Shaman King by Hiroyuki Takei (the creator) is a wonderful manga, and a great anime (albeit short). The tale of a young boy (Oyamada Manta) and his shamanic friend (Asakura Yoh) and the adventures they go through in Yoh's quest to be Shaman King - one who controls the king of spirits.
At a distant glance, Shaman King seems like another fighting show like Dragonball, but when more closely examined one finds that Shaman King is much more complex. What is at first a tournament to control the Great Spirit becomes a dramatic battle to keep the reincarnation of a former (psychotic) shaman from destroying all humans and weak shamans.
Unfortunately, though, the anime fails to bring some light upon important characters. Yoh's mother barely plays a role in the show, as compared to the anime. Manta's family is completely cut out of the show, while in the manga his abusive father presents Manta and eventually Yoh with serious conflict.
The English dub of Shaman King is one of the most painful things to ever happen to anime, though. To start, the show was originally rated PG-13. 4Kids dumbed it down to PG. Many of the characters were butchered in different ways; 1) Manta became a bratty, arrogant kid named Mortimer (not to mention his family's servant, Tamura, becomes his rich uncle Jerry).
2) Yoh became a cheeseburger-obsessed freak, who's philosophical thinking was demolished.
3) Ryu went from a brotherly young man to a self-absorbed moron named Rio (not to mention they diminished his bisexuality).
4) Ren went from a proud Chinese shaman to an irritating, British punk named Lenny (not to mention that his father En was turned into Uncle En).
5) Horokeu gained an identity crisis, holding two names (Trey Racer and Horo Horo).
6) Hao went from a frighteningly evil shaman to an arrogant, irritating punk named 'Zeke'.
However, whether it be the dub or the original, Shaman King relies heavily on the secondary characters, unlike most other shows.
Takei has also integrated history and legends into Shaman King.
The characters Amidamaru and King Hao are based on people who existed centuries ago in Japan. It also gives some insight of feudal Japan.
Horo Horo introduces the culture of the Japanese tribe, Ainu, while adding jokes. While his name is Ainu for 'Wolf', other characters often tease him and call him "Boro", which means 'rag'.
Faust VIII is based on Johann Faustus from the 1400's, and his advanced oversoul is named "Mephisto E", after Mephistopheles, whom the original Faust made a deal with to gain knowledge. One may also notice that besides being somewhat identical, the German characters Faust VIII and Eliza are very similar to Hitler's image of the 'perfect race'.
Overall, I'd say that the original animated version is okay. In any case, the English dub is the most painful way to experience Shaman King. The best way to experience Shaman King, though, is to read the manga.
At a distant glance, Shaman King seems like another fighting show like Dragonball, but when more closely examined one finds that Shaman King is much more complex. What is at first a tournament to control the Great Spirit becomes a dramatic battle to keep the reincarnation of a former (psychotic) shaman from destroying all humans and weak shamans.
Unfortunately, though, the anime fails to bring some light upon important characters. Yoh's mother barely plays a role in the show, as compared to the anime. Manta's family is completely cut out of the show, while in the manga his abusive father presents Manta and eventually Yoh with serious conflict.
The English dub of Shaman King is one of the most painful things to ever happen to anime, though. To start, the show was originally rated PG-13. 4Kids dumbed it down to PG. Many of the characters were butchered in different ways; 1) Manta became a bratty, arrogant kid named Mortimer (not to mention his family's servant, Tamura, becomes his rich uncle Jerry).
2) Yoh became a cheeseburger-obsessed freak, who's philosophical thinking was demolished.
3) Ryu went from a brotherly young man to a self-absorbed moron named Rio (not to mention they diminished his bisexuality).
4) Ren went from a proud Chinese shaman to an irritating, British punk named Lenny (not to mention that his father En was turned into Uncle En).
5) Horokeu gained an identity crisis, holding two names (Trey Racer and Horo Horo).
6) Hao went from a frighteningly evil shaman to an arrogant, irritating punk named 'Zeke'.
However, whether it be the dub or the original, Shaman King relies heavily on the secondary characters, unlike most other shows.
Takei has also integrated history and legends into Shaman King.
The characters Amidamaru and King Hao are based on people who existed centuries ago in Japan. It also gives some insight of feudal Japan.
Horo Horo introduces the culture of the Japanese tribe, Ainu, while adding jokes. While his name is Ainu for 'Wolf', other characters often tease him and call him "Boro", which means 'rag'.
Faust VIII is based on Johann Faustus from the 1400's, and his advanced oversoul is named "Mephisto E", after Mephistopheles, whom the original Faust made a deal with to gain knowledge. One may also notice that besides being somewhat identical, the German characters Faust VIII and Eliza are very similar to Hitler's image of the 'perfect race'.
Overall, I'd say that the original animated version is okay. In any case, the English dub is the most painful way to experience Shaman King. The best way to experience Shaman King, though, is to read the manga.