Shaman King, Vol. 20: Epilogue

シャーマンキング [Shaman King] #20

by Hiroyuki Takei

We continue to look back to the past, when Yoh and Anna were bound together and Matamune sacrificed himself to save them. But in the present, Yoh seems to have sacrificed his chance to become Shaman King, and Ren still lies unconscious. Will Lady Jeanne keep her end of the bargain and save Ren's life?

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

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2002

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 4 out of 5]

An excellent finale to the sudden flashback story arc that looked back on Yoh and Anna's relationship and vows; at a very young age, might I add. It was nice to see what Yoh was able to achieve in terms of OverSoul forms back then but it does bring to light a lot of plot holes and inconsistencies... As the story returns to the present time, a plot twist reveals Ren's real desires as he's haunted by the memory of his cruel acts before he decided to change his ways.

Yours truly,

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

[Davide Saladino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eccezionale fine del flashback sull'incontro tra Yoh e Anna, iniziato nel volume 19.
Bellissima la storia di Matamune, che incrementa il numero di legami tra Yoh e Hao.

[Vikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This issue completes the backstory arc of how Yoh and Anna met for the first time and learned to appreciate the story arc, also the story covers a little bit of present time, i.e., circa 2000, where the story is set. Enjoyed it so let's go and Keep on Reading.

I have always loved comics, and I can. 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 hope to love them always. 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.

[♡ Em ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how the story starts with Yoh telling Anna 'There'll always be a way. If you don't take a chance, nothing will begin!'. There is so much wisedom in the words of this child.

In this book, the beginning is presented as a hard road to acceptance. The readers are presented the most vulnerable version of Anna. They see her suffering and they get to know her demons. However, they also see the start of their relationship and the born of trust and love.

In the end, the storyline returns to the present. Is it funny that we see again the "legendary left", even though the situation is so serious. I love how Anna doesn't overreact about Yoh's choice and how supportive she is, even though she loses her dream of being the first lady. Her love for Yoh really changed her for the better.

I need to say that I apreciate the way they stop fighting for power, but do not stop fighting against the evil. The story changes drastically, but in the best way possible. I just want to see how the sequel will handle the subject. At least, we have Ren back, so we know that it bill be a powerfull story.

I want to end this review with Matamune's poem:

"To Myself

After around a thousand years.
I can finally break away from these lonely feelings.
Even if not forever
Even if not forever.

This weak heart.
I can finally tear off this heavy shell.
Even if there is no grave.
Even if there is no grave.

Living amongst mankind, and still feeling sorrowful.
Greeting each new year with feelings of happiness.
Love is the meeting.
The separation.
It's a transparent piece of cloth.
Osorezan revoir.

Though I am unworthy.
It's the joy of supremacy to scatter and spread,
That although I might appear lifeless,
It does not bother me.
So won'r you show me a smile or two?

This song, that will never become
A tender attachmment to the heart,
With this, will come to an end.
What is that country that shines from above?
May it be where the Ksitigarbha is.
Love is the meeting.
The separation.
It's a transparent piece of cloth.
Osorezan revoir.
Osorezan au revoir."

🖤

[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. When Ren is fatally wounded, Yoh promises Lady Jeanne he will withdraw from the Shaman Fight if she will save Ren’s life. When Anna finds out, she thinks back to when she and Yoh first met. Yoh had come to visit her with his first spirit ally, a thousand-year-old cat named Matamune. But soon Yoh and Matamune found themselves facing menacing demons of Anna's own creation...

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.

This volume continues the flash back to a young Yoh meeting Anna for the first time. Anna's despair and hatred of the world causes her to summon demons which Yoh must overcome to free her. Meanwhile, Ren is being healed by the leader of the X-Laws but not all of them are happy about the deal that was done with Yoh.

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. A solid 4 stars again as the story ramps up the action!

[James Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

This flashback arc reaches its end, and despite some moments feeling rushed and a few inconsistencies with what Yoh discovered in early volumes, this was the best arc of the series yet. It's packed with so much heart and humanity, and I just wanted to give Matamune a big hug. After that, the story returns to the present day involving Ren and the X-Laws, and looks to be another excellent tale.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to be a dick about how apparently Yoh was able to do a decent Oversoul with Matamune years before he knew the word "Oversoul," but other things in this volume pleased me, so I cooled down. That said, it seems like Yoh -was- aware of "Hyoui Gattai" before meeting Amidamaru, and there's also an anomaly with how Amidamaru's Spirit of Sword form seems to be a result of the increased Furyoku level after Yoh was in that spooky cave, so shouldn't he not be able to make such a large O.S.?

Well, anyway, Matamune was cute, and I choked up a wee bit when we get the poem in full.

My boy Ren is back, but not without some faux-DEEP stuff with Ren's spirit atoning for his murder of Chrome while Ren lingers in limbo. Not a -bad- scene, just it feels like Takei's grown up way too much, or something, and we're far too mature for the basic little-boy shit from most stereotypical Weekly Shounen Jump battle manga. I guess. Did Ren even kill Chrome in the anime? Or did he, but 4Kids censored it? Pretty sure I recall that whole show being rather juvenile when I would watch it on FoxBox when I was like 8. The manga's evolved quite a bit, I guess.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume continues the flashback sequence for Yoh and Anna. While I believe that this story will play deeply into the happens when we flash forward, I could not help but feel like this was what we sometimes refer to as filler when a series (usually an anime which is used to let the source content catch up). I felt this way, but in the same breath because of the flashback…I know this will play a much greater role or at least I think so. The art by Hiroyuki Takei is as always on point. A flashback that covers two volumes seems extended to me, but it may play a bigger role, so I am grading this volume on the hopes that its value raises because of the upcoming story occurrences. If not, then this probably would have been a 2-star review. Page 151 would have been shorter but also would have been the perfect place to end this volume.

[Scott Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finishes off the flashback to Yoh meeting Anna, and the story plays out in an interesting fashion that both surprised me and made sense with how they act with and around each other in the present timeline of the series so far.

I'm honestly just good to be back to the present, however, so that was the best thing about this volume by far.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 3 out of 5]

As exploration into the past of the bound Yoh and Anna comes to a close, they and their friends look to Lady Jeanne to keep her word and finally heal Ren. Takei dwells into the hearts of his protagonists in this heartfelt entry to the "Shaman King" series. With time running out, the pressure is on for Jeanne and her promise to bring Ren back from the brink of death...

[Dominic · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huge mis-translation error *spoiler alert*

Near the end of the oni battle, Matamune is mis-translated as saying the answer he has searched 1000 years for is NOT found. He is supposed to say it is NOW found or, NOW before me. There's tons of spelling and translation errors throughout this edition of the series but this is probably the worst so far.

[AsianMerr · Rating 2 out of 5]

To have a flashback arc in the middle made no sense but at the end we see why we got it. Then we spend two chapters finding out what happens now and well…it’s not looking good tbh. It’s in a rut right now and well..I just don’t know cause it’s just not interesting me. Yoh’s winter drip here was nice though. By the end I don’t care about the relationships or characters 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Siegfried · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of Yoh & Anna's story is very sweet.
You get the relationship. She can be mean and he a doofus, but they love each other.
Also, after all that sweetness, we came back just to watch X-LAws being hypocrite assholes, as usual.

[Ty Ridgway · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Silvia Turcios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each volume is getting better and better! I know is an old series, so I am really happy that I got the opportunity to read it now :)

[Chiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pag 73

[Vanessa Rincon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow... Anna is amazing.

[Gabriela Zambrano A · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 ⭐️
Este volúmen es mi favorito de todo el manga ❤️‍🩹🥺 lo amo inmensamente, además que ciertas palabras 🐱💛 llegan en un momento clave. Aquí inicia una nueva etapa de Shaman King. 🥰

[Rodri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5: it's kind of a drag rn idek

[Al Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I see what others are talking about. How the mangaka got tired of the story, etc. what I think is that he ran out of ideas, the company wanted more story out of him than he could give, and there's only so far anyone can go when the story is essentially only about a tournament. It's one thing when it's Yu Yu Hakusho when the many arcs are "tournament like" and one actually being one, but YYH the tournament isn't central to the story like it was in Shaman King. The mangaka drew himself into a corner when 1) the company wanted him to drag it out and 2) getting Ren injured and causing Yoh to drop out. This plus what I noticed about the anime's end, which I heard is how the manga also ended, is a dissapointment, taking a quitter's way out.

[Krul Tepes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so shocked when I found out about how Yoh and Anna first met each other! She wanted him to die!!!! Actually, no. That is not shocking but I really like it how Yoh was able to save her from the darkness. And those demons! There were so much, I did not know how Anna could summon all of them by thoughts and hared! My mouth dropped open when I found out that Matamune used to be Hao's cat! He actually cared for an animal!! Well, I already knew he wasn't a bad person but it is still shocking! I love how Yoh kept on being rejected by Anna. So funny!

[Дени ★ Проданова · Rating 4 out of 5]

Освен подробности за Анна, разбираме и малко повече за Хао. Никой не се ражда зъл. По някаква причина ми се струва най-нормалното нещо за него да прибере бездомно коте, да го спаси и прокълне едновременно. Наистина един комплексен и интересен персонаж, продължава да е в челните ми класации за злодеи.

[Thomas Andrikus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The courage of Matamune and Yoh Asakura to sacrifice themselves for others' good is the true sign of compassion.

[Mosley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favorite story line of Shaman King. ❤

[Laurie-Ann Gaudreault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mon personnage préféré de toute la série: Matamune :)