Manta Oyamada
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Manta Oyamada (小山田まん太 Oyamada Manta), known as Mortimer "Morty" in the English anime and English video games, is a fictional character in the anime and manga Shaman King. The name Morty is a pun of the Latin prefix for "death" (with which words begin with mort-, mor-, or mori-).
Manta is an intelligent child who carries a book around with him every day. In the Japanese versions, the book is called the Manjien (万辞苑), meaning "Manta's Book on Everything", while the English manga calls the book the "Mantannian Dictionary". "Manjien" comes from Manta's name and the Japanese word for an encyclopedia, "Kōjien" (広辞苑). Manta is 13 years old and a 7th grader at Shinra Private Academy; Manta goes to school with Yoh and Anna. He was born on September 5 and he is a Virgo. His blood type is "O."
In the English anime, Morty is a fan of ghost stories and the book he carries around is a ghost story book.
Manta can see spirits, but cannot use their powers like his best friends Yoh Asakura and Anna Kyōyama can. He is very expressive and a bit panicky. He physically resembles a Koropokkur (known as "minutians" in the English anime), and has been mistaken for one of the shy nature spirits on several occasions. During the Shaman Tournament, Manta became a shaman, his spirit is Mosuke, Amidamaru's best friend who forged Harusame (Sword of Light in the English anime). He is however not capable of maintaining spirit form because he runs out of furyoku and ends up in trouble. His ghost combines with his laptop, where he is usually at and cannot escape, and forms a hammer. This can also be seen as a parallel to the relationship of Amidamaru and Mosuke as neither Amidamaru and Mosuke nor Yoh and Manta were away from each other for very long and Mosuke and Amidamaru are spirit partners with Manta and Yoh respectively.
In the manga and original Japanese anime, his family owns the Oyamada Electronics Company, and therefore is very rich. Manta's parents and little sister only appear in the manga. Manta's father, Mansumi Oyamada, is 55 years old. His mother, Keiko Oyamada, is 37 years old. His sister, Mannoko Oyamada, is 5 years old. Manta's family plays little role in the story, and, following their initial appearance, they are never seen again in the manga until a brief appearance by Mansumi toward the end of the series.
In the Japanese anime, Manta has an assistant, Tamurazaki. In the English anime, Tamurazaki is "Uncle Jerry" and is Morty's uncle.
[edit] Trivia
- Manta's family name means "small mountain field".
- Manta is given the name "Morty" in the 4Kids! dub. He is never given a surname throughout the dub. However, in the redubbed version that was created for the uncut English release, he is given the name "Morty Manta."
- While much of the first part of the anime focuses on the friendship of Manta Oyamada and Yoh Asakura, the focus soon shifts, and Manta's role in the story is sharply reduced. His appearances in later episodes are more sporadic and are often not essential to the plot. Some would argue that he is portrayed to be much more weak and passive as the series progresses, as compared to his humorous and somewhat eccentric behavior at the beginning of the series.
| Shaman King |
|---|
| Techniques |
| Over Soul (Spirit Control)| Giant Over Soul (Giant Spirit Control) |Double Medium | Spirit Reduction |
| Characters |
| Asakura Family:Yoh Asakura | Anna Kyōyama | Kino Asakura | Yohmei Asakura | Hana Asakura | Yohken Asakura |
| Allies/Teammates: Horohoro (Trey Racer) | Manta Oyamada (Morty) | Chocolove McDaniel (Joco) | Faust VIII | "Wooden Sword" Ryu (Rio) | Tamao Tamamura (Tamara) |
| Spirits: Amidamaru | Bason | Lee Bailong | Tokagero |
| Native American Shamans: Silva | Kalim |
| Tao Family: Tao Jun (Jun) | Tao Ren (Len) | Tao Yúan (En) |
| X-Laws: Iron Maiden Jeanne | Lyserg Diethel | Marco |
| Enemies: Hao Asakura (Zeke) | The Hanagumi | Opacho |
