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Shaman King

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Shaman King
File:Shamankinglogo.jpg
Shaman King Logo
GenreAdventure, Drama, Comedy, Shōnen, Supernatural
Created byHiroyuki Takeik
Manga
Written byHiroyuki Takei
Published byJapan Shueisha

Canada United States VIZ Media
Singapore Chuang Yi (Chinese)
FranceThe Netherlands Kana
Brazil Editora JBC
Italy Star Comics
Norway Sweden Schibsted Forlagene
Spain Glénat

Mexico Chile Grupo Editorial VID
Germany Denmark Carlsen Comics
Anime
Directed bySeiji Mizushima
StudioXEBEC
Specials

  1. The Documents of the Shaman Fight
  2. (Yujo no Katachi) The Form that Friendship Takes
  3. (Ai no Katachi) The Form that Love Takes

Shaman King (シャーマンキング Shāman Kingu) is both an anime series and a manga series by Hiroyuki Takei. The manga has ended in Japan with 32 volumes in total. The anime concluded its run with a total of 64 episodes and 3 specials. The Shaman King series started in Shueisha's Shonen Jump in Japan, eventually leading to the creation of an anime series, which aired on TV Tokyo. This is a magical boy anime, the male counterpart of a magical girl anime. In North America, the manga is currently being printed in Viz Media's Shonen Jump, with edits to a few panels.

A shaman is some one who connects between this world and the spirit world. In Shaman King, shamans team up with ghosts and spirits to achieve their goals. The greatest dreams of a shaman is to become the Shaman King, who is able to contact the Great Spirit (the spirit that every soul will eventually go back to) in order to be the savior of the world. Various magical and religious terms are spread through out the story but they merge into something explainable by the time the main plot arrives.

The series spans 285 manga chapters and 32 volumes, and ended with a short "extra story", known as the Funbari no Uta. Many fans of the series abbreviate its name to "Mankin". The Shaman King trading card game is available in Japan and North America.

Manga

Template:Spoilers The manga starts with Manta Oyamada, a studious Japanese middle-school student, attempting a shortcut to get home after a late night of cram school. The shortcut comes in the form of a cemetary. It is here that Manta meets another boy named Yoh Asakura (who happens to be a shaman), but is frightened to discover that Yoh is surrounded by ghosts (it is at this moment that Manta learns that he can see ghosts). Ultimately, Yoh and Manta become best friends, and, over the next few months, Manta learns about the life of a shaman.

Yoh soon encounters Tao Ren, with whom he battles. Anna Kyoyama, Yoh's fiancée, soon enters the picture and prescribes a brutal training regimine, in order to prepare Yoh for the upcoming Shaman Tournament. The tournament is held once every 500 years and is a battle between competing shaman to choose a winner, who will be known as the Shaman King. This winner will gain the ability to reshape the world as he or she chooses, to make his or her dream come true. Thus begins the plot that will lead Yoh on a journey that will lead him to many friends and adventures.

Through a series of events and also through participation in the Shaman Tournament, Yoh meets and befriends numerous characters and changes their lives through friendship and authentic concern, which seems to be a pervasive theme throughout the series.

File:Shaman King Final Scene.JPG
The parting shot of Shaman King.

In November of 2004, Shaman King was cancelled by Weekly Shonen Jump. Shaman King was let go due to declining popularity in Jump's fan polls (indicated by their willingness to release the final completed manga volume (Vol. 32) if there was a great enough fan response) [1]. This cancellation was untimely given that the series was nearing its end [2]. Release of the final volume had been suspended indefinitely, but was released in spring of 2006 [3].

Volume 32 ends with Yoh going to sleep to prepare for the final battle with Hao; the final page can be viewed as his dream, which features Hao as a princess with Yoh and his friends on their way to rescue "her". The page contains the words "Owari" ("The End") and on the end of Yoh's sword is a mandarin orange - also called "mikan" - which is the Japanese word for "incomplete".

The side story "Funbari no Uta", which lasts for only five chapters, is set six years after the end of the manga series features Hana Asakura, Yoh and Anna's son, and his journey with his uncle Ryu to gather up the 5 elemental warriors: Horokeu Usui "Horo Horo", Ren Tao, Lyserg Diethel, Chocolove McDaniel, and Yoh Asakura. At the very end, two figures can be seen: a woman in a cloak (who is Anna) and a man with long hair who resembles Hao but has Yoh's features as well, leading to some uncertainty as to this character's true identity. This side story seems to indicate that Yoh had, in some way, succeeded but leads to more questions than answers. Many readers have written fanfiction as a result of this incomplete ending, contributing their spectaculations on what happened during the final fight between Yoh and Hao.

A single chapter side story known as Mappa-Douji was also released, which shows Hao's childhood in his original life. It shows his situation after his mother was burned to death by humans and his first friend (not Matamune) and how he gets his mind reading ability and advanced shamanic abilities like oversoul.

Shaman King Anime

The Shaman King anime was licensed in 2001 by 4Kids Entertainment for American television broadcasting and aired in its entirety, beginning in September 2003 on the Fox Box (which would later become 4Kids TV), and concluding in August 2005. The English dub also airs on YTV in Canada. Shaman King is aired on Jetix in the UK, on Jetix Poland in a dubbed Polish version and on Jetix in Brazil, which is uncut and has the original openings and endings in Portuguese (in Brazil it is currently being printed by Editora JBC). In Russia, Shaman King is aired on STS since 2006. Shaman King is printed in simplified chinese in Singapore with the name of 'Tong Ling Tong Zhi' by Chuang Yi [1] with the total of 32 volumes. Shaman King (Japanese version) was also aired in Singapore on Mediacorp TV, Arts Central. Shaman King also plays on Ntv7 in Malaysia Television since February 2006.

The anime of Shaman King starts off with the same sequence of events as the manga for about 25 episodes and then begins to stray away from the actual plot of the manga.

Episode titles

Note: Japanese titles used

01.The Boy Who Dances With Ghosts
02.Waiting Samurai
03.Another Shaman
04.Hyoi 100%
05.A Shaman Who is Mature for Her Age
06.Kung Fu Master
07.Pailong, Fists of Fury
08.Shaman Life
09.The Boy from the North
10.Fate of 600 Years
11.Rain That Falls In Spring
12.The Star that Signals the Beginning
13.Oversoul
14.Shaman Fight 15.Bone Killers
16.Faust's Love
17.Two People’s Journey to the Best Place
18.Yoh
19.Big Souls of the Two
20.Soul Mata Cemetery
21.Believe
22.Our Deadly Blows
23.Awakened Nyan Nyan Doushi
24.Invulnerable En Tao
25.To a Shaman's Journey

26.Big America
27.Dowsing Revolution
28.Lyserg's Revenge
29.Super Guts
30.The Stolen Oracle Bell
31.Forest of Fairies
32.HoroHoro’s Taste of a Bitter Friendship
33.Mysterious Asakura
34.American Hot Springs
35.The Vampire Legend
36.Angel’s Pistol
37.Joking King
38.The Legend of Seminoa
39.Hana-gumi
40.Chou Senji Ryakettsu
41.Explosive Oversouls
42.Spirit of the Sword
43.Battle of Gods
44.One More Push
45.Great Spirit
46.The Dead Spirit of Tao
47.Really Naive
48.Missionary of Dragon
49.Doctor Doctor
50.I Have A Darkness In My Heart

51.Shaman Hunt
52.It's Training! Everyone Gather!
53.Bye Bye
54.The Eighth Angel
55.Gate of Babylon
56.Door of Babylon
57.The Shaman Fight Ends?
58.Flaming Angel
59.Holy Ground of the Stars
60.Friend
61.Eternal Farewell
62.DIE Collision
63.A Place Where I Belong
64.Epilogue
65.Shaman King documentation

TV Specials and Shorts

Throughout the broadcast of Shaman King, many shorts (usually referred to as Shaman King omake and TV specials) were made on special days of the year related to spirits and the like. The last two TV specials were never fan-subbed. All of the TV specials were compiled into one file by Rice-Box. The omake were short stories that were made for humorous effect. Apparently, all of the omake fit into the story before the Shaman Fight 2nd round. Documents of the Shaman Fight was shown with a New Year's omake as well. The TV Specials were aired after specific points of the story as well as on holidays. The specials were never dubbed in English, and, most likely, never will be.

TV Special Titles

  1. Documents of the Shaman Fight (Premiered 1/31/00)
  2. The Form That Friendship Takes
  3. The Form That Love Takes

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Characters

Template:Spoilers Most characters' names are in Western order, with the given name before the family name. The names of the Taos and other Chinese characters are in Chinese order, with the family name before the given name. The English anime name is to the right of the Japanese name. The English manga uses the Japanese names for the most part.

Humans

Note: "Humans" here is used for both characters that are average humans (not able to see both) and those that are shamans (able to see ghosts). The series sometimes makes a distinction between the two.

File:YohAsakura.PNG
Yoh Asakura
  • Yoh Asakura (麻倉 葉 Asakura Yō) - The main character is Yoh Asakura. He is easy-going, laid back, and carefree, which causes him to have an open mind and makes him relax in extreme situations. "No one knows what will happen in the future. There is no sense in worrying in something you do not and cannot control, so why bother?" This famous line of his is his philosophy in life, which always shines through in his personality. Yoh's only goal is to live an easy life, and he believes that when he becomes Shaman King, he will achieve that goal. According to Anna, his fiancée, his free-thinking and laid-back nature makes him think "Outside the Box" which makes him a perfect candidate for Shaman King. His guardian ghost is a powerful samurai by the name of Amidamaru. Yoh started existing when the soul of Hao Asakura spilt into two in his second reincarnation. Yoh is part of the Team Funbari Onsen, together with Ryu and Faust. (Team Asakura in the English anime).
  • Hao Asakura (麻倉葉王 Asakura Hao, ハオ Hao) - Both Yoh's ancestor and twin, Hao closely resembles Yoh but desires to destroy humanity. In his first life, he was the greatest shaman of the Asakura Clan. But after mastering the five elements to become the ultimate Shaman, he came to believe that every single non-shaman must be killed, since 'ordinary humans' weren't in-touch with nature and were destroying it. He intended to do such an act as Shaman King, but he was assassinated by his clansmen. But because he mastered the five elements, Hao defied death and was reincarnated as a member of Silva's tribe five centuries later. Hao stole the Patch Tribe's Spirit of Fire and attempted to become Shaman King, only to be killed again by his descendant and former spirit, Asakura Yohken (麻倉葉賢 Asakura Yōken) and Matamune (マタムネ Matamune). Now 500 years later, Hao is in his second reincarnation. However, when he was reincarnated this time, his soul somehow split, forming twins, and one part became Yoh, therefore, making both of them the reincarnations of the original Asakura Hao. Hao controls a host of shamans who either are loyal to him because they share his views on humanity or out of personal gain. His followers call him 'Hao-sama'. His group of three, Hao, Opacho, and Luchist, in the Fight is called the 'Hoshigumi'.
  • Anna Kyōyama (恐山アンナ Kyōyama An'na) / Anna - Friend and fiancée of Yoh Asakura and an itako, a traditional shaman from Aomori, Japan (she is called a "spirit medium" in the English anime). Anna is Yoh's personal trainer (in Yoh's opinion, his slavedriver, due to the intense training) and will stop at nothing to become a part of the glory when Yoh becomes Shaman King of the Shaman King, although she does indeed hold affection for Yoh. She later obtains the necklace of 1,080 beads and mastery over Hao's Shikigami, Zenki and Kouki. Anna also appears in two of Takei's other works, Butsu Zone and the one-shot Itako no Anna. Anna is also said to be the reincarnation of the original Asakura Hao's mother from 1,000 years ago. At a certain time, Asakura Hao held some interest on her, but it did not last long.
  • Manta Oyamada (小山田まん太 Oyamada Manta) - An intelligent but worrisome teen who always carries a "dictionary/encyclopedia/compendium of all human knowledge", and can see ghosts, even though he is not a Shaman. He is very expressive and a bit panicky. His rather abnormal height has gotten him into trouble numerous times, once having been mistaken for one of the shy nature spirits, and almost being cut open and used for bait during Yoh Asakura's match with Faust VIII. Near the final battle (anime only) with Hao he actually becomes a Shaman and is able to merge with a spirit. His weapon is a hammer and his unofficial guardian ghost is Mosuke, the best friend of Amidamaru who forged his sword, the Harusame. After that episode in the anime, Manta is able to junction spirits to his laptop. He is referred to as "Morty" (short for Mortimer) in the English anime. (Hiroyuki Takei mentioned Manta's character was modelled after Japanese pop singer T.M.Revolution in an interview published in the March 2004 English language issue of Shōnen Jump.)
  • Tao Ren (道 蓮 Japanese: Tao Ren; Chinese Pinyin: Dào Lián) / Tao Len(In the English dub)- An arrogent boy who is one of Yoh's rival shamans and hails from China. Ren is obsessed with milk, bodybuilding, and the number 3 (in the anime). His trademark is his unique "Tongari" haircut, which gets longer and stiffer when he is mad. In the English anime, Len has a British accent. His guardian ghost is a massive 500 year old Chinese general named Bason.
Before fighting Yoh: Ren was dominant and protective over his older sister Tao Jun, and is determined to be the Shaman King. Ren's true purpose to become Shaman King is considered to be confusing; he originally hated humans for their treatment of his family and had no qualms about killing. He was also at odds with his father because of their abusive interpersonal relationships.
After being defeated: Seeing the good in people like Yoh and his friends, Ren begins to challenge the path his father had set for him and aims at making better world, by "destroying the chains of hate".
  • Horokeu Usui (碓氷ホロケウ)/Horohoro (ホロホロ) : An Ainu from Hokkaido (called the "Northern Woods" in the English anime) who wants to save the Koropokkoro from extinction. Horohoro is an easily-provoked, good-natured boy who can quickly get happy or mad. His spirit ally is Kororo ("Corey"), a Koropokkoro (Minutian in the English dub of the anime). His sister, Pirika trains him as harshly as Anna trains Yoh. Horohoro's name sounds like "boroboro", (which means "ragged and worn out" or "crap") so in the Japan releases, a good number of jokes come from this pun. He is a part of Team Ren. In the English anime, it is acknowledged his real name is Horohoro, but the characters usually referred to him as "Trey (Racer)", a nickname given to him by the English dubbers for unknown reasons.
  • Ryunosuke Umemiya (梅宮 竜之介 Umemiya Ryūnosuke), a.k.a. "Wooden Sword" Ryu (木刀の 竜 Bokutō no Ryū) - A gang leader who is always on the lookout for the "Best Place" (the "Sacred Hang" in the English anime, where his gang is known as the "Dead Enders"). He became a Shaman on the day his life was saved by Yoh. He comes off as being not too bright, and really thinks more about girls and his "'do" than anything else; however, he is quite deep and philosophical and turns out to be a magnificent shaman who gains his own partner, masters the powers of the legendary Yamato no Orochi, and becomes loyal to the Asakura family. Part of Team Funbari Onsen. His costume and hairstyle are meant to look like that of Elvis.
  • Tao Jun (道 潤 Japanese: Tao Jun; Chinese Pinyin: Dào Rùn) - Ren's older sister, a Dao-shi (a Taoist spellcaster) that re-animates corpses and commands jiang-si. Jun only wants to keep the peace and wishes only what is right for her brother (whom she calls by his Chinese name, "Lian" - Or, in the English version of the anime, "Lenny"). In the English anime, Jun has a British accent, possibly in an attempt to convey the affluence of the Tao family. Her personal jiang-si is Lee Bailong, a former martial-arts movie star who was killed by Tao assassins so that Jun would have a powerful corpse familiar.
  • Faust VIII (ファウストⅧ世) - A necromancer whose shamanic focus is the skeleton of his lost love, Eliza. Faust is a descendant of the legendary Faustus, who made a deal with the devil for the knowledge of necromancy. At first, Faust (like the rest of his family) wanted nothing to do with his ancestor's black magic and became a doctor. However, the death of his wife, Eliza, drove him insane and he took up the mantle of a necromancer, using his power to manipulate Eliza's skeletal body into wielding a scythe. Faust first meets Yoh and Manta in a cemetery in Chokohama (spelled Chocohama in the actual artwork); Yoh gets angry at Faust after he slices Manta open (in the anime, Faust concentrates spiritual power around his hands and gropes around inside Manta's torso, claiming to be "experimenting"); the injury is a tactic to get Yoh angry. During the match, Yoh returns the favor by mocking Faust's plan to resurrect Eliza, calling her a "puppet" and a "doll". Yoh loses to Faust in the match but Ren prevents Faust from killing Yoh out of blind rage. Faust eventually joins Yoh's group and is truly reunited with Eliza, after Anna summoned the real Eliza, who then became Faust's guardian spirit. Faust's first name is Johannes. He is on Team Funbari Onsen with Yoh and Ryu.
  • Silva (シルバ) - A Native American from the Patch Tribe that qualified Yoh for the Shaman fight. He has issues with Hao because of the Hao's previous life as a member of the Patch Tribe and thief of the tribe's sacred spirit. Because Silva is a descendant of Hao, he feels guilty and somehow involved. He has five different sacred animal spirits that can be combined into one massive "Totem Cannon".
  • Lyserg Diethel (リゼルグ・ダイゼル) - A British Shaman and a traditional "dowser", whose parents were killed by Hao. Lyserg has dramatic interactions with all of the main characters at some point, and though he travels with them for a long time, he fights against Yoh's team more than once during the series.
Pre X-Laws: When Lyserg first encounters Yoh's group, he attacks then to determine their strength, hospitalizing both Ren and Horohoro with one attack. After Yoh knocks some sense into him, Lyserg calms down and they welcome him to come along as they search for the Patch Village. Lyserg's father, Liam Diethel, wanted him to be a detective. Lyserg's mother and father were murdered when he was six years old. Lyserg's name is pronounced differently in the English anime so that it's not a recreational drug reference (lysergic acid diethylamide). His spirit's Japanese name, Morphine, is also a drug reference (morphine). She is called "Morphea" in the English manga and "Chloe" in the English anime. He is apparently so beautiful that Ryu could mistake him for a girl.
  • X-Laws : Once the X-Laws are introduced, Lyserg starts to question whether Yoh is truly strong enough to defeat Hao. Marco, of the X-Laws, convinces Lyserg that Yoh is too sweet and kind-hearted, but that the X-Laws have the strength that Yoh is lacking because they have the power to kill. When Yoh states firmly that he will not kill, Lyserg decides to leave and follow Marco. During the Shaman Fight, Lyserg competes as a member of X-Laws. In the anime, Lyserg discards his first spirit as he gains control of Zeruel, an Archangel provided by Jeanne. In the manga, Lyserg never abandons Morphea, even when he is presented with the Archangel Zeruel. Morphea and Zeruel combined to form Lyserg's Armour Oversoul, which in the anime was part of his final act of justice, bringing him back to Yoh's side.
  • Marco (マルコ) : One of the two founders of the X-Laws (the other being Luchist/Luka), which is a group that aims to rid the world of Hao. His Archangel is called Michael. He does everything in his power to please Jeanne. He was the only surviving adult member of X-Laws by the finale.
  • Iron Maiden Jeanne (アイアン・メイデン・ジャンヌ) : The leader of the X-Laws. She hates Hao with a passion and will go to great lengths to see him dead, no matter who else might die in the process. She earned the nick-name "Iron Maiden" by spending her time in an Iron Maiden {which increases her strength by keeping her in a near-death state} and only coming out when desperately needed, until the day injustice no longer exists. Iron Maiden (a British heavy metal band) also happens to be one of many music culture references in Shaman King. With her spirit guardian Shamash, Jeanne gives each of her followers an Archangel as a spirit.
  • Chocolove McDaniel/Choco (チョコラブ・マクダネル) : An African-American Shaman who aspires to be Shaman King so he can give the world what it needs the most, laughter. He's a comedian by trade, though his jokes annoy people (especially Ren) sometimes (which results in Chocolove getting beaten up or punched in the nose with Ren's Kwan Do). His spirit is a jaguar ghost named Mic Jaguar (a takeoff on Mick Jagger), who belonged to Chocolove's mentor. In the manga, he gains a second spirit guardian named Pascal Avaf. Chocolove killed Redseb's and Seyram's father before he repented under his teacher. He is referred to as "Joco" in the English anime (since "Choco" was considered a racist name for an Afro-American character).
  • Opacho : Hao's most loyal ally, was a malnourished baby in western Africa when Hao found her (female in the Japanese version and male in the U.S. dubbed). Adopted and raised by Hao, Opacho follows Hao almost every where he goes. Hao often confides in Opacho about his plans, as well as about Yoh and his power. Opacho has strong, though still a bit unrefined powers, including clairvoyance and projecting illusions. She is also part of Hao's team(Hoshigumi) in the Shaman Tournament, though her attack power is never revealed. Although Opacho supports Hao loyally, near the final episodes of the anime series, (once Hao obtains the Great Spirit's Power), Opacho notes that Hao has made a change for the worse and flees from him. Opacho's last anime appearance is in episode 64 watching the destiny star fly by. She is one of the few survivors of Hoshigumi. Opacho's spirit companion is named 'Mama'.

Spirits

Template:Spoilers For a more complete list, see:List of Characters in Shaman King

  • Amidamaru (阿弥陀丸) - Samurai that died during the Muromachi period 600 years ago - now is Yoh's ghost companion. He is very powerful and wise but quite taciturn and extremely devoted to "Lord Yoh" ("Yō-dono" in Japanese). He was greatly known around the town of Funbari, where he had died 600 years prior after killing several hundred other samurai soldiers during a battle. He is the original handler of the legendary sword named "Harusame", meaning "Spring Rain", a sword forged by his best friend, Mosuke, who also appeared in the anime/manga as a spirit. This very same sword was reproduced as a "spirit sword" and used by Asakura Yoh during the Shaman Fight. The original was kept in a museum. His name is based on the Buddha Amitabha, the principal figure in the Pure Land Buddhist sect.
  • Bason (馬孫 Japanese: Bason, Pinyin: Mǎsūn) - Bason is the ghost of an ancient Chinese wujiang who serves Ren faithfully and obeys him without question. In the English manga Bason calls Ren "Master Ren," while in the Japanese version he calls Ren "Bocchama," which means "Young Master." Later he became a valued friend of his young master Ren.
  • Lee Bailong (李白龍 Japanese: Rī Bairon, Pinyin: Lǐ Báilóng), (manga) / Lee Pai-Long (anime) - "The White Dragon"; he was a kung fu movie star who was murdered by the Tao clan to be Jun's Jiang-si bodyguard. He is a thinly-veiled reference to Bruce Lee, who died under suspicious circumstances. Technically, he is not a spirit, but a living corpse. This is with the help of Tao Jun's "ofuda". However, he can be considered to be serving a similar purpose, since he serves Tao Jun and hangs around her perpetually.
  • Kororo (コロロ) - Kororo is a Koropokkoru (which means "little people under butterbur leaves" in Ainu, and is surprisingly cute. (Known as Minutians in the English anime), and Horohoro's spirit ally. She has a crush on Manta Oyamada, even though he is human. Her name in the English anime version sounds similar to "Kōri" (氷), which is the Japanese word for ice and also the element that Horohoro's attacks are based on.
  • Tokagero (トカゲロウ Tokagerō) / Tokageroh - A thief that was killed by Amidamaru, born into terrible poverty. Tokagero always talks about being a nasty villain, but he is actually a big softie. He is the spirit partner of Wooden Sword Ryu.
  • Ponchi and Conchi - A tanuki with, in the original Japanese, large testicles, or in the English manga, a large stomach, and a fox or kitsune who are the familiars of Tamao Tamamura. Ponchi and Conchi are parodies of Ren and Stimpy. Ponchi's testicles are never seen in any versions of the anime. Conchi's name is sometimes spelled as "Konchi". Both Ponchi and Conchi wear mawashis (although fandom commonly mistakes them for diapers).
  • Eliza (エリザ) - Eliza was Faust VIII's wife, she worked as a nurse until she was murdered (along with the family dog, Frankenstiney) by robbers who broke into Faust's house. Eliza's death led her (now-insane) husband to dig up her skeleton from her casket and enter the Shaman Fights to bring her back to life. But when Faust joined Yoh's group, Anna brought the spirit of Eliza to be reunited with her husband as his Guardian Ghost. Her "Giant Over Soul" form is a giant bat-winged version of herself called Mephisto-E (Mephisto being a reference to Mephistopheles, or the devil, whom Faustus summons). After Faust and Eliza reunited, both of them became heavily devoted to Yoh.
  • Mosuke (喪助) - A master swordsmith whose ability to create swords matched Amidamaru's ability to wield them. He and Amidamaru were best friends & grew up together; their deaths resulted from Amidamaru's refusal to kill Mosuke when their lord ordered the samurai to. In the anime, Mosuke later becomes Manta's guardian ghost, semi-trapped in Manta's laptop.
  • Morphine /Morphea (English manga) /Chloe (English anime) - A pixie-like spirit who is Lyserg's spirit ally. She loves eating sweet-tasting things. She absorbed the Archangels to assume her "Giant Over Soul" form (in the anime). Her original name was edited for being a reference to a drug (see morphine).
  • Mic Jaguar/Big Mick - A jaguar spirit who is Chocolove's spirit ally. He used to belong to Chocolove's mentor. The name is a takeoff of "Mick Jagger".
  • Spirit of Fire (スピリット・オブ・ファイア): Hao's spirit guardian, formerly was the sacred symbol of the Patch Tribe until Patch Hao took it for his own 500 years ago. The spirit's flames served as Hao's way of killing off shamans who failed him or those who refused to rally for his cause. The Spirit of Fire can increase its own power by eating spiritually-enhanced humans and other spirits.

Terminology

  • Furyoku (巫力 Furyoku) / Mana (English manga only) - "Furyoku" is a Japanese word that is used to refer to the amount of energy that a Shaman has. The English manga translates the term to "mana" a generic term for a magical force.
  • Manjiten (万辞苑 Manjiten) / Mantannian Dictionary (English manga only) - The "Manjien Dictionary" is a "Dictionary/ Encyclopedia/ Compendium of all human knowledge" that Manta frequently consults to find information on people, cultures, and other subjects. The book's Japanese name is formed from "Manta" and "kōjien" (広辞苑), meaning encyclopedia. In the English anime, the book is either not given a name or it is called a "ghost story book" or "book about shamans" that Morty carries around.

Techniques

The relationship between shaman and spirit ally is pivotal throughtout the series. As such, shaman develop what are called "techniques," methods of working with their spirits. The first introduced shaman technique is the process of the spirit ally merging with the shaman, known as "hyoi gattai" in the Japanese manga and anime, "integration" in the English manga, and "spirit unity" or "spirit fusion" in the English anime. These are some of the different techniques found in the Shaman King world:

  • Hyoi Gattai (憑依合体 Hyōi Gattai) / Integration (English manga) / Spirit Unity or Spirit Fusion (English anime): The simplest technique, the Shaman merges with the spirit in his body. The power of Hyoi Gattai depends on the level of synchronisation and the user's physical state. It needs no furyoku to use, but can be taxing to utilize for novices. The shaman uses their furyoku to transform their guardian spirit into a ball, called 'spirit ball' or 'spirit ball mode' and then merges the spirit into their body. At the start of the series, this technique is considered strong, but as the series progresses and the gang learn of Oversoul, Hyoi Gattai is thought of as weak.
  • Over Soul / Spirit Control (English anime): A Shamanic skill that allows for the physical manifestation of any number of spirits with the aid of a spirit-specific medium and the furyoku of a Shaman. The most common combat skill in the Shaman King anime and manga, Oversouls essentially involve the creation of a new, physical form for a spirit (often in the form of a weapon) by a fusion with an item relating to the spirit and with the user's own personal furyoku (for example, Yoh's oversoul involves the fusion of Amidamaru and his sword Harusame, the medium; Ren's involves the fusion of Bason and a Chinese halberd; etc.). Due to the sheer number of variables involved, Oversouls can vary greatly in terms of power and form, attributes which often depend directly on how adept a Shaman is with his or her furyoku, or how much they have in the first place. In both the manga and anime of Shaman King, there are various styles of Oversouls (Big Oversoul, Double Medium, Armour Oversoul, etc.), some of which are detailed below.
  • Giant Over Soul (manga, Japanese anime) / Giant Spirit Control: The Giant Oversoul is a sign of power in a shaman. The spirit is given a gigantic body, constructed entirely from furyoku, with powers relating to whatever the spirit and shaman can create. This technique can be learnt from the Chou Senji Ryakketsu (Tome of the Shaman in the English anime, Ultra Senji Ryakketsu in the English manga), written by the original Hao Asakura.
  • Double Medium : A difficult but highly powerful technique. It can be summed up by the phrase :"Two Souls, One Body. Two Focuses, One Weapon". It involves invoking the spirit inside one weapon and concentrating one's strength inside another weapon. The weapons are then combined into one huge weapon capable of dealing very heavy damage This is a technique used by Yoh and Ren; there is no special name for to the resulting oversoul, but some fans label it with what Yoh yells out in the Japanese version: "Amidamaru in Harusame in Futsu no Mitama no Tsurugi!" It should be noted that this is still a form of giant oversoul, but just a new mode that relies on Yoh fighting directly.
  • Genma Choboku: A spell written by Hao to capture the two Shikigami spirits. Anna is quickly able to learn this technique after obtaining the 1080 beads. She indirectly injures Hao after sealing away his Shikigami.
  • Spirit Reduction (unofficial name) : This technique is taught to Yoh's party by Mikihisa Asakura. Only Yoh and Ren have mastered it and used it. By reducing the physical size of the Giant Oversoul or Double Medium in Yoh's case, but not the amount of externalized Furyoku, one can considerably power up one's attack. It basically concentrates the Furyoku instead of spreading it throughout the oversoul.
  • Armour Oversoul : This technique is only seen in the manga. The Shaman uses his medium, spirit & furyoku to create an Oversoul which wraps and protects the body like armour. (eg, Hao's Kurobina, Chocolove's Jaguarman, Yoh's WhiteSwan, Faust's Eliza Operieren, etc) This form of Oversoul is introduced only in the last few volumes of manga (around vol 27 onwards)
  • The Great Spirit's power: The one who wields the power of the Great Spirit (also known as the Shaman King) is capable of defeating any known Shaman, as well capable of shaping the world however he or she sees fit. In the anime, the will of the Great Spirit must not be forced, or it will not grant its full powers (a loophole that allows Yoh to defeat Hao even after the latter has forcefully absorbed the power of the Great Spirit). A Shaman can only legitimately receive this power by winning the Shaman Fight. In the manga, Hao legtimately becomes the Shaman King, and Yoh and friends attempt to go against the Patch to stop Hao from receiving the Great Spirit's power. In the anime, this power transforms the Spirit of Fire into the Spirit of Shaman, allowing Hao to become nearly invincible.

Trivia

  • Starting 2nd June 2006, Shaman King has returned to the Jetix UK schedule showing at 6:30pm GMT every day. This is probably because of Naruto's debut on July 22nd, the network are bringing more anime related shows.
  • Ironically, in spite of 4Kids' infamous stance on edits, Shaman King on a whole has more in the way of weapon-play and other factors still intact when compaired to the Jetix Edit of Naruto, which airs on a later, 8pm, slot.
  • Oddly, while the English dub of Shaman King is being aired in many countries across the globe, it has not been aired in The United States since the final episode aired in August of 2005. This, coupled with the fact that no episodes beyond number 29 were ever aired twice in the U.S., has left many Shaman King fans in the U.S. without a means to view the series or to catch any episodes they might have missed in its initial run.
  • Many of the Shaman King shorts and manga-exclusive stories are featured in the Game Boy Advance video game Shaman King: Master of Spirits.

Voice Cast

Japanese

English


References

  1. ^ http://animenation.net/news/index.php?id=7141
  2. ^ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=5739
  3. ^ Google-translated Japanese product page for volume 32

English

Official links:

Profiling:

Fan links:

Japanese

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