Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
I’m a huge fan of anime but sadly I’m not as avid a viewer as I used to be. There’s just not enough hours in the day. But that doesn’t mean I still don’t steal a moment here and there for the ones that catch my eye, and that’s how I ended up watching Shaman King.
The reboot of the popular 90’s anime of the same name, Shaman King does a beautiful job of being faithful to its original material (manga included) while boasting that polished look only an an update could provide. The nostalgia is strong with this one as while I was watching the adventures of young Yoh Asakura as he attempts to hone his skills and become the next Shaman King, I kept thinking back to other shonen-styled shows (trying saying that ten times) like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Seven Deadly Sins and Black Clover. With a host of loveable, over-the-top characters, a great soundtrack and stellar voice acting provided by the original cast returning to reprise the roles they made unforgettable, there’s a lot to appreciate in this update.
I read this version is also a lot more faithful to the manga it’s based off of, and I think that shows in the much darker tone the series takes as the episodes go along. This may also be due to the fact Netflix is the distributor which means that series creator Hiroyuki Takei and Studio Bridge don’t have to worry too much about pulling their punches, both visually and in their storytelling.
Now if you’re not a fan of shonen you may find the recognisable (some may argue over-used) tropes to be a tad too redundant, and I admit I found my attention waning from time to time in the middle half of the first season. But overall Shaman King does a wonderful job of giving their characters enough nuance and personality, exploring darker themes as the story moved along, and providing loads of action with a nice dose of comedy. I definitely think this show is off to a strong start and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.
Sommer’s Score: 7 out of 10
So what’s your favourite shonen series? And you can check out more anime-zing content below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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