Shaman King (2021) ending explained: Hao Asakura & the Shaman Fight

A reboot of the 2001 anime, ‘Shaman King’ follows Yoh Asakura, who aspires to win a tournament known as the Shaman Fight, held every 500 years, to become the king of Shamans. The anime series is now streaming on Netflix.

Yoh Asakura, who comes from a family of Shamans, moves to Tokyo to further his training as a Shaman, himself.

There, he meets Manta, who quickly becomes his best friend. Yoh also allies himself with the spirit of Amidamaru, a Samurai from 600 years ago.

Together with Manta and Anna, Yoh’s fiancée, Yoh overcomes a number of obstacles to finding greater power as a Shaman. 

He also befriends “Wooden Sword” Ryu, Tao Ren, and Horohoro during the preliminary rounds of the Shaman fight.

All those who qualified from the first round are asked to gather for the second round and warned that they would never be able to return to their world.

What does the next round have in store? Who is Hao? If you missed something from the final episode, here’s a detailed explanation.

Shaman King ending explained: (Episode 13: ‘And Hao!’ recap)

Last Day and pre-departure

Manta and Yoh talk about how they won’t be able to see each other again after the second round starts. “Wooden Sword” Ryu also bids his friends farewell, having qualified for the next round after becoming a shaman.

Amidamaru and Tokageroh’s spirits also talk about how Yoh and his friends would be facing each other at the tournament. The latter asks him why he isn’t with Yoh, leaving him flustered.

Anna confesses that it’s hard for her to cope with the fact the Yoh will not return, and they spend the night together, explaining why Amidamaru chose to give them space.

While waiting, Yoh, Ren, Horohoro and Ryu are approached by Hao, whose spirit ally quickly attacks Horohoro. Hao claims himself to be the future king.

He reveals that he knows everything about them. He is then stopped by other members of his alliance. Hao leaves, but not before telling Yoh that he is ‘special’ to him and urging him to grow stronger.

The four board an airplane created by the Patch Tribe, who are responsible for carrying out the Shaman Fight.

Surprising second round

The airplane is supposed to take the fighters to the Patch Village in America, however, Hao and his alliance suggest that something is about to happen as they wonder how many will survive.

Just then, an announcement by Patch Tribe leader Glove reveals that the plane is about to vanish into thin air as it’s nothing but an Over Soul, a technique for Shamans to materialise spirits. The participants will then have three months to reach the Patch Village.

As everyone begins to fall, Hao just uses his spirit ally to fly and carry his alliance. Yoh and the others use their respective Over Soul to cushion the landing.

Ryu manages to get a ride and they hitchhike to the nearest town, Yonta Fe. They try to find directions to the Patch Village in the library, but to no luck.

Upon exit, they find Lilirara of the Seminoa Tribe, who were supposedly almost wiped out by the Patch Tribe. She vows to stop the Shaman Fight.

She engages them in battle and uses her spirits to show them visions. Yoh asks her to show them the vision of the pain inflicted on her ancestors, and she obliges.

Truth behind Hao Asakaru

They see a vision of a man who looks similar to Silva, revealed to be a member of the Patch Tribe from 500 years ago, who uses the same spirit ally as Hao in the present day, and annihilates the Seminoa.

As soon as they snap out of vision, they tell Lilirara that the man looked exactly like Hao, and that the person has already reincarnated. She proceeds to tell them all she knows about the Patch Tribe.

Before moving further, it’s important to address events of the first episode. Before Keiko Asakura is about the give birth, her parents Yohmei and Kino Asakura figure out that someone dangerous is about to be reborn as her child.

However, when they realise she’s having twins, Yohmei hesitates but decides to kill the first born. But to his shock, the child has reincarnated with a spirit ally and thwarts his efforts. It’s Hao Asakura. Yes, from the Shaman Fight. He was originally an Onmyoji from 1,000 years ago.

The twin brother is none other than Yoh Asakura, his other half. Yoh states that he’ll reclaim Yoh if he becomes the Shaman King. Yohmei says that Yoh has to now burden the fate of rescuing them all. This explains Hao’s interest in him.

In the present day, after Yoh and others bid goodbye to Lilirara, she’s attacked by Hao. He reveals that the person from Patch Tribe 500 years ago was just a reincarnation of his 1000-year old original self, and the entire tribe isn’t evil, only him.

He reincarnated as Patch Hao to gain the powerful Spirit of Fire as his ally, one of the Five Grand Elemental Spirits belonging to the Patch Tribe. It burns Lilirara’s bones as well as her soul.

In the ending scene, Hao declares that he will exact his revenge on humanity. The story will continue in season 2.


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