The manga has ended in Japan with 32 volumes in total. The anime concluded its run with a total of 64 episodes and 3 specials. The Shaman King series started in Shueisha's Shonen [b]Jump in Japan, eventually leading to the creation of an anime series, which was directed by Seiji Mizushima, co-produced by TV Tokyo, Nihon Ad Systems and Xebec and aired on TV Tokyo. This is a Shōnen anime. In North America, the manga is currently being printed in Viz Media's Shonen Jump.
A shaman is some one who connects between this world and the spirit world. In Shaman King, shamans team up with ghosts and spirits to achieve their goals. The greatest dreams of a shaman is to become the Shaman King, who is able to contact the Great Spirit (the spirit that every soul will eventually go back to) in order to be the savior of the world. Various magical and religious terms are spread through out the story but they merge into something explainable by the time the main plot arrives.
The series spans 285 manga chapters and 32 volumes, and ended with a short "extra story", known as the Funbari no Uta. Many fans of the series abbreviate its name to "Mankin". The Shaman King trading card game is available in Japan and North America.
Plot
The manga starts with Manta Oyamada, a studious Japanese middle-school student, attempting a shortcut to get home after a late night of cram school. The shortcut comes in the form of a cemetery. It is here that Manta meets another boy named Yoh Asakura (who happens to be a shaman), but is frightened to discover that Yoh is surrounded by ghosts (it is at this moment that Manta learns that he can see ghosts). Ultimately, Yoh and Manta become best friends, and, over the next few months, Manta learns about the life of a shaman.
Yoh soon encounters Tao Ren, with whom he battles. Anna Kyoyama, Yoh's fiancée, soon enters the picture and prescribes a brutal training regimen, in order to prepare Yoh for the upcoming Shaman Tournament. The tournament is held once every 500 years and is a battle between competing shaman to choose a winner, who will be known as the Shaman King. This winner will gain the ability to reshape the world as he or she chooses, to make his or her dream come true. Thus begins the plot that will lead Yoh on a journey that will lead him to many friends and adventures.
Through a series of events and also through participation in the Shaman Tournament, Yoh meets and befriends numerous characters and changes their lives through friendship and authentic concern, which seems to be a pervasive theme throughout the series.
Ending
The parting shot of Shaman King.
In November of 2004, Shaman King was canceled by Weekly Shonen Jump. Shaman King was let go due to declining popularity in Jump's fan polls (indicated by their willingness to release the final completed manga volume (Vol. 32) if there was a great enough fan response).[1] This cancellation was untimely given that the series was nearing its end.[2] Release of the final volume had been suspended indefinitely, but was released in spring of 2006.[3]
Volume 32 ends with Yoh going to sleep to prepare for the final battle with Hao; the final page is viewed as Manta's dream, which features Hao as a princess with Yoh and his friends on their way to rescue "her". The reason for that is because Anna was speaking to Manta as if Hao was the person in need of rescue. The page contains the words "Owari" ("The End") and next to that, in front of Horohoro's sword, is a mandarin orange, also called "mikan" which is the Japanese word for "incomplete". However, several fans of the series are trying revive Shaman King due to this incomplete ending.
Follow Up
The side story Funbari no Uta, which lasts for only five chapters, is set six years after the end of the manga series features Hana Asakura, Yoh and Anna's son, and his journey with his uncle Ryu to gather up the 5 elemental warriors: Horo Horo, Tao Ren, Lyserg Diethel, Chocolove McDaniel, and Yoh Asakura. While nearly all main characters are present, Manta Oyamada and Faust VIII are notable exceptions (this is particularly odd, considering that Manta is Yoh's best friend). At the very end, two figures can be seen: a woman in a cloak (who is Anna) and a man with long hair who resembles Hao but has Yoh's features as well, leading to some uncertainty as to this character's true identity. This side story seems to indicate that Yoh had, in some way, succeeded but leads to more questions than answers. Many readers have written fanfiction as a result of this incomplete ending, contributing their speculations on what happened during the final fight between Yoh and Hao.
A side story known as Mappa-Douji was also released, which shows Hao's childhood in his original life. It shows his situation after his mother was burned to death by humans and his first friend (not Matamune) and how he gets his mind reading ability and advanced shamanic abilities like oversoul.
Another side titled Relax was released, which showed Hao gathering followers for the tournament years before it started.