#Manta oyamada series

Her surname, Kyoyama, was given to her by Kino and is an alternate reading of the characters for Mount Osore, where Anna was found. She has previously appeared in Hiroyuki Takei's other works, including Butsu Zone and Itako no Anna, and is notably the mascot for the Aomori Prefecture's police force.Īfter being abandoned by her birth parents due to her abilities, Anna was adopted by Kino Asakura, Yoh's grandmother who resides in Aomori, as one of her apprentices. Anna attends Shinra Private Academy along with Yoh and Manta. She is unrelentingly brutal with Yoh's training in order to ensure he wins the Shaman Tournament and becomes Shaman King. He becomes one of the Five Grand Elemental Spirits and gains the Spirit of Earth.Īnna Kyoyama ( 恐山アンナ, Kyōyama Anna), nicknamed Anna the Itako II ( 二代目イタコのアンナ, Nidaime Itako no Anna), is Yoh Asakura's fiancėe and a powerful itako (a spirit medium in the 2001 English anime), with the ability to summon and channel spirits even from Heaven. In the manga, when it becomes apparent that currently known methods of training will not allow any shaman to defeat Hao, Yoh is sent to Hell to train, an honour given to him by Lady Sati, and is granted the power of purification. During the Shaman Fight, Yoh is the leader of Team Funbari Onsen. As a result, Yoh is the Asakura family's greatest hope of finally defeating Hao at last and saving the world from impending destruction. Unexpectedly, he is not only the latest descendant of the Asakura family, a family famed for their spiritual powers, but also the twin brother of Hao Asakura, who is a reincarnation of the immensely powerful founder of the Asakura family and the primary antagonist of the series. While he remarks that he wants to become Shaman King in order to live a carefree and easy life, those closest to Yoh know that he wants to create a world where no one has to suffer from loneliness like Yoh did as a child because he was a shaman and nobody understood or accepted him. Though he is too lazy to train properly, he is motivated by a promise he made to his fiancée, Anna Kyoyama, to give her an easy life once he becomes Shaman King. Yoh Asakura ( 麻倉葉, Asakura Yō) is an easy-going teenage boy with the ability to see ghosts, he quickly becomes friends with Manta and reveals that he is training to eventually become the Shaman King. The members from the Gandhara faction, particularly its leader Sati Saigan, also appear to be heavily based on the main characters from Butsu Zone. Notably, Anna Kyoyama was based on the lead character in his debut one-shot, Itako no Anna, who also inspired a character with a similar design and background in Butsu Zone Takei has remarked that Anna is his signature character. Ī number of characters in Shaman King previously appeared in Takei's preceding work, Butsu Zone, though Takei regards both Shaman King and Butsu Zone as occurring in different worlds akin to Osamu Tezuka's Star System. The engagement between Yoh and Anna being introduced at the beginning of the story has been regarded as unusual for a shonen manga for its maturity and partly reflects Takei's own personal experience, but it still an ideal relationship. įor Takei, the female lead Anna Kyoyama was regarded as the easiest character to draw and the protagonist Yoh Asakura was the hardest Takei explained that it was difficult to develop Yoh's character because of the criteria set by Weekly Shōnen Jump. The originality of characters was emphasized so that they stand out, which may include incorporating designs that appeal to Takei in particular, the fox and raccoon-dog duo of Konchi and Ponchi were inspired by Ren and Stimpy. In terms of developing Shaman King, Takei has noted that he creates the characters first and develops the story around them. The series' sequel, Shaman King: Flowers, deals with Yoh's son, Hana Asakura, and his development as a shaman. In his journey to become Shaman King, Yoh also meets with a number of rival shamans who seek to become Shaman King for their own reasons and visions of the future, some who become his allies and others who become his enemies.

During Yoh's training, Manta meets Yoh's demanding fiancée, Anna Kyoyama and Yoh's spirit partner, the samurai Amidamaru. Wishing to lead a peaceful life, Yoh has been training from an early age to become the titular 'Shaman King', who will be able to change the world according to his will.

#Manta oyamada series

The series primarily focuses on a teenager named Yoh Asakura, who reveals to his classmate Manta Oyamada that he is a shaman when fighting a group delinquents led by Ryu. As a result of being focused on shamanism the series' cast is divided between humans and spirits, the latter not being able to go the afterlife due to their alliance with the former. The manga and anime series Shaman King features several characters created by Hiroyuki Takei.