Shaman King (manga)

Shaman King (JapaneseシャーマンキングHepburnShāman 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.

An anime television series produced by NAS and Xebec aired for 64 episodes on TV Tokyo from July 2001 to September 2002. A reboot anime television series adaptation, produced by Bridge, premiered on TV Tokyo and other channels in April 2021. 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 the manga and published chapters of Shaman King in its 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 Fox Box. Exclusive video games were released by 4Kids Entertainment in North America and Europe.

In Japan, the manga has been popular. As of 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 Shaman King anime 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.

 

Shaman King
Shaman King 25.png

Cover of the 25th Japanese kanzenban edition volume, featuring Yoh Asakura
シャーマンキング
(Shāman Kingu)
Genre
Manga
Written by Hiroyuki Takei
Published by
English publisher
Imprint
  • Jump Comics
  • (original)
  • Magazine Edge KC
  • (complete edition)
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump
English magazine
Demographic Shōnen
Original run June 30, 1998 – August 30, 2004
Volumes
  • 32 (original)
  • 35 (complete edition)

(List of volumes)

Anime television series
Directed by Seiji Mizushima
Produced by
  • Fukashi Azuma
  • Naoki Sasada
  • Takatoshi Chino
Written by Katsuhiko Koide
Music by Toshiyuki Ōmori
Studio Xebec
Licensed by
Original network TXN (TV Tokyo)
English network
Original run July 4, 2001 – September 25, 2002
Episodes 64 (List of episodes)
Manga
Funbari Poem
Written by Hiroyuki Takei
Published by Shueisha
English publisher
Madman Entertainment
  • Viz Media
  • (former)
  • Kodansha USA
  • (current)
Magazine Akamaru Jump
Demographic Shōnen
Original run June 15, 2003 – September 15, 2004
Anime television series
Directed by Joji Furuta
Written by Shōji Yonemura
Music by Yuki Hayashi
Studio Bridge
Licensed by Netflix (streaming rights)
Original network TXN (TV Tokyo)
Original run April 1, 2021 – present
Episodes 52[4] (List of episodes)
Spin-off manga

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