The Spring 2023 Manga Guide

Shaman King Flowers

What's It About? 

Fourteen years after the Shaman Fight, the legacy of Yoh Asakura lives on in Funbari Hill. His son, Hana, inherits the family's powers—but that's a big burden on an aspiring shaman! Hana also faces another challenge—two mysterious descendants from a distant branch of the Asakura family tree. The journey continues for Hana and the next generation of shamans…

Shaman King: Flowers has story and art by Hiroyuki Takei, with English translation by Nate Derr, and lettering by Darren Smith. Kodansha Comics will release the first volume physically on May 2.

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

It has been years since I read the original Shaman King manga - I read the French release before it was available in English, to be precise. But it's not much of an entry barrier for this book which is a sequel to the original story featuring Yoh and Anna's son, Hana. Some elements may make more sense if you are familiar with the first series, such as Hana's spirit companion and a specific attack, to say nothing of Anna's origins. But, when it comes to spiritual shounen battle manga, the basics are the basics. If Hana has a bit more of a chip on his shoulder because of his famous dad, it's easy enough to figure out from context clues.

Hana's particular trial involves the emergence of a branch of the Asakura family, which has been hiding in the shadows since the Heian period. If you think that's a long time to hold a grudge, you're absolutely right. Luca and her younger brother Yohane have been raised to finally fulfill the dreams of angry ancestors by eliminating the main branch's heir and claiming the position for themselves. Mythologically speaking, they draw on the powers of a famous pair of Shinto siblings - Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi - the deities of the sun and the moon. (In many indigenous East Asian religions, the sun is female and the moon is male, which is opposite to many indigenous European religions, but that's not important.) When they combine their powers, they bring the wrath of the heavens to bear. Even for Yoh and Anna's son, that's a lot to deal with.

The volume is primarily action-packed, with Hana eager to fight, his guardian keen on stopping him, and his "daddy issues" serving as fuel. Apart from that, Hana is a pretty normal middle school boy who interprets events in ways that best suit his beliefs (she's not here to kill me, she wants to ask me out!) and stewing in his angst. He also suffers from a bit of the classic "No one understands me" syndrome, which makes his reactions to Yohane's cringy elements pretty funny. But it also makes him want to help the other boy when he realizes there may be more going on than he initially thought. Art is dynamic and elastic. The same goes for character designs for taller characters who look a little like stretched rubber bands. Overall, it's a decently fun read. If you're already a franchise fan, I believe you'll find a lot to enjoy.

Jean-Karlo Lemus

Rating:

Channeling the energies that Boruto brought as the sequel to Naruto, Shaman King: Flowers tries to be a sequel to Hiroyuki Takei's very own Shaman King. It can star Hana, the son of Yoh and Anna Asakura, and it might bring back a ton of fan-favorite characters (ah Ryu, my old friend with the inexplicable Spanish accent...!), but at the end of the day it needs to stand on its own and not depend on the original's legacy. Thankfully, Flowers doesn't require any prior knowledge from the original Shaman King—anything you need to know is given to you, and the rest is just details. So far, so good. Hiroyuki Takei's phenomenal character design and inventive weapon designs are back, ensuring that our cast looks great and their signature attacks look even greater. Two for two.

And yet, I can't help but feel like there's something missing from the formula. The art's not faltering, even if it's disappointing that so many of the fight scenes take place in white voids (maybe with some speed lines if you're lucky). The villains have a good motive and their presence adds plenty of tension, but it feels like their redemption is already at hand (just give it a few more chapters). And, most importantly: anyone who comes to this with prior Shaman King knowledge is going to ask, where are the old favorites? Where's Horohoro? Where's Faust? Where's Tao? Most importantly, where are Yoh and Anna? Yashahime showed us that you really can't drag on in a sequel series without showing us where the old favorites are, and while ideally, Shaman King: Flowers should stand on its own (and it mostly does), it's a bit troubling that we don't really get much info on what Yoh is up to considering he's, y'know. Hana's dad. And you'd think the whereabouts of the current Shaman King would be a bigger deal. I'd also expect there to be a good reason for Hana to not be with him or Anna.

Shaman King: Flowers is still a ton of fun. It's more of what I loved about the original Shaman King, and it'll be a lot of fun to catch up on the old squad and see the deranged freaks they all spawned. (Lord helps us when we see Chōcolove's kid.) But there's a ton of room for improvement, and if I had to recommend anything from Hiroyuki Takei, I'd still recommend the original first in a heartbeat. I still give Shaman King: Flowers a recommendation, mind.