Asakura Hao(麻倉葉王 Asakura Ha ou, Zeke Asakura in the English Anime) is the main
antagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or an institution, who represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
in the Anime and Manga in Shaman King. He was born Asaha Douji(麻案童子, Asaha Doji) 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. His childhood is told in the manga side story Mappa Douji.
Character
Hao Asakura is the ancestor, twin brother and previous incarnation 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:...
, the main
protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, video game, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to share the most empathy...
. The original Asakura Hao from 1000 years ago was re-incarnated in the two of them. They are the second known reincarnations of him. Yoh is also the other half of Hao Asakura.
A powerful shaman of the Asakura clan, he trained to become Shaman King one thousand years prior to the start of the story. He had mastered all the arts and techniques of Onmyoudou, including the ability to see the future, use reishi (soul sight), command powerful spirits and allow and control the circumstances of reincarnation.
Hao had the
Reishi (a form of
telepathyTelepathy is supposed to be the transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five senses . The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H...
that allows the user to see the hearts of others), but he could not control the limit of the power. Because he lived in a time of war, disease, and famine (the Heian period), he attempted to help others with his powers. However, he began to see the darker side of human nature as he discovered through his reishi that those he helped were jealous and afraid of his power, and convinced them that he was evil.
His heart became consumed with
hatred for humanityMisanthropy is a general dislike, distrust, contempt, or hatred of the human species. The word comes from the Greek words μίσος and άνθρωπος .-Forms:...
and began to plot the destruction of humanity by becoming Shaman King. He believes that by doing so, the planet and other animals that humans abused would be saved. In this time, he also allowed people to worship him as god, and appears to have developed a
superiority complexSuperiority complex refers to a subconscious neurotic mechanism of compensation developed by the individual as a result of feelings of inferiority...
, regarding all other beings as his inferiors; a belief made more dangerous by his ability to back up this claim.
Hao is by far the most powerful and talented shaman who has ever lived. In his original life, he was already the strongest shaman of his day, but since learning the ways of reincarnation, he has become a truly powerful being, his strength many hundreds—perhaps many thousands—of times greater than his nearest rivals. Both the Shaman Council and his descendant's—in both the Asakura family and Silva's tribe—fear him greatly. They have sought to bar him from the Shaman tournament, but know this is impossible, in part because he distracts the brutal rival Shaman faction the X-Laws, but mainly because if they tried to stop him, they know they would have no way of winning. Being the strongest shaman, Hao has a furyoku of 1,250,000.
In some chapters in the series, the relationship between Anna and Hao, he seemed to have feelings for her apparently because he was amused by her strong powers, personality and beauty. Hao states that Anna is the only person he trusts (Chapter 250). It has been said that Anna was his type
once. This possibly refers to when Yoh, who does love Anna, was a part of Hao's soul.
History
Born in Japan by Asanoha, he was named Asaha Douji(麻案童子, Asaha Doji) by his mother. Due to her ability to see spirits, she was assumed to be a demon and was killed by the monk Densen-houshi. Having his house burnt, Hao wandered and lived aimlessly, believing himself to be a boy with demonic powers (Since the other boys bullied him for this) and dreaming to exterminate all humans. However, one day while sitting by a gate, he met a spirit named Ohachiyo(Z沙千代) and they quickly became friends. Ohachiyo gave him the nickname Mappa Douji(地図童子, meaning "demon boy") and convinced him to forget his vengeance towards humans and rather enjoy the aspects of life. Ohachiyo taught him things such as the skill of fishing, the sweetness of candy, the names of different song birds, and most importantly the ability of Reishi(that allows one to read the mind of others) and with that he started to have a peaceful life. Hao followed his word and lived life with a smile, for a moment at least. However, when a guard apparently heard Hao conversing with himself at night, he immediately suspected Hao of being a demon, and reported to Monk Densen, a known exorcist. Densen proved to be a fraud, and was easily overpowered, however this battle also proved to be a breaking point in Hao's path to evil. Hao recognized the man to be the one who killed his mother, and with his first oversoul, performed his first murder. By over depleting his Furyoku, Hao was unable to maintain control of his powers and unintentionally consumed Ohachiyo's power. This event leads to a constant Reishi that Hao is unable to turn off, leading to his path towards destruction.
Later life
[edit]
Onmyōji Asakura Hao
With the experience of his childhood, Hao had tasted the power of a Shaman. He proved to be a genius in the divine abilities and his skills flourished with time. Hao grew to possess a good nature and he began training to become a onmyōji that eliminated demons. Due his loneliness Hao created an Oni , but due to his ability to controls demons, it did not come as a problem. During that time Hao met Matamune, one of his most valued friends and on of the two who would become his killers. Hao stated that Matamune was his only true friend, and gave it some of his spiritual energy in the hopes that Matamune would stay with him forever. Nevertheless, the curse implanted on Hao from Ohachiyo was permanent and eventually drove Hao mad. Matamune sadly left Hao as he saw his master fall into madness, blaming himself for not being able to help him. Hao eventually learned of the Shaman Fight, and came to believe it is the key to cleansing the world of non-shamans, which he felt were defiling the natural world. His plans to create a shaman-only world were discovered and the Asakura clan stood against him and managed to defeat him. Afterwards, the Asakura family changed their family symbol from the traditional Yin-Yang five star sign (the emblem of the family's head, Hao) into a seven star tree that stated their renewal.
Second Life
Patch Hao
However, Hao's Ying-Yang jutsu, the mastery of the five elements of nature (fire, metal, wood, earth, water), prevented his permanent death as he could now control the circumstances of his reincarnation. He was able to gain the ability to control his soul using the ritual of Taizan Kuzun, one of the greatest and most esoteric of Onmyodo arts, an old name for the god of the underworld. Though Taizan Kuzun could only be reached by getting past the seventy five Lords of Hell, succeeding in making a contract with him gives one the ability to resurrect the dead or reincarnate themselves at will. The fact that Hao was able to perform this act as a living human being is a testament to his power, given that not even ghosts can reach Taizan Kuzun.
Hao then chose to be reincarnated as a Patch Tribe member, as they organized the Shaman Tournament, and then he stole the Spirit of Fire from the Patch tribe. During this time he also had a wife and a child, whom he abandoned. With his new ghost, Hao conquered many enemies with ease, including the Five Seminoa Warriors, who after hearing his goals decided stop him.
He once again projected his idea of a shaman world, but was rejected by the shamans he was trying to promote. He again had the same plans of conquering the world and killing all humans, but he was stopped by Asakura Yohken and Matamune(his former loyal companion) using the Futsu no Mitama (the Antiquity in the English anime), a sword of spirits, and the Senhachijuu (only in the anime), a set of 1080 prayer beads containing powerful spirits of the Asakura family.
Hao came very close to winning the shaman tournament, and was able to demonstrate the capacity of his power, becoming very infamous to shamans world wide. Despite the fact he died before becoming Shaman King, he achieved his goal of capturing the legendary Spirit of Fire for use as his guardian spirit in his next life. The Spirit of Fire is one of the few "God" class spirits in existence, possessing great power. Unfortunately he later reincarnated in a new life.
The wife and child he left behind were about to be killed, when the Patch Tribe realized that they where now missing a priest, so they allowed both of them to live in order to keep the line of Patch Priests and several generations later Silva of the Ten Patch Officiants was born from the same lineage of Patch Hao.
Third Life
In the story line, Hao's Soul was split in two, one being the one that has Hao's memories, and the other held the human side of Hao; this part of the soul is Yoh Asakura. In this incarnation he had the spirit of fire as his guardian ghost and he again had the same goal of becoming the shaman king and also merging his soul with Yoh's Soul.
Birth
After being killed as Patch Hao he choose to be reborn into his original blood line to become stronger. His actions was foreseen by Asakura Yohmei and it was decided to kill him. However when Yohmei was about to strike the infant he hesitated and that was enough for Hao to summon the Spirit of Fire. Trying to kill Yohmei with a punch, Mikihisa placed himself in the way and got badly burned. Hao then told Keiko to stay still as he did not wish his important other half to die before being born. With these words he laughs and disappeared.
Gaining Followers
After escaping the Asakura family he was apparently raised by Blocken Meyer. When he was five or six he and Blocken left their home looking for followers. Where ever Hao went he left a path of destruction in his wake. He killed Lyserg's parents when they recognized him as an great evil and tried to stop him, Maimed Cebin Mendel for no reason, killing military units when he was looking for Mohamed Tabarsi, and at his birth burned his father's face and injured his grandfather. He also destroyed the church-orphanage home of Marco and killed his entire family when he wanted to recruit Luchist Lasso.
Soon, already at the age of 8, Hao had gathered himself an incredible amount of followers, that he would teach many of his own personal techniques, such as the Fumon Tonkou.
Becoming the Shaman King
After the end of the Second Rounds of the Shaman Fights the Patch brought Team "Hoshi-Gumi", Team "The Ren", Team "Funbari Onsen", and Team "X-I" to the Continent of Mu, where the third and final rounds would be held. But instead of continuing the competition, did the the other three teams forfeit, thus making Hao the new Shaman King. Lip and Rap then proceeded to lead him through the Plants to the Kings Sanctuary where Hao would sleep a pseudo like death while being united with Great Spirit. When he finally awakens he sends a message to the oracle bells that reads "'so small" .
He effortlessly kills everyone, with a simple glance, except Rutherfor, Opacho and Yoh. Opacho commented that the Hao she knew wasn't here anymore and Yoh was able to deduce that Hao was controling his body even though his spirit had already moved on as the Shaman King, Yoh then states that this Hao is nothing but a walking corpse and decapetates it.[5] Hao however doesn't die most likely due to being omnipotent after his merge with the Great Spirit. After he grins, Yoh's soul and Amidamaru are seen being absorbed by Hao. When Yoh wakes up, he realises he must be inside the Great Spirit and then Hao appears, revealing that he's actually inside him and in the highest society of the Great Spirit, the society of the Shaman King where only people Hao wishes to enter may come. The two start a conversation during which Yoh reveals that he too dislikes humans because they really are destroying the Earth. But he also admits that he could never go as far as to kill them, so Hao orders him to leave. Somehow Yoh isn't banished and Ren, Lyserg, Chocolove McDonell and Horohoro appear too. Then a fierce battle between the 5 Elemental Warriors and the Shaman King begins.
Yoh and his friends give a battle that no one forgets and the battle ends up a fight of the forces of earth vs the power of the sun. The battle is so evenly matched the fight ends in a complete stalemate. A train comes out of nowhere ending the fight cold. On that train are all the people Hao killed when he became king. Hao finally manages to calm down and break his oversoul after Opacho jumps purposely into a black hole that he had created, but before she could be hurt. Hao realizes that his quest was not for what he has become but something else but can not remember what it is. The Asakura family says that his quest started because of his mother. Yoh finally knows what Hao is after and tells Hao that his mother was always beside Hao as a ghost. Hao sees that his mother could have been his guardian ghost and oversoul but he was so blinded by his quest that he could not see the truth. When his mother arrives on the scene Hao starts crying happy to be reunited with her.Afterwards, he lets everyone return to Earth, but tells Yoh that he still hates humans, but will let them sort out their problems before he passes judgement, and not to be so impertinent. at the end of the series, it shows Hao watching ove Yoh and his friends happily,implying that he finally let go of
his hatred and accepted his role as Shaman King.
Miscellanea
Hao enjoys watching fights, particularly those that involve Yoh. During the anime, from the time Yoh arrives in
AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Hao is always watching him at some point. However it is the fights that the strong shamans and Yoh are in that Hao is most interested, given his aloof and
elitistElitism is the belief or attitude that those individuals who are considered members of the elite—a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities, intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes—are those whose views on a matter are to...
attitude to the world.
At one point, he also shows great interest in Ren, asking him to join his team. Ren refuses, and Hao does not bring up the subject again until the final battle in the anime. He states that Ren's temper is suitable for his power, "as expected of someone I once had my eyes on."
Hao constantly keeps an eye on Yoh or sends his men or women to do his bidding in an effort to make Yoh stronger so that when he and Yoh "become one", Hao won't be pulled back by Yoh's weakness. The reason for this is that Yoh is actually Hao's reincarnation- part of Hao's original soul was reincarnated as Yoh, so Hao wants to merge their souls eventually so he can become whole again, and much more powerful.
Near the end of the series, there are some differences that should be noted: In the Japanese version of the anime, Hao is disgusted with Yoh due to his "Everything will work out" attitude. In addition, he says that he has more than enough power ever since the
Spirit of FireThe Spirit of Fire is a elemental spirit. In the manga and anime series Shaman King it is primarily associated with the Asakura Hao, its Shaman.-Background:...
consumed
ShamashShamash or Šamaš was the common Akkadian name of the sun god and god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu.-History and meaning:...
, so he no longer needs Yoh. However, he still consumes Yoh's soul because he considers him an eyesore. In the English dub, Hao says that Yoh's true purpose is to join forces with him so that they can take the Great Spirits (King of Spirits in the English dub), and since Yoh refuses, he consumes his soul, but not before hinting that he would've spared Yoh had he just "fulfilled his destiny".
In the manga, everyone tried to rescue Hao from his loneliness even his late mother came and reprimanded him for being so childish and causing trouble. She also told him that he should change and showed love and affection for humans. Yoh promised him that he would change the world and Hao,who was no longer blinded by hatred, told them that he would watch over them and see what would happen.
Followers
- Kanna Bismarch
- Marion Phauna
- Matilda Matisse
- Big Guy Bill Burton
- Ryo Kamishiro and Zen Hoshi (known together as BoZ Brothers)
- Peyote Diaz (Known as Tecolote in the English Manga and Ramiro in the English Anime)
- Luchist Lasso
- Blocken Meyer
- Magna
- Nichrome
- Opacho
Opacho is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Shaman King. She is the most loyal of Asakura Hao's followers. In the 4Kids dub, her gender was changed from female to male for unknown reasons.-Appearance:...
- Mohamed "Turbine" Tabarsi
- Boris Tepes Dracula III
- Yamada Kouji(Damayaji in the English Manga)
- Hang Zang-Ching
Events of Shaman King
Upon Hao's second reincarnation, he chose to be reborn as a member of the Asakura family once more. However, his soul ends up splitting in two; the other half becomes Hao's twin brother,
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:...
. This made both of them the reincarnations of the original Asakura Hao, and it was said since Yoh was, in a sense, Hao, as the two of them were once one and the same, he might be the only one capable of defeating Hao.
As he is being born into his second incarnation,
Yohmei AsakuraYohmei Asakura is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Shaman King.He is Yoh Asakura's maternal grandfather and he is the current head of the Asakura family. He is an onmyōji who specializes in divination, and fortune telling...
attempts to assassinate him, but hesitates at the last moment. The moment of hesitation is enough as the
Spirit of FireThe Spirit of Fire is a elemental spirit. In the manga and anime series Shaman King it is primarily associated with the Asakura Hao, its Shaman.-Background:...
appears and takes Hao away forcefully. In the fight that ensues, Mikihisa Asakura, Yoh and Hao's father, is permanently disfigured, and has to wear a mask at all times. While the Asakuras had failed to prevent Hao from attempting to becoming Shaman King, the birth of Yoh brought hope that Hao would finally be defeated.
After this time Hao also recruits a number of powerful shaman and each forms divisional groups ending with the word -gumi. These groups include:
- Team Hoshi-Gumi ( Star ):
Hao Asakura,
Luchist Lasso, and
Opacho
- Team Hana-Gumi ( Flower ):
Marion Phauna,
Maltida Matisse, and
Kanna Bismarch
- Team Tsuchi-Gumi ( Earth ):
Peyote Diaz,
and Ryo Kamishiro and Zen Hoshi, otherwise known as BoZ(English Anime: Flying Zen Brothers)
- Team Tsuki-Gumi ( Moon ) :
Hang Zang-Ching,
Big Guy Bill Burton, and
Turbine
- Team Kaze-Gumi ( Wind ) :
Boris Tepes Dracula, Kouji Yamada and Blocken Meyer
His spirit ally is the
Spirit of FireThe Spirit of Fire is a elemental spirit. In the manga and anime series Shaman King it is primarily associated with the Asakura Hao, its Shaman.-Background:...
. However, because of the Spirit's journey back from hell, it lost much of its power, which it regained by consuming other souls. By the time of the Shaman Fight, the Spirit of Fire is only very slightly less powerful than 500 years before, which is visible in the scene where Hao destroys the Seminoa warriors.
In the anime, Hao forcefully subjects the Great Spirits to his will, gaining unimaginable power in the process. The
Spirit of FireThe Spirit of Fire is a elemental spirit. In the manga and anime series Shaman King it is primarily associated with the Asakura Hao, its Shaman.-Background:...
morphs and its new form easily defeats all of Yoh's group in a single attack. Yoh, who had just broke out of his prison and nearly beat Hao a moment ago, was now easily defeated by Hao, now practically unstoppable. However, eventually every single shaman in the world donates their furyoku, or what is left of it, to Yoh, and he achieves an ultimate oversoul that uses furyoku to recreate a body for both the Spirit and the Shaman. Hao and Yoh continue to struggle, until finally Hao is defeated by the combined power of the world, and the holy land of the stars disintegrates around the shamans.
However in the manga, Hao does eventually become Shaman King and it is during this period that he loses the Spirit of Fire (obtained by Lyserg) for the ultimate power, the great spirit itself. Though Yoh and his team were on the path to stopping him while he slept to merge with the great spirit, the manga abruptly ended due to its cancellation from Shonen Jump and no definite ending was released, but its assumed Yoh defeated him. With the return of the series in Japan in 2008 (two reprinted volumes scheduled for release each month, totalling up to the re-release of 27 condensed volumes with new coverart), the definite ending between the decisive battle will be revealed.
Abilities/Techniques
Because he has died and reincarnated two times he has a high Furyoku, of 1,250,000 as of his current life.[3] During his first life, according to Asakura Yohmei, he was so strong that even the strongest Shikigamis swore him loyalty.
- Onmyōdō
' is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism. It is based on the Chinese philosophies of Wu Xing and Yin and yang, introduced into Japan at the turn of the 6th century, and accepted as a practical system of divination...
(陰陽道)
Hao's original abilities of a taijitu master from his first life gives him full control over the elements and divination powers. He is not only able to manipulate the five elements of nature, fire, earth, wind, metal, and water materially, but also spiritually as shown when he converts the spirit of fire into the spirit of water. Even without the spirit of fire, Hao possesses great elemental and divination abilities and can easily bend oni and demigods to his will. However with the addition of the spirit of fire, one can only assume that he can greatly amplify the circular properties of his art by using the spirit of fire as a power source. However, the spirit of fire uses mostly physical attacks, and on occasion its fire attributes. Since Hao is fond of the element fire, he is rarely seen using his taijitu arts in both the manga and the anime. Nevertheless, the combination that his Onmyōdō abilities and the Spirit of Fire forms definitely gives him an oversoul second in power only to one with the great spirit.
This is the ability to read the hearts of others. Whilst in some ways a useful ability, it is incredibly hard to control, with the end result that Hao was constantly inundated with the thoughts of those surrounding him. As a result, his contempt for the human race grew until he sought to create a world of only shamans.
- Taizanfukun no Sai (泰山府君祭)
Taizanfukun is the ancient Chinese name for the King of Hell, who judges the dead and decides their fate. It is through this technique that Hao was able to be reborn 500 years later as one of the Patch, and then again 500 years later.
- Ring of Fire (リング・オブ・ファイアー)
An attack similar to that of Yoh's Shinkuu Buddha Giri (Celestial Slash).
- Kurobina (黒雛; Manga only)
Hao's form of armor oversoul, it is first shown in chapter 233 when he used it to defend himself from a laser shot by a X-Law satellite. Like other armor oversouls, the power of Kurobina is immense as shown when Hao personally destroyed a fleet of battle ships sent from Manta's father. In this form, Hao is able to hover and fly in the air while also being able to fire immense blasts using the shuttle packs on his back.
Anime vs Manga
- In the manga, Hao becomes the Shaman King and Yoh sets off to stop him. The series abruptly ends in the middle of the conflict. In the anime, Hao's Spirit of Fire
The Spirit of Fire is a elemental spirit. In the manga and anime series Shaman King it is primarily associated with the Asakura Hao, its Shaman.-Background:...
devours the King of Spirits. Yoh, with the combined power of all the shamans in the world, achieves an ultimate level of oversoul, and defeats Hao and the Spirit of FireThe Spirit of Fire is a elemental spirit. In the manga and anime series Shaman King it is primarily associated with the Asakura Hao, its Shaman.-Background:...
by slicing them in half. The Shaman Tournament is put off indefinitely as the Patch Village fades away, but is set to begin again at the end of the series.
- In the manga, Hao's Spirit of Fire consumes far less often then it does in the anime.
- In the manga, Hao also seems less interested in Yoh than in the anime, taking a more direct pursuit of obtaining the Great Spirit, although in some points he does state that he wants Yoh to join him. However, he still shows interest in Ren, like the anime, and Horohoro, after obtaining armor oversoul in the manga.
- In the manga the Spirit of Fire
The Spirit of Fire is a elemental spirit. In the manga and anime series Shaman King it is primarily associated with the Asakura Hao, its Shaman.-Background:...
comes to the possession of Lyserg DiethelLyserg Diethel is a fictional British character from the anime and manga series Shaman King. He is an orphaned from a young age, when Asakura Hao killed his parents,when they refused to join him. This in turn makes him seek revenge, and eventually made him participate in the Shaman Fights to kill...
; this is not the case in the anime. Hao was killed when he was chopped in half by Yoh and Amidamaru. It's implied that Manta has the impression that he's still alive. It can be assumed that Hao will reincarnate himself again in 500 years for the next tournament, although Yoh's fate, whether or not he would be reabsorbed into Hao's soul or exist independently as a separate entity, is open to interpretation.
Connection with Abe no Seimei
There are at least two connections between Hao Asakura and the famous onmyoji,
Abe no Seimeiwas an onmyōji, a leading specialist of onmyōdō during the middle of the Heian Period in Japan. In addition to his prominence in history, he is a legendary figure in Japanese folklore and has been portrayed in a number of stories and films....
:
- Both died in the year 1005.
- Abe no Seimei wrote Senji Ryakketsu
is one of the texts written by the legendary Abe no Seimei during the Heian Period in Japan. It is attributed to Seimei since it contains a chapter that clearly bears his name.-Contents:...
, an onmyodo primer. Hao Asakura wrote the "Chou Senji Ryakketsu," the ultimate tome of the shamans.
Spirit
His first spirit was that of a spirit called Ohachiyo, once a human, Ohachiyo, would eventually become a small demon ressembling a rabbit with exaggerated long ears. Hao only used him to create a small Over Soul over a knife once, while Ohachiyo tought him how to use it.[4]
While being an adult during his first life Hao would use his Onmyōdō(陰陽道) magic to make to simple Shikigamis, called Zenki and Kouki into Demi-God spirits, that would later go on to protect his personal book of teachings.
When he reincarnated into the Patch Tribe, Hao stole the Spirit of Fire, one of five elemental spirits created from the great spirit itself. However as he reincarnated, so did the Spirit of Fire and Hao has, as of his third life, been constantly feeding it, to make it stronger.
Having won the shaman tournament, Hao has become the new Shaman King and has bonded with the Great Spirit. This grants him both Omniscience and Omnipotence. Able to absorb other souls simply by looking at them and destroying anything with a thought.
Trivia
- Silva, who is the descendant of the Patch Hao, similarity is so striking that at first Yoh mistakes Patch Hao for Silva
- In the English anime, Hao tends to say "so tiny" when referring to his opponents, but in the manga, he says "How small".
- According to Marco of the X-Laws over 80% of the contestants in the Shaman Tournament are related to Hao in some way