Shaman King Vol. 5

SHAMAN KING vol 5 by Hiroyuki TakeiI have to admit, the first few volumes were more slice of life, filled with the antics of Yoh and Amidamaru, who were accompanied by Anna, Manta and the new Wooden Sword Ryu. I almost felt like putting the series on a break to catch on with other Manga such as Attack On Titan, etc., yet at the end of this volume, I realized that the story went to a different direction, and the world of shamans were only about to become dark.----------------------------------------------------THE NEXT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-------------------------------------------------------------------------The story resumes with Horohoro and Yoh's battle, with Horohoro being enraged with the previous statement Yoh had made at the end of volume 4. The battle continues, yet at somewhat of a slow pace.Finally, with some effort and a rather surprising tactic, Yoh prevails and Horohoro accepts defeat without any denial.It is in the next chapter that we meet a new character, like Yoh had Anna to push him and train him, Horohoro has his little sister, Pirka, though we only see her for a few panels.It is after this that its starts to get dark.Silva, who was Yoh's examiner tells Anna about the dangers of Yoh's next opponent, who as they spoke was advancing to Yoh.During their conversation, Silva begs Anna to tell Yoh to withdraw from the match, is she ever wanted to see him alive again, but Anna refuses.A strange looking man appears before Manta and what he did next shocked me.He preformed an anatomical diagnosis, and the reason being because of Manta's dwarf-life height! That itself shows the maniac-like characteristic of this new foe.When Yoh turns up to the scene, the mysterious figure challenges him to a shaman fight.During the fight, the enigmatic figure reveals his true identity, his power, well, it is something that reminds you of the occult.Faust VIII (the maniac who tried to dissect Manta) claims to be from the line of Faust, a German scholar who traded his soul to the devil for knowledge.When Yoh really started to turn on his A-game, Faust VIII reveals his oversoul, a rather creepy looking skeleton.As the battle progressed, the skeleton began to turn more human like, with the appearance of a young lady.The manga ends with Yoh nearly out of Mana, and Faust VIII about to take the finishing move...------------------------------------------------------------------------------INFO ON THE MANGA-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The manga itself was used, but at a good price. It came quickly and I was happy with my purchase.It contains nine chapters, or 'reincarnations' as they were called.Here is the list of the chapters:Reincarnation 36: Great Ghost, Great SwordReincarnation 37: DecisionReincarnation 38: A Hot Bath and a Starry SkyReincarnation 39: BackboneReincarnation 40: Spill Your GutsReincarnation 41: Natural Bone KillersReincarnation 42: The Atrocity ExhibitionReincarnation 43: Regarding YohReincarnation 44: The Pale Love---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BONUS-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The manga itself contained a bonus "Funbari Stories" mini comic which certainly provided comic relief after reading such an ending!It also contained a one-page preview which only just built the hype to buy the next volume!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CONCLUSION------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To conclude, this is a great series and this manga volume is the first pivotal point to the series.I definitely recommend this!!!!

When buying this manga, remember you'll have to read the true ending online as the book was canceled.Still a must have!Shaman King is an amazing story!