Netflix has finally licensed Shaman King: Flowers.
It adapts a sequel manga.
It’s not standalone, and suffers from the same issues as the remake, so, unless you liked the latter, just skip it.
The Shaman King remake was already quite controversial. When it was initially announced, fans were hyped, as the original, while liked, strayed away from the manga quite a bit. The new one was supposed to be a faithful adaptation, and it was — but you probably didn’t hear much about it.
In fact, by the time the remake finished airing, pretty much no one cared anymore. There are many reasons for that, but the overall consensus was that the remake wasn’t as good as the first adaptation, faithfulness to the manga aside.
As such, no one cared when Shaman King: Flowers, a sequel about the main character’s son, was released. Although, that might have been because there were no official subs for a while — but now, Netflix has licensed it, so is it worth watching?
What Is Shaman King: Flowers?
Shaman King: Flowers is a sequel to the original Shaman King manga, which was fully adapted by the remake. You can’t really watch it if you haven’t seen the series at all, or if you’ve only seen the old adaptation. It’d require you to either have read the manga or watched the remake.
It’s also entirely optional, as the main story already concluded. As such, it was overlooked by fans, many of whom probably don’t even know it exists. It wasn’t licensed as it aired, and the fansubs were extremely slow, showing that practically no one cared about this sequel.
Interestingly enough, the sequel does add something to the franchise. It elaborates a bit more on the setting of the series, and while the plot is pretty basic, it’s decently serviceable. The manga is split into multiple parts, as it ran in magazines that stopped publishing. The adaptation doesn’t fully cover it, though, as it’s still ongoing.
Is It Worth Watching?
So, is it worth watching? Well, if you’re a diehard fan of the franchise, then yes, probably. However, it suffers from the same issues as the remake does, but you also don’t even get a sweet nostalgic feeling when watching it, as you have little reason to care about any of the characters.
The remake was largely criticized for its poor animation — Shaman King is very action-heavy, and having the main selling point done poorly definitely hurts a lot. It also just didn’t age very well: fans who watched the original probably moved on or found themselves a new hobby.
Those who didn’t found the remake to be too childish for their taste — to be fair, that can also be said about the old one, but this is not an anime many people rewatch anyway.
So, unless you liked the remake, and are really fond of the Shaman King universe, Flowers is easily skippable. That said, it’s only 13 episodes long, so it won’t take much of your time if you decide to watch it.
Have you seen the original Shaman King anime?
There’s a reason no one was talking about it.
Summary:
Netflix has finally licensed Shaman King: Flowers.
It adapts a sequel manga.
It’s not standalone, and suffers from the same issues as the remake, so, unless you liked the latter, just skip it.
The Shaman King remake was already quite controversial. When it was initially announced, fans were hyped, as the original, while liked, strayed away from the manga quite a bit. The new one was supposed to be a faithful adaptation, and it was — but you probably didn’t hear much about it.
In fact, by the time the remake finished airing, pretty much no one cared anymore. There are many reasons for that, but the overall consensus was that the remake wasn’t as good as the first adaptation, faithfulness to the manga aside.
As such, no one cared when Shaman King: Flowers, a sequel about the main character’s son, was released. Although, that might have been because there were no official subs for a while — but now, Netflix has licensed it, so is it worth watching?
What Is Shaman King: Flowers?
Shaman King: Flowers is a sequel to the original Shaman King manga, which was fully adapted by the remake. You can’t really watch it if you haven’t seen the series at all, or if you’ve only seen the old adaptation. It’d require you to either have read the manga or watched the remake.
It’s also entirely optional, as the main story already concluded. As such, it was overlooked by fans, many of whom probably don’t even know it exists. It wasn’t licensed as it aired, and the fansubs were extremely slow, showing that practically no one cared about this sequel.
Interestingly enough, the sequel does add something to the franchise. It elaborates a bit more on the setting of the series, and while the plot is pretty basic, it’s decently serviceable. The manga is split into multiple parts, as it ran in magazines that stopped publishing. The adaptation doesn’t fully cover it, though, as it’s still ongoing.
Is It Worth Watching?
So, is it worth watching? Well, if you’re a diehard fan of the franchise, then yes, probably. However, it suffers from the same issues as the remake does, but you also don’t even get a sweet nostalgic feeling when watching it, as you have little reason to care about any of the characters.
The remake was largely criticized for its poor animation — Shaman King is very action-heavy, and having the main selling point done poorly definitely hurts a lot. It also just didn’t age very well: fans who watched the original probably moved on or found themselves a new hobby.
Those who didn’t found the remake to be too childish for their taste — to be fair, that can also be said about the old one, but this is not an anime many people rewatch anyway.
So, unless you liked the remake, and are really fond of the Shaman King universe, Flowers is easily skippable. That said, it’s only 13 episodes long, so it won’t take much of your time if you decide to watch it.
