Introduction | Character Guide | Image Gallery
November, 30 2003 - Hikaru No Go
(translated from Japanese as Hikaru's Go) has made the historical Japanese game
of Igo mainstream. So popular is the game in Japan, it has prompted more of the
Japanese youth to take an interest in what would be considered a game mostly
adults are interested in. The manga written by Yumi
Hotta and drawn by Takeshi Obata (23 tankoban volumes) originally started
publishing in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump Japan in 1997 with the anime
adaptation (75 episodes) starting in 2001. Both formats are extremely popular
although they recently ended each series in 2003. The first chapters are set to
premier in the one year anniversary of Shonen Jump USA this month. Will it be a
big hit to us English speaking folks? The potential for HnG here in the US and
Europe is huge (its popularity has already infected the underground anime scene
worldwide, including the US). Sure, you won’t find huge battles consisting of
great warriors blasting KI beams at each other, nor will you have any monsters
coming out to attack you. Instead, the main premise of this series is about
learning and playing Go, a simple yet profoundly interesting and intense board
game. Don’t let the dull appearance fool you: it has a great story, interesting
characters, drama, suspense and more drama. Did I mention it has drama as well?
Many people will make the mistake of comparing this to Yu Gi Oh because they
both have game intones and similar art styles, and they’d be wrong. HnG story is
much more realistic and its characters are more 3 dimensional.
The story is about a young boy named Shindou Hikaru who discovers a spirit
haunting an old Go board. This entity is an expert Go player who lived during
the Heian period (Japan during the years 793-1192). While visiting his
grandfather’s house, Hikaru and his childhood friend
Akari rummage through many
of his grandfather’s stuff looking for things to sell in the basement. There
they find an old game board used to play Go. It has considerably aged and was
very dusty, but Hikaru was the only one able to see the hidden blood stains on
the board and hear the voice of the spirit attached to it from so long ago. The
spirit’s name is Fujiwara no Sai (or Sai). Once Sai realized he can be seen and
heard by this boy, he merges himself into part of the mind and heart of Hikaru.
There Sai acts as a separate entity seeing, hearing and only being able to
communicate through Hikaru. Sai’s main objective is to have his presence return
to this time period and play the game he loves most: Go. Hikaru at first
reluctantly and eventually agrees to let Sai play through him.
Primarily this series plot the many events Hikaru goes through while learning
about Go with Sai. He does this at the same time while helping Sai challenge
and play the best players in today's era through him. While this happens,
Hikaru’s interest in Go increases as he now wants to learn and play the game on
his own. During the many times Hikaru plays Go (either through Sai or with his
own abilities), we are treated to the many marvels of the popular game. His
enthusiasm becomes infectious with his peers; some of them already knowing how
to play, while others are new to it.
It's clever how everything comes together and works with the comradely among
friends and the competition among rival game players. Judging this series on the
surface may lead you to believe it’s boring because the plot is based on
characters playing a board game. But it's actually quite the opposite. The drama
surrounding Hikaru and his friends will keep most fans hooked as there is
definitely enough interesting stuff going on. And the pacing of the story is
swift; it never seems to bog down or chug because of the game. This is at heart
a true anime/manga series, as the actual game is a template used as a setting
for the characters to interact with. The characters themselves are also
interesting, having the different personalities working with and against each
other. Knowing how to play or being a big fan of the game is not required to
enjoy the series; you can still enjoy it without any actual interest in Go. But
there are benefits to understanding the game; understanding Go will definitely
help the viewer enjoy the anime and manga more. If you’re a beginner and are
worried about missing out on all the interesting stuff when players face off
don’t worry, the anime and manga will intermittently use tutorials integrated
into the story to define specific terms and educate the reader/viewer on the
many different and complex parts of the game. It is one of the series most
important attribute. Although you still will have to learn about the game on
your own, many of these tutorials help beginners (and experts) understand the
thinking behind the player and all his moves. And while the details of learning
Go may be HnG biggest strength, it can also be its biggest weakness. Being
turned off by the game in any capacity will lead fans to avoid this series, even
though they may be able to still enjoy the story and the characters.
Both the anime and manga are identical with the manga being slightly ahead of
the anime in terms of art quality. The quality of the animation and art in the
original Japanese anime is really good. I thought the translation of the manga
to anime was done very well; they are almost equal in terms of what I thought
the series should be like. All of the animation is done using traditional
animation techniques with no use of noticeable computer graphics. The sound
quality is also good using orchestrated music perfectly suited for the mood of
the anime (most of the time, you would never pay attention to the music as it is
often blending in the background; an intended effect for sure) and good voice
actors for each character. The quality of the Manga is excellent. Obata's art
style reminds me much of Kazuki Takahasi's art style for Yu Gi Oh: a bit
cartoony yet slightly realistic (as a matter of fact HnG’s art is better than Yu
Gi Oh’s, although Yu Gi Oh has more style). I'm very impressed with the way
Obata knows how to change direction whether being comical, dramatic or serious,
all while keeping the art at a consistent standard.
Conclusion: Even if you have no interest in Go, you should check out this
series. It’s got a great story, awesome characters and helps you learn about the
game to boot. Once you get into the meat of the story, it will have you hooked,
whether or not you like Go. Another must read manga, go and check it out!
Data Specs
- Genre - drama, comedy / complex board
game theme
- Episodes/Chapters -
Anime: TV episodes - 75 (end 2003), TV specials - 1
Manga: graphic novels – 23 (end 4/2003)
- US Distributor -
R1 DVD: Unknown/Unreleased
Manga: Shonen Jump USA (weekly chapters - 3), (graphic novels - 0/23)
- Coverage Status: Incomplete -
Anime: Raw TV series - (23/75)
Manga: graphic novels (RAW Japanese Jump Comic graphic novel) - (2/23)
Want more information? Below I have a
Character guide to the Hikaru No Go Saga. I have tried my
best to make this guide spoiler free, but I was not able to accomplish this
totally. There are some mild spoilers in them so be forewarned!
