Shaman King, Vol. 25: Cornerstone

シャーマンキング [Shaman King] #25

by Hiroyuki Takei

Yoh pleads with the Iron Maiden Jeanne to allow him back into the tournament. Just then, Hao's servant, Luchist, arrives, intent on removing Jeanne herself from the tournament…by force. After Marco falls, it's up to Yoh and Lyserg to fight off Luchist.

Part of the comiXology Originals line of exclusive digital content only available on comiXology and Kindle. Read for free as part of your subscription to comiXology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime. Also available for purchase via comiXology and Kindle.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Supernatural, Fiction, Shonen

181 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2003

About the author

Hiroyuki Takei (武井宏之 Takei Hiroyuki) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the manga and anime Shaman King. His brother, Hirofumi Takei (武井宏文) is also a manga-ka.

Reviews

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is split into two, the first part bringing to a conclusion the battle between the X-Laws, Luchist, Yoh, and Lyserg. While there's a lot of tricks put into play, the resolution is unforgivingly predictable and unexciting, despite the huge reveal as to Jeanne's true nature. The second part brings the story right back to the ongoing Shaman Fight as Ren gets the chance to go up against one of the Gandhara's teams as he utilizes his own newly-acquired cunningness (and new Over Soul) to try and defeat them.

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
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[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

And the normal activity continues now, after Yoh has rejoined the Shaman Wars and the second round of the fights begins. The first fight is Ren and another God level team. So let's carry on and let's Keep on Reading.

I have always loved comics, and I can and I have. I love comics to bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more. You should also read what you love, and I hope you will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Giving this a 3 to lower my ratings average....]

I totally forgot there was an actual structured tournament with an arena and everything. It's almost uncomfortable to get back into the bracket, what with all the unofficial fights against Hao's men and the X-Laws.

Some decent gags here. Anna getting mad that the party keeps increasing every time they have a meal. Marco's pants sliding down to show his battle gear when he and Luchist get ready to fight at lunch. Faust saying he'll heal his comrades' bones if broken by the Gandhara forces.

I forgot how lewd Jeanne's legs are. Somewhat disappointed the revelation of her mundane nature (she's not a real holy person, just an average girl raised under the illusion) had little bearing on the story, but I guess it can't really be helped. Fits the zaniness of the series, that the main focus is on defeating Hao, so other matters are trivial in comparison.

I also like that Yoh's plan to fight Hao is "let him win the Shaman Fight because he's going to anyway, and kill him when he's resting within the Great Spirit." Neat subversion of "final boss fight" tropes in battle manga. It also sets up the Patch as future midbosses, which is cool, too.

Tao Ren represents an almost-outdated form of battle-manga rival. A real Vegeta. His main method of fighting is to keep hitting harder and harder, but now he's begun to strategize. I think other Vegeta-esque characters are either smarter than the protagonist from the get-go (Sasuke, Uryu), or otherwise are just completely meatheaded the whole time (Bakugo and Inosuke, in the new wave of Weekly Jump battle manga). It's charming to see Ren bombard the Gandhara guy with his Unlimited Blade Works ripoff to catch him off guard for his new Fish Fin O.S. I guess it's also neat that the Buddhas look somewhat monstrous, continuing the not-really-human design themes of Yoh's opponents (Hao's Spirit of Fire, Silva's other Spirits, the X-Laws' angels).

The angels are revealed to be Transformers. Lucifer as Lambo and Michael as Ferrari. Try to inject that level of product-placement in your battle series, other manga-ka!

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yoh Asakura not only sees dead people, he talks and fights with them, too. That’s because Yoh is a shaman, a traditional holy man able to interact with the spirit world. Yoh is now a competitor in the “Shaman Fight,” a tournament held every 500 years to decide who will become the Shaman King and shape humanity’s future. Yoh decides to renege on his promise to lady Jeanne and return to the shaman fight, but Marco is furious and won’t allow it. Yoh prepares to have it out with the X-LAWS, but Luchist suddenly appears and goes at it with Marco! But is he friend of foe?

Ever since Amazon linked up with comiXology, so that readers could get comics, graphic novels and manga on their kindles, I have been meaning to check out what they had. Under Amazon Prime Reading you get a number of titles for free and this comiXology original is one such series.

The epic saga continues with the gang calling a summit to discuss how to stop Hao prior to round two of the knockout phase of the Shaman Fight starting. First up are Team Ren; can they progress?

Easy to read and engaging, I enjoyed this and it felt just like reading a paperback manga, even on Kindle, as you have to click through the book backwards. A nice little touch. 4 stars again here.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yoh, Lyserg and their friends are having a hard time defeating the X-Laws and getting to Hao, but if his victory is guaranteed, do they really have a chance even if they can reach him? Takei provides fans vivid battles and sharp dialogue in this entry to the "Shaman King" series. What can one do when the villains seem to be fated to succeed?

[James Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

A volume of two halves, as the first half sees X-Laws storyline is resolved, and the second half goes back to the Shaman Fight, with Team Ren partaking in a battle. In the midst of all this is an interesting idea, as the group must grapple with the villains being fated to win, and what they can do in the face of this.

[Дени ★ Проданова · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ето този том е пример за една доста дразнеща тенденция в манга и аниме: постоянно изниква някой по-мощен. Биеш се с някого, той е силен, най-силния от най-силните, побеждаваш го с триста зора и хоп! Те ти още по-силен противник.

[Vanessa Rincon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyserg is getting into "my favorites" category. I didn't see that coming.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A battle in which some individuals want others to die, where others want all to live. I love that aspect of this battle. X-Laws! Luchist! Yoh! Page 66 had some of my favorite dialogue for this volume. “Why is it that every time something happens, we end up with more mouths to feed.” In this volume we get Team Ren versus The Wisdom Kings (I really like that team name for some reason). One member truly looks like the character design was taken right out of Street Fighter. Still, Hiroyuki Takei is to be given massive credit for creating another entertaining and fun volume of the long-standing series.

[AsianMerr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Snooze fest right now. The X-Laws boss…was a car salesman and so his and the founders over souls were just cars? Lame. Also they need to stop talking plans when spies are in the room…so dumb. Also the majority of the volume is Ren fighting a member of the WK and well…boring.

[Ty Ridgway · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Siegfried · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. Finally we know exactly who and what are the X-Laws.
And the cars are really amazing.
The tournament resumes and Ren is great, as always

[Gabriela Zambrano A · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ⭐️
Siento que este volumen, se considera como un puente para la siguiente parte de la historia 👌🏻

[Rodri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5: full of surprises

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a shell game making sure the player can't follow the ball, Shaman King continues along the plot with one event after another, so quickly that the reader wouldn't think too much about the plot or the plot holes. But as long as you're entertained in the end, it's all good.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the whole rest of this series, expect a review for volume 32 on the whole series.