the story through to the ending Takei wrote. Netflix released the official trailer for the 2021 series:
Shaman King: Flowers Anime
The sequel anime, Shaman King Flowers, followed in 2024. The official site announced its final episode in April 2024 and lists Netflix among its streaming services in Japan, alongside d Anime Store, Amazon Prime Video and others. Its story picks up years after the 2021 series ends.
The official character list introduces Hana as Yoh and Anna's only son, restricted from using his shaman powers and skipping school because he would rather fight as a shaman. Amidamaru, who fought the Shaman Fight alongside Yoh, is now Hana's guardian ghost. Alumi Niumbirch, daughter of the Patch tribe's Silva and Anna's top pupil, is Hana's fiancée and inherits her father's spirit, Silver Arms.
The rivals come from inside the family. Yohane Asakura is the next head of the "Ura-Asakura" branch, descendants of Hao Asakura, whom the main family exiled about 1,000 years ago, and he resents the current Asakura family for burying Hao. His guardian ghost is Oboro Daikyo, a wandering swordsman who fights with a long blade named Daikiri. His sister Luka trained from childhood to support him, with two lion spirits named Shinden and Raiden. Their father, Yohkyo, raised them in the mountains to defeat the main family, and the site hints that an unknown mastermind is feeding him power.
The Shaman King Order
The main story runs in one straight line, with the side stories and the first anime outside it:
- Shaman King (2021 anime) or the Kodansha manga: the complete main story
- Shaman King Flowers (2024 anime) or the Flowers manga: the sequel
- Zero, Red Crimson and Marcos: side stories
- Shaman King (2001 anime): a separate adaptation with its own ending
Netflix's catalog also includes other recent manga adaptations covered on this site, like Steel Ball Run: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
What Is Martial War?
Dark Horse's product page for Martial War Volume 1 introduces Trash, who saw "the incredible power of ninja at war" as a helpless kid. Ninja are now disgraced, but they are the only ones who can wield the mighty Tatara stones, and Trash crashes the Octagon tournament to fight his way to the top. The stones have a corrosive aura that might kill him before he can throw a punch.
The setup mirrors Takei's first hit. Yoh's story is built around a once-every-500-years tournament, and Martial War centers on the Octagon, another arena where fighters with supernatural power compete for the top spot. Dark Horse calls it an "American-Japanese collaboration" that reads right to left, like a translated manga. Takei illustrates, with art assistance from Jet Kusamura and lettering by Eisner Award-nominated Steve Dutro, whose past work includes Monster and I Am a Hero. Dark Horse's November 8 post credits the book to Takei, White, Carter "and team," and its pre-order page is live on Dark Horse Direct.
Are you starting Shaman King with the 2021 anime or the Kodansha manga, and will you pick up Martial War in April 2027?
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