List of Shaman King characters
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 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, "", 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. The originality of characters was emphasized so that they stand out, 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. 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". 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. 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. 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. 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 teenage 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. 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 spirits 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 merely is dedicated to be "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" Manta 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 have 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. In the 2001 anime, during the Shaman Tournament, Manta becomes a shaman with Mosuke , Amidamaru's best friend who forged Harusame, as his Guardian Spirit. His relationship with Mosuke soon parallels Yoh's own relationship with Amidamaru, as well as their existing relationships with their best friends. Because Manta is untrained as a shaman, he is unable to maintain spirit form from losing furyoku quickly and generally communicates with Mosuke through his laptop. During the final battle against Hao, Manta is able to use his laptop to form a hammer-shaped Over Soul to knock out Hao's shikigami and force his friends to calm down long enough to regroup and defeat Hao. In  the manga, Manta is generally an observer throughout the Shaman Fight and often questions his presence in a battle that he cannot directly contribute to. At the conclusion of the series, he appears at the head of the Soul Train to save Yoh and his friends from falling into oblivion, expressing happiness and relief that he could finally help Yoh. Several years later, he attends college in America, studying ways to combine shamanism with business, and brings presents for his friends at their reunion at Funbari Onsen. Hao Asakura. ("Zeke Asakura" in the English dub of the 2001 anime ) is the main antagonist of "Shaman King", currently the second reincarnation of his original self and the twin brother of Yoh. He is the most powerful participant in the Shaman Tournament, with Furyoku at 1,250,000, an extremely high level compared with the other characters' Furyoku levels in Shaman King. While he exhibits ruthlessness towards his opponents, he acts surprisingly easy-going and affable, similar to Yoh's personality. Originally, one thousand years ago, Hao was the founder of the Asakura family and a powerful Onmyōji priest who possessed incredible spiritual powers, including the ability to sense the thoughts and desires  of those around him. Regarded as a master of the Wu Xing pentagram, he was able to control the five elements that give form to creation. However, his compassionate heart was overcome by his deep-seated desire to avenge his mother's death and his growing hatred of humans because of their selfish natures. Failing to win his first Shaman King tournament because of the combined efforts of the Asakura family to stop him, Hao was able to reincarnate with full awareness of his past life in time to participate in the next tournament and again for the current tournament . In his second life five hundred years later, Hao was reincarnated as a member of the Patch Tribe, who would be an ancestor to Silva, and massacred the Seminoa tribe. After successfully taking control of the Spirit of Fire, an elemental spirit that embodies the essence of one of the five elements of nature, he attempted to become Shaman King again. Despite possessing such advantages, he was defeated by Yohken Asakura, one of his descendants, and the spirit Matamune, who reluctantly put aside his love and loyalty for Hao for the sake of saving the world. In his most recent  reincarnation, Hao chose to reincarnate as a member of the Asakura family, as a pair of identical twins, splitting his soul between himself and Yoh, as the children of Keiko Asakura. In hopes of at least stopping Hao until the next Shaman Fight, Keiko's father, Yohmei, and her husband Mikihisa, decided to kill both children. However, following his rebirth, Hao escaped from the Asakura family with the help of the Spirit of Fire, while badly burning Mikihisa and sparing his twin brother with the promise to reclaim him someday. In the months leading up to the tournament, Hao began  to kill prospective competition while gathering an entourage to assist him in winning the current Shaman King tournament. Hana Asakura. is the son of Yoh Asakura and Anna Kyoyama. He was first introduced in the "Shaman King" sidestory "Funbari no Uta" as an infant traveling alongside Ryu to find the Five Grand Elemental Spirits, the story which is concluded in the finale of "Shaman King". In the sequel "" a teenage Hana acts as the leading character. He is depicted as a Shaman having Yoh's spirit guardian, Amidamaru, alongside him using him with the weapon to create two Over Souls , and . He lives at Tamao Tamamura's care while his parents are absent. Hana is bored with his life and finds the appearance of his fiancé Alumi Niumbirch and his proclaimed enemies Yohane and Luka Asakura as a way to kill his boredom. Hana also possesses several Oni sealed inside him that will be summoned when he is in danger in order to protect him. They were placed by his uncle, Hao Asakura, when he was a baby. Supporting characters. Ryunosuke Umemiya. , known more commonly as and "Rio" in the 4Kids English dub of the 2001 anime, is introduced as  a gang leader who is always on the lookout for the "Best Place" (the "Happy Place" in Viz Media's English manga and the "Sacred Hang" in the English dub of the 2001 anime). His gang is known as the Dead Enders in the English anime and they are very devoted to Ryu, who returns their dedication to him. His most distinctive feature is his elaborate pompadour; during his first meeting with Yoh and Manta, he holds a big grudge against Yoh for cutting his hair off. The destruction of Ryu's hair becomes quite a running gag in the  first part of the series as Ryu comes up with increasingly bizarre hairstyles until he can restore his original coiffure. In an attempt to find his gang a new "Best Place" at a rundown bowling alley in Funbari, Ryu becomes susceptible to being possessed by Tokagero, a spirit who wants revenge on Amidamaru and offers to provide Ryu the means to kill Yoh. After Yoh stops Tokagero, Ryu gives up his grudge against Yoh and soon becomes one of Yoh's best friends, soon demonstrating he is more than willing to risk his own life for any of his friends . After the incident, Anna reveals that Ryu has great potential to be a shaman. Ryu leaves Funbari for an unspecified time to search for a "Best Place" on his very own and is eventually found by Yoh's father, Mikihisa, who convinces his father-in-law Yohmei to train Ryu as a shaman. Ryu takes Tokagero as his spirit partner and the duo become faithful and loyal allies to Yoh throughout the Shaman Fight. Because of Ryu's limited training and skill, he is not as strong as many of the shaman in the tournament; despite his lack of confidence , Yoh and his friends see his value where he does not and Ryu's resourcefulness and devotion to his friends are his strong points. While Ryu expresses the desire to become Shaman King for the sake of finding his own "Shaman Queen," he fully supports Yoh because he believes that Yoh is the sort of person who can make the world a "Best Place" for everyone. At the conclusion of the series, he works as a chef at Funbari Onsen and looks after Yoh and Anna's son Hana. Tao Ren. , known as Len Tao in the 4Kids English dub  of the 2001 anime and video games based on that adaptation, is a Chinese shaman and initially an antagonist who proves to be one of Yoh's most powerful enemies and later his rival to become Shaman King. He is confident in his strength and does not directly accept help from others out of pride, though these qualities along with his short-temper and impatience are often limit his abilities. After meeting Yoh, Ren's strong sense of pride moves towards his ability to protect his friends, whom he cares for deeply despite frequently arguing and fighting with them. His  most notable trait is the distinctive single spike in his hairstyle. Ren is one of the most skilled and physically powerful shamans in the series as a result of dedicated training since childhood. His acuity in battle has allowed him to master techniques, such as those utilized by Mikihisa Asakura, by watching and experiencing them. In combat, Ren wields a guan dao and the sword, a family heirloom given to Ren when he proves to his father that he is strong enough to choose his own path, and he is capable of fighting on horseback. According to Pascal Avaf, Ren 's affinity to the Spirit of Thunder is well-suited as it follows the way of Taoism. Additionally, because Ren has died more than once, his furyoku levels are notably very high and he is strong enough to be one of the few shamans who can actually stare straight into the heart of the Great Spirit without fainting. Serious and emotionally aloof, Ren has been groomed since childhood by his father, Tao Yúan, to become the next Shaman King and developed a deep hatred for humanity, desiring to eliminate them all. As a result of his upbringing, he believes his  spirit Bason is merely a tool and that befriending him would allow the spirit to take advantage of him. However, his encounters with Yoh and his friends gradually allow him to trust others and find true friends who are willing to risk their lives for him, such that Ren chooses to defy the destiny his family has outlined for him and decide how to live his own life. However, the consequences of his actions in the past affect him throughout the Shaman Fight. Because the Patch officiant Nichrom holds a personal grudge against him for killing his brother, Chrom, Ren  is fatally stabbed by Peyote Diaz, forcing Yoh to agree to Iron Maiden Jeanne's condition that she will only resurrect Ren if Yoh withdraws from the Shaman Fight. Ren also comes to fear that the hatred he has held will isolate him and cause him to become someone like Hao. Later in the manga, he is recognized by Lady Sati as one of the Five Grand Elemental Spirits and gains the Spirit of Thunder. Several years after the Shaman Fight, Ren is a successful businessman after studying at Tsinghua University and forming an electronics manufacturing company, the , with Hang  Zang-Ching and Bill Burton. He eventually has a son, , who strongly resembles his father. The child's name and his blood-red eyes and silver hair indicate that Ren married Iron Maiden Jeanne, and Men later inherits both Bason and Shamash as his guardian spirits. Horohoro. , known by the nickname "Trey Racer" in the 4Kids English dub of the 2001 anime, is an Ainu shaman from Hokkaidō, the northernmost of Japan's major islands. He is Yoh's first opponent in the preliminary round of the Shaman Fight and despite losing to Yoh, he quickly becomes one of Yoh 's closest friends. His goal in the Shaman Fight is to save Koropokuru, a tiny spirit people, by creating a vast field of butterbur. Horohoro's name sounds and is spelled (in Katakana) like "boroboro," which means "raggedy" and characters mispronouncing/misspelling his name is a running gag in the series. It is later revealed that Horohoro's real name is , a name he refuses to call himself out of the guilt he feels for indirectly causing the death of Tamiko Kurobe, a girl nicknamed Damuko who became his close friend. Good-natured and cheerful, Horohoro forces himself to appear  as a hot-headed and loudmouthed. He is highly secretive of his past, not even willing to tell his friends about it because of his feelings toward Tamiko Kurobe and her death. He is heavily burdened with the creed that his father taught him – that "the strong feed on the weak" – but finds resolve in his own tenacity and understanding that that same creed does not mean he should give up. In battle, Horohoro is very competitive, even going so far as to turn Ryu's arms to ice and shatter them during the fight between Team Ren and Team  Funbari Onsen and worrying about his position on Ren's position. Though he argues frequently with Ren, he is nevertheless dedicated to his friends and expresses his serious side only in the most dangerous situations when he can no longer afford to restrain himself with his hotheadedness. Horohoro's guardian ghost is Kororo ("Corey" in the 4Kids English dub of the 2001 anime), a Koropokuru spirit who allows him to generate ice and form an Over Soul with Horohoro's snowboard and an Ikupasi talisman that Pirika makes for him. While he admits that he is not particularly intelligent or  good with numbers, he has a strong understanding of the flow of nature, allowing him to excel at the FumonTonkou (the "Shamanic Oracle") technique, and is highly resourceful even with a low amount of furyoku, as seen when he utilizes Kororo and the Icemen's three spirits in battle. He has a strong relationship with Kororo, particularly after learning her original identity was that of his friend Damuko. In the manga, he is recognized as one of the Five Grand Elemental Spirits by Lady Sati and gains the Spirit of Rain. He is regarded as the third strongest member of  the Five Grand Elemental Spirits. Several years after the Shaman Fight, Horohoro returns to Hokkaidō where he works on a farm, which appears to include a butterbur field. While his entrepreneurial effort to market a blue candy-flavored marimo ball is a commercial failure, he works hard at fighting against illegal logging companies. Johann Faust VIII. Hailing from Heidelberg Germany, is the eighth-generation descendant of the legendary Doctor Faustus, who made a deal with the devil Mephistopheles for his necromancy skills along with youth and riches for seven years in exchange for his immortal soul. Faustus' descendants, including Faust  VIII, distanced themselves from their ancestor's legacy, turning to the profession of medicine and regarding Faustus as a taboo within the family. Following family tradition, Faust VIII studied medicine and fell deeply in love with a young woman named Eliza, who had an incurable disease. Faust's perseverance eventually paid off and he found a cure for her illness, allowing them to marry and live happily together. Faust delighted in saving lives while Eliza faithfully worked as his assistant. However, when Eliza was shot by a robber and died, Faust is driven insane and turns to his ancestor's  forbidden legacy to resurrect her with necromancy. Using Eliza's skeleton as a medium, he is able to conjure an image of her using his furyoku, though when he meets Yoh he is still unable to fully summon Eliza's spirit. His motivation to become Shaman King is in hopes of fully resurrecting Eliza and is utterly single-minded about achieving his goal. Yoh is defeated by Faust in the Shaman Fight's second fight. Because he is self-taught, Anna recognizes that Faust is remarkably talented and forces Yoh to accept him as the third member of Team Funbari  Onsen after she summons Eliza's ghost; her ulterior motive is apparently to have Faust eventually become the doctor for Team Funbari Onsen. Reunited with his beloved Eliza, Faust becomes dedicated to Yoh and Anna out of sincere gratitude, utilizing his shamanic and medical skills to support Yoh and becomes powerful enough to resurrect the dead after training with the "Ultra Senji Ryakketsu". Despite appearing as the weakest member of Yoh's team, Faust is highly ingenious; in battle he replaces his missing legs with that of his pet dog, Frankenstiney, to regain his mobility and during the invasion of  the Plants, he composes the "Funbari Poem" song to distract himself from the mind-warping effect of the officiants' Patch Song. The embodiment of complete dedication, Faust's greatest strengths are his selflessness and pure-hearted spirit; like Yoh, he will not hesitate to save his enemies if he can. Beyond his emotional instability, particularly when Eliza is insulted or threatened, he is completely rational and will not tolerate interruptions while working. At the conclusion of the series, Faust is killed during the invasion of the Plants while fighting the officiant Radim, but his spirit continues to accompany and support  Yoh, who integrates with his spirit to utilize Faust's shamanic healing abilities. Though he is initially resurrected after the conclusion of the final battle, he collapses soon afterward from exhaustion. He elects not to be revived in order to remain with Eliza in the Great Spirit. To honor his memory, his "Funbari Poem" jingle is used as the theme song for the inn and the Funbari Onsen staff place his portrait in their family shrine. Lyserg Diethel. is a young shaman from London, England, who wants to become a great detective as his father had once been. Because Hao  Asakura killed his parents when Lyserg was six years old, his primary motivation for joining the Shaman Fight is to avenge his parents and he passionately hates Hao, becoming angered at the mere mention of him. Though he is intelligent and kindhearted, he has poor judgment in situations involving children and their parents as a result of his own personal experience. Lyserg's name is a reference to lysergic acid diethylamide, while Morphine is also a drug reference, with both referring to Sherlock Holmes' drug addictions. Shortly after Yoh and his friends are forced to find Patch Village to enter  the Shaman Tournament, Ryu encounters Lyserg, whom he initially mistakes as a girl because of Lyserg's androgynous appearance. Hoping to find strong allies, he challenges Yoh's group to test their strength and is defeated and rebuked by Yoh for how Lyserg treats others. Though Yoh disagrees with Lyserg's desire for revenge, he allows Lyserg to join his group in hopes that they will be able to temper Lyserg's hatred and keep him from killing others unnecessarily. However, Lyserg quickly finds the X-Laws' single-minded ideology focusing on justice more appealing than Yoh's philosophies and  joins them instead. He quickly becomes devoted to the group's leader Iron Maiden Jeanne and is mentored by Marco, the group's de facto head. In the manga, Lyserg forms Team X-I with Jeanne and Marco. As the tournament progresses, Lyserg's attachment to his former friends gradually causes him to see that Yoh's way of seeing a situation is not entirely wrong and attempts to deter them from confronting the X-Laws. When he is sent to Hell to train, he is guided by Joco's spirit Pascal Avaf and realizes how he has been too  consumed by his own hatred to see things clearly. He is later recognized by Lady Sati as one of the Five Grand Elemental Spirits and returns to being one of Yoh's allies. In the 2001 anime, he is one of the last surviving members of the X-Laws after their failed assault on Hao by attempting to open the Gate of Babylon. After Meene Montgomery returns Morphine to Lyserg, she forces him to leave the group and rejoin Yoh and his friends. As a shaman, Lyserg specializes in dowsing, which allows him to use his powers to locate people  or objects. His primary medium is a crystal pendulum, which he uses to form an Over Soul with Morphine, a poppy spirit who serves as Lyserg's spirit ally. In combat, Lyserg utilizes his Over Soul like a rope dart and is known for his considerable agility. As a member of the X-Laws, he is granted an angel spirit, Zeruel, contained within a derringer as a medium. While he abandons Morphine for Zeruel in the 2001 anime, he and Morphine are inseparable in the manga. As one of the Five Grand Elemental Spirits (notably as the smartest), he receives  the Spirit of Fire when Hao discards it upon being recognized uncontested as the Shaman King. Several years after the Shaman Fight, Lyserg returned to England and graduated from Oxford University to become a police officer. Because of his shamanic abilities and combat skills learned from his time as a member of Yoh's group and as an X-Law, he garnered a high arrest rate and was eventually promoted to British Secret Intelligence Agency. Joco. Joco, better known as in the Japanese manga and anime, is an African-American shaman from New York. He aspires to become a comedian , though his jokes are regarded as corny because they are mostly bad puns that make little sense to his companions. His goal is to become Shaman King in order to save the world through laughter, a philosophy he adopted from his mentor Orona. Originally trained by Orona, an elderly shaman from the Amazon, Joco greatly respected him for his ability to use laughter to save others. In the 2001 anime, Joco admired Orona's ability to stop a robber using laughter alone. Their first meeting in the manga is considerably darker; Joco had previously lived the violent life of a  gangster after his own parents were murdered and met Orona after Joco had shot and killed a man (revealed to be Professor Munzer, the father of Redseb and Seyram) on Christmas Day, the same day his parents were murdered. Orona defeats Joco using his shamanic powers and manages to make Joco laugh, which eventually forges a relationship between them after Joco reveals he can see Orona's spirit, Mic Jaguar. After meeting Yoh and his friends, he becomes the third member of Ren's team and possesses the most stable and reliable relationship with his spirits. When he is confronted  by Redseb and Seyram Munzer, who seek to avenge their father, after the children's Golem has killed his old friends, Joco takes responsibility for taking the life of Dr. Munzer and is killed by the Golem. He meets Orona in Hell and is forced to face his own guilt before being resurrected by Lady Sati; however, to atone for his sins, he asks to be left blind. Throughout the anime, he is often seen twitching. His corner lip is seen moving. Due to the amount of stress encountered by him over the years, and defense mechanism, he often is  left with nerves doing this. He is seen staring at Masura, and Ren's baby, Nala, in the front seat of a car doing this. Joco's medium to make his Over Soul are metal claws that he always has with him named "Shaft" and his fingernails and eyes. He gains black markings all over his body that increase his speed and agility and makes his a similar resemblance to that of a Jaguar, hence the name "Black Jaguar". In the 2001 anime, after training using the "Ultra Senji Ryakketsu", Joco's Over Soul evolved into a giant Mic with  wings. In the manga, Joco winds up dying twice and entering Hell, which grants him the highest Furyoku level amongst the Five Grand Elemental Spirits. During his first death, he obtains a new spirit ally, Pascal Avaf, and when he fuses Mic and Pascal Avaf into "Shaft", his Over Soul evolved into an armor Over Soul, Jaguarman. In this Over Soul Joco gains a new attack called "Jaguar Shaft". He later obtains the Spirit of Wind when Lady Sati recognizes him as one of the Five Grand Elemental Spirits. Several years after the Shaman Fight, he takes responsibility for his  life as a gang member and willingly goes to prison, where he is sentenced to sixteen years. Known as a model prisoner by the nickname "Mr. Wind", his release is secured by Lyserg for the Five Grand Elemental Spirits' reunion at Funbari Onsen years later. The English release of the manga edits Joco's lips so that they match those of the other main characters to avoid a blackface stereotype resemblance. A topic today controversial especially in the USA that often doesn't consider that many characters in manga and anime, either main and minor ones, have big and prominent  lips. His lips remain unedited in the 4Kids and Jetix versions of the anime and the credits for the video game "". A less exaggerated and more normalized design was used in the 2021 anime reboot. The Patch Tribe. They are in charge of overseeing the smooth progress of the Shaman Fight and are in charge of various shamans. There are ten officials at a given time and they are not supposed to interfere with fights between shamans. However, some of the Patch Tribe become biased towards Hao and his followers, either for their own purposes or because they believe that  his overwhelming power has already proven that he will inevitably become the next Shaman King. Fearful of his power yet feeling protected by his overwhelming strength, they do their best to lower the esteem of the other contestants in the Shaman Fight. By day, the officiants sell Patch memorabilia and food items. Once the Shaman King has been revealed, the Patch becomes his protectors, guarding both the new King of Spirits and the Great Spirit as they merge into one. Each priest controls a specific area known as a Plant, which embodies an area of nature (mountains, valley, desert, water , etc.), on the path to the Great Spirit's shrine. Hao's followers. Consisting of powerful shaman recruited by Hao, they loyally follow him and his intention to create a world exclusively composed of the shaman. None of them will hesitate to eliminate any of Hao's opponents, though they will not oppose Hao's orders, especially if they attempt to kill Yoh and fear his ruthlessness. Most are killed when Peyote betrays them, though they are resurrected shortly before the end of the Shaman Fight. Team Hoshi-Gumi. This is the faction of Hao's followers that are led  by Hao. It consists of: Team Tsuchi-Gumi. This is the faction of Hao's followers that is short-lived. The following members make up Team Tsuchi-Gumi: Team Tsuki-Gumi. This is the faction of Hao's followers that advanced to the second round of the Shaman Fights. The following members make up Team Tsuki-Gumi: Team Hana-Gumi. This is the faction of Hao's followers are girls who are often mistaken for witches. The following members make up Team Hana-Gumi: X-Laws. The is a paramilitary organization whose purpose is to eradicate all evil and suffering . They only have Archangels (Arch-spirits) as spirit allies. In the current Shaman Fight, they aim to defeat Hao Asakura, whom they view as the ultimate evil; each member of the group encountered him during great conflict and destruction and they hold personal vendettas against Hao for how he has hurt them in the past. In the 2001 anime, most of the other X-Laws die during their final assault on Hao after Jeanne's failed attempt to trap him in the Gate of Babylon. In the manga, X-III falls against the Hoshi-Gumi early in the tournament while  X-II is eliminated when they attempt to kill Hao to avenge X-III. X-I survives long enough to join Yoh's assault on the Plants. Team X-I. The top members of the X-Laws. Team X-II. A trio composed of John Denbat, Porf Griffith, and Larch Dirac. After losing faith in Marco, they decide to kill Hao by attacking his headquarters. When their attempt fails, their spirits are burned by Hao, which prevents them from ever entering Heaven or Hell. However, Denbat's decision to fire the XDI satellite alerts the world to the abandoned island  of Tokyo where the Shaman Fight is taking place, forcing the Patch Tribe to conclude the Shaman Fight as soon as possible on the continent of Mu before ordinary humans discover the island. Team X-III. A trio consisting of Venstar, Cebin, and Meene, who willingly fight the Hoshi-Gumi during the tournament despite knowing that Hao will kill them. Their souls and their spirits are consumed by the Spirit of Fire, though the X-Laws' gamble to force Hao to reveal his medium succeeds. However, their deaths become a sore point for the members of X-II, who eventually  act on their own to kill Hao. Gandhara. is a Buddhist pacifist organization that is participating in the Shaman Fight and iterate that their stance is that of neutrality. Led by Lady Sati, they are the third great faction in the current Tournament and are extremely powerful. However, because their chosen candidate became Shaman King during a fight 2500 years ago, they have no interest in winning the tournament and their ultimate goal is to prevent Hao Asakura from becoming the Shaman King. As such, they seek out the Five Grand Elemental Spirits who will wield the Five Elemental Spirits  of the Patch Tribe in hopes that they will have the power to defeat Hao. Myooh. Also known as the "Wisdom Kings", the Myooh is a faction of Gandhara. Ten. Also known as the "Deva", they are a faction of Gandhara: Other Teams. Team Lily Five. is a team of five female shamans who appear only in the 2001 anime series. Initially, they alternately attempt to hinder and take high advantage of Yoh and his friends as they attempt to find the Patch Village. However, Yoh seems to have no personal grudge against them and they eventually later become friends  of Yoh at towards the end of the anime series. As with their corresponding shamans, the Lily Five's Guardian ghosts appear only in the 2001 anime and the Game Boy Advance game "". Team Niles. is a team from Giza Egypt, they use the power received from ancient times as part of their shamanic abilities. Placed against X-Laws team X-I, Lyserg was given the order to defeat and kill them at all costs. However, a combination of both his and Morphine's hesitation allowed leader Anatel to release a deadly Over Soul that would kill him. With no  other choice, Iron Maiden Jeanne released her full power, killing the leader with spirit Shamash and the other members with other torture devices. Team Icemen. is a squadron of shamans from the northern parts of Europe. Training and hardening their pride and duty through the cold, these shamans are notable for their teamwork, using each other's abilities to complement one another and defeat their opponents. They are Team Funbari Onsen's first opponent in the Shaman Tournament and their considerable pride is wounded when Yoh approaches them with complete confidence in his own team's abilities. Driven by the  desire to prove their own worth, the revealed combined power of Yoh, Faust and Ryu make the Icemen realize who they were dealing with and leaving them humbler upon defeat. Because of their ice abilities, they easily befriend Horohoro, who later aids them when the Icemen are attacked by Hao's followers after their official defeat. Team Kabbalahers. Team Kabbalahers is a team made up of the two Munzer children watched over by Mikihisa Asakura, Yoh's father, out of respect for their father Camel. A researcher working on a means to use spiritual power within a massive Golem he  constructed, Camel was the last man murdered by Joco McDonnell (prior to meeting Orona and reforming into a comedian) and left the children with the Golem. Their desires are not just winning the Shaman Fight but revenge against the shaman who killed their father. Guardian Ghosts. Archangels/Arch-Spirits. The Guardian ghosts of the X-Laws, which only Jeanne can present to their human partners. In the manga, it's revealed that they aren't actually angels, but spirits of cars made by Luchist using a fragment of angelic spirits and contained in the ammunition of a gun; Yoh describes  them as being similar to tsukumogami spirits from Japanese legend. Many of the cars inspired by Marco's own knowledge of cars, being a former car salesman and developer. In the 2001 anime, they were all combined into Morphine, near the finale, when all the members of the X-Laws fell by Hao's hands. Buddhas. The Guardian ghosts of the Gandhara. Unlike the X-Laws' Archangels, the Gandhara spirits are genuinely divine, deriving from the Buddha. All of them are stronger than the Spirit of Fire. Five Grand Elemental Spirits. Regarded as the sacred treasures of the Patch Tribe , the were said to have been created by the Great Spirit and can only be controlled by a powerful shaman. Like the Spirit of Fire, each of the High Spirits is capable of becoming stronger by consuming the souls of others and retains all their memories. After Hao Asakura, in his second incarnation as a Patch member, steals the Spirit of Fire, the Patch become highly protective of the remaining four spirits. After Silva's attempt to steal the spirits and hearing of Gandhara's plan to take the remaining spirits for the shaman they have recognized as the Five  Grand Elemental Spirits, the Patch hide the spirits in Hell, where they are each protected by one of the Four Kings of Hell. The spirits are later retrieved by Lady Sati and the strongest members of Gandhara and delivered to Yoh and his companions for their final fight against Hao. Reception. Lori Henderson from Manga Life commented that "everyone has a reason for fighting, even the villains, so even if you don't like a character, you do understand them." Writing for Active Anime, Holly Ellingwood praised "the differing styles of the shaman fighters" and the "appealing characters designs overall