Shaman King (シャーマンキング Shāman Kingu) is both an anime series and a manga series by Hiroyuki Takei. The manga ended prematurely 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 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 was initially printed in Viz Media's Shonen Jump, but stopped as of the September 2007 issue, choosing instead to release one volume every two months.
A shaman is some one who connects 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.
Eliza, Faust's wife who was shot to death, had her bullet wound edited out in the English version of the Anime.
Lyserg Diethel and his poppy fairy Morphine are both named after drugs. Morphine's name is obvious and Lyserg Deithel is short for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide.
Lenny's Japanese name is Ren and Morty's Japanese name is Manta.
Jocko's Japanese name is Chocolove.
Rio's Japanese name is Ryu and/or a.k.a Bukoto no Ryu (Ryu of the Wooden Sword).
The Minutians are actually called the Koropokkurs.
