Shaman King Flowers, the original Shaman King sequel manga featuring Anna and You’s son Hana Asakura, has been confirmed for an anime adaptation starting in January 2024. A teaser trailer featuring the characters and production staff has also been released.
The original Shaman King revolved around Yoh Asakura, a shaman who is able to contact the spirits of the dead and channel their power in order to win the Shaman World Tournament – held once every 500 years – and become the Shaman King. That’s why Hana, You’s son, is seen in the trailer channeling the samurai spirit that accompanied You on his travels, Amidamaru. But instead of saving the world again, he says his goal is to “beat up” his father. The original Shaman King anime has received a full reboot in 2021.
The rest of the cast and their voice actors have also been revealed, and they take after their parents and teachers in some ways. Hana Asakura will be voiced by Yoko Hikasa (Utahime Iori in Jujutsu Kaisen and Farnese in Berserk), and Katsuyuki Konishi reprises his original role as Amidamaru.
Anna’s student Alumi Niumbirch (Silva’s daughter and Hana’s fiancée) will be voiced by Sumire Uesaka (Saeko in Yakuza: Like A Dragon), and Asakura branch family member Yohane Asakura will be voiced by Shun Horie (Kazuya Kinoshita in Rent A Girlfriend). Tao Men (Tao Ren’s son) will be voiced by Romi Park (Edward Elric in Full Metal Alchemist), and his friend Gakko Ibuki will be voiced by Michiko Kaiden (Rico in Attack On Titan).
Yoko Hikasa, Hana’s voice actor, mentions that Hana’s character is much more complex than You, and there are many feelings swirling inside of him, such as anger, hatred, and emptiness, which are all things You didn’t have or exhibit. Hana 花 also means flower in Japanese, so in a way, the voice actor describes the story’s theme as the protagonist blossoming like a flower and learning to walk on his own.
Among the staff, it’s also worth mentioning that Yuki Hayashi will be handling the music again after working on the reboot. Yuki Hayashi is the composer known for his blood-bumping compositions in popular anime such as My Hero Academia and Haikyū!!
Another point to note is that the original Flowers manga was discontinued due to the magazine’s cancellation, and was later followed by another sequel manga called Shaman King The Super Star, which depicts a third generation of shamans, so it is possible that Super Star will be announced after Flowers to continue the story.
