Opacho

Opacho (オパチョ) is a fictional character in the Shaman King manga and anime series. She is a member of Hao's Team "Hoshi-Gumi" and is the most loyal of all of Hao's followers.

Appearance
Opacho is a small, young African child, who's the same height as Manta, with a large black Afro and an orange headband. She is mostly seen wearing an orange poncho cloak, similar to what her Hao wears too, with several gold rings around her arms and legs and is mostly barefoot.

However, in public, she is shown wearing regular clothes including a long sleeved red and white jacket, sneakers, jeans, and a white headband.

Personality
Opacho has an incredibly pure heart, and she loves and mostly respects only Hao above all things. This means that Opacho follows Hao almost everywhere he goes. She likes to speak in the third person. however She also sees Hao as a big brother figure, and Hao trusts her the most among all his followers. Most of the time she is always seen by his side. She is also seen to be protective of him as seen when John Denbat is about to fire the laser from a Satellite that was targeted towards Hao and John. Hao often confides in Opacho about his plans, as well as about Yoh and his power. She also loves to bathe.

Abilities and Powers
Opacho has the rare ability to read others' minds, called Reishi. However, she dislikes when others read her mind or their thoughts are too noisy.

Spirit

 * See More: Mama | Spirit of Rain

Using her hair as an Over Soul, she can transform into a sheep, giving her great kicking power. Despite her low Furyoku amount, a single kick was enough to defeat the Patch Officiant Renim.

Years after the Shaman Fight, Usui Horokeu lent Opacho the Spirit of Rain, one of the Five Grand Elemental Spirits.

Past
Opacho was born on February 20, 1996. She was a malnourished baby in South Africa and was about to die from starvation. She also suffered from famine and a disease and had been left alone to die. However, Asakura Hao found and saved her before the vultures could finish her off. Thanks to her near-death experience, strong shamanic powers awakened within her. She was later adopted and raised by Hao. As her new godfather, Hao tried to named her "Ohachiyo", but since she could not pronounce it, she called herself "Opacho", and her name was eventually changed.

Travel Through America
When the Shaman Fight competitors gathered at Yokocha Base, Hao's followers accompanied Hao when he confronted Asakura Yoh and Yoh's friends. Afterwards, the shamans boarded the Patch Jumbo and were flown to America.

En route, the Patch Officiants tasked the shamans with locating and reaching the Patch Village within three months. While still tens of thousands of feet in the air, the jumbo jet was revealed to be an Over Soul shortly before it was dematerialized, dropping all of its passengers. Hao used his Spirit of Fire to carry himself and his followers safely to the ground.

Opacho was among Hao's followers who successfully reached the Patch Village within the time limit.

Shaman Fight Second Round
For the tournament, Opacho was part of Team "Hoshi-Gumi", with Hao and Luchist Lasso. In their first match, Hao took on Team "X-III" and defeated them single-handedly.

Invading the Plants
Opacho does not have much of a role inside the Patch Plants but does join Yoh's side. She is able to tell all the shamans inside where each officiant is and how they attack. This is shown when Tao Ren fights Magna and she told Ren exactly where and when he will be hit. Ren uses this knowledge to use a new attack that hits, instantly killing Magna in the progress.

When the group later arrives at the sixth Plant of the Jungle, Opacho is awoken from her sleep by the constant thoughts of Renim and decides to find and attack him, using her Over Soul to kick him off of the ledge and into a wall. The group then proceeds on to the next Plant.

Day After Maize
After the Shaman Fight, Opacho returned to Africa and was raised by a local shaman.

Years later, Usui Horokeu lent Opacho the Spirit of Rain so she could combat the starvation and thirst of the people and land.

Anime/Manga Difference
Like in the manga series, Opacho is one of Hao's closest allies and is always at his side. Although she supports Hao loyally throughout both anime series, towards the end of the 2001 anime series (once Yoh's soul returns to his body), Opacho notes that Hao is being pushed back, for which Hao angrily glares at her. This horribly frightens her and causes her to sadly state that he is not the same anymore, so she flees from him.

In the 2001 anime series, Opacho has the ability to create an astral body of herself, which can then be used for reconnaissance purposes, allowing her to easily relay information about opponents that are far away. She rarely uses this ability. While in this form, her physical body slips into a trance and her eyes turn white.

Trivia

 * The character's gender was inexplicably changed from female to male for the American manga, the 4Kids English dub, and the 2021 dub although she was voiced by a female voice actress in both Japanese and English.
 * In the Game Boy Advance game Shaman King Legacy of the Spirits, Sprinting Wolf, there is a spirit that has the head of Opacho and the body of a sheep.