Shaman King
Shaman King (Japanese: シャーマンキング, Hepburn: Shāman Kingu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Takei. It follows the adventures of Yoh Asakura as he attempts to hone his shaman skills to become the Shaman King by winning the Shaman Fight. Takei chose shamanism as the main theme of the series because he wanted a topic that had never been attempted before in manga. The Shaman King manga was originally serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump between June 1998 and August 2004. The individual chapters were collected and released in 32 tankōbon volumes. In 2017, Kodansha acquired the rights to the series and re-launched it on 35 e-book volumes in 2018, also published in print since 2020.
シャーマンキング
(Shāman Kingu)
- NA:
- Viz Media
- (former)
- Kodansha USA
- (current)
- Jump Comics
- (original tankōbon edition)
- Magazine Edge KC
- (Kodansha edition)
June 30, 1998 – August 30, 2004
- 32 (original tankōbon edition)
- 35 (Kodansha edition)
- Fukashi Azuma
- Naoki Sasada
- Takatoshi Chino
Katsuhiko Koide
Toshiyuki Ōmori
- AUS: Madman Entertainment
July 4, 2001 – September 25, 2002
64
Hiroyuki Takei
Shueisha
Shōnen
June 15, 2003 – September 15, 2004
Joji Furuta
Netflix (streaming rights)
TXN (TV Tokyo)
April 1, 2021 – April 21, 2022
52
A 64-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by NAS and Xebec, aired on TV Tokyo from July 2001 to September 2002. A second 52-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Bridge, aired on TV Tokyo and other channels from April 2021 to April 2022. The manga has also been reprinted in a kanzenban edition, and has spawned various spin-offs and sequel manga, video games, a trading card game, and many types of Shaman King-related merchandise.
In North America, Viz Media obtained the English-language license for Shaman King and published its chapters in Shonen Jump magazine from March 2003 to August 2007. Kodansha USA re-licensed the series in 2020, and will release it in both digital and physical formats. The anime series was licensed in North America by 4Kids Entertainment in 2003, and aired on FoxBox. Exclusive video games were released by 4Kids Entertainment in North America and Europe.
In Japan, the manga has been popular. By March 2021, it had over 38 million copies in circulation. Both the manga and anime have been featured, at various times, in "top ten" lists of their respective media. The first Shaman King anime series has been watched by many television viewers in Japan. Publications about manga, anime, and other media have commented on the Shaman King manga, with positive comments on the series.
Production[edit]
Before creating Shaman King, Takei, an assistant of Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin, exchanged ideas about the series with the other assistants which included the creator of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda.[4] As a colleague of Watsuki, he worked primarily as a manga assistant, only focusing on his own projects during his days off.[4] He was influenced by street art from hip-hop and rap culture,[4] which is apparent in his manga artwork.[5] For drawing, he used calligraphy inks and pen nibs. When illustrating, he used Copic brand color markers.[4]
He chose shamanism as the principal topic of the series because he wanted to choose a subject that had never been approached in manga before.[6] He said he incorporated his own personality and beliefs in Shaman King.[4] He has an interest in the topic, and "choosing shamanism as the subject of this story seemed like a natural extension of that."[6] For the title, he said he used "shaman", an English word, due to the fact that "the nuance is really great" and because he could not find a Japanese word with the accurate meaning of the word "shaman".[4] Another reason to have shamanism as the main subject was because he could explore elements from different cultures and their relationship with the dead and the spirits.[7]
Takei created the stories after he created the characters because he believed the "stories are born because of the existence of the characters". In addition, he felt that "the most important thing [to create a character] is to have originality".[4] Through his characters he wanted to show different cultures, backgrounds and values.[8] When asked "how do shamans of pacifistic religions ever win the Shaman Fight?" he answered that the Shaman Fight is fought using the "strength of the soul".[4] Takei declared "the final message of Shaman King is that fighting is no good."[9]
Reception[edit]
Public response[edit]
By November 2011, the original manga series of 32 volumes has sold over 26 million copies in Japan.[125] By March 2020, the manga had over 35 million copies in circulation.[52] By March 2021, the manga had over 38 million copies in circulation.[126] The kanzenban volumes have been ranked in listings of best-selling manga in Japan,[127][128] as well as its guidebook,[129] both Zero volumes,[130][131] Flowers first four volumes,[132][133][134][135] and The Super Star first volume.[136] Volumes of the series have been ranked in listings of best-selling manga in the United States such as The New York Times, Nielsen BookScan and Diamond Comic Distributors.[137][138][139][140] In 2008, Shaman King was North America's 24th best manga property according to ICv2, based on sales for the entire year of 2008.[141] The anime adaptation has also been featured several times in the Japanese TV ranking,[142][143] with the last episode having a 9.5 percent television viewership rating.[144] Shaman King was voted the sixth best anime of 2001 by Animage readers.[145] In 2005, Japanese television network TV Asahi conducted a "Top 100" online web poll and the Shaman King anime adaptation placed 47th.[146] Moreover, approximately 165 million cards from the Shaman King trading card game were sold in Japan.[108][147]
Critical response[edit]
Justin Freeman from Anime News Network (ANN) criticized the first volume for relying too heavily on the spirits as a deus ex machina, stating that is what "places the series on the wrong path."[148] On other hand, Alexander Hoffman of Comics Village declared "in this first novel, letting the relationships between Yoh, Amidamaru, and Manta flesh out is more important that developing every spiritual entity that shows up."[149] Holly Ellingwood of Active Anime said she was fascinated by how Takei was capable of taking several myths and cultural beliefs and "blending them into the character backgrounds".[150] Lori Henderson of Manga Life cited the fact every character, even the villains, "has a reason for fighting" and their "internal struggles" as well as the fights itself as the main reason why Shaman King is "an enjoyable title."[151] A reviewer for The Star declared, praised the characters' development and Takei's capacity to create "new interesting ones each volume," commending "their backgrounds and unique personalities."[152] Writing for ANN, John Jakala commented that he was struck with the "unique", "graffiti-style" visual of the series.[5] Although labeled its art as "silly", Sheena McNeil from Sequential Start expressed that "it's smooth and nicely detailed with excellent expressions." McNeil deemed Takei did "a wonderful job of bringing shaman into the modern day but keeping it a story of fantasy".[153] Ellingwood stated the series' "vibrant action", "imaginative plot twists and a creative world" makes it "a unique and stylish shōnen series."[154]
Mania's Eduardo Chavez said that, Shaman King can "hit all the right buttons one volume" but "it could be a complete bore" in the next.[155] School Library Journal's Cathleen Baxter commented that Shaman King has "nonstop action" with "typical shōnen characters and battle styles". The storyline is "easy to follow and will hold the reader's interest."[156] Margaret Veira of Active Anime, however, argued that the storyline gets more complex as the series progresses,[157] while comics critic Jason Thompson commented that from volume 20 it "seemed to veer off tracks".[158] In addition of a decline on artwork in his opinion, the numbers of fights also decreased; Thompson wrote, "their enemy ... may be unbeatable by force alone, so the plot shifts away from battles and towards unexpected betrayals, character relationships, and clever (and confusing) schemes—rather than mere fighting techniques."[158] The last volume, especially, "may leave some readers feeling cheated," said Leroy Douresseaux from Comic Book Bin.[159] Thompson was also disappointed by the 2004 conclusion but he wrote that the kanzenban version has "a great ending", whose "transcendental climax is not too different from Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, or for many American comics about beings with ultimate power."[158]