As part of their on-going column on Magmix.jp, Hiroyuki Takei’s long-time friend released their 69th article about the Shaman King series on May 26, 2022 by Hayato Tashiro. This article, which can be read for free in Japanese here, took a focused look at some of the overarching themes in the Shaman King manga series.
For the first article in this column, he had two particular quotes from Hiroyuki Takei, with rough English translations that follow:
「シャーマンキングの価値観は連載当時マイノリティだった」
“The views in Shaman King series were not very popular at the start of the serialization.”
「現代ではそれが一般化していたので再び脚光を浴びた」
“These views overtime have become more mainstream in these modern times.”
The author of the article attributes these “views” alluded by Hiroyuki Takei to a slow shift that was occurring in Japanese education. Previously the schooling system was highly focused on individuals being the best they can be, while competing for top rankings. This created a very rigid system that focused on being “number one”, rather than the needs of the individual. For students who did not do well in this education structure could see this as punishing towards their growth.
However, Hayato Tashiro alludes in the article that Hiroyuki Takei’s childhood teachers did not adopt that more rigid education style. Instead they allowed him to focus on his creativity, instead of academic achievement. He believes that this theme is carried into the Shaman King series. Where the main character Yoh attempts to break away from the standard school system along with established path to being the number one shaman, the Shaman King.
In previous Magmix articles, Hayato Tashiro details some of his stories with Hiroyuki Takei from high school and his early days in Tokyo when they were getting their careers started. Other small details like Hiroyuki Takei being in a band in High School in Aomori help provide that additional context mentioned in this article towards his focus on creativity within the school system.
