Amidamaru

Amidamaru
Shaman King character
First Episode Appearance	Manga Chapter 1 'Shaman King' Episode 1

Amidamaru (阿弥陀丸 Amidamaru) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Shaman King and its sequel, Shaman King Flowers. He is a 600-year-old samurai ghost who serves as the primary spirit ally of Yoh Asakura, the protagonist of Shaman King. His name is based on the Buddha Amitabha, the principal figure in the Pure Land Buddhist sect.

In the original Japanese edition of the anime adaption, he is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi as an adult and Mitsuki Saiga in his appearances as a child. Amidamaru is voiced by Sean Schemmel in the English dub of the series.

Overview

Amidamaru is introduced in Reincarnation 01 in Shaman King as the ghost of the grave destroyed by Wooden Sword Ryu, a local delinquent leader who claimed the area around Funbari Hill's cemetery as his own private area. The samurai is rumoured to have been an infamous fiend who killed many people before he died, though little else is known about him. When Manta Oyamada and Yoh Asakura, two local high school students, begin frequenting Funbari Hill's cemetery, Manta is beaten up by Ryu. Yoh decides to avenge his new friend and reveals his power as a shaman and asks for Amidamaru's help to take down Ryu and his gang. Amidamaru agrees and Yoh uses the Spirit Integration technique in order to utilize Amidamaru's fighting abilities to defeat Ryu.

When Yoh asks Amidamaru to become his spirit ally, the samurai ghost initially refuses for personal reasons. Manta discovers that Amidamaru has been waiting on Funbari Hill for six-hundred years and after a trip to the local museum, he and Yoh learn that Amidamaru has been waiting for his friend Mosuke to deliver a sword to the hill. After Yoh delivers Mosuke's sword to Amidamaru at last, the samurai agrees to become Yoh's guardian ghost and faithfully stays by Yoh's side. Mosuke's sword, Harusame, later becomes the primary medium that Yoh uses for Amidamaru's spirit in combat. After meeting Yoh, Amidamaru becomes acquainted with many of Yoh's friends and forms friendly relationships with the spirit allies of other shaman, particularly Tokageroh, a bandit from the Muromachi era who initially holds a grudge against Amidamaru, and Bason, the ghost of a powerful Chinese warlord.

As Yoh's guardian ghost, Amidamaru proves to be a trustworthy and powerful spirit ally. As a samurai, he is highly experienced in combat and specializes in fighting one-on-one with opponents who are considerably stronger than he is, possessing remarkable visual acuity. In addition, his six-hundred-year existence as a ghost allows him to change his form according to Yoh's will and regain his original form when he is not in combat. While he is taciturn and dedicated to Yoh, Amidamaru expresses anxiety towards being unable to become stronger in order to aid his master because he is a ghost. Nevertheless, as Yoh becomes increasingly powerful as a shaman, he becomes able to draw out more of Amidamaru's strengths and the two prove to be challenging opponents to defeat. At the conclusion of the series, he becomes the guardian ghost of Yoh and Anna Kyoyama's son, Hana Asakura.

History

Amidamaru was born January 6, 1385 during the Muromachi period in feudal Japan. At a young age, he was orphaned and grew up with a number of orphaned children, including Mosuke, the son of a swordsmith. As one of the eldest children in the group, Amidamaru was compelled to protect the other orphans and drive away bandits. However, Mosuke was displeased that Amidamaru often broke the swords he wielded because they were too poor to afford good strong steel for another sword. Because Amidamaru refused to steal swords from the corpses and skeletons, Mosuke managed to forge an exceptionally high-quality sword from the last of his father's hunting knives. Touched by Mosuke's sacrifice, Amidamaru named the sword Harusame (春雨, "Spring Rain"), which became a symbol of their friendship.

At some point in Amidamaru's life, he encountered the bandit Tokagero, killing him and his entire brigade, and leaving Tokagero's spirit to hold a grudge against Amidamaru for the next 600 years to come. As they grew older, Amidamaru and Mosuke were employed by a daimyo lord who was impressed with Amidamaru's skills as a samurai and Mosuke's craftsmanship as a swordsmith. Their good fortune was short-lived when the daimyo ordered Amidamaru to kill Mosuke to prevent the swordsmith from forging any sword that would exceed the Harusame. Divided between loyalty to his liege lord and his friend, Amidamaru eventually revealed the truth to Mosuke on Funbari Hill. Despite Mosuke's willingness to die for his friend, they arranged for Mosuke to flee while Amidamaru took responsibility for Mosuke's disappearance.

For Amidamaru's sake, Mosuke asked to take the Harusame in order to reforge it with a promise to return the sword to his friend the next night on Funbari Hill. However, a spy discovered their plan informed the daimyo, who arranged for both men to be killed. The daimyo's men arrived on the hill where Amidamaru was waiting; though he killed them all, he died from exhaustation from being forced to fight without the Harusame. Mosuke arrived too late to present the sword and died soon afterward, eventually haunting the sword for the next 600 years. Amidamaru died at the age of 24, with the reputation of an infamous killer into present day, and remained on the hill as a ghost waiting for Mosuke until he met Yoh.

Other Appearances

Amidamaru appears in the anime adaption of Shaman King, primarily in the same capacity as his manga counterpart. At the conclusion of the series, his bond with Yoh is what prevents Yoh's soul from being completely consumed by Hao Asakura and with the combined spirits of all the shaman in the Shaman Fight, Yoh and Amidamaru are able to create a powerful Over Soul that allows them to destroy Hao.

In Shaman King - Hana's Epoch, a oneshot and pilot chapter to Shaman King Flowers, Amidamaru has become the spirit ally of Hana Asakura, the son of Yoh and Anna Kyoyama. As with Yoh, Amidamaru is unwaveringly loyal to Hana, though he also notes how Hana's personality contrasts greatly with Yoh's and worries that Hana lacks a proper outlet for his potential shamanic powers. Amidamaru's role is largely the same in Shaman King Flowers, often attempting to sympathesize with Hana's frustration towards being a shaman and being forced to concede to Hana's unreasonable demands, usually being punished by Tamao Tamamura for failing to keep Hana in check. He spends time with Tokageroh, who had become Wooden Sword Ryu's spirit ally and a friend to Amidamaru.

Amidamaru also appears in the various video games based on the Shaman King series as Yoh's partner.

Notes and References

Template:Shaman King