Asakura Hao

Asakura Hao(朝倉ハオ Asakura Hao, Zeke Asakura in the English Anime and games) is the main antagonist in the Anime and Manga in Shaman King. He was born Asaha Douji(麻案童子, Asaha Doji) in Japan during the Heian era. During his third life he becomes the twin brother of his descendant Asakura Yoh. His name translates to Leaf King. On an interesting note, the kanji that makes up the Ha portion of his name is also the same kanji that makes up Yoh's name, and the 'o' portion is a Japanese honorific, usually indicating that the person is of very high status. He is the most powerful shaman in the entirety of the series. His childhood is told in the manga side story Mappa Douji.

Appearance
Being Yoh's twin brother and ancestor, Hao is identical to Yoh in many ways physically, prominently in facial features and body structure. Differing from his younger twin, Hao's hair is much longer in length, reaching past his waist. He often wears a poncho that covers his upper body, but in the anime, it resembles more like a cape and he doesn't wear any other upper body clothing.

He wears fingerless gauntlets with four small protrusions where the knuckles are (two on each hand, imprinted with his name) and as well as a pair of baggy pants with two sections each with a set of three straps on each leg and shoes with two studs protruding from the toes. He also wears a belt embedded with the Patch Village insignia and the straps are lined with it as well. When Hao uses the Over Soul or his Ying Yang Jutsu, his hair goes up in several spikes.

When out in public Hao wears a pair of dark blue jeans and a half buttoned white dress shirt with oversized collars and cuffs.

Personality
During his first life, Asakura Hao was constantly surrounded by the horrors of war and thus saw the world as a grim and dark place, until he met the small demon Ohachiyo, who taught him all the positive aspects of life. However, after an accident involving Hao's first Over Soul, Ohachiyo became a permanent part of Hao and cursed him with the very dangerous ability of Reishi(霊視, Reading the Heart). As he grew into an adult Hao became a relatively peaceful man who sought to help the people around him, and thanks to him the Asakura Family prospered. It was because of this gentle and kind nature that he took in the cat Matamune, who wound up becoming what he considered his 'only friend'.

However, his Reishi abilities became too strong and eventually went beyond his control. The negative emotions and thoughts of others were constantly overwhelming him and, since he was unable to turn his Reishi off, the deluge of negativity eventually created a demon inside his own heart. The internal confusion and disorder that was also created eventually led to his desire of creating a Shaman only Kingdom on earth and drove him to become the Shaman King in order to reach this goal.

In his third and most current incarnation, Hao is usually calm, cruel, and all smiles. The occasions when he is really angry are very rare and when he is angry with someone, that person is usually killed and burned to their soul by The Spirit Of Fire. He also likes to watch Shaman Fights, particularly those that involve strong Shaman, and Asakura Yoh. He is not only interested in that, but also claims that when Yoh reached his limit, he will eat him to become the strongest Shaman.

He has shown some dislike of being given family titles, as he glared at Yoh in the last chapter when the latter called him 'Nii-chan'(Big Brother in japanese), and his face darkened when his nephew, Asakura Hana, called him Uncle Hao. Both times he told the person not to call him that.

Abilities and Powers
Because he has died and reincarnated two times he has a high level of Furyoku, 1,250,000, as of his current life. During his first life, according to Asakura Yohmei, he was so strong that even the strongest Shikigamis swore him loyalty.

Shamanic Techniques
Because Hao has lived for a long time and was reborn twice with with all the knowledge of his previous life, he has many techniques and spells. Most of them learned during his first life.

Hao's original abilities of a taijitu master from his first life has given him full control over the elements and divination powers. He is not only able to manipulate the five elements of nature, fire, earth, wood, metal, and water materially, but also spiritually as shown when he converts the Spirit of Fire into the Spirit of Water, albeit temporarily. Even without the spirit of fire, Hao possesses great elemental and divination abilities and can easily bend oni and demigods to his will. However, with the addition of the Spirit of Fire, one can only assume that he can greatly amplify the circular properties of his art by using the it as a power source. However, the spirit of fire uses mostly physical attacks, and on occasion its fire attributes have been used to combat. Since Hao is fond of the element fire, he is rarely seen using his taijitu arts in both the manga and the anime. Nevertheless, the combination that his Onmyōdō abilities and the Spirit of Fire forms definitely gives him an Oversoul second in power only to one with the Great Spirit.
 * Onmyōdō(陰陽道)

This is the ability to read the hearts of others. Whilst in some ways a useful ability, it is incredibly hard to control, with the end result that Hao was constantly inundated with the thoughts of those surrounding him. As a result, his contempt for the human race grew until he sought to create a world of only shamans.
 * Reishi(霊視, Reading the Heart)

Taizan Fukun is the ancient Chinese name for the King of Hell, who judges the dead and decides their fate. It is through this technique that Hao was able to be reborn 500 years later as one of the Patch, and then again 500 years later in the Asakura family. This is probably one of his greatest achivements, because to get to Taizan Fukun, one has to get passed the 75 Lords of Hell, something not even spirits can achieve easily and they can access the underworld far easier than a living human. It is notable that he achieved this in his first time, when he was at his weakest, hinting at his future potential.
 * Ritual of Taizan Fukun(泰山府君祭)


 * Curse Reflection

Curse Reflection is a skill used once by Hao during the invasion of the secret Patch island by the military, when Amano Teruko tried to use her special skill, 2'O Clock Curse, which backfired and killed her instantly. It appears that Hao used this technique subconsciously, not showing any signs of acknowledging her presence.

Spirit

 * See More: Ohachiyo|Zenki and Kouki|Spirit of Fire|Great Spirit

His first Guardian Ghost was a demon named Ohachiyo. He was once a human but would eventually become a small demon resembling a rabbit with exaggerated long ears. Hao only used him once to create a small kanabo Over Soul with a broken katana as a medium.

As an adult during his first life Hao would use his onmyōdō(陰陽道) magic to turn the shikigamis Zenki and Kouki into demi-god spirits, who he would later use to guard his book of teachings, the Chou Senji Ryakketsu. It was also during this time that he gave a cat he had saved, Matamune, a portion of his furyoku to keep with him after Hao had died.

When he reincarnated into the Patch Tribe, Hao stole the Spirit of Fire, one of five elemental spirits created from the Great Spirit itself. However as he reincarnated again, so did the Spirit of Fire, and Hao has, as of his third life, been constantly feeding it the souls of those he has killed to make it stronger.

Having won the Shaman Fight, Hao has become the new Shaman King and has assimilated with the Great Spirit. This grants him both omniscience and omnipotence. He is now able to absorb other souls simply by looking at them.

First Life
Born in Japan by Asanoha Douji, he was named Asaha Douji (麻案童子, Asaha Doji) by his mother. However, later a group of humans killed Asanoha, because they thought that she was a demon. Having his house burnt, Hao wandered and lived aimlessly, believing himself to be a boy with demonic powers (Since the other boys bullied him for this) and dreaming to exterminate all humans. However, one day while sitting by a gate, he met a spirit named Ohachiyo (乙破千代) and they quickly became friends. Ohachiyo gave him the nickname Mappa Douji (地図童子, meaning "demon boy") and convinced him to forget his vengeance towards humans and rather enjoy the aspects of life. Ohachiyo taught him things such as the skill of fishing, the sweetness of candy, the names of different song birds, and most importantly the ability of Reishi (that allows one to read the mind of others) and with that he started to have a peaceful life.

Hao followed his word and lived life with a smile, for a moment at least. However, when a guard apparently heard Hao conversing with himself at night, he immediately suspected Hao of being a demon, and reported to Monk Densen, a known exorcist. Densen proved to be a fraud, and was easily overpowered, however this battle also proved to be a breaking point in Hao's path to evil. Hao recognized the man to be the one who killed his mother, and with his first oversoul, performed his first murder. By over depleting his Furyoku, Hao was unable to maintain control of his powers and unintentionally consumed Ohachiyo's power. This event leads to a constant Reishi that Hao is unable to turn off, leading to his path towards destruction.

With the experience of his childhood, Hao had tasted the power of a Shaman. He proved to be a genius in the divine abilities and his skills flourished with time. Hao grew to possess a good nature and he began training to become a onmyōji that eliminated demons. Due his loneliness Hao created an Oni, but that wasn't a problem to him because he had the ability to control demons. During that time Hao met Matamune, one of his most valued friends and also one of his two killers, the other being Asakura Yohken. Hao stated that Matamune was his only true friend, and gave it some of his spiritual energy in the hopes that Matamune would stay with him forever. Nevertheless, the curse implanted on Hao from Ohachiyo was permanent and eventually drew Hao mad. Matamune sadly left Hao as he saw his master go into madness and blames himself for not being able to help him. Hao eventually learns of the Shaman Fight, and comes to believe it is the key to cleansing the world of non-shamans, which he felt were defiling the natural world. His plans to create a shaman-only world are discovered and the Asakura clan stood against him and managed to defeat him. Afterwards, the Asakura family decided to change their family symbol from the traditional Yin-Yang five star sign (the emblem of the family's head, Hao) into a seven star tree that stated their renewal.

Second Life
However, Hao's Ying-Yang jutsu, the mastery of the five elements of nature (fire, metal, wood, earth, water), prevented his permanent death as he could now control the circumstances of his reincarnation. He was able to gain the ability to control his soul using the ritual of Taizan Kuzun, one of the greatest and most esoteric of Onmyodo arts, and an old name for the god of the underworld. Though Taizan Kuzun could only be reached by getting past the seventy five Lords of Hell, succeeding in making a contract with him gives one the ability to resurrect the dead or reincarnate themselves at will. The fact that Hao was able to perform this act as a living human being is a testament to his power, given that not even ghosts can reach Taizan Kuzun.

Hao then chose to be reincarnated as a Patch Tribe member, the ones that organized the Shaman king Tournament, and then he stole the Spirit of Fire from the Patch tribe. During this time he also had a wife and a child. With his new Guardian Ghost, Hao conquered many enemies with ease, including the Five Seminoa Warriors,who after hearing his goals decided stop him.

He once again projected his idea of a shaman world, but was rejected by the shamans he was trying to promote. He again had the same plans of conquering the world and killing all humans, but he was stopped by Asakura Yohken and Matamune (his former loyal companion) using the Futsu no Mitama (the Antiquity in the English anime), a sword of spirits, and the Senhachijuu (only in the anime), a set of 1080 prayer beads containing powerful spirits of the Asakura family.

Hao came very close to winning the shaman tournament, and was able to demonstrate the capacity of his power, becoming very infamous to shamans worldwide. Despite the fact that he died before becoming Shaman King, he achieved his goal of capturing the legendary Spirit of Fire for use as his guardian spirit in his next life. The Spirit of Fire is one of the few "God" class spirits in existence, possessing great power. Unfortunately he later reincarnated in a new life.

The wife and child he left behind were about to be killed, when the Patch Tribe realized that they where now missing a priest, so they allowed both of them to live in order to keep the line of Patch Priests and several generations later Silva of the Ten Patch Officiants was born from the same lineage of Patch Hao.

Third Life
In the story line, Hao´s Soul was split in two, one being the one that had Hao's memories, and the other held the human side of Hao. This part of Hao's soul is the soul of Asakura Yoh. In this incarnation, he had the Spirit of Fire as his Guardian Ghost and he again had the same goal of becoming the Shaman King and also merging his soul with Yoh's Soul.

Birth
After being killed as Patch Hao he chose to be reborn into his original blood line to become stronger. His actions were foreseen by Asakura Yohmei and it was decided that Hao should be killed upon his rebirth. However, when Yohmei was about to strike the infant he hesitated, and that was enough for Hao to summon the Spirit of Fire. Mikihisa placed himself in the way after Hao tried to kill Yohmei with a punch, and got badly burned in the process. Hao then told Keiko to stay still as he did not wish his important other half to die before being born. With these words he laughed and disappeared.

After escaping the Asakura family he was apparently raised by Blocken Meyer. When he was five or six he and Blocken left their home looking for followers. Wherever Hao went, he left a path of destruction in his wake. He killed Lyserg's parents when they recognized him as an great evil and tried to stop him, maimed Cebin Mendel for no reason, killing military units when he was looking for Mohamed Tabarsi, and at his birth burned his father's face and injured his grandfather. He also destroyed the church-orphanage home of Marco and killed his entire family when he wanted to recruit Luchist Lasso.

Soon, already at the age of 8, Hao had gathered himself an incredible amount of followers that he would teach many of his own personal techniques, such as the Fumon Tonkou.

Invading the Plants
After the end of the Second Rounds of the Shaman Fights the Patch brought Team "Hoshi-Gumi", Team "The Ren", Team "Funbari Onsen", and Team "X-I" to the Continent of Mu, where the third and final rounds would be held. But instead of continuing the competition, the other three teams forfeited, thus making Hao the new Shaman King. Lip and Rap then proceeded to lead him through the Plants to the Kings Sanctuary where Hao would sleep a pseudo like death while being united with Great Spirit. When he finally awakens he sends a message to the Oracle Bells that reads ''"'so small". ''

He effortlessly kills everyone with a simple glance, excluding Rutherfor, Opacho and Yoh. Opacho commented that the Hao she knew wasn't here anymore and Yoh was able to deduce that Hao was controling his body even though his spirit had already moved on as the Shaman King. Yoh then states that this Hao is nothing but a walking corpse and decapitates it. Hao however doesn't die most likely due to being omnipotent after his merge with the Great Spirit. After he grins, Yoh's soul and Amidamaru are seen being absorbed by Hao. When Yoh wakes up, he realises he must be inside the Great Spirit and then Hao appears, revealing that he's actually inside him and in the highest society of the Great Spirit, the society of the Shaman King where only people Hao wishes to enter may come. The two start a conversation during which Yoh reveals that he too dislikes humans because they really are destroying the Earth. But he also admits that he could never go as far as to kill them, so Hao orders him to leave. Somehow Yoh isn't banished and Ren, Lyserg, Chocolove McDonell and Horohoro appear too. Then a fierce battle between the 5 Elemental Warriors and the Shaman King begins.

Yoh and his friends give a battle that no one forgets and the battle ends up a fight of the forces of earth vs the power of the sun. The battle is so evenly matched the fight ends in a complete stalemate. A train comes out of nowhere, ending the fight. On that train are all the people Hao killed when he became king, as well as the dead family members of the Five Elemental Warriors (Chocolove's parents, Lyserg's parents, etc.). Yoh finally manages to calm Hao by letting Opacho jump into a black hole, which Hao stops immediately because of the bond between them. Hao realizes that his quest was not for what he has become but for something else that he could not remember. The Asakura family says that his quest started because of his mother. Yoh finally knows what Hao is after and tells Hao that his mother was always beside Hao as a ghost. Hao sees that his mother could have been his guardian ghost and oversoul but he was so blinded by his quest that he could not see the truth. When his mother arrives on the scene Hao appears overjoyed to see her again. Afterwards, he lets everyone return to Earth, but tells Yoh that he still hates humans, but will let them sort out their problems before he passes judgement, and not to be so impertinent. at the end of the series, it shows Hao watching over Yoh and his friends happily, implying that he finally let go of his hatred and accepted his role as Shaman King.

It is also symbolically implied that Matamune and Hao have finally made amends, as Hao is seen smiling at a small striped cat, and the cat smiles back. It could also mean that Hao has made a new beginning.

Funbari no Uta
Years later he appears before his nephew Asakura Hana, and tells him that he is about to meet with his future wife, Anna III.

Anime/Manga Difference
Very little is told of his past in the anime, only how he was reincarnated and that he stole the Spirit of Fire. Also because Yohken Asakura and Matamune are manga characters only it is never mentioned who precisely killed him, only that it was an Asakura and that it was done while he was sealed with the 1080 Prayer Beads. Also he shows a lot more interest in joining with Yoh in the anime, and far less in the manga.

In the anime is played straight as the villain, being cruel, uncaring, and deceitful (in the way that he even smiles when maiming enemies and has no problem sacrificing his followers). However, in the manga he starts out this way, but is eventually revealed to be more of the 'Tragic Villain' variety. This is backed up by Manta's dream of Hao being a Princess who needed to be 'freed'.

In the anime, he keeps the Spirit of Fire and has it devour the Great Spirit to gain its power instead of actually winning the tournament and the Great Spirit as he does in the manga.

Trivia

 * Silva, being the descendant of the Patch Hao, bears a great resemblance to him.
 * According to Marco of the X-Laws, over 80% of the contestants in the Shaman Tournament are related to Hao in some way.
 * Hao seems to be based off the historical person of Abe no Seimei, the most powerful Onmyoji living during the Heian era.