Shaman King

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I enjoyed this manga quite a bit. Its essentially the typical shonen manga, with little to differentiate it. What i enjoyed was the bizarre undercurrent of evil it seemed to have at times. From an almost necrophillic doctor whos implied to be addicted to Morphine to a boy quite obviously named for a drug ( Lyseig Diethel named for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide respectively)

I also found many moments to be extremely emotional and touching, wihlst the characters were well characterised and varied, each with their own personalities aims and backstories, some of them just tragic (especially that Doctor). The characters come from various countries and ethinicities, ... which makes a good change from casts inexplicably scattered across the world yet all japanese. Theres English, Chinese, African-American etc. its nice. Best of all, the villain to this piece is a marked change from most villains and a breath of fresh air against the common evil to everything type you get in some manga.

So if your bored and want to read another shonen manga, i would suggest this over most others.

Shaman king is a manga discovered one day look for some action and dam was i pleased. Shaman king is a really unique shonen in my opinion the way the power system is and how the character act is super unique for the shonen genre.

Story 8/10: The story starts off cool and fun but it takes a a little bit to get into high gear. It really has a beginning that draw you in with the character but no real solid plot until the shaman fights are introduced. It then become are tournament focused plot but even with the idea of a tournament is some ... how still makes it unique with adding interesting characters and the evolving plot.

Characters 10/10: The character in shaman king are amazing it all starts with one of the best shonen main characters Yoh. Yoh is a chill guy who has a goal(which is to become the shaman king) but ends up leaving his goal for other things which would sound like a bad character but its not the way he evolves into thinking of his new goal(to stop hao). He is a lovable mc who keeps the story fresh as is in other shonen mc can hurt the story sometimes. The character as a whole keep a story going in the parts where it takes a dip. You really get connected to the characters through the story and it feels like you are right there beside them.

Art 10/10: The art style is not for everyone, it has a cartoonish feel which makes me love it. The way the character unique designs look really make it enjoyable experience for me.

Power system 10/10: the power is best described as dumbed down stands but it has it things that me it better. The power system lets you have new characters in the story but also provide unique ways people fight in the story.

overall 10/10: Shaman king is one of my favorite mangas ever because the characters, the fights and the story make in and enjoyable experience . If you have some free time one day pick this manga up and read it, you could love it.

Shaman king is essentially one of the best supernatural Manga to ever come out.I have major respect for the creator, Hiroyuki Takei, for the amazing chacharacters he creates and his super stylish art style. The series revolves around shaman warriors who all aim to become the shaman king, pretty much be a capital G God. It follows the typical tournament arc premise found in many shonen Manga but the character interactions is what makes the story so enjoyable. The cast is very diverse : yoh asakura is laid back and kind hearted, tao ... Ren is short tempered and serious and so on. The main characters all have well written and sad back stories but still manage to be upbeat.Almost all the characters are perfectly fleshed out so im sure you'll find an character that hits home with you.The only characters i really dislikes were Anna and hao but I'll go iinto detail about the latter later on. Anna is pretty much a cold hearted tsundere who's back story is the only liklikaeable part of her.

Even though I don't care much for anna, the back story osorezen revoir arc she shared with yoh was amazingly written. she's still a cold hearted grinch but at least she had an interesting past. The biggest reason to read shaman king is how spiritual it is. there are even shamans who clearly follow buddhism who appear later on !This Manga is very big on themes of forgiveness and redemption. Tao Ren and chocolove have killed in the passed but deeply regret and will accept any form of punishment that comes their way. Main character yoh asakura believes no shaman can be truly evil and tries his best to make friends with previous enemies. He was practically the anime messiah before makoto naegi and madoka came along. Since the whole premise of the Manga revolves around spirits, the spirits of multiple mythological figures are present everywhere. Anyone who loves series with religious undertones or references to mythology will love shaman king.
I've talked about the good now I have to get to the two problems of this work. For the most part, shama king has a very cartoony artstyle and doesn't really get good until more than halfway through. It's great that Hiroyuki takei has vastly improved his art and became one of my favorite artists. The 2nd problem is the ending. I'm referring to the ending in the kang zeng bang not the rushed original one. I won't list any spoilers but the main villain pretty much gets treated as a "sympathetic " character even though he's killed countless people and he uses his back back story for justification, but the main cast all went through worst than he did. Despite that, shaman king is still one of the best Manga to grace shonen jump.

This is my opinion on Shaman King, with the new ending, not the "it was a dream" ending from when the Manga was cut.

Shaman King is one of my favourites. The premise is unique, the characters are very well developed, and I really dig the mangaka's art. The story sets an atmosphere very well, and easily pulls you in.

Additionally, I appreciate the balanced development of the characters strengths. It is often suspenseful, and the outcome was never predictable. Overall, I enjoyed this 10/10.

Story 9/10: Like previously mentioned, it has a unique premise that lends itself to a good story. Each moment flows together well. ... It is smart, where I rarely found any "manufactured" conflicts or "plot armor" devices. Fights are written well also.

Art 9/10: The beginning may be a bit dated, but its still great looking. Definitely cleans up near the middle. I've heard some people being critical of Takei's art, but you can decide for yourself.

Character 8/10: While there may be some shonen character tropes, I found that the characters were strong. the motivations and back-stories were enticing, and some of the histories provided are amazing.

Overall 9/10

STORY - 10
The story is a basic tournament, but what makes it interesting are the little developments along the way, the twists and turns and the way the characters react to everything. The story also flows really well, keeps with the original theme, knows how to create tense moments as well as use comic relief at the right times.

ART - 8
It's beautifully done and unique to the artist.

CHARACTER - 10
The characters are so well done, they develop really well and you find yourself almost routing for them all. You see their friendships all become something real.

Anna -Anna is Yoh's fiancé's and wow she ... is amazing, she is one of the few female characters that actually shows so much confidence and strength. Personally I think she's an icon, she overcomes adversity, has immense courage, is intelligent and fearless. As she develops we get to see more of her soft side and her backstory.

Hao - His character becomes so loveable, its well rounded and you end up wanting to see his friendship with the gang develop more. Basically he's a bit tsundere princess.

Yoh - Probably the best shounen character (in my opinion) Yoh is carefree, outgoing, fun, courageous and kind. He is so unique for a main character but it is done beautifully.

ENJOYMENT - 10
OVERALL - 10

My review may be biased. Shaman king was one of the first manga I could read.

What I liked deeply in this manga is that the hero doesn't have the typical personality of the main character of Shonen, big-mouthed, stupid, gets angry for the smallest thing and rushes into the heap despite the superiority of the opponent.

No, Yoh is calm, he knows that he is not the most intelligent but this does not prevent him from being very mature. He has a simple dream but he knows that he has responsibilities, that he must take care of them before he can realize this dream.

What differentiates ... him the most, and what the other characters realize as time goes by, is that he is apathetic, but that doesn't stop him from completing his growth.

NOTE: The original Shaman King manga does not have an ending!!

It was cancelled before a true ending could be completed so it has an abrupt stop, which (if you are like me) could be off-putting.

IMPORTANT: If you are thinking about reading Shaman King I would recommend to read Shaman King Kanzenban (it's the exact same except includes more chapters that were left out originally and of course has the true ending)! Or if that is not possible, after reading the original manga read chapter 265, 266, and then 287 until the end at 300 (yeah it sounds weird but these are the chapters missing from ... the original run).

The original Shaman King with the abrupt end (again since it was cancelled before it could be finished) would be a 7 because there is no ending. But with the Kanzenban true ending I would give it an 8. I enjoyed the ending and thought it was quite good.


Review: Imagine One Piece mixed with Digimon and that is what Shaman King feels like. I admire that the method Yoh enacts to settle conflicts is more peaceful and relaxed than most shonen protagonists who evoke the usual "might makes right" mentality. The reason why it's not a 10 for me is because I feel like it has pacing issues and some plot holes.

The pacing issues are that characters seem to drastically power-up in a short amount of time without really showing the viewer HOW they develop those techniques. It felt as I was reading that the author was either impatiently trying to get to "the good stuff" at the end or that he had a strict time limit and thus had to keep the story as concise as possible within 32 volumes. Considering that the series was cancelled that might have literally been the case and so I don't blame him. This is a flaw for me, but based on other reviews I read, some people enjoy that the pacing is so quick because it removes any fluff or filler.

All in all I enjoyed it! If you had to choose between reading the manga and watching the anime I would recommend watching the new 2021 anime coming up instead. Not often is the anime better than the manga, but in this case I feel like the 2021 anime of Shaman King would resolve my qualms with the manga.

Shaman King is my most loved memory from my earliest childhood, so I’ve decided to write this review for I finally finished reading the manga, I'm very found of the series but letting the affective memory aside the manga is good, though not worth of my affection as it is. The story is nearly bland, it is about a tournament as its tittle already give away, but there is low to none dynamic at some point; the characters are the strong point of the manga as they normally are meant to be in tournament mangas, but sadly their potential were wasted in Shaman King. The ... major problem of the characters is the spirits, as the story proceeds the spirits become only weapons with bland personality, though I admired the flashiness of the weapons as a kid I'd rather watch the early episodes when the spirits and the their partners were bound together as friends. My favourite parts of Shaman King are when the characters are simply being with their partners, battling and then, between act and act, simply being... The relationship of Ana and Yoh, Manta and Yoh going to school, Ryu and his group trying to find their best place, but this unfortunately do not last long, and then the characters find themselves doing and bind to a nonstop tournament that gets boring and boring, sometimes get better and then boring again, and this unending ups and downs are, what I believe, the reason the manga got cancelled.
Shaman King is not bad but isn't great either, and that's what I found sad about it since I liked so much as child.

This will be a combined Review of the original Shaman king manga and the Kazenban ending.
SPOILERS--

Introduction--

Reading this series for the first time is probably the best time i've ever had reading. The Characters, the comedy, and just thinking about the series and analyzing each little detail was amazing experience to me.

Side Characters--

Each important side character could've had their own show. One of my personal Favorites is Horohoro or Usui Horokeu. At around 3/4 into the series its reveal that he was hiding things to everyone else. He wasn't showing his true self. This thing he was hiding was the he killed his girl. His Selfish ... acts caused her death. He had been carrying the burden of that for his whole life since is occurred. It's like a Nightmare but the nightmare doesn't end. because you cant just simply not feel such a guilty burden.

Yoh Asakura--

Yoh Asakura or the main character of the Shaman King Franchise. My Personal #1 Mc OAT. Yoh Asakura from the get-go was put with a burden of defeating Hao Asakura ( The main villain, more on him later). Yoh and Hao are twin brothers btw. Yoh's parents and grandparents Knew Hao was going to reincarnate as a Asakura. So the decision The parents and grandparents had to make was if they were willing to kill both of the twins right after they we're born. just to eliminate the chances of Hao coming back. The thing was that they were Identical Twins, so you couldn't tell them apart as baby's. Once Hao was born the grandfather hesitated and hao got away with his spirit. Yoh being left as the only hope for the Asakura Family. That what makes Yoh's Life so important is the fact that if they didnt hesitate to kill the twins Yoh wouldn't ever exist. This whole story of Hao and Yoh wouldn't exist. But Since they didn't kill the twins. eventually at the end of the series Hao did up becoming the Shaman king, not meaning Yoh failed. They made up or rather, they showed Hao the truth. Yoh ending up being a dad and Hao as the shaman king, more fitting roles imo.

Hao Asakura--

Hao Asakura or the main villian of the Shaman King Franchise is Yoh's Twin Brother (mc). I freaking love this dude, he is such a cool and interesting character. Why i think that just listen to this: He is the Twin brother of Yoh, but since he can reincarnate. So hes also his approximately Yoh great, great , great, great, great, great, great , great, great grandfather as well. because his first life was 100 years ago before he was in his third life during the series. being able to reincarnate every 500 years.
Getting more into his Character.
All good villains Usually have a reason or goal for doing the things they did. Hao commiting genocide and wanting to wipe humanity, his reasoning was somewhat acceptable. In His first life, His mother was killed because back then shamans were portrayed as demons. But in Actuality Demons and Humans in The world of Shaman king and in Haos eyes, Humans and Demons are definitions rather than races. Humans or rather Mankind, is the cause of The world being so wicked. Demons being Created from Mankind's cruelty. The reason Hao's mother was killed was because she could she ghost, and she was portrayed (by the public) a demon.
SO haos reasoning to commit genocide and destroy mankind and to make a world of only demons was because his Mother, the only one who even cared about was killed for something she couldn't control. It's not like this isnt happening in real life ( to a extent).If you look at the youth, even a middle school. Kids are being bullied because of a medical condition, "being ugly", or uncontrollably obese. These kids at such a young age have to go through that just because some kids think they're above other people. It is a bit different from haos perspective tho, Hao's perspective is a perspective from one who is suffering the most from this type of conflict, even more than his mother. Thats because Hao cared so much for his mother he would do anything to revenge her. Hao wanting to have revenge is what makes him a human, a type of human he hates. He is making other people suffer greatly because of his own actions, just like the people who kill his mother. Making him the biggest Hypocrite lmao.


Make sure to read shaman king if you havent already.

Discord: zero.#3063

A youtuber who inspired me to read shaman king and someone who makes great videos and a better interpretation of Hao Asakura.

https://www.youtube.com/rashplays