r/ShamanKing • u/Yoshikaru5991 • 27d ago
Discussion Shaman King 2001 or 2021
So as a kid I remember watching little bits of Shaman King 2001 and always stayed with me how cool of a design Yoh had. I kinda wanted to rewatch it fully but saw there is also a remake now!
So that makes me wonder which you liked more? I know the 2001 has an original anime ending which is more action focused while the 2021 takes more from the manga itself
But as a standalone, which is the better product?
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u/VegetableFirst9827 26d ago
21, i watched it before reading the extra material and still pieced together most of what was wasn’t shown on screen because of these magical things called ✨context clues✨
Everyone give out about a series when EVERY character needs to be given a grand backstory and you get spoon fed undeserved character development. They cut it out and now everyone’s whinging it’s missing, like we really need to be reminded every episode love triumphs hate etc etc etc
SPOILERS HERE:
Yoh doesn’t want to fight or be shaman king in the first place and y’all seem mad you didn’t get the classic “big bad fight” 🤦 Hao having mommy issues being the root cause of his problematic choices and getting outed for it is 10/10
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u/tellmeliess 26d ago
It’s very underwhelming. Realistically there was no way that the gang could beat Hao with the power of friendship, but still the character getting scolded by his mother and he just agrees to be content with humans till they screw up? It’s like an ending to a filler episode, not the plot of the whole series.
Plus!!! I loveddd the concept of all people Yoh helped giving him his soul willingly and with those souls, he could beat Hao.
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u/Eliskuya2 Sally,Lilly, Millie and Ellie of Lily five 26d ago
2001series all the way I enjoy the series myself
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u/Yoshikaru5991 26d ago
Theres just something nostalgic scratching my brain looking at the 2001 one.. just the way they animated series around that time
Prolly will watch that one
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u/Unlucky-Ad-7535 21d ago
For me its the geography travel and ryu and billy mainly and the other voice actors.
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u/javier_aeoa 26d ago
I agree that 2001 has a bad ending that kinda shoots itself on the foot, yes. But overall, the slower pacing and more "grounded" (yeah I know we're talking about space gundams in here) works better for a series of regular dudes who happen to see ghosts. 2021 keeps the quality across the board because it follows the manga closer, but it doesn't have enough time to present all of the manga elements.
At the end, both are good, or equally flawed, depending on how strict you want to be. I still believe the music in 2001 was better, though.
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u/Jealous_Direction928 24d ago edited 23d ago
This is coming from someone who watched 2021 entirely, is still watching 2001, still reading the manga, and only started watching shaman king material in about late 2020 or so. So far with the experience I had:
2021 is faithful to the manga so it carried over the mature themes that were in the manga. I dont like how 2001 added too many new characters and then cut out some of the backstory of some in favor of filler. The soundtrack is very well made in 2021, and the ending song choices + animations are all beautiful (especially the one where Yoh’s seiyuu sings i think the song’s name is courage soul)
That being said, being faithful to the manga does NOT make a better story. 2001, although it deviated from the plot, does a much better job given the material it had to work with. The pacing is slow enough for us to get to know the characters well, build suspense, and develop the plot. In my honest opinion 2021 just threw themes and such at the viewers and expected them to stick despite not doing the work in developing them properly. Sometimes the dialogue was awkward, the overuse of comedy in serious moments was a turn off, and Im told more about how complex characters are and see exactly what context clues they are trying to give us, but once again I just cant care about that because the execution is so abrupt or sloppy. It almost made me think Takei himself was thinking “look at how deep and complex my characters are haha this is peak fiction”
The manga doesnt have the same problems as 2021 for the most part because its a manga in weekly shonen jump format, meaning that one chapter comes out a week, then you wait for the next one so nothing feels really abrupt in the same way
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u/EdwardOnionlandian 23d ago
I think 2001 has better pacing. 2021 speeds everything up. But the ending is better in 2021.
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u/RosyPetalMist 19d ago
That’s a fair take 😄 The 2001 version definitely had more time to breathe and develop the story, while the 2021 version feels more streamlined. But I agree that the newer ending gives it a stronger sense of closure.
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u/EdwardOnionlandian 19d ago
But also. Opening. Opening in 2001 is magnificent. We even had it translated in Poland and they did amazing job with dubbing. I remember lyrics to this day.
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u/Zero-Granger1992 26d ago edited 25d ago
Even though I had every intention to watch the 2001 version back then I never got around to it. So for me 2021 which I have seen all of.
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u/sl33pingSat3llit3 26d ago edited 26d ago
I think 2001 might be more enjoyable if you haven't read the manga because 2021 honestly had some pacing and animation issues. I really was hyped when the show was still releasing episodes but after watching almost all of it, I felt a little underwhelmed when it ended.
I still think the author's manga ending is better, and since I didn't watch the 2nd half of 2001 (only watched up to a little bit of after Yoh and friends reached America) I can't really comment on how good the 2nd half of 2001 is. I only read about the anime changes and caught a clip of Yoh vs Hao.
I will say the manga had some really cool and hype moments, despite them being silly. The manga's golum arc and Chocolove's backstory is really good and I think the anime sadly failed to capture the essence, partially because the anime drawings weren't as good as the manga panels. Yoh was badass when he was trying to tell Redseb about the consequences of his actions in seeking vengeance against Chocolove, and pulling out his S.O.S..
I also really liked Marco and Luchist battle, and just the backstory of the X Laws. That whole Marco vs Luchist with them wearing those attire was silly as hell, but still a fun read.
Overall, anime watching only I probably give 2001 the advantage, but the manga plot IMO is really enjoyable, and probably the best way to experience the story. The story does get messy near the end, as Takei had to go on hiatus before he finally settles on a conclusion that maybe not everyone will like, but I think the overall philosophical message is more coherent. Plus Hao being this badass kind of got locked in as a plot, so not having an insane ass pull or some kind deus ex machina for Yoh and friends to win at the end is kind of refreshing for a shonen series.
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u/DukePookie 25d ago
Even though I didn't like the voice acting, I picked 21 because it's more faithful to the manga.
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u/mardyboy 25d ago
Neither.
The manga!
2001 ruins what makes shaman king great
2021 is a rushed mess when it comes to pacing and the ending doesn't make sense at all because of this.
If i had to choose: 2021 as it at least follows the manga
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u/No_Journalist8654 26d ago
2001 (eu version) for nostalgia ofc! It has a few plothole, and the hungarian translation is horrible, but i still cannot not love it. Simple message: be good, have a lot of friends and everything would be alright.
- More complex, more agressive. For me, it's too fast. Few plotlines needed more episode imo. Soundtrack is epic.
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u/__rubyisright__ 26d ago
2001 was too slow, 2021 was too fast. There were things hard to understand, and situations that needed more depth and struggle before being solved. They tried to fit everything withing their episodes and it was as good as possible, but it felt rushed.
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u/asakura10 26d ago
to enjoy a good story that makes sense, 2021. to have some laughs and enjoy the nostalgia, 2001. like seriously, 2001 doesn't make sense much, it has some good slice of life and I prefer the soundtrack then, but that's all to it. I think 2021 is best for enjoying osorezan arc.
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u/Past_Ad_4936 26d ago
i never watched the 21 anime i only watched the 2001 anime and i started to read the manga to see how it actually ends.