Opacho

Opacho (オパチョ) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Shaman King. She is the most loyal of Asakura Hao's followers.

Appearance
Opacho is a small, young African child, she is just as short as Manta, with large pitch black afro hair. She is mostly seen wearing an orange poncho, similar in design to what Hao wears.

Personality
Opacho has an incredibly pure heart, and she loves and respects Hao above all things. This has meant that Opacho follows Hao almost everywhere he goes. She likes to speak in the third person. Opacho sees Hao as a big brother and Hao trusts her the most among all his followers, for she is always seen by his side. She is also seen to be very protective of Hao as seen when John Denbat was about to fire the laser 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 wash.

Abilities and Powers
In the manga, Opacho has strong but unrefined powers including clairvoyance and the ability to project illusions.

She has also demonstrated the power to read minds, just like Asakura Hao and Kyōyama Anna.

Spirit

 * See More: Mama

Using her hair as an oversoul, she can transform into a sheep, giving her great ramming power (as when she rams Ryu into the sky when he tried to capture her).

Past
She was born in 1996. Opacho was a malnourished baby in South Africa and was about to die from starvation when Hao found her. She has also suffered from famine and disease, and had been left alone. However, Hao saved her before the vultures finished her off. Thanks to the near death experience, strong shamanic powers awakened within her. She was later adopted and raised by Hao. As her new godfather Hao named her "Ohachiyo" but since she couldn't pronounce it well she called herself "Opacho". Her name was eventually changed.

Shaman Fights Second Round
Opacho made her first appearance on the Patch Jumbo Jet Oversoul and later on was seen in the Patch Village. She is always seen hanging around Hao no matter where he goes.

Opacho is also part of Hao's team in the Shaman Tournament, alongside with Luchist and took part in their first fight against X-III. However during this time neither she, nor Luchist, did anything and allowed her master to do all the work as he asked.

Invading the Plants
Opacho doesn't have much of a role inside the Patch Plants but she does join Yoh's side. She is able to tell all the shamans inside where each officiant is and how they attack. This proves the most true when Tao Ren kills Magna and tells Ren exactly where and when he will hit. Ren uses this knowledge to use a new attack that hits, instantly killing Magna.

When the group later arrives at the 6th plant of the Jungle, Opacho is awoken from her sleep by the constant thoughts of Renim of the Ten Patch Officiants and decided to find and attack him, eventually using her Over Soul to ram into him and in turn break all of his bones.

Anime/Manga Difference
Although Opacho supports Hao loyally, near the final episodes of the anime series (once Yoh's soul returns to his body), Opacho notes that Hao has made a change for the worse and flees from him. Opacho's last anime appearance is in episode 64 when she is shown watching the Destiny Star fly by. She is one of the few survivors of Hoshi-gumi. It is questionable as to whether or not she is still loyal to Hao after the Shaman Tournament, and her true feelings for Hao remain a mystery.

In the manga, however, Opacho is pretty close to Yoh's team. Hao even sends her to go convince Yoh to rejoin the Shaman Tournament (easily knocking Ryu senseless). She also eats lunch with them. When Hao leaves to be crowned Shaman King, she joins Yoh's party on trying to break into the king of spirit's throne. Opacho becomes a great ally to the group, helping them understand more about Hao.

Trivia

 * The character's gender was inexplicably changed from female to male for the American manga and the 4Kids! English dub, although was still played by female voice actress Tara Sands.
 * In the Game Boy Advance game Shaman King:Soaring Hawk/Sprinting Wolf, there is a spirit that has the head of Opacho and the body of a sheep.