Shaman King

After a surviving a massive dip in ratings and even a cancellation, Shaman King has finally ended at 300 chapters. It was a long ride, but now that it's finally over, we can take a look at the series as a whole.

If you aren't familiar with the story, here's a synopsis from Anime News Network:

"Asakura Yoh is a shaman, a person who communicates with ghosts. He enters the Shaman Fight, for whoever wins the tournament gets to commune with the Great Spirit, God . . . that and his fiance Anna wants to be the wife of the Shaman King. Helping him are his friends Manta, Horo Horo, Ryu, and his samurai ghost partner, Amidamaru."

For those of you that wish to get into Shaman King that haven't already, you should know what you're getting into. Shaman King is a prime example of a fun little shonen series that becomes way too convoluted for it's own good. What starts out as a nice story of a lazy boy and a middle schooler complete with goofy interactions and cool fights quickly descends into the depths of dark drama and philosophical nonsense.

In the beginning, there are many awesome battles that utilize the shamans' unique way of fighting. Everyone is having fun as many enemies become friends and genuinely hilarious scenes take place. Things take a turn for the worse when the shaman tournament begins and several new and existing plot points are shoddily integrated into the story amongst all the fighting. This leads to a total negligence of the tournament while the same damn villains appear numerous times to put a stop to the protagonists' progress or outright try to kill them. Why they couldn't wait for their match in the tournament is beyond me. The whole structure of the manga pretty much collapses while stuff no one cares about ends up taking precedence over what should've been a truly badass tournament. With many fights lasting less than a chapter and a few genuinely interesting teams dropping out of the tournament, Takei has succesfully blue balled the reader out of what might've been the most interesting tournaments in Shonen.

The post-tournament is even more of a mess than the tournament itself. After the two main teams drop out, Hao's team wins the tournament, making him the next shaman king. Of course this was seemingly a well thought plan made by the protagonists so they could stop Hao while he's asleep before he becomes part of the Great Spirit. This leads to the introductions of the plants, which is a cool concept but is horribly executed. As the series got cancelled right around that part, Takei had to rush through the plant battles, limiting all of them to about a chapter. The creative battles that the series once boasted were no more as each fight was simply the characters uing their powers without any twists or unexpected techniques at all.

Ironically, I really enjoyed the final battle with Hao. It was actually extremely epic and desrving of a shonen series finale. Earth vs. the universe is an awesome idea even if it just was a metaphor. Unfortunately, the "power of love" winning the battle completely killed the mood, though it was nice to see every single character that appeared in the story make a return, even the dead ones.

So would I reccomend Shaman King? If Takei didn't wrap things up recently, I would say no, but it definitely deserves a read now that it's ended. It may not be on par with many popluar Shonen Jump series and it is an example of lost potential, but there are definitely good parts and a nice week read if you have the time.

Afro Samruai: Ressurection Gets an Emmy!

To be more precise, the art director got an Emmy. Still, this is a great achievement for the western world's opinion of the medium. Yes, it may be a project funded by American's with big Hollywood names attached, but that doesn't change the fact that it's the first Japanese animation even to receive an Emmy. While it definitely isn't as big a win as Spirited Away receiving an Oscar, it definitely shows that anime is a growing part of our culture even if it's origin is on the other side of the world.

Hero of the Week: Keiichi Maebara

This week's hero is the charismatic teenager from Hinamizawa. I could only be talking about the baseball bat wielding "magician of words", Keiichi Maebara.





















Keiichi is different from all those other heroes. Despite being the protagonist of a series plagued with supernatural occurences, the young Maebara is nothing more than a normal teenager that cherishes his friends. While his descent into madness during the question arcs is apparent, his belief in his friendship and desire to prevent more deaths leads him to actually seeing the mistakes he made in a previous universe.

Keiichi's sheer power of will lead to a surprisingly badass battle on top of the school between him and Rena. Check it out (sorry, only found the dub).



While the focus shifts off of Keiichi during the last few answer arcs, his importance is still made apparent numerous times. Without Keiichi, Rika most likely would have never found the courage to actually fight against her fate and the endless rewinds. Even if there was a lot of trial and error, Keiichi helped bring the "cursed" Hinamizawa out of the supposed eternity of 1983. He truly is a hero, albeit an unconventional one.

Heading to the Poconos, be Back Wednesday

I'm going to a condo tomorrow in the Poconos with the family, so I might not be able to make an actual post until Wednesday. Apparently there's internet there, but I might not get a chance to update anyway. If I don't, you can expect a Hero of the Week post when I get back.

Hero of the Week: Kazuma Yagami

In honor of Yamato's passing, I'd like to dedicate this Hero of the Week segment to him by using the badass wind mage from his series. I could only be talking about the protagonsit of Kaze no Stigma, Kazuma Yagami.




















As a man that cast aside his family for power, Kazuma may seem like a bad guy at first. Oh, there's no denying the moral ambiguity of his actions, but that just makes him all the more interesting. Besides, the results are definitely enjoyable. In reality, Kazuma is a classic example of the "loser" archetype gaining immense power. After entering a contract with the wind spirit lord, you could imagine what the reaction was of those that called him weak.

One unique aspect to Kazuma is his complete immunity to the "Love Hina Conundrum". I'll have a full post about this pesky stereotype, but for now I'll just summarize it in six words: Accidental perversion leads to violent girls. Whenever Kazuma finds himself in an awkward or perverted position with the female lead, Ayano, he will not submit to the stereotype and let the bitch hurt him. Oh no, he'll dodge the shit out of those fireballs and other flame related projectiles. He doesn't fuck around when it comes to violence and he won't let some bitch that isn't even 1/10th as skilled as he is get a hit in.

A "takes no shit" attitude is good and all, but what Kazuma's fights? I won't mince words here; they're friggin awesome! With his total control of wind, he rarely finds himself on the losing side. Right at the beginning of the series, the man is mostly unrivaled and still hasn't really shown the full extent of his power.

It's unfortunate that the story will never get an ending and we won't see Kazuma's full potential, but it nice to think there is a shonen (seinen?) hero that consistently outclasses his enemies. Once again, R.I.P. Takahiro Yamato.

Takahiro Yamato Passes Away Leaving Kaze no Stigma Unfinished

Kaze no Stima might not be a household name in the states (or even in Japan), but the light novel series does have a bit of a following. After all, it was popular enough to get a manga and anime adaptation. Unfortunately, the man responsible for the super powered action series has passed away. It seems Kaze no Stigma will not get the ending it deserves. My condolences go out to the friends and family.

D.Gray Man Returns...aaaaaaannnd it's on Hiatus Again

For those that don't know, Hoshino recently put out a new chapter of D.Gray Man in Akamaru Jump. You can check it out here. Of course this was essentially just a preview of the series real return in November when it moves to Jump Square. While I do feel like turning D.Gray-Man into a monthly series will only mess up the pacing even more, I am glad that it's finally returning in some form. Hopefully Hoshino will actually stay consistent with her schedule this time.

Astro Boy Trailer: Americanization or Badass Adaptation?

Up until now, all we've seen from the CG Astro Boy adaptation was a simple teaser. Well, now we have a trailer that should actually give us a pretty good idea of what to expect. Check it out.



As you can see, there is some level of Americanization. The childish puns and visual gags often seen in Pixar movies are present, which may anger some long time fans. What the fans probably don't want to admit is that Astro Boy was a kid show to begin with that's with a comedy style reliant on the same gags used in the trailer. As an adaptation, it still looks amazing and very true to the original despite a few minor nuances. I am still looking forward to the movie very much and expect it to be classic. Yes, there will be whiners, but I'm predicting fan acceptance even from some of the purists. You can catch the movie in theaters this October.

Hero of the Week: Ryunosuke Umemiya

This week brings us the 20 year old pompadour sporting shaman that hits on 15 year olds. I could probably think of a better introduction than that, but I'd say it works. I could only be talking about one character (I think); Ryunosuke Umemiya, AKA Wooden Sword Ryu.


















Originally seen as a villain delinquent, Ryu quickly becomes one of the more likable characters in Shaman King. With his optimistic attitude and desire to find his "best place", Ryu becomes a strong factor in affecting the overall morale of the group.

In addition to his great personality, Ryu is one of the more important figthers in the series. Despite not being one of the chosen 5, very few characters outclass him in strength and shaman powers. With his spirit Tokagero, he can recreate the mythcial beast, Yamato no Orochi, an 8-headed snake. Along with his sword that shoots insects, Ryu can make interesting combo attacks that make him incredibly deadly. He is an asset to Yoh's team as displayed numerous times during the shaman tournament.

While he and Faust VIII are far outclassed by the chosen 5, Ryu is not a liability by any means. Even though his role in battle dwindles by the end of the series, he acts as a mode of transportation for the group before they face the dreaded Shaman King, Hao. The group owes him their lives.

My opinion of Shaman King as a whole might be mediocre-average, but if there's one character I'll remember, Ryu will be that character. Let's hope he finds his best place.

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair

If you're a fan of Kill Bill, you probably remember chapter 3 from the first movie, an animated 8 minute sequence detailing O-Ren's past and her rise to glory as an assassin.

Well it turns out Tarantino had more plans for the anime-styled sequence. In an interview about his upcoming film "Inglourious Basterds", he talks about an elaborate followup to the clever antagonist's past, one that would show O-ren going after her father's killer.

There isn't much information as of this writing, but fans of the film series should be excited.