Manta walks into a shaman's life and never leaves, that's the whole show, and it works because Yoh's fundamentally decent in a way most shounen leads aren't. The middle section breathes, letting you actually know these characters before the tournament starts grinding toward its finish. It hits the manga completely, which means you get the whole story, even if the pacing feels like it's running three different speeds to get there.

Manta is an ordinary middle-schooler who cuts through a cemetery one night and meets Yoh Asakura, a young shaman sitting among his ghostly friends. Yoh can see ghosts, talk to them, and let them possess his body to channel their power. This isn't a hobby: it's his destiny. A tournament called the Shaman Fight happens once every five centuries, and shamans from across the globe compete to become the Shaman King, who can call on the Great Spirit and reshape the world. Yoh aims to win it, backed by his fiancée Anna, who puts him through harsh training, and a loyal samurai ghost named Amidamaru. Manta becomes his friend and joins him on the path. Along the way Yoh must also confront Hao, a powerful shaman who wants the title for himself so he can build a new world populated only by shamans.