NOTE: The original Shaman King manga does not have an ending!!

It was cancelled before a true ending could be completed so it has an abrupt stop, which (if you are like me) could be off-putting.

IMPORTANT: If you are thinking about reading Shaman King I would recommend to read Shaman King Kanzenban (it's the exact same except includes more chapters that were left out originally and of course has the true ending)! Or if that is not possible, after reading the original manga read chapter 265, 266, and then 287 until the end at 300 (yeah it sounds weird but these are the chapters missing from the original run).

The original Shaman King with the abrupt end (again since it was cancelled before it could be finished) would be a 7 because there is no ending. But with the Kanzenban true ending I would give it an 8. I enjoyed the ending and thought it was quite good.


Review: Imagine One Piece mixed with Digimon and that is what Shaman King feels like. I admire that the method Yoh enacts to settle conflicts is more peaceful and relaxed than most shonen protagonists who evoke the usual "might makes right" mentality. The reason why it's not a 10 for me is because I feel like it has pacing issues and some plot holes.

The pacing issues are that characters seem to drastically power-up in a short amount of time without really showing the viewer HOW they develop those techniques. It felt as I was reading that the author was either impatiently trying to get to "the good stuff" at the end or that he had a strict time limit and thus had to keep the story as concise as possible within 32 volumes. Considering that the series was cancelled that might have literally been the case and so I don't blame him. This is a flaw for me, but based on other reviews I read, some people enjoy that the pacing is so quick because it removes any fluff or filler.

All in all I enjoyed it! If you had to choose between reading the manga and watching the anime I would recommend watching the new 2021 anime coming up instead. Not often is the anime better than the manga, but in this case I feel like the 2021 anime of Shaman King would resolve my qualms with the manga.