from VIZ Media:
VIZ Media unleashes the final volume of Hiroyuki Takei’s Shaman King as the long-running manga (graphic novel) series reaches a grand climax. The concluding installment, Volume 32, (rated “T” for Teens; MSRP: U.S. $9.99 / $12.99 CAN) hits nationwide on January 4th, 2011.
Yoh Asakura has spent years training for the Shaman Fight, an epic tournament to determine who will become the Shaman King and shape humanity’s future. Unfortunately for Yoh, every shaman in the world is also vying for the same prize.
To most people, ghosts are the stuff of horror stories and nightmares. But to Yoh Asakura, a transfer student at Shinra Private Junior High, they’re his friends! Yoh Asakura is a shaman, one of the gifted few who can speak to spirits by channeling ghosts into his body — like the long-dead samurai Amidamaru. He can also allow them to possess him and use their powers. But a modern-day shaman faces great responsibilities, because spirits — and the people who work with them — can be very dangerous indeed. In the series’ grand finale, A Song Someday, Yoh and his gang finally reach the end of the line after all these years and all the hard work. Who will be crowned the next Shaman King, and who will go home in defeat?
Unconventional author/artist Hiroyuki Takei began his career by winning the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize. After working as an assistant to famed artist Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin, published by VIZ Media), Takei debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997 with Butsu Zone, an action series based on Buddhist mythology. His multicultural adventure manga Shaman King, which debuted in 1998, became a hit and was adapted into an anime TV series. His new series Ultimo (also published by VIZ Media), a historic collaboration with comics legend Stan Lee (co-creator of many iconic superheroes including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men), is currently being serialized in the U.S. in Shonen Jump. Takei lists Osamu Tezuka, American comics and robot anime among his many key influences.