The manga and anime series Shaman King features several characters created by Hiroyuki Takei. 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 series primarily focuses on a teenager boy named Yoh Asakura, who reveals to his classmate Manta Oyamada that he is a shaman when fighting a group delinquents led by Ryu. 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. During Yoh's training, Manta meets Yoh's demanding fiancée, Anna Kyoyama and Yoh's spirit partner, the samurai Amidamaru. 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. The series' sequel, Shaman King: Flowers, deals with Yoh's son, Hana Asakura, and his development as a shaman.
Creation and conception In terms of developing Shaman King, Takei has noted that he creates the characters first and develops the story around them.Shonen Jump interview with Hiroyuki Takei, 2005.Q: The title pages of Shaman King often show characters who haven't appeared yet in the story. How closely did you plot the series out from the beginning? Do you create the characters first and the story later?Takei: I create the characters first. Stories are born because of the existence of the characters, right? The originality of characters was emphasized so that they stand out,Shonen Jump interview with Hiroyuki Takei, 2005.Q: In your opinion, what is the key to creating good characters?Takei: The most important thing is to have originality, because there's no point in creating something that's similar to something, right? The next is to make sure the character is distinctive. By this, I mean that at first glance, a reader can figure out what the character is all about. Similarly, a distinctive silhouette that can easily be picked out is important. The character should also stand out from the rest of the characters. In regards to design, don't be afraid to try new things, and just do it. This will lead to the development of an original character. 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.Shonen Jump interview with Hiroyuki Takei, 2005.Q: Tanuki, or raccoon dogs, and fox spirits appear in Shaman King, as the characters Ponchi and Konchi. How did you come up with your personal interpretation of these traditional spirit-animals?Takei: In general, I create original things by incorporating various designs I like, but if you read the comic, "Ponchi" and "Konchi" are pretty obviously an homage to the characters "Ren and Stimpy."
For 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.Interview with Manga-News.com (French)MN – Quel est donc celui qui est le plus facile à dessiner, et au contraire le plus difficile?HT – Anna est la plus facile et Yoh le plus difficile. Par là je n'entends pas que le coté dessin pur mais plutôt l'aspect évolutif du personnage et son caractère. Pour Yoh, il a été pour moi plus difficile à faire évoluer dans les critères que demande le Jump magazine.(Translation: MN – Who is the easiest to draw and who is the most difficult?HT – Anna is the easiest and Yoh is the most difficult. By that I don't mean drawing, but developing the characters. For Yoh, it was hard for me to develop him because of the criteria required for Jump magazine.) 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.Shonen Jump interview with Hiroyuki Takei, 2005.Q: The fact that Yoh is engaged to Anna from the beginning of the story is unusual for a shonen manga. In many ways, their relationship is more mature than the relationships between male and female characters in usual shonen manga. Has your own marriage influenced your depiction of Yoh and Anna?Takei: I think it reflects quite a bit of my own personal experience. I wouldn't say it is a direct copy. But the relationship both characters have, is quite an ideal relationship, I would say.
A 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.Shonen Jump interview with Hiroyuki Takei, 2005.Q: Butsu Zone has some similar themes to Shaman King, as well as some of the same characters. Does Butsu Zone take place in the same "universe" as Shaman King?Takei:"Shaman King" and "Butsu Zone" are completely different worlds. The characters that reappear are based on the "Star System" concept. (NOTE: The "Star System" is a concept from artist Osamu Tezuka in which a key character appears in several different manga titles) 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.Shonen Jump interview with Hiroyuki Takei, 2005.Q: Anna seems to be a very important character for you, since she appeared in her own one-shot manga before Shaman King, and also in Butsu Zone. Can you tell us about the history of her character?Takei: Please think of her as my signature character... The members from the Gandhara faction, particularly its leader Sati Saigan, also appear to be heavily based on the main characters from Butsu Zone.
Main characters Yoh Asakura
is an easy-going tweenage 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. 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. 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.
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. As a result, Yoh is the Asakura family's greatest hope of finally defeating Hao at last and saving the world from impending destruction. During the Shaman Fight, Yoh is the leader of Team Funbari Onsen. 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. He becomes one of the Five Grand Elemental Spirits and gains the Spirit of Earth.
Anna Kyōyama
, nicknamed , 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. She is unrelentingly brutal with Yoh's training in order to ensure he wins the Shaman Tournament and becomes Shaman King. Anna attends Shinra Private Academy along with Yoh and Manta. 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.
After 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. Her surname, Kyoyama, was given to her by Kino and is an alternate reading of the characters for Mount Osore, where Anna was found. Though most itako are blind, Anna is fully sighted and extremely powerful; her considerable spiritual strength allows her to seal Hao's guardian ghosts, Zenki and Kouki, and take control of them. Her powers originally included the ability to read minds, which caused her to create powerful demons from negative emotions until she was saved by Yoh and Matamune and the ability was sealed. Out of deep gratitude for how he saved her life, she believes that it is her responsibility to train him hard so that he can achieve his dream of becoming Shaman King. Despite how badly she seems to treat Yoh, she openly admits that she loves him, expressing jealousy when she thinks he is interested in other girls and breaking down only when she believes that Yoh is truly in danger, in contrast to her unflinching confidence in him under other dangerous situations.
Her strong will and blunt personality often inspire fear in her close friends, particularly Yoh. She is one of the few who does not openly express fear to Hao, who is intrigued by her attitude and acknowledges her strength and how she reminds him of his mother, Asanoha Douji. However, she genuinely cares for those important to her, especially Yoh, and is simply dedicated to being "the ultimate Shaman Queen" and wife to Yoh, the first real friend that she ever had in her life.
Manta Oyamada
, known as Mortimer "Morty" Oyamada in both the uncut and edited dubs of the 2001 anime and English-dubbed video games based on that adaptation, is Yoh's best friend and the first human to try and understand Yoh without any discrimination. An intelligent and thoughtful boy who carries a book with him every day, he attends Shinra Private Academy with Yoh and Anna. He is physically very short, a fact that he is extremely sensitive about, and has been mistaken as a Koropokuru, a shy nature spirit from northern Japan. Though he is not a shaman and unable to use his spiritual powers like Yoh and Anna, he is capable of seeing spirits and faithfully stands by Yoh. Throughout the series, Manta acts as the primary narrator of the events in Shaman King.
In the manga and original Japanese anime, his family owns the Oyamada Electronics Company and, therefore, is very rich. His parents disapprove of Manta's friendship with Yoh while his younger sister, Mannoko, seems to enjoy making fun of Manta. He has a strained relationship with his family, who plays little role in the story and, following their initial appearance, they are never seen again in the manga until a brief appearance by Mansumi toward the end of the series, where the Oyamada president leads several battleships to destroy and capture Shamans. In the manga and Japanese anime, Manta has an assistant, Tamurazaki, though he is mostly Mansumi's lapdog and winds up gunning down at least one of Hao's followers. While he is unable to help Yoh to become stronger as a shaman, Manta uses what advantages he has to support his friend, such as his incredible wealth, to help Anna reach the United States to bring the Ultra Senji Ryakketsu to Yoh after he has left to find the Patch Village.