Shaman King watch order
Yoh Asakura, a laid-back boy who can see ghosts, teams up with the spirit of a 600-year-old samurai to enter the Shaman Fight, a tournament held every 500 years to decide the Shaman King. Hiroyuki Takei's manga has two anime: the 2001 series, which ends its own way, and the 2021 remake that adapts the whole story, followed by the sequel Shaman King: Flowers.
New to it? Watch Shaman King (2021), all 52 episodes, then Shaman King: Flowers. The 2001 series is an optional alternate version with its own ending.
First-timer order
The 2021 series tells the complete manga story, and Flowers follows straight on from it. That's all you need.
- Shaman King (2021)
A full remake from the beginning that adapts all 35 volumes of the 2020 complete edition, including Takei's real ending. It moves very fast (the first nine volumes take 13 episodes), so it's tighter but more rushed than the 2001 version. Streams on Netflix with an English dub.
- Shaman King: Flowers
The sequel to the 2021 anime, by the same director and writer. It follows Hana Asakura, Yoh and Anna's son, as he's drawn into a new Shaman Fight years after the original story. Watch it after the 2021 series, not the 2001 one. No continuation has been announced.
Story order
Two separate adaptations of the same manga. The 2021 line (remake, then Flowers) is the complete one. The 2001 series is listed after it as an alternate version; you can watch it before, after or instead of the remake, but don't count on it for the ending.
- Shaman King (2021)
A full remake from the beginning that adapts all 35 volumes of the 2020 complete edition, including Takei's real ending. It moves very fast (the first nine volumes take 13 episodes), so it's tighter but more rushed than the 2001 version. Streams on Netflix with an English dub.
- Funbari Onsen Hanjouki (optional)
Ten two-minute shorts released on the official YouTube channel in summer 2021, alongside the remake. A light extra; skip if you like.
- Shaman King: Flowers
The sequel to the 2021 anime, by the same director and writer. It follows Hana Asakura, Yoh and Anna's son, as he's drawn into a new Shaman Fight years after the original story. Watch it after the 2021 series, not the 2001 one. No continuation has been announced.
- Shaman King (2001)
Xebec's adaptation, made while the manga was still running. The first half follows the manga loosely; the second half leaves it and tells its own story to an anime-only ending, which the director later said the publisher asked for. In English it aired as 4Kids' edited dub, with all 64 episodes but names and content changed.
- Shaman King: Special Recaps (optional)
Recap specials aired on holidays and at certain points in the 2001 run (Tokubetsu Soushuuhen). They were never dubbed; skip them.
Release order
Everything in the order it came out in Japan.
- Shaman King (2001)
Xebec's adaptation, made while the manga was still running. The first half follows the manga loosely; the second half leaves it and tells its own story to an anime-only ending, which the director later said the publisher asked for. In English it aired as 4Kids' edited dub, with all 64 episodes but names and content changed.
- Shaman King: Special Recaps (optional)
Recap specials aired on holidays and at certain points in the 2001 run (Tokubetsu Soushuuhen). They were never dubbed; skip them.
- Shaman King (2021)
A full remake from the beginning that adapts all 35 volumes of the 2020 complete edition, including Takei's real ending. It moves very fast (the first nine volumes take 13 episodes), so it's tighter but more rushed than the 2001 version. Streams on Netflix with an English dub.
- Funbari Onsen Hanjouki (optional)
Ten two-minute shorts released on the official YouTube channel in summer 2021, alongside the remake. A light extra; skip if you like.
- Shaman King: Flowers
The sequel to the 2021 anime, by the same director and writer. It follows Hana Asakura, Yoh and Anna's son, as he's drawn into a new Shaman Fight years after the original story. Watch it after the 2021 series, not the 2001 one. No continuation has been announced.
Explained
2001 or 2021?
They're separate adaptations of the same manga, so pick one to start. The 2021 series is the one that tells the whole story and has the real ending, and it's the one Flowers continues. The 2001 series has slower pacing and more time with the characters, which critics often praise, but its second half is an anime-original story with a different ending.
Where does the 2001 anime leave the manga?
The 2001 series was made while the manga was still running and covers only about half of it (roughly 17 of 35 volumes) before going its own way. Its later episodes, after the group reaches the Patch village, build to an anime-only showdown with Hao. The director has said the original ending was the publisher's request, not his choice.
Do I need to watch the 2001 version first?
No. The 2021 remake starts from the beginning and covers everything, and Flowers follows on from it. Watch the 2001 version only if you want the classic take or grew up with the 4Kids dub.
What about the 4Kids dub?
The 2001 series aired in English from 2003 to 2005 in 4Kids' dub, which kept all 64 episodes but edited content and changed some names (Hao became 'Zeke'). The 2021 remake has a new English dub on Netflix.
Is there more after Flowers?
Flowers adapts the Shaman King: Flowers manga, which was cut short in 2014 and continued as Shaman King: The Super Star. As of 2026, no second season of Flowers or Super Star anime has been announced.