Review: SHAMAN KING

 With its recent rerelease, it's time to take a look at a suitably spooky Shonen Jump title from the past.

SHAMAN KING (Shaman Kingu), by Hiroyuki Takei.  First published in 1998 and first published in North America in 2003.

PLOT:

One night after cram school, Manta runs into a strange young boy in a graveyard staring at the stars.  This boy, Yoh, turns out to have the ability to see ghosts.  That's because he is a shaman, someone who can not only communicate with spirits but to summon them at will and use their unique powers in battle.  That skill soon comes in handy when the two have to deal with neighborhood bullies, angry ghosts, and a rival shaman named Ren who wants Yoh's favorite ghost for himself.

STORY:

Shaman King wants to be special, but aside from the ghost collection it's standard Shonen Jump fare.  All the usual elements are here: an easy-going lead who wants to be the best, a panicky, cowardly sidekick, a villain who values utility over friendship, and powers that come out of nowhere at just the right time.  Their relationships are no less shallow.  Manta hangs out with Yoh mostly for protection and to give Yoh someone to exposit to.  Yoh and his pet ghost (a samurai named Amidamaru) bond over their mutual love of fighting.  It wouldn't feel so basic if there was any sort of charm or original thought to them, but so far that's nowhere to be found.  Instead it tries to substitute wackiness for charm.  This might have worked on younger readers back in the day, but as a grown woman now it comes off as hopelessly trite.

It's also obvious that Takei was taking cues from Pokemon.  Hell, you could pretty much substitute "Pokemon" for every use of "ghost" and it would still make sense.  The ghosts are just as one-note as any Pokemon, as save for Amidamaru they are all based around a single gag.  They're also inherently disposable, as most of them tend to come and go in a single chapter.  Yet Pokemon, even going back to its Red & Blue days, didn't feel this cheap and commodified.  Maybe it was just more honest about its origins as a game.  Maybe it's just that Pokemon started a trend while Shaman King is just shamelessly copying it.

ART:

Takei got his start as an assistant for Rurouni Kenshin creator (and noted pedophile) Nobuhiro Watsuki alongside future One Piece creator Eichiro Oda,. It's clear that not only were he and Oda pals but that some of Oda's style rubbed off on him.  While Takei's general character style is more rounded and a little simpler than Oda's, they share the same sort of wild cartoon energy and tendency towards crazy proportions.  Takei's are a little different, though; his characters tend to be more bobbleheaded and blocky, like their limbs were carved out of wood.  Alas, something he didn't take away from Oda or Watsuki was any particular flare for action.  The fights tend to consist of a lot of messy poses and flashes of energy, but they're over so fast that they barely leave an impact on the reader.  

PRESENTATION:

It should be noted that I haven't had a chance to look at the new Kodansha re-release, so I have no idea how the translations differ between the two.  What I can say is that the Kodansha release is based on a more recent Japanese rerelease, complete with new cover art by Takei which reflects how much his artstyle changed over the years.

RATING:

Shaman King is pretty much DOA for me.  Maybe it's got some nostalgia value to kids who grew up with it who would likely be more charmed by its wackiness and less familiar (and thus less cynical) about the tropes and character types it uses, but it doesn't have enough unique qualities or charm to win over modern, adult readers.

This series is published by Kodansha, and formerly by Viz.  This series is complete in Japan with 32 volumes available.  All 32 were published in single volumes by Viz, which are currently out of print.  All 32 volumes are currently available digitally via Kodansha with an physical omnibus rerelease to follow.