A rather inconclusive “conclusion”.
Creative Staff
Writer/Author: Hiroyuki Takei
Translation: Lillian Olsen
English Adaptation: Lance Caselman
What They Say:
After all these years and all the hard work, Yoh and his gang have finally reached the end of the line! Who will be crowned the next Shaman King, and who will go home in defeat? Get ready for the ultimate pulse-pounding Shaman King battle royale!
The Review!
At the start of the volume, we find the heroes wrapping up their previous battle, which Ren quickly ends with an electrifying new move. From there, we see Hao pass through the final plant, and our heroes run into the Patch Radim. Radim’s powerful Platinum Sword proves overwhelmingly powerful, especially when our heroes are forced to confront their steadily decreasing mana, which they also need to preserve for the coming battles. Meanwhile, the kids break into Mu in the Golem, and Faust decides to take charge of the battle and go all out. Though the kids reach Hao thanks to the Golem’s power, they are killed in the blink of an eye by Hao’s overwhelming power. Faust puts up a good fight, but is slain before he can do any real damage, forcing Yoh to step in so he can handle things himself.
Once that battle is finished, the group moves on to the Highlands plant, where they meet Kalim. Realizing how low their mana is running, they take their enemy up on his generous offer to let them rest and recharge. Over the rest of the volume, Gandala retrieves several of the Spirits from hell, Hao mysteriously gives our heroes the Spirit of Fire, and Manta contemplates on how Hao is like a princess waiting for our heroes to rescue him. Then things simply… end. Nothing resolved, in the middle of a fight, with countless threads hanging, things come to a stop.
A few short bonus chapters are included, set well in the future. In them, we follow Hana Asakura, the son of Yoh and Anna, and watch him wander, allowing us to see a handful of our characters and how they’ve changed.
In Summary:
While what’s presented here is certainly a fine enough volume for what it is, it fails completely and utterly at being a conclusion. Instead, it essentially gives the feeling that the series was cut off at an arbitrary point, with 1 or 2 volumes left to go. While there are a few nice battles and plot points shown off here, the whole volume is soured by the number of threads left hanging. All in all, if you’re looking for the “awesome final volume” advertised on the back of the book, prepare to be disappointed.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: B
Package Rating: B+
Text/Translation Rating: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: January 4th, 2011
MSRP: $9.99
