A classic staple of the battle shonen genre, Shaman King tells the story of young shaman Yoh Asakura, whose only goal in life is to chill out and relax. Unfortunately, his spiritual abilities keep getting him into conflicts where he needs to help spirits or the people affected by them get out of trouble.
The series features a unique power system where shamans partner with a particular spirit in order to manifest the techniques they use in combat. This leads to a variety of different types of powers based on the type of spirit each character partners with. With a colorful, multicultural cast of vibrant characters, it’s a show for the ages.
10 Iron Maiden Jeanne
Although it’s very clear from early on in the tournament arc who the series’ big bad will be, Shaman King is still able to present a number of interesting and complicated antagonists for Yoh and his team.
The X-Laws may have similar goals to Yoh’s crew, but their methods are entirely different and run directly counter to Yoh’s worldview. Jeanne perfectly embodies that contrast, appearing as a soft, gentle, beautiful maiden with one of the most brutal and terrifying power sets in the cast.
9 Marco
Although a fairly straightforward archetype, Marco is a critical piece of what makes the X-Laws so compelling in this series. All of the X-Laws have been hurt by Hao, and that in itself is a compelling motivation, but Marco represents where that one-track fanaticism can take you.
He cares for literally nothing in the world but the leader of his order and has completely stopped thinking for himself. His dogmatic viewpoint on the world provides a much clearer stance for Yoh to oppose, enhancing the complexity of Jeanne’s character.
8 Faust
Although other characters may be stronger or have more to do in the story, there’s no question that Faust is one of the best characters in the series. His fight with Yoh in the preliminary rounds remains one of the most iconic in the series all the way to the finale.
There are few things more imposing than how casually he opens Manta up in the middle of an important battle. Add to that the twist of his important role as a member of Yoh’s team, and you have a character that’s fun and full of surprises.
7 “Wooden Sword” Ryu
The beating heart of Shaman King as a whole, there is no character more passionate and earnest than Ryu. His spirit ally is nothing special, he begins the series as effectively a joke character, but his iconic design and expressive personality bring much-needed levity to the dynamic between the main cast.
There may be no character in the series who grows as much as the former punk turned loyal friend and servant that is Wooden Sword Ryu.
6 Ren
Any series that has a Vegeta is a promising show, and Ren is one of the best Vegetas there’s ever been outside of the original. Some of the things Ren does early in the series are truly unforgivable, but Shaman King actually takes the time to provide some real consequences for his actions.
He also manages to keep that confident and egotistical attitude despite becoming “one of the good guys,” but doesn’t just job for Yoh the same way Vegeta only tends to set up an opponent’s strength for Goku. All in all, Ren is a really great Vegeta and a fun character in his own right.
5 Joco
There’s a lot to be said about the way anime, especially older series, portray black characters, but the core of Joco’s character is a critical piece of what makes Shaman King’s final few arcs so iconic. His spirit ally introduces a new sort of power set to the show, and his intense focus on jokes makes him a perfect foil to Ren’s hyper-seriousness.
Plus, his powers are cool, and he ends the series as one of its best fighters, both in terms of strength and the quality of his fights.
4 Silva
In big tournament series like Shaman King, a lot hinges on the strength of the organizing committee. It’s a group responsible for ensuring that the most powerful fighters in the world adhere to the rules of an arbitrary competition with a prize truly worth killing for.
While there are plenty of characters who help with the worldbuilding and showcase the strength of the Patch tribe, Silva makes the reader actually care about them. His totem spirit allies add a great dimension to his fight with Yoh, and he fills an important mentor role that is surprisingly lacking in Shaman King.
3 Horohoro
Puns are effectively unavoidable when it comes to Horohoro because he truly is the coolest character in the series. The kid fights with a snowboard — How is that not just the raddest thing ever? His fights are all excellent, and the way his powers evolve provides a completely unique dynamic to the more weapon-focused combat of most of the other heroes.
More importantly, his fight with Yoh provides the first hint at one of the series’ best character moments for the protagonist. Shaman King could not be the enduring series it is without Horohoro.
2 Anna
There may be no better example of the phrase, “Behind every great man is a great woman.” Anna is the only reason Yoh even has a shot at becoming Shaman King. A powerful shaman in her own right, Anna is the one who puts the work into understanding how Yoh can improve his skills and is the only character in the entire series who can effectively motivate him to work hard.
Underneath that hard exterior, Anna clearly shows her love for and belief in Yoh. It’s rare for a battle shonen protagonist to have such a defined love interest from so early in the series, and maybe it’s because no writer can top what Anna was to Yoh.
1 Yoh
It’s always a bit less interesting when the best character in a series is the protagonist, but there’s just no way around it. Yoh is an exceptional lead character who believes in the power of friendship. He has an iconic design and a classic power set, but what sets him apart is the simple motivation that reveals the depth of his character. Throughout the series, Yoh’s motivation seems more selfish than nearly every character because he just wants to have a relaxing life. But through his actions, we learn the only way Yoh can relax is if his friends are happy. He has to save the world and beat the bad guy in order to achieve that selfish dream.
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