Oversouls (Shaman King)

"That was the right answer, Yoh Asakura! My familiars use those five items to become tangible! But not just anything will do! Feathers for the eagle's flight, the shell for the turtle's ability to protect themselves from enemies, and so on... the item must symbolize the familiar's ability. And the symbol for the samurai was his sword! Look Silver Wing. That is his new battle style! His Oversoul." -Silva
==Summary==
Over Soul (オーバーソウル Ōbā Souru), or simply O.S., represents the ultimate form of Furyoku manipulation for a shaman. It is by far the most iconic ability that a Shaman has in their arsenal. An Over Soul can best be described as a metaphysical construct that fashions an apparition in elaborate and complex shapes by a shaman using their Furyoku and a medium. Aside from gaining corporeal properties, an Over Soul actualizes the knowledge and memories of an apparition and allows their memories to manifest essentially as magical powers, allowing for feats such as spellcasting or paranormal effects.
==Types of Oversouls==
There are a total of 5 types of Oversouls that are seen throughout the series
===Spirit-type Over Soul===
* These O.S. usually manifest an apparition corporeally in such a manner as to fully utilize its unique abilities. (ie. O.S. Zenki and Gonki, and O.S. Matamune).
** This will result in the Shaman getting Summoning
===Weapon-type Over Soul===
* These O.S. manifest an apparition as a supernatural instrument or armament (ie. O.S. Spirit of Sword, O.S. Platinum Sword, O.S. Shion-Shion Gong Xiong-Mao), usually to compliment the shaman's personal fighting style.
** This will result in the Shaman getting Weapon Creation, Weapon Control, and because these Shaman's know how to fight with it at a impressive level they will get Weapon Mastery
===Vehicle-type Over Soul===
* These O.S. manifest an apparition as a vehicle. Whether it be from planes, submarines, and even cars. (ie. Jumbo Jet Oversoul, O.S Spirit of Fire (Vehicle Mode), Submarine Oversoul)
** This will result in giving them Likely Vehicular Mastery
===Armor-type Over Soul===
* These O.S. are the most efficient form of Furyoku-based constructs. Armor-types represent the pinnacle of O.S. magic and are the most practical type of O.S. because of their resilient, highly dense Furyoku composition. This method makes them equally formidable in terms of raw power.
===Unity-type Oversoul===
* Also known as "Over Soul Merge", these O.S. are very difficult to achieve due to various factors. Unity-types require both the shaman and their apparition to establish and maintain continuous spiritual synchronization throughout the entire process, which is the sole responsibility of the Shaman. The major advantage of the Unity-type is the unrestricted access to an apparition's nature abilities. The only example of this is Chocolove McDonell's Black Jaguar O.S. with Mic the Jaguar.
==General Oversoul Abilities==
While the powers and abilities for a Shaman's Oversoul vary extremely based on the Shaman, there are a few abilities that are common to every Oversoul. These abilities include
* Invisibility- Oversouls are not able to be seen by people who don't have a sixth sense. This is also further supported by the fact that Oversouls cast no shadows.
* Incorporeality- An Oversoul is a materialization of one's mana that can take shape of numerous of things. Due to the fact that the form of a oversoul is composed entirely of a shaman's furyoku, there is no matter.
* Energy and Ectoplasm Manipulation- Every oversoul has a spirit that's used to form it, every spirit has what's known as Ghost Power (GP) or Reiyoku. This power is manifested in the form of magic and supernatural ability and expended through the energy of a Shaman's Furyoku.
* Limited Invulnerability- Due to the fact that a Oversoul has no real matter, it is impossible for it to be harmed by physical attacks and conventional weaponry since there is no real matter for physical attacks to act upon. This has been proven many times and is the biggest reason for why other Shaman's say "The only way to beat a Oversoul is with another Oversoul".
* Longevity- While Furyoku is consumed anytime it is used to create matter, the mass of the oversoul remains constant. As long as the oversoul keeps it's body intact and isn't disrupted it doesn't cost any mana to maintain it. This is shown during the rematch with Tao Ren and Yoh. Another example includes how Sati created numerous of Oversouls for years and because she wasn't fighting anyone maintained it for over 1,100 days. But the biggest example is Matamune who was able to live and travel for centuries as a Oversoul thanks to Hao's Furyoku and he would've been able to live much more if he didn't choose to expend the Furyoku to help Yoh and Anna when they were kids.
==Oversoul Classes==
While any spirit can be molded into a Oversoul, the attributes depend surely upon the spirit's ego or identity and their class. To make things helpful, There will be 4 classes of Oversouls to classify
===Ghost Class Oversouls===
These types of oversouls are created when a Shaman integrates a regular spirit into a medium. Examples of this would be O.S Dear Eliza
* General Oversoul Abilities
===Semi-Higher Class Oversouls===
These types of Oversouls are created when a Shaman integrates a regular spirit that doesn't have as much ego as a regular ghost and is either close to reaching the higher class or should've already reached that class but is still a regular spirit. Examples would be Amidamaru's first O.S and Tokageroh first O.S.
All previous abilities, plus:
* Shapeshifting (Oversouls of this level can perform different shapes to help their shaman's but not at the level of a higher class Oversouls)
===Higher Class Oversouls===
These types of oversouls are created when a Shaman integrates a Seirei or Nature spirit into a medium. This class of Oversouls can be molded by the shaman into any shape or form the shaman desires, enabling the direct display of its abilities to protect the shaman. Examples include Spirit of Sword, Bushin U.2, and Silver Arms
All previous abilities, plus:
* Greater Shapeshifting (With the higher class spirit, a Shaman can change what a Oversoul looks like to assist them as shown from Silva Oversoul, Marco was able to make a duplicate of himself with his Angel ally Michael, it's also important to note that sometimes Oversouls can change how they look overtime as how Yoh's O.S Spirit of Sword and Ren's Bushin U.2 have both changed since they first used it)
* Resistance to Soul Destruction (Oversouls of this class and above when used by a powerful Shaman can survive the attacks of the Archangels, which have been stated and shown to be able to destroy souls)
** It's important to note that only Advanced Shamans and above who make Oversouls of this class should be granted this
===Kami Class Oversouls===
These types of Oversouls are created when a Shaman integrates a Kami spirit into a medium. This class of Oversouls are by far the most powerful Oversouls in the series and a Shaman that can utilize one to its highest degree must have a significant amount of Furyoku and must be an Expert Level Shaman. Examples of these spirits include Dainchi, Shamash, and the Dai Tengu
All previous abilities, plus:
* Large Size (Type 1, Oversouls of this level when summoned naturally have sizes that are as big as buildings)
==Weaknesses==
While the power and application for an Oversoul is practically endless, it has its fair share of weaknesses
* Shamans needs both their Guardian ghost(s) and their medium(s) in order to make their Oversouls. If they don't have them, they can't create an Oversoul
* A Shaman's furyoku isn't limitless. If the Shaman runs out of furyoku they can't summon their Oversoul until they regain it back again.
* Depending on how the Shaman treats their Guardian ghost or if the Guardian ghost feels like the Shaman shouldn't do a certain action, if the ghost chooses to they can stop being an Oversoul and deactivate their abilities as shown by Borris and Lyserg
* If a Shaman's will isn't strong enough, their Oversoul will become weaker.
Category:Shaman King
Category:Verse-specific Powers and Abilities