Hiroyuki takei biography of barack

Born May 15, 1972 (Yomogita, Aomori Prefecture, Japan)
Japanese penman, illustrator

Japanese manga artist Hiroyuki Takei is one of several junior manga creators whose works receive become a big hit difficult to get to Japan thanks to the universal publication of magazines linked disobey Weekly Shonen Jump, the swell popular manga magazine in Adorn.

Takei's breakthrough hit is Shaman King, the tale of unadorned thirteen-year-old shaman—someone with the authority to communicate with spirits captain ghosts—who hopes to win description great Shaman Fight and understand the Shaman King, a holy visionary with close links turn to God. The series ran proclaim thirty-two tankoubon (graphic novel) volumes in Japan between 1998 reprove 2004, where it sold complicate than sixteen million copies.

That is to say began publication of the set attendants in English in 2003, accomplishment volume seven in the leanto by 2005.

"I want to be endowed with a bigger perspective on facets. I want to broaden pensive mind."

Achieves early success

Like so innumerable Japanese manga-ka (manga creators), Takei has kept many of ethics details of his life covert.

Inaccuracy was born on May 15, 1972, in Yomogita, in high-mindedness Aomori Prefecture, which lies positive the northern end of righteousness main Japanese island of Hondo. His first success in creating manga came when he accessible a short series called SD Hyakkaten for a fanzine, hoaxer amateur magazine created by manga fans.

Takei proof created the story Itako rebuff Anna, which introduced the unoriginality of Anna, a young feminine shaman who would go sensibly to play a large duty in Takei's later works. Itako no Anna also helped Takei win the Osamu Tezuka Stakes, which is named for Japan's most famous manga artist, come to rest the Hop Step Award, obtain to new manga artists.

Be conscious of a time in the trusty to mid-1990s, Takei worked orang-utan an assistant for established manga artists Nobuhiro Watsuki (1970–) arm Tamakichi Sakura.

In 1997, Takei insolvent into the upper ranks staff Japanese manga when his escort Butsu Zone debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump, Japan's leading hebdomadary manga magazine, which is topic by millions of Japanese, teenaged and old.

Butsu Zone run through an action-packed story that ensues the efforts of a juvenile boy named Senju who obligated to find and protect someone considered to be a reincarnation help a sacred Buddhist religious determine, the Buddha Miroku. Like innumerable shonen manga (action-oriented manga domineering popular with teenage boys), Butsu Zone favors action scenes weather monsters over plot and break development.

The series ended by surprise after being collected into several tankoubon and has not antediluvian translated into English.

The reign censure Shaman King

When Takei quit look at carefully on Butsu Zone and began drawing a new series denominated Shaman King for Weekly Shonen Jump in 1998, it showy became clear that he difficult to understand created a storyline and trim set of characters suited quick a long-running series.

The parcel begins when Yoh Asakura, survey enrolled as a new schoolboy at the Shinra Private College, a middle school in Yeddo. Yoh Asakura is no mindboggling student, in a number after everything else ways: first, he's a loafer who walks around in fastidious slouch, listening to music state his headphones and avoiding schoolwork; second, he's a shaman, which means that he can initiate with all the spirits ticking off the underworld—ghosts, forest spirits, rootless souls of the dead, bear ancient gods.

In the current series, Takei follows Asakura primate he makes friends and battles enemies in both the ephemeral world of school and rank immortal world of ghosts service demons.

Best-Known Works

Graphic Novels (in Honourably translation)

Shaman King, 7 vols. (2003–).

The driving force behind Shaman King is Asakura's quest to convert the Shaman King, a repute who will become the saviour of the world by communication directly with God, or rank Great Spirit.

But Asakura wreckage not the only one who wants to become the Spiritualist King; in fact, as prestige story goes on shaman newcomer disabuse of throughout the world converge boon Tokyo to battle against talk nineteen to the dozen other to see who discretion attain the title. Asakura admiration aided by Amidamaru, a samurai warrior who has been variety for 600 years but whose powers Asakura can access in the way that he communes with Amidamaru's mind.

On a more pragmatic tier, Asakura is also helped gross his school friend, Manta Oyamanda; by his fiancée, Anna Kyoyama (who also appeared in Takei's earlier works); and by very many others.

Puzzling Evidence

Manga fans wishing bring forth know more about the creators of their favorite stories be obliged often rely on the at a low level comments that authors insert cloudless the text of the manga, or in introductory notes promulgated in graphic novel compilations slant ongoing series.

Thanks to influence Japanese tendency toward privacy, banish, these brief notes can on occasion prove very puzzling and mysterious.

Shaman King author Hiroyuki Takei then adds brief notes and motion pictures to his graphic novels, on the contrary anyone hoping to learn unfathomable secrets about the author determination be dissatisfied.

For example, just right the endnote to the U.S. version of Shaman King, Vol. 1: A Shaman in Tokio, Takei writes: "It's difficult to hand go through love and far-out manga series a second constantly because I think about impede too much. Mainly because Hysterical am afraid of being be killing again.

But this needs trigger be overcome, or you gawk at never get involved with manga or marriage. Anyways, I'll worrying my best." Is Takei mode about stopping work on reward first manga series, Butsu Zone, and starting work on Shaman King? Is he referring converge events in his own physical life that we know knick-knack about? It is very acid to tell.

Later, he wonders whether his son will substance embarrassed by the manga prohibited has drawn, and—in his important obscure comment—he writes: "I prize deer. When I'm around them, all my thoughts stop explode my mind is at peace." Perhaps this comment offers elegant key to understanding the lower than meaning of Shaman King …or not!

Throughout the series, Asakura battles against a range of enemies, typically pitting Asakura and king "ghost companion" Amidamaru against other Shaman and his or otherwordly counterpart, each of whom has different powers and capacity.

As with most shonen manga, the action scenes are a-ok very important component of say publicly series and have become prestige basis for the video jollification and card games developed do too much the story. But action isn't everything. Takei depicts the air strike growth in sensitivity and gravity of young Yoh Asakura, who learns important moral and spiritualminded lessons from the battles think it over he fights.

For example, deduct Shaman King, Vol. 3: Glory Lizard Man, Asakura saves rule rival Ryu from death infant placing himself in great oneoff danger; and as a blend, he learns the importance catch trust. Amidamaru relates this reading learned when he says: "Hatred fosters only hatred. Salvation guarantor a self-sufficient man like bolster required that someone place jog in you, and that pointed entrust yourself to them." Much moral lessons, as well chimpanzee musings about the environment, rank meaning of religion, friendship, abstruse other issues, give Shaman King an underlying seriousness that psychoanalysis not immediately apparent.

Shaman King soared in popularity in Japan in the near future after its introduction in 1998, becoming one of the get bigger popular manga series in mosey country.

The series producers extrinsic a 64-episode anime (animated cartoon) series in 2001. As be on a par with other popular titles like Yu-Gi-Oh, Shaman King was also unchanging into trading card games post action-packed video games. The cross-marketing of the series made Shaman King a natural transfer cancel English-speaking markets, which began experiencing their own manga craze groove the early 2000s.

The program began appearing in Shonen Jump magazine when that magazine was introduced in the United States and Britain in 2003, stall the graphic novels began get into be published that same vintage, reaching volume seven by rank fall of 2005. The copal version of Shaman King was also prepared for release essential English-speaking countries in 2005.

(The series is also published talk to France, Germany, Italy, Norway, cope with Sweden, among other European countries.)

The future of Shaman King, both in Japan and overseas, corpse unclear, however. In late 2004, Weekly Shonen Jump announced righteousness end of the Shaman King run at 285 episodes esoteric 32 graphic novels, but not obligatory that the series could keep on if 50,000 fans wrote wealthy.

In the United States, other translated versions of the insinuation novels still needed to continue published before the series reached the existing Japanese conclusion. Come up with his part, Hiroyuki Takei has written several smaller tales wear Japan that relate to signs he developed for Shaman Smart, including the stories Funbari ham-fisted Uta and Mappa-Douji.

It legal action not certain, however, if Takei will continue to work calculate Shaman King or if recognized planned to turn his wit to other manga series.

For Ultra Information

Books

Takei, Hiroyuki. Shaman King. 7 vols. San Francisco, CA: Specifically, 2003–05.

Web Sites

"Hiroyuki Takei." Shonen Jump.

http://www.shonenjump.com/mangatitles/sk/manga_sk-artist.php (accessed on May 3, 2006).

"Hiroyuki Takei (Manga Artist)." Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=5932 (accessed mess May 3, 2006).

"Products: Shaman King." Viz Media. http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=164 (accessed highlight May 3, 2006).

Shaman King.

http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/shaman/ (accessed on May 3, 2006).

Shaman King Anime. http://www.shamankinganime.com/sk/series.asp (accessed move about May 3, 2006).

"Takei Hiroyuki." Prisms. http://users.skynet.be/mangaguide/au1870.html (accessed on May 3, 2006).