Bokuto no Ryu

Origin

Ryu starts out as a bit of a delinquent. He's the leader of a gang of misfits who terrorize the neighborhood. Ryu is constantly in search of his 'Best place' where he can be truly himself and with his gang.

Creation

Bokuto no Ryu is created by Hiroyuki Takei, and he has no information regarding any inspiration used to create him. His Japanese voice actor is Masahiko Tanaka, and his English voice actor is Sean Schemmel. He first appears in Shaman King volume 1 and episode 1.

Character Evolution

From being a delinquent to becoming a full fledge shaman and a true friend to Yoh Asakura, Manta, Ren, Anna, and many others. This is because Ryu meets Yoh and Yoh has change his life due to witnessing the world of shamans and ghosts.

Bokuto no Ryu has change when he encounters Yoh and the battle of Ren and Yoh (anime version). In the manga, Ryu only becomes a shaman due to the possession of Tokagero and when Ryu is abandon by Yoh and friends in Izumo, Ryu emerges as a shaman due to Yohmei's training (Ryu mentions but there are no scenes revealing the extent of training). [See manga and anime differences below]

Evolution of Ryu's Pompadour Styles

In volume one, Ryu has a single simple pompadour.

As people keep cutting Ryu's pompadour, it changes in style.

A heart pompadour is seen during the Shaman fights but it got split in half during the Rescue Ren Tao arc.

A V-shaped pompadour of Ryu appears after the fight in China to rescue Ren and up to the Patch village. However, Ryu combs his V-shaped pompadour into his original style after a fight with a vampiric shaman.

Major Story Arcs

At first he thinks his best place is a cemetery and doesn't take too kindly to the thought that there are kids invading it, so when he catches Manta sneaking about trying to take pictures of Yoh and the ghosts he attacks and poor Manta ends up with a broken arm. Ryu gets summarily beaten twice by Yoh, much to his astonishment and it's only when Yoh and Ren fight that he starts to see the spirits possessing them and is further confused. Eventually he learns of Yoh's shaman abilities and begs to be taken as Yoh's student, which Anna quite quickly allows as it means she can press-gang him into all the household chores... It's not until he becomes possessed by an evil spirit Tokageroh though that his latent shaman powers surface... His most powerful attack with Tokageroh is called Yamato no Orochi.

Ryu's gang

A difference in the relationships between Ryu and Muscle Punch in the sub and

Ryu's poster (sub version)

the dub. In the sub, Muscle Punch admits he loves Ryu while in the dub, Muscle Punch still blushes but he says he meets a lady friend. The reasons are to avoid homosexuality in the Fox Box version of Shaman King.

Manga and Anime Differences

Ryu's Love Interests

In the manga, Ryu has a crush on Anna, Tamao, Jun, and Lyserg (he looks like a young girl).

In the anime, Ryu appears to be crushing on Tamao and Jun.

Training

In the manga, Ryu's mentor is Yohmei Asakura because Yoh and his friends left him behind in Izumo. However, the manga has never reveal scenes of Ryu and Yohmei's training.

In the anime, Ryu's mentor is Mikihisa Asakura because Mikihisa makes an earlier appearance than his manga counterpart. Ryu meets Mikihisa in episode 11. Unlike the manga, scenes of Ryu and Mikihisa having a conversation and training are reveal to the viewers but not Yoh Asakura.