Anna Kyōyama (恐山アンナ
Kyōyama Anna) is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
created by
mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
author
Hiroyuki Takeiis a Japanese manga author.-History:Hiroyuki Takei was born at Yomogita in Aomori Prefecture, located in northern Honshū.His beginning was marked by the manga series SD Hyakkaten which he created for a fanzine. He grew successful and became the assistant to famous mangaka like Nobuhiro Watsuki and...
. She appears in
Shaman Kingis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Takei. Shaman King follows the adventures of Yoh Asakura as he attempts to hone his shaman skills to become the Shaman King in the Shaman tournament....
,
Butsu Zoneis a manga by Hiroyuki Takei, serialized in three tankōbon.The series highlights the adventures of Senju who has to find and protect Sachi, an incarnation of the Buddha Miroku...
, and
Itako no Anna, a one-shot manga series which focuses on Anna. Takei notes in an interview, that she is like his own personal mascot or good luck charm, because Anna appears (albeit usually in cameos) in so many of his works.
Her
seiyūA is a Japanese voice actor that works in radio, television, or movies. Seiyū perform voice-overs for non-Japanese movies, provide narration, and also work as anime and video game character actors...
in the original Japanese
Shaman King anime is
Megumi Hayashibarais a Japanese seiyū, singer, radio personality and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include "Megu-san", "Megu-nee", "Bara-san", "Kakka" and "Daijin"...
and is Tara Jayne in the English anime. In the English anime and English video games, her family name is not revealed. In some Japanese products and in
Shaman King: Master of SpiritsShaman King: Master of Spirits is video game made by Konami. This is the first Shaman King game that was developed for the Game Boy Advance in America...
, her name is spelled
Anna Kyohyama.
Appearance
Anna is shown in the anime as an extremely thin person with shoulder-length blonde hair. Anna also wears a short black dress at all times and a red scarf that if shown to be tied around her head for the first part of the anime, when Yoh and the gang hadn't yet parted for the second round of the Shaman Tournament. Later, meeting up with Yoh, she is shown to wear the same scarf around her neck. Anna also wears traditional red sandals and a necklace of pearls which she uses as an itako.
Character
In
Shaman King, Anna is the fiancée of
Yoh Asakurais the main character in the anime and manga Shaman King. In the original Japanese anime, his name has been inconsistently romanized as Yoh, You or Yō; while in the English adaptations, his name is always romanized as Yoh.-Character:...
, and is an
itakoAn itako is a traditional, blind, usually female shaman from northern Japan.In training for initiation, itako dress in a white kimono 100 days before the ceremony. Austere purification is obligatory to achieve an extreme state of mind. Rites where she must pour cold water over herself, usually in...
(
spirit medium in the English dub) - a traditional Japanese shaman. Her specialty is channeling, and she can summon a spirit from anywhere, even from heaven where normal shamans can't reach.
After being abandoned by her birth parents due to her abilities, Anna was adopted by Kino Asakura. Because of this, her date of birth and blood type are unknown.
Aggressive and decisive, Anna is a
pragmaticThe word pragmatic may mean:*Of or related to pragmatism, a field of philosophy*Of or related to pragmaticism, Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy*Of or related to pragmatics, the area of linguistics...
person who, to most, appears cold and harsh. However, she has shown that she genuinely cares for those important to her, especially Yoh, and merely is dedicated to be "the ultimate Shaman Queen" and wife to Yoh, the first real friend that she ever had in her life. She firmly believes that Yoh Asakura is destined to become the Shaman King, and thinks that it's her duty as his fiancée to make him train hard for it.
Anna's spiritual strength is shown as she was able to seal in
Hao AsakuraAsakura Hao is the main antagonist in the Anime and Manga in Shaman King. He was born Asaha Douji during the feudal era Japan. During his third life he becomes the twin brother of his descendant Asakura Yoh. His name means: Leaf King. He is the most powerful shaman in the entirety of the series...
's guardian spirits (called as
shikigamiShikigami are a kind of spirit summoned to serve a practitioner of onmyōdō, much like a western familiar. Shikigami cannot be seen by most people, but according to the Heian period onmyōji who were said to control them, shikigami often looked something like a child-sized oni demon...
)- Zenki and Kouki, and was able to control them. Anna and Hao seem to have an odd relationship of their own - Anna detests Hao and even slapped him once. Surprisingly, he was not angry, but actually seemed amused. It has also been hinted that Anna is the reincarnation of the original Asakura Hao's mother from 1000 years ago, Asano-Ha; others think that Hao possibly had feelings of his own for Anna and wanted her for himself.
It is obvious that Anna loves Yoh, despite how badly she seems to treat him - she said it when Yoh fought the oh-oni to save her, once to his friend
Manta OyamadaManta Oyamada , known as Mortimer "Morty" in the English anime and English video games, is a fictional character in the anime and manga Shaman King. In the uncut English dub, he is named Morty Manta. Manta's family name means "small mountain field".Manta is an intelligent child who carries a book...
, and again to Silva, a commissioner for the Shaman Fight. She broke down crying when she thought that Yoh was about to be killed while being possessed by Tokagero. Anna can be extremely possessive of Yoh, beating him up once when she thought that the Oracle Bell he brought home was a woman's pager. She also reacted jealously when Yoh asked Tamao Tamamura to cook him a meal in the anime. When Yoh was thought to be dead after Hao stole his soul, Anna was in hysterics, and only recovered her strength when Yoh returned.
Anna attends Shinra Private Academy along with Yoh and Manta. Her favourite singer in the manga, Ringo Awaya, is a reference to Japanese singer and guitarist
Shiina Ringo, born , is a Japanese singer-songwriter born on November 25, 1978. She works both as a solo musician and singer as well as a member of the band Tokyo Jihen.She once called herself in "", and she mentioned so in her website, Nekoyanagi Line...
.
History
Anna was abandoned as a very little girl because she was born with the ability to see into other people's minds without willing to. She was found and raised by Yoh's grandmother, Kino Asakura. Anna's ability to master the arts of the Itako, even though fully sighted, is a testament to her strength. Because of this, Anna and Yoh's grandparents paired them up in an arranged marriage in order to keep the family bloodline going.
Before meeting Yoh, Anna's mind reading power known as reishi (soul sight) was one that she could not fully control. She could not help but pick up the negative emotions of others every time she was around other people; because of this, she began to hate others, and this hatred would involuntarily manifest itself as an Oni (demonic ogres, akin to boogeyman in Western cultures). Thus she tried to avoid going out as much as possible, usually confining herself to her room.
Anna and Yoh met when they were ten years old in 1995 at Mt. Osore (The
kanjiare the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet . The Japanese term kanji literally means "Han characters".- History :Chinese characters first came to Japan on...
for "Mt. Osore" is the same as the kanji for Anna's family name,
Kyōyama (恐山)). Yoh was travelling with Matamune to visit Kino, but then he saw Anna on a stop after going out of a store to run after Matamune. He ran into an oni on his way home, and if Matamune did not arrive in time, Yoh would have been hurt. The oni itself actually came from Anna.
Yoh eventually learned that Anna did not release the oni intentionally; it comes out of its own will. Anna seems to have gotten used to the oni, saying that it will not return unless it destroys something. The second time that the oni came out in front of Yoh, it was an oni which was bigger than the previous oni, it was now called the Naka-Oni. Yoh tried to fight the Naka-Oni just to protect the people from destruction; Anna, seeing Yoh's determination, was able to sub-consciously call back the oni.
They arrived home after the Oni ordeal and Yoh made a promise to her that they will go to the temple shrine to make a promise that he will free Anna from the demon. Anna agrees reluctantly, fearing the worst possible outcome.
The worst arrives then when they were at the temple. When Matamune arrived to check up on Yoh and Anna, he sees the Naka-Oni out once again. He knocked it down and went to Yoh who was supporting Anna who seemed to have a hard time breathing because of the Oni using too much power. Since they were at the temple, a lot of people visited, therefore, Anna could not control her power to read other peoples thoughts especially during the new year, when they speak their thoughts out loud to make a new year's wish. The demon eventually grew into an Oh-Oni by absorbing the power of the near by Onis.
This Oni could now talk, which was unique because oni typically do not possess the ability to speak. In order to have more power, the Oh-Oni kidnapped Anna and took her to Mount Osore to help it absorb the power of the lurking spirits. Yoh and Matamune realized that there are many spirits in Mount Osore; if the Oh-Oni used Anna's power there, she would die of exhaustion or loss of Furyoku.
Upon arriving at Mount Osore, the Oh-Oni grew into a Powered-Up Oh-Oni; he seemed to have Anna go under a trance after using her to absorb power. Yoh decided that this had to end once and for all, so using Matamune's necklace as a medium, Matamune was sacrificed and he became a sword (slightly similar to the final form of the merged Harusame and Futsonomitama). Yoh was able to beat the Oh-Oni easier when Anna was able to overcome it.
They were able to beat the Oni and Anna was free from the curse; unfortunately, Matamune was gone and the only thing remaining was a necklace with three black claws. Anna then grew to love Yoh because he was able to free her from the darkness that haunted her everyday. From there on, she constantly trained him to become a better and stronger shaman as a gratitude, and almost never gave him any reprieve. From the corpse of the Oh-Oni, Anna's main weapon, the 1080 beads, was forged by Asakura Kino.
The story of Yoh and Anna's past cannot be seen in the anime, possibly because the story was too dark for a show that was targeted towards a younger audience. However, the story has been released as two drama CDs.
Plot Summary
Anna first appears in the story after Yoh narrowly defeats Tao Ren. From here on, she starts her "special training" program to help Yoh become Shaman King. (Even though he refers to it as 'torture' rather than training.) Anna makes various appearances through out different scenes, especially when saving Yoh from the point of death.
Abilities/Techniques
Kuchiyose (口寄せ) - the ability to summon a spirit anytime and anywhere, given that she knows a little information about who she is summoning.
GoumaChoubuku (降魔調伏) - she used this technique to gain control over
Hao AsakuraAsakura Hao is the main antagonist in the Anime and Manga in Shaman King. He was born Asaha Douji during the feudal era Japan. During his third life he becomes the twin brother of his descendant Asakura Yoh. His name means: Leaf King. He is the most powerful shaman in the entirety of the series...
(Zeke Asakura)'s shikigamis: Zenki and Kouki. She also uses the
shikigamiShikigami are a kind of spirit summoned to serve a practitioner of onmyōdō, much like a western familiar. Shikigami cannot be seen by most people, but according to the Heian period onmyōji who were said to control them, shikigami often looked something like a child-sized oni demon...
s as something like her guardian spirits, and they have great power.
Reishi (霊視) - the ability she was born with, which enables her to read the hearts and minds of others. She states in chapter 202 that she no longer has this ability. Hao is unable to read Anna's mind, it is believed this is because they share the same power.
Anna is also physically very strong, seen to be capable of shattering rocks when battling with Hao in chapter 249, something that most people do not suspect from her appearance. She has demonstrated several times that she is not afraid to use her fists to subdue anyone, making her "right hand slap" and "phantom left hand slap (幻の左)" (or "Legendary Left") somewhat infamous among Yoh's group of friends, especially Manta and Tamao.
The origins of the 1080 beads are different in the manga and anime. In the manga, the 1080 beads were forged from the corpse of the Oh-Oni that was released during the New Year's Fesitival on the night that Yoh and Anna met, while in the anime, it was forged by Asakura Yohken, containing the spirits of all 1080 members of the Asakura clan.
Other appearances
Anna appears in Takei's
short storyA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
Funbari no UtaFunbari no Uta is a series of short stories written by Hiroyuki Takei relating to his manga series Shaman King; and a furyoku-inducing battle anthem-turned-jingle-turned-Japanese ballad created by the Shaman King character, Faust VIII.Funbari no Uta is set seven years later after the Shaman...
, having a son named
Hana AsakuraHana Asakura is the protagonist of Hiroyuki Takei's manga, Funbari no Uta, which is set in the year 2007. He is the six year old son of Yoh Asakura and Anna Kyoyama who is now traveling with Ryu, but is currently in the custody of Tamao Tamamura.He only appears in the special chapter, Funbari no...
, implying she is married to Yoh. The short story takes place 6 years after the conclusion of the Shaman King manga, implying that she became pregnant soon after the final Shaman Fight. She also stars in a one-shot comic called
Itako no Anna, which focuses mainly on her character. She appears as a playable character for the Nintendo DS titles, Jump Superstars and
Jump Ultimate Starsis a fighting video game developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the sequel to Jump Super Stars, also released for the DS. The game was released in Japan on November 23, 2006...
and is the main playable character in the second mission of the Shaman King world where she fights
Dio Brando is a fictional character from the manga and anime series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He is the primary antagonist of Part 1 and 3, although he is also considered to be the main villain of the entire series, as his actions affect the JoJo universe long after his death...
and
Freezais a fictional supervillain from the Dragon Ball universe created by Akira Toriyama. The character first appears in the Dragon Ball manga, followed by Dragon Ball Z. Frieza also appears in the television special Bardock: The Father of Goku, a few Dragon Ball Z movies, the special Plan to Destroy...
.
Anna is also the mascot of the
Aomoriis a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :The Aomori Prefecture came into existence in 1871. Aomori Town was established in 1889. The town was incorporated as a city in 1898 with a population of 28,000....
prefectural police (seen
here); Takei, Anna's creator, was born in Aomori. In Shaman King, Anna is also born in Aomori.