# Hiroyuki Takei

Hiroyuki Takei (武井 宏之, Takei Hiroyuki, born May 15, 1972 in Yomogita, Aomori Prefecture) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the popular Shaman King.

## Career

Hiroyuki Takei started drawing manga with writer EXIAD on SD Département Store Series which they created for a fanzine. Early in his career, he became the assistant to Tamakichi Sakura on The Form of Happiness (しあわせのかたち, Shiawase no Katachi) as Turtle-san (カメさん, Kame-san) in 1992 and Kōji Kiriyama (Ninku). At that time, he also submitted his first yomikiri Dragdoll Group to the Tezuka Award but was rejected. In 1994, Takei submitted his short story Anna the Itako to the 48th Tezuka Award and won the honorable mention. He was later introduced to Nobuhiro Watsuki and became his assistant along with Eiichiro Oda on Rurouni Kenshin.
Takei published his short story Death Zero in Weekly Shōnen Jump winter special and Butsu Zone in the summer special of 1996. A reworked version of Butsu Zone became his first manga series published in Weekly Shōnen Jump of 1997. Takei's longest-running series, Shaman King began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1998, though was forced to conclude in 2004. In 2007, Takei returned three years after the conclusion of Shaman King with a new Weekly Shōnen Jump series, entitled Jumbor Barutronica. Set in the distant future, construction workers pilot mecha. One of them is killed and his memories are implanted in his clone, a thirty-year-old man in a five-year-old superpowered construction tool body. The series was canceled after ten issues and released in one volume.
During the Jump Festa 2008, Shueisha announced a kanzenban reprint of Shaman King. This release reprinted the entire series in 27 volumes complete with new covers while concluding the never-before-published "true ending." On March 4, 2008, Japanese publisher Shūeisha announced that Takei would be collaborating on Karakuri Dôji Ultimo with American comic creator Stan Lee. The project launched with the new Jump SQ.II (Jump Square Second) spinoff manga magazine on April 18, 2008. The announcement of the partnership was made in the April issue of Jump Square magazine.
As of 2010, Takei is working on two monthly series: Jumbor, written by Hiromasa Mikami (御上 裕真, Mikami Hiromasa) and Karakuri Dôji Ultimo with Stan Lee.
On February 15, 2017, when answering a fan's question, Hiroyuki Takei revealed on his official Twitter that he received an offer for an anime remake of his representative work Shaman King, but had to turn it down because they were not able to use the first anime's voice actors and soundtrack music. In June 2020, a new anime television series was announced, which aired from April 1, 2021 to April 21, 2022 and featured several returning cast members from the 2001 anime series in both the Japanese and the English dub.

## Inspiration

Takei named Hirohiko Araki's series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Baoh as his favorite manga when he was younger. In an interview with Shonen Jump, he also cited Taiyo Kosoku by Baru, Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura, and Hellboy by Mike Mignola as favorites. Takei has also been influenced by American comic books, Mecha anime and Osamu Tezuka.

## Works
### Serializations

| From | To | English Translated Title | Serialized in | Volumes | Notes |
| 1997 | 1997 | Butsu Zone | Weekly Shōnen Jump | 3 tankōbon, 2 kanzenban | |
| 1998 | 2004 | Shaman King | Weekly Shōnen Jump | 32 tankōbon, 27 kanzenban, 35 tankōbon (reprint) | Final kanzenban released in 2009 with previously unpublished material. |
| 2007 | 2007 | Jumbor Barutronica | Weekly Shōnen Jump | 1 tankōbon, 2 kanzenban | |
| 2009 | 2015 | Karakuri Dôji Ultimo | Jump SQ (2009—2011), Jump SQ.19 (2012—2015) | 12 tankōbon | Stan Lee (concept) |
| 2010 | — | Jumbor | Ultra Jump | 8 tankōbon | Hiromasa Mikami (writer) |
| 2012 | 2014 | Shaman King: Flowers | Jump X | 6 tankōbon | |
| 2015 | 2021 | Hyper Dash! Yonkurō | CoroCoro Aniki | 4 tankōbon | Spin-off of Zaurus Tokuda's Dash! Yonkuro |
| 2015 | 2018 | Nekogahara | Shōnen Magazine Edge | 5 tankōbon | |
| 2018 | 2024 | Shaman King: The Super Star | Shōnen Magazine Edge (2018–2023), Magazine Pocket (2024) | 10 tankōbon | |

### One-shots

| Year | English Translated Title | Featured in | Notes | Included in |
| 1994 | Anna the Itako | | 48th Tezuka Award, honorable mention | Butsu Zone volume 3 |
| 1996 | Death Zero | Weekly Shōnen Jump Winter Special | | Butsu Zone volume 2 |
| 1996 | Butsu Zone | Weekly Shōnen Jump Summer Special | | Butsu Zone volume 1 |
| 2003 | Exotica | Weekly Shōnen Jump Issue #40 | | Shaman King volume 27 |
| 2009 | Karakuri Dôji Ultimo:0 | Jump SQ.II | Stan Lee (concept) | |
| 2009 | Jumbor | Ultra Jump #11 | Hiromasa Mikami (writer) | Jumbor kanzenban volume 1 |
| 2010 | Jumbor – The Desert With a Floor Heater | Ultra Jump #3 | Hiromasa Mikami (writer) | Jumbor kanzenban volume 2 |
| 2011 | Little Battlers eXperience – Kaidō Jin Gaiden | CoroCoro G Winter Issue | Credited as HIRO | |
| 2011 | Little Battlers eXperience – Boost Gaiden | CoroCoro G Summer Issue | Credited as HIRO | |
| 2012 | Yahabe | Jump SQ 9 | | |

#### Shaman King specials

| Year | English Translated Title | Featured in | Included in |
| 1999 | Funbari Poem | Akamaru Jump Summer | Shaman King volume 5 |
| 2000 | Funbari Poem – 2000 | Akamaru Jump Winter | Shaman King volume 7 |
| 2000 | Funbari Poem – 3000 Leagues to Funbari Hill | Akamaru Jump Spring | Shaman King volume 9 |
| 2000 | Funbari Poem – Four Leaf Clover | Akamaru Jump Summer | Shaman King volume 10 |
| 2001 | Funbari Poem – Rokujizō Night | Akamaru Jump Winter | Shaman King volume 13 |
| 2001 | Funbari Poem – Secrets of the Star Festival | Akamaru Jump Spring | Shaman King volume 14 |
| 2001 | Funbari Poem – 8mm Cinema Paradise | Akamaru Jump Winter | Shaman King volume 29 |
| 2002 | Funbari Poem: The Bloom of Youth – Mickey's World | Akamaru Jump Spring/Summer | Shaman King volume 30 |
| 2003 | Funbari Poem: The Bloom of Youth – Mickey's World, Part 2 | Akamaru Jump Winter | Shaman King volume 31 |
| 2003 | Funbari Poem: Chapter 1 – Prologue | Akamaru Jump Spring | Shaman King volume 32, kanzenban 22 |
| 2003 | Funbari Poem: Chapter 2 – Legendary Warrior | Akamaru Jump Summer | Shaman King volume 32, kanzenban 23 |
| 2004 | Funbari Poem: Chapter 3 – Lost Child | Akamaru Jump Winter | Shaman King volume 32, kanzenban 24 |
| 2004 | Funbari Poem: Chapter 4 – Trying Hard | Akamaru Jump Spring | Shaman King volume 32, kanzenban 25 |
| 2004 | Funbari Poem: Chapter 5 – Funbari Poem | Akamaru Jump Summer | Shaman King volume 32, kanzenban 26 |
| 2004 | Mappa Dōji | Weekly Shōnen Jump Issue #18 | Shaman King kanzenban 25 |
| 2011 | Shaman King: Zero – New Shimane Paradise | Jump X Issue #5 | Shaman King: Zero volume 1 |
| 2012 | Shaman King: Zero – Tears of the Ren | Jump X Issue #6 | Shaman King: Zero volume 1 |
| 2012 | Shaman King: Zero – Dresses with Wolves | Jump X Issue #7 | Shaman King: Zero volume 1 |
| 2012 | Shaman King: Zero – A Little Wicker Man | Jump X Issue #8 | Shaman King: Zero volume 1 |
| 2012 | Shaman King: Zero – Matagawa Under the Bridge/Gag of New York | Jump X Issue #9 | Shaman King: Zero volume 1 |

### Fanzines

* SD Departement Store Series (ＳＤ百貨店シリーズ, "SD Hyakkaten Series")
* Jumbor Japon (Self-published at Comiket 73)

### Unreleased

* Thunder of Judgement (裁きの雷, "Sabaki no ikazuchi") (Concept/Script:EXIAD)
* Dragdoll Group (ドラグドール団, "Doragudōru dan") (Rejected submission for the Tezuka Awards)

### Character design

* Anna Kyoyama from Shaman King is the mascot for the police station in the Aomori Prefecture.
* Smash Bomber (スマッシュボマー) was a series of toys and a manga created for Takara Tomy. Takei was hired as art supervisor and one of his assistants, Daigo Katō (加藤 大悟, Katō Daigo), drew the manga which ran in V Jump during issue number 8 to 10 in 2006. The series was canceled after 3 chapters and never met the intended 197 pages announced in the first chapter.
* Character design of Hanhel Tsunagin (ハンヘル・ツナーギン, Hanheru Tsunāgin) and his axe True Hash for Phantasy Star Portable 2.
* Original character designs of Garo: The Animation.
* Original character designs for the original anime series, Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys!.
* Original character designs for the Bikkurimen anime series based on the stickers from the wafer snack, Bikkuriman.

### Other works

* Illustrator for the Cardfight!! Vanguard Trading Card Games.