to his calm personality. This was a surprise to readers at the time. The introduction of a new, never-before-seen type of protagonist grabbed them instantly, and the series quickly became a popular title. Appearances Shaman King Yoh is the protagonist of Shaman King who befriends a student from school named Manta Oyamada when defeating local delinquents led by "Wooden Sword" Ryu. Yoh reveals himself to be a shaman with the help of a samurai ghost, Amidamaru. Yoh's purpose in coming to Tokyo: he has come to train for the Shaman Fight, an event that where shaman from all over the world will battle to become the god-like Shaman King. In order to ensure the trains properly, Yoh is joined by his fiancée Anna Kyoyama, an itako from Aomori, who drives Yoh relentlessly and brutally so that he may stand up to the powerful opponents he will have to contend with in order to become Shaman King. Despite Yoh's claims that he wishes to become Shaman King merely to live an easy life, his primary motivation is the promise he made to Anna whom he met when he was a child. The spirit of Matamune used his power to help Yoh save Anna when the latter's powers caused the creation of Onis. Upon entering the Shaman Fight, Yoh meets a number of the shaman who would become his friends and allies. His mentor Silva teaches Yoh how create an Oversoul, a technique where he merges Amidamaru with his sword Harusame to use it as the main weapon. Upon the second round of the Shaman Fight, Yoh becomes the leader of "Team Funbari Onsen", which includes Ryu and Faust VIII as his teammates. Anna once again trains Yoh to increase his powers, especially to rival the shaman Hao Asakura who has once tried to win the tournament in his past life but was betrayed by his only friend, Matamune. Using both Harusame and Asakuras' sword-shaped relic , Yoh creates the giant inspired by Matamune's Oversoul. It is revealed in the series Yoh was born as the younger of a pair of identical twin brothers to Keiko Asakura and Mikihisa Maki. Before Yoh's birth, it had been predicted that the family's progenitor, Hao, would reincarnate himself for the second time as one of Keiko's children and attempt to become Shaman King. The circumstances allowed the Asakuras to spare Yoh as the reborn Hao