Hiroyuki Takei

Hiroyuki Takei (武井宏之) is the author of the popular anime and manga Shaman King. He was born May 15, 1972 in Yomogita, Aomori Prefecture.

Biography
Hiroyuki Takei started his career as mangaka with his manga "SD Hyakkaten". He was so successful that he became the assistant of famous mangaka such as Nobuhiro Watsuki ("Rurouni Kenshin") and Tamakichi Sakura ("Sabaki no kaminari"). When his manga "Butsu Zone" was published in Weekly Shonen Jump, his career as an assistant of mangaka ended, and his own career as a serious mangaka began.

One of his popular one-shots is Itako no Anna, which features the well-known Shaman King character Kyōyama Anna. Takei, in an interview, stated that Anna is like a personal mascot/good luck charm.

His most famous and longest running work is Shaman King. Takei also wrote two side stories that directly relate to Shaman King: Funbari no Uta and Mappa Douji.