Shaman King

Overview

The Shaman King series revolves around Yoh Asakura, a teenager who wants to be Shaman King to have the easy life. Along the way, he meets a multitude of odd beings and weird people, and faces a multitude of challenges alongside his own spirit, Amidamaru. Together, they need to defeat all the spirits and people that challenge them, so that Yoh can ascend to the rank of Shaman King.

Shaman King is written by Hiroyuki Takei who also writes Butsu Zone. The Shaman King series was first published around 1998 in Weekly Shounen Jump, and stopped publishing during 2004 with 32 volumes published.

Publishers

• Shueisha (Japan)
• Madman Entertainment (Australia and New Zealand)
• Viz Media (U.S.A. and Canada)
• Kana (France)
• Glenat Espana (Spain)
• Grupo Editorial Vid (Mexico)
• Editions Star Comics (Italy)
• Kana Netherlands (Netherlands)
• JBC (Brazil)
• Bonnier Carlsen (Sweden)

Publication History

The series was first published in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1998, concluding in 2004 with 285 chapters. The first tankobon volume was released on December 3, 1998. The 32nd and final volume was originally set for a release on December 3, 2004. However, its release was delayed until January 5, 2005.
 
In 2009, the series was re-released in Kanzen-Ban or "Perfect" volumes, which rearranged the series into 27 volumes and also added bonus content and chapters, bringing the grand chapter total to 300. The first volume was released on March 3, 2008. The final volume was released on April 3, 2009.

In America, the series is licensed by Viz Media. They published the first volume of Shaman King, with edits, on September 3, 2003. The final volume was released on January 4, 2011. Viz also released chapters of Shaman King in the American version of Shounen Jump, beginning in 2003, but stopped serialization September 2007.
 
Takei also released a five-chapter spinoff of the series called Funbari no Uta. It follows Hana Asakura, the son of Shaman King's protagonist Yoh and his fiancee Anna, and his journey to gather the five elemental warriors for a celebration.
 

Alterations

All Japanese sound effects were altered to English variants for the North American release.
 
The character Chocolove was renamed "Joco" and redrawn so as not to connote any racially offensive stereotype.

Characters

Yoh Asakura 
A teenage boy who wants to be Shaman King to have the easy life.

Manta Oyamada 
A friend of Yoh who observes the dreams of shamans and he shares the adventures with Yoh.

Amidamaru 
A ghost samurai who is the partner of Yoh who fights along side Yoh in the Shaman King fight.

Anna Kyoyama

She is the teenage fiancee of Yoh and shares the same goals as her husband.

Ren Tao

A Chinese teenage boy whose goal is to end the cycle of hatred when he was changed from his battles with Yoh Asakura.

Bokuto no Ryu (Wooden sword Ryu)

He is searching for his happy place and he is looking for romance.

Horohoro

He is an Ainu from the lands of Hokkaido, and he and his sister shares the same dream to create a vast field of butterbur for the Koropokkuru.

Lyserg

His dream is to become the world's greatest detective and his vengeance is to destroy Hao Asakura.

Iron Maiden Jean

She is the leader of the X-Laws.

Story Arcs

Note: These story arcs are not official names since the author has never address them in the manga chapters.

Intro to the World of Shamans (Vol. 1-3)

• Manta sees ghosts and meets Yoh, Amidamaru, and Ryu
• Manta, Yoh, and Amidamaru meet another shaman, Ren
• Yoh who is in hospital with friends gets a visit from Anna Kyoyama
• Anna trains Yoh vigorously for Shaman King fight
• Ryu gets possess by Tokagero and has his shaman latent powers unlock

Shaman King Preliminary matches (Vol. 4-8)

• Yoh and Amidamaru meets Silva, a Native American who tests Yoh and teaches him the oversoul. Once Yoh and Amidamaru defeats Silva, Silva lets Yoh compete in the Shaman king fights.
• Yoh meets Horohoro in his first match. Yoh defeats Horohoro, but makes a new friend.
• Yoh meets Horohoro and his sister, Pirika, and Pirika acts like Anna.
• Yoh meets Faust and Eliza and suffers his first defeat in the shaman fights.
• Amidamaru, Anna, and Yoh decides to go to Izumo, and Yoh lies Morty he cannot be friends with him.
• Yoh's oversoul gets a new upgrade after training in the caves of Yomi.
• Yoh and Ren fight for the second time (different in the anime) and the two have a draw.
• Silva who was watching tells them they have pass.
• The shamans, their ghosts, and their family have dinner at Yoh's place.

Rescue Ren Tao mission in China (Vol. 8-9)

• Bason, Ren's ghost, calls Yoh and friends to help Ren.
• Yoh, Horohoro, Ryu, and Manta ventures to China and free Ren while fighting the jiang-si (Curse Squad and Torture Brothers).
• Ren Tao defeats his father due to his father's wavering oversoul. Ren learns his lesson not to let his will waver.
• Ren receives his father's beloved sword and Yoh and friends leave China for Japan.

Journey to America For Three Months [Patch's Test] (Vol. 9-13)

• Meet Lilirara in Yonte Fe and learn more about Hao Asakura
• Meet Lyserg and recruit him
• Horohoro undergoes a side quest dealing with Bluebell Bloch and Apollo
• Yoh and gang reach Mesa Verdede
• Encounter Hao's followers: Mohamed, Hang Zang, Big Guy Bill, Boris, and Damayaji.
• Mohamed confirm Yoh is Hao's descendant
• Ryu defeats Boris
• Marco and the X-Laws appear; Marco kills Boris.
• At some point in front of the entrance in Mesa Verdede, Anna and her group meet Hao for the first time.
• Yoh rejects X-Laws' offer to join them.
• Yoh maintains neutrality.
• Using Big Guy Bill's advice, Yoh and gang reach Patch Village.
• Yoh and gang learn that the Great Spirit's blessings gives them visions from the past of all life on Earth. Visions vary on each individual.
• Yoh reunites with Anna.
• Chocolove makes his first debut
• Ren makes a team with Chocolove and Horohoro.
• Anna and Manta persuades Yoh to accept Faust on his team.
• At some point, Lyserg meets with Marco and joins the X-Laws.

Back to Tokyo for the First Tournament Event (Vol. 13-18)

Tournament Schematic

• First match: Team Ren vs. Team Tsuchi (Earth). Team Ren wins without casualties.
• Second match: Team X-I vs. Team Nile. Team X-I wins by massacring their opponents.
• Third match: Team Funbari Hot Springs vs. Team Ice Men. Team Funbari Hot Springs win without casualties.
• Fourth Match: Team Hana Gumi vs. Team T productions. Team Hana Gumi wins without casualties.
• Fifth Match: Team Hoshi Gumi vs. Team X-III. Team Hoshi wins with Hao's spirit murdering whole team and devouring their souls.
• Sixth Match: Team Kabbalahers vs. Team Mariachi. Team Kabbalahers win without casualties.

Epilogue Arc (Vol. 19-23)