Ask John: Why Was Shaman King Only 52 Episodes?

Question:
How did Shaman King only have 52 episodes as a TV animation from 2001 to 2002, yet the comic has been ongoing to this day since 1998. Did Shaman King succumb to poor ratings on Japanese TV or is there another reason behind it?

Answer:
I really can’t guess why some shows last as long as they do while others don’t have much longevity. Shaman King presently has 27 volumes of collected manga and it had a 64 episode TV series. Groove Adventure Rave presently has 25 volumes of manga, and its TV series was only 51 episodes long. Air Master has 20 volumes of manga and counting, but its anime adaptation was only 27 episodes long. And in one of the most extreme cases, Berserk has 26 volumes of manga but its TV series adaptation was only 25 episodes long.

On the other hand, Naruto has only 20 volumes of manga so far, but its TV series has already reached 67 episodes. Rurouni Kenshin had 28 volumes of manga adapted into 94 TV episodes. One Piece has 31 volumes of manga and it’s approaching 200 episodes. Inuyasha has 33 volumes of manga and over 130 TV episodes. And in the extreme case, Dragonball had 42 volumes of manga directly adapted into 444 TV episodes.

As you can tell from these examples, there’s no clear explanation of why certain TV series are as long as they are, nor is there any relation between the length or age of the manga and the length of the TV series adaptation. At present, the Shaman King manga serial is approaching half the length of Akira Toriyama’s Dragonball manga, but Dragonball had more than six times as much animation as Shaman King. Ratings often play a part in the lifespan of television anime. While it’s uncommon for an anime TV series to get canceled for low ratings, series that aren’t popular aren’t usually revived for second series or seasons. Producers and commercial sponsors may also influence when a show ends. Almost regardless of how popular a series is, there’s always a chance that the show to replace it will be more successful and profitable. Another determining factor is target audience. Almost regardless of source material length, anime TV series intended for girls or children and families normally last much longer than anime intended for hardcore anime fans because of the differences in the sizes of their respective target audiences. There are far more mainstream Japanese children, young girls, and family viewers to support shows like Inuyasha and One Piece than there are hardcore anime otaku that faithfully watch programs like Berserk and Cowboy Bebop. Finally, we have to bear in mind that anime series are not like American comic books that change their production staff and keep going indefinitely. It’s reasonable to assume that sometimes directors and artists just get tired of working on the same show for months and years and want to take a break or draw something new.

As far as I know, the popularity of the Shaman King anime remained steady throughout its broadcast life. It may always remain a mystery, at least to me, why some anime series aren’t longer than they are, or why some series end when they do. But I prefer to be an optimist. Rather than feel cheated that a show wasn’t longer, I’m grateful that what was animated was produced. 52 episodes or 25 episodes or even one episode is better than none.