Shaman King, Vol. 24: Shaman Fight

シャーマンキング [Shaman King] #24

by Hiroyuki Takei

With the raging golem calmed at last, Yoh and the others have a moment to breathe…but then Opacho, Hao's faithful servant, appears, with a message from the man himself: Yoh needs to re-enter the Shaman Fight…or else! Yoh doesn't know what to do…until Anna lights a fire under him.

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 Manga, Comics, Supernatural, Shonen

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 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

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a fuckin' Lucifer angel-mech now holy shit we're reaching levels of Fun not previously thought possible!!!!!

Ahem.

In retrospect, it seems like a "no shit" sort of thing that Luchist was an X-Law. There's a fucking cross tattoo on his chin. Unrelated, but I feel his design is the blueprint Eiichiro Oda used for pretty much every One Piece character.

Marco's second pair of glasses and battle uniform were both decent gags to alleviate the tension of the fight against Luchist / ramp things up with absurdity. Pages ago, Marco was threatening to execute Yoh one-hundred times for calling him leader of the X-Laws, rather than Jeanne, at which point Yoh points out Marco is indeed the leader of his own cell in the Shaman Fight (with Jeanne as the other cell leader). This slip on Marco's part, a rabid fanaticism that clouds his own judgment, classic trope for Lawful villains, especially in manga, allows Luchist to intervene, apparently on Yoh's side, truthfully of course on Hao's side, who wants Yoh alive, and so Luchist claims to be teammate to Yoh. The relationships muddy further: Yoh is a staunch third-party free from the burden of Jeanne and Hao's respective authority, yet he needs Jeanne's permission to return to the Shaman Fight, and Hao needs Yoh back in the Fight for his own plans, and so Luchist maybe shouldn't be fighting so violently against the X-Laws, but he's "helping" in the same backward way all of Hao's men are "helping" Yoh. It is then with some clever irony Takei moves to the battle between current and former X-Law leaders, Marco versus Luchist, Michael versus Lucifer - while Yoh and Lyserg stand awkwardly in the back!

I'm uncertain because of the language used by the fan-translators (I was not reading VIZ's official English version), but it seems Jeanne is being described as a mock-leader established by Marco as a figurehead to run the X-Laws after Luchist's defection. Several chapters near the end of this volume show Jeanne's Iron Maiden bubbling underwater, setting it up for an awakening presumably next volume, so I'll have to wait to see what this means for the X-Law/Hao struggle, if it means anything. (The X-Laws beyond Marco and Lyserg [and Luchist] are mostly just fodder to pad the team out, so I don't really see Jeanne's illegitimacy, if that's what's happening, having too much bearing on anything, unless it persuades Lyserg into rejoining Yoh's gang.)

I've written too much on just the X-Law fights of this volume, but really the overall structure of these chapters is more or less perfect for a weekly battle series. As I've started reviewing individual manga volumes so long ago, I practically require cohesion among chapters and coherence as a singular book, otherwise it disgusts me to have to review things, as if they're just a vague collection of chapters instead of being singular volumes (the former of which tends to be the truth for tankobon editions). The first chapters here are slower, talkier chapters. Recovering from the Golem arc that just winded down, we find out that Chocolove sacrificed his eyesight to return to life, granting him the furyoku boost of resurrection as well as a potential boost to his other four senses (five, if we count the "sixth sense" strengthened with furyoki). We see more of Anna's adamant refusal to allow Yoh to drop out of the Shaman Fight, her tsundere way of showing her love for him (she will be the wife of the Shaman King, she will be Yoh's wife, therefore the Shaman King will be Yoh). It's also neat to see the tanuki and kitsune playing as Yoh's swords for a second in the X-Law battle, a twist on the classical transformation pranks for which both spirits are known.

God damn, what a fun series. Disturbing how much it's underrated. I feel often like I'm the only one who saw it on Fox Kids. Or "Fox Box," or however it was called at the time.

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally Yoh is back in the fight and people are getting stronger day by day, so let's read on and 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.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume brings to an end the whole Golem saga and shifts the attention back to Yoh as Hao forces his hand and wishes him to return to the Shaman Fight (surprise, surprise). What follows is Yoh singlehandedly going to the X-Laws to reveal his intentions only for a surprise arrival and introduction of the X-Laws' original founder and one of the weirdest comedy sequences ever.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[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. Ludsev and his sister Salerm use the powerful golem to avenge themselves on Joco for the murder of their father. But Joco goes to the spirit world of the indios and returns with amazing new powers. Soon he is locked in mortal combat with the golem, but before either can finish off the other, Anna arrives with a plan of her own.

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 Anna arriving in time to subdue the golem by summoning the father of Ludsev and his sister Salerm so that he can see the damage he is doing to them. The gang then retire for some well earned rest but it is soon interrupted by a spy from Hao who declares that Yoh must re-join the Shaman Fight or Hao will destroy the Golem, Ludsev and Salerm. Can Yoh convince the X-Law to allow him to return the to fight?

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. Back to 4 stars here. The story is coming together nicely.

[James Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the Golem saga finally reaches a close, the story shifts to Yoh confronting the X-Laws, intent on rejoining the Shaman Fight. What occurs is absolutely excellent, as we see Yoh's determination to become Shaman King on full display, before matters are upended by a surprise visitor. There's quite a bit of history to go into here, and it's delivered very well, with even some bits of jarring comedy. Another strong volume.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the golem loses its energy, Anna and Dr. Munzer discuss what to do with it, though nothing prepares them for a message from Opacho: either Yoh returns to the Shaman Fight, or Hao will kill the children! Takei allows his characters to shine in this dramatic entry to the "Shaman King" series. Yoh is left with little choice as he chooses his next step in the Shaman Fight!

[Ty Ridgway · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Vanessa Rincon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. Oh, X-Laws...

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

What has turned out to be one of the most consistent manga’s I’ve read I felt like a lot of little things occur in this volume but none super big! Page 84 gives me vibes of both Mortal Kombat and One Piece. It took 96 pages before a battle started in this volume, which seems deeper in than usual, but the action as always is good. I found myself enjoying the dialogue between characters in those rare moments of quiet. Page 144 gives me serious Trigun vibes. Nothing but praise for Hiroyuki Takei as the series continues to entertain and entangle the readers in this wonderful world.

[omar ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read up to volume;
#26; with an average rating of: ★★★☆☆ 3.8/5


MC was a bit annoying at the start of these volumes. I could see where he was coming from but still, he was just nagging me idek
BUT the story is so messy atp, i'm loving it
and I never saw that plot twist coming (x laws)
bit confused why they keep putting the good fights outside the actual shaman fight? let them see the awesomeness

[AsianMerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Besides the lame battle outfits and Opacho being a spy yet they do nothing I dug this volume, cover is beautiful and it looks like we’re gonna handle the X-Laws, I will say that I’m guessing this would be better animated cause the fight with Lucifer and Michael isn’t hitting as I know it should.

[Siegfried · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. The final and return of Joco (superb character arc) and the resolution with the children.
Astonishing that we're still on the Epilogue

[Gabriela Zambrano A · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ⭐️
Un volúmen con muchas revelaciones, eso hace que la trama sea más interesante. 🥰🥰

[Rodri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5: interesting... never saw that coming

[Casie25]

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.

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh.. Joco, your puns aren't translating well into english. And wha...? "battle clothes"??

[Дени ★ Проданова · Rating 5 out of 5]

Много добър том! Започна новата арка, която е в пъти по-интересна. Развитието с X-Laws, беше неочаквано, а плана на Хао е много неясен. Все още не се знае какво дири Опачо по петите на Йо.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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