Hikaru no Go

Hikaru no Go is a manga centered around a young boy and Japanese game called Go. When a boy goes up to his grandfather's attic to try and find something to sell for money, he stumbles across an old Go board with blood stains on the top. Citing to his friend Akari that he found something, he shows he the board and than is confused when she says she can't see the blood marks that he is referring to. The voice of Sai, a Japanese noble than echos in the boy Hikaru's mind and tells him to let him join together.
Through this union in consicousness, Hikaru reluctantly begins to learn the game of go and learns of Sai's goals to play the "divine move." I really enjoyed this manga simply for the story, as the artwork is okay, but doesn't have the oomph! that the story does.
This manga was written by Yumi Hotta with the Art by Takeshi Obata and supervised by Yukari Umezawa, who is a 5 Dan in Go.

I personaly think that the story wasnt too original- but it didnt have to be. There are many ways you could go from "a boy finds a board game with a gost trpped inside it and the boy starts enjoying the game". With this story, i think Hotta Yumi did a lot of great things to make this concept more interesting. There was a lot of humor in the story and i think anyone would find that enjoyable. There were also moments wre you could relate to the characters and for people who know how to play go, it is really fun to listen to them reviewing a game(and even if you dont play Go, this manga will teach you many things about Go and will get you interested in atleast learning Go)

A big letdown was the ending. There isnt much i can say about the ending other than it just leaves you hanging. You will probably be left thinking about what couldve become of the main character's life-and even about the small characters that had big goals. I dont know if that was what the author was going for or not, but it does make you think a little. I think that since there is no sequel to the story, this became a bad ending and i dont know about other people, but this made me mad. Regardless of this, i still dont regret reading this manga.

The art, as expected from Obata, was great. He put a lot of detail into the art, and when there was a humorous moment, it was partially cuz of the way the characters were drawn. One thing I loved about the art was that at times you would see the characters seem older than they really are and that showed how they were growing.

The main character was the average boy who would never give up to fufill his goal, so as far as the main character goes, it was pretty average. but the athoer characters helped the main one out by making him more mature. The characters overall though, were nothing special. It is not like deathnote or codegeass, where you absolutely were rooting for a specific character nor did you fall in "love" with a specific character- eventhough you would sometimes get caught up in the moment and "tell" the characters waht to do for their own good.

This manga was very enjoyable and is definitely not a waste of time.

I absolutely loved Hikaru no Go. (A little bit of trivia: For those who didn't know this already, Hikaru no Go was drawn by the same artist who drew Death Note, Obata Takeshi-sensei.)

Actually, I've already heard of Hikago a long time ago. However, I felt no sense of urgency to read it. I knew it was good though since I hadn't come across any bad reviews for it. But being primarily a shoujo fan, I lacked enough interest to actually download/buy the manga. It wasn't until I bought an issue of Shonen Jump which contained some chapters of Hikago that I had a reason to read the manga.

This issue contained only a few chapters but it generated enough interest for me to look for the earlier chapters. It was just that good. The story and art simply hooked me.

One would think that a manga about a game you barely know about would probably be boring and confusing. On the contrary, it was anything but. The manga was more about the characters' development and their interactions with each other. It would help if you knew a little about the game but if you didn't, it was okay too. (I had no idea about the game of Go.) It was truly a coming-of-age type of manga as you would witness the growth of the characters, both literally and metaphorically. The story, in the beginning, especially when they were introducing characters, was very engaging. I literally couldn't bring myself to stop reading it. (Which is why I finished it in 3 days. =_=)

The story becomes a little boring in the second saga though. Which would explain for the 9 points in the Story and Enjoyment area.

Now, the art. I could not simply rave enough about Obata-sensei's art. It is simply wonderful. This isn't surprising as he had mentored the likes of mangaka Kentaro Yabuki (Black Cat), Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin) and Yusuke Murata (Eyeshield 21), among many others. Another plus side to reading Hikago is you would witness the evolution of Obata-sensei's art. His style of drawing differs as the chapters go on. Definitely a good reason to read the manga.

Yumi Hotta (the author) did a wonderful work in making the characters. There are a lot of characters and, although it may seem like hard work, she managed to shed light on their personalities, struggles and victories. Character development is (there's no other word for it) sugoi. It is for this reason (and the amazing art) that I have more than my share of character favorites in the series. :3

I thoroughly enjoyed this series and I recommend it to anyone wanting a great, engaging read.

On the ending: I thought the ending was a little disappointing. Nonetheless, I didn't regret reading this great series. :)

Just like everything else in this manga. It's all faithful to the nuance and the soul of this manga, which is full of love for Go and the strong hope and belief that this traditional game will survive, progress, and be passed along to the next generation. With this in mind I really think it has the most perfect ending and turns of events. Many times when something ultimate is reached then it's done, can only decline or disappear instead of progressing. Everyone including Sai had their own roles to play for the sake of Go, for their love for it. Not that I didn't shed sad tears when you-know-what happened, bah. Ooops you don't know? Then nothing happened, really. Just go ahead and read this manga.

I love this manga for its characters' strong passion for Go, especially Sai's and Akira's, and how they both triggered the same passion in Hikaru. Also for its powerful story telling and wonderful, wonderful art. This manga is not overrated just like it was not overdone. It's really a fine manga, so very well done. It's easy to read and understand, it doesn't require much brainpower or knowledge to enjoy, and the fact that it's very very easy to follow shows the complexity and the effort given in its process of creation.

It's a beautiful, entertaining read. If you miss any of the 23 volumes then you're definitely missing something important. Point is, if you want to read then read them all. I assure you that you won't be disappointed and will appreciate this title deeply.

It's the best manga I've ever read. And I've read a LOT of manga, from greats like Dragon Ball to I-only-this-read-for-the-sex-at-the-end like "Idol na kanojo to otaku na boku to". The fact that there hasn't been any good medium about Go since Hikaru no Go tells you all about how good the authors were at turning the boring game of Go (it's not actually boring) into an award-winning manga that brought in a massive influx of new players to the game. Oh man it's just so good. I think I might have an orgasm just thinking about it.

Story: Perfection. Some might say it could go on a bit longer though.
Art: It's the artist for Death Note. He good.
Character: I have to deduct one point here because of the lack of female characters. Even the two main females aren't as developed as the other characters.

Hikaru no Go is about a a boy named Hikaru who gets saddled with a igo-obsessed ghost called Sai. Soon after, Hikaru is sucked through the world of Igo and builds a passion for a game.

I can't recommend this manga series enough, especially when we have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of shounen manga featuring boys born starting the series with paranormal talents. One of the charming aspects of this series is that Hikaru starts with zero igo talents, and zero knowledge about the world of go. The reader discovers along with Hikaru what makes igo such a compelling game.

The games of go become metaphors for people's interactions. Hikaru no Go gently reminds its readers that winning may be sweet, but it's what people build with each other that makes any game of igo unique, remarkable and when we least expect it, life changing.

Art from the famed Takeshi Obata of Death Note & Bakuman [You can check how Obata finds his footing; as the story progress, the art becomes more and more gorgeous and detailed]. The Miyazawa-esque coming of age story from Yumi Hotta. That, I think, is a compliment enough.

There's no need to fake it, neither of us likely know anything about the game of Go. In fact I've read the manga twice and can still only tell you the basics. And odds are if you somehow already knew about Go, you've probably already read this. So the question is: for people who don't know/don't care about Go, is this worth reading? And the answer is abso-friggin-lutely!

The heart of Hikaru no Go is clearly the characters. They all love the game of Go, yet they somehow don't spend lots of time boring the audience with intricate strategy detail talking. While in many sports manga, games will last volumes at a time, most Go games last only a few pages while highlighting the internal monologues of the characters and making them look badass while placing down a Go piece instead. The longest game is maybe 4 chapters and only because it is very pivotal, but even that's not showing the game played step by step, but going into the thoughts and feelings of the characters. As a result, the pacing is just right, lots of things happen and lots of time passes in the series. Also, the audience isn't expected to know about Go in order to enjoy the manga. They're linked to Go through every fiber of their being, yet to the audience, it's not a problem. One problem I have with many sports manga is that I am a nerd, and thus do not care about sports. I don't know the rules of baseball, so when something happens and all the characters react, I'm not sure why they're reacting. Since character reactions are a large part, it's always clear to me. At the same time, it never feels either repetitive or like I'm being talked down to. The result of this is simple perfection on the usage of the games within this series. And there are little end chapter single bonus pages talking about the basics of Go, so even if you come into this as clueless as everyone else, it'll help you pick up on some basic things. And damn if this manga won't make you want to try out Go at least once anyway.

Characters are, as I said before, the most important aspect. The cast is very large. Hikaru meets lots of other players of all skill levels, and every one of them is distinct looking. They might not show up for several volumes at a time, but you'll immediately remember them by their looks. Not only that, but the younger characters will age during the series. Because this is a sports series, there's not exactly a bad guy here either. Thus, having a game of Go against your best friend always stirs up emotions in everyone and makes for fantastic character development. There aren't any one-note single dimensional characters here, there's no pointless business suit bad guys out to screw over people for no reason, there's just a lot of passion. And Hikaru isn't always the focus, lots of characters get spots in the limelight, sometimes for volumes at a time. Yet they're just as interesting so you might not miss Hikaru during that time, and that's not a bad thing. The characters and the setting are also realistic. I know this starts with a kid getting possessed by a Go obsessed ghost, but supernatural is hardly the focus here. The set up also isn't "here's the next bad guy, defeat him", lots of games are played and there's never just one adversary. It's a game between two people, so even when they're cheering for the friend they're currently playing against, it's every man for himself. Fortunately, this does not make everyone a jerk like it could in a lesser series, they play seriously when it's time and hang out together on the weekends. The characters are friends and it's a lot of fun to see them wether they're doing Go related stuff or not.

Anyone who perhaps isn't into traditional shonen or wants a series with strong focus on characters need look no further. People who need lots of action scenes might not find what they're looking for here, but that won't stop it from being the best shonen I've ever read.

So I just binge-read this entire manga on the new shonen jump site, and I am upset. Extremely upset. So upset that I spent the entire day torturing myself with fan fiction and pixiv fan art of this damn series.

How can something so good just flat out end when none of the major climatic points that have been built up to have been reached? This manga is how.

--Spoilers ahead--

Here we are absolutely riveted to the story of Hikaru's growth as a go player, his intense rivalry with Akira, him learning to go on without Sai. Hikaru is doing so well, on an upward trajectory, and then... it just fricking ends.

Now I get that this is not the fault of the creators. I'm sure there were many extraneous reasons that the manga had to be cancelled.

What I take issue with is the people saying this is okay. That they liked how it ended. People let me tell you THIS ENDING FREAKING SUCKS. Heck, it's not even an ending. The story is straight up incomplete. What about Hikaru actually beating Akira through his own his own skill? Honestly the least you can do is bookend the story with a match against Akira so there's some sense of coming full circle.

In other words, I am upset that what I wanted to happen didn't happen. Okay fine. We don't need to see Hikaru beat Akira. But then what about the whole reason for this story in the first place? WHAT ABOUT THE DIVINE MOVE? This was straight up the reason Sai remained as a spirit after he died. What even is a divine move? Who the heck knows because it seemed like something that would be explained or reached later on, but then the manga got axed. Now it just seems like this bs thing that was brought up to make the plot happen. Is it something that Hikaru is destined to accomplish? Is the whole reason Sai disappeared because Hikaru now has the skills to attain what Sai couldn't?? Who the hell knows.

Hikaru reaching a divine move or whatever would actually give real meaning to Sai's disappearance. Sai is gone, but Hikaru accomplishes his goal. He fulfills Sai's desire and becomes at peace with Sai being gone, knowing that Sai's existence is what lead him to do this amazing thing. Knowing that Sai's existence was incredibly important to the world of go, the world Sai loved but was forced out of. Just give us some validation for Sai damn it.

I mean at this point, all we can do is assume that these things happen. Assume that Hikaru becomes this amazing go player who beats his rival and eventually accomplishes a divine move. But see our assumptions don't mean a darn thing. All that fan art we draw, the fan fics we write, the assumptions we make about what happens after the manga ends are just us trying to cope with the fact that the story is incomplete. Which, honestly what else can we do?

--Spoilers end--

Do I regret reading this manga? No. It's amazing. Sai's mentor relationship with Hikaru and Hikaru's rivalry with Akira are so good that it's worth reading the manga just for those two things alone. I wouldn't be so upset right now if I wasn't deeply invested in the story and the characters.

Yes, reading this is worth it. Yes, you will be very upset that it ends mid-story. But there is still a lot of quality content here to obsess over.

Now it's time to watch the anime and torture myself all over again.

Hikaru no Go is written by Yumi Hotta and the art is by Takeshi Obata (the same artist that did Death Note). The story is about a young kid named Hikaru who finds a go board in his father's attic. The board has a spirit attached to it named Sai. Sai (male though looks like a female) attaches himself to Hikaru and together they play the game of Go.

The story is very suspenseful and interesting. It never gets boring and it makes you want to keep reading until you have no more books to read. The storytelling is so greatly done that it makes the stereotype that go is for elderly peole become a game played by youths too. The book is a very young, compelling, and exciting to read.

I would recommend Hikaru no Go to people who like books with a slice of life or competition. You don't even have to know or like Go.

As ancient Oriental board games go (no pun intended) Go, has a reputation for being either extremely boring, extremely difficult, extremely intense, or all of the above. It is not an easy game to play and a game is not easily finished, either. Yet Hikaru no Go, a manga that's all about Go and little else, made it seem exciting and interesting enough to stir some new-found appreciation for one of the oldest games around.

Strange how action-packed manga rarely draw me in, but a manga about a board game (for crying out loud, a BOARD GAME!) can drive me nuts and leave me crying over cliffhangers. Each chapter is more fascinating than the last and if you find yourself saying "I'll stop reading after this chapter...No, after the next one...Damn it's a cliffhanger, I have to read the next volume...When it gets dark, I'll stop...I'll turn on the lights..." You probably won't rest until you've pretty much read all the volumes available to you.

Aside from the engaging story, the art by Obata Takeshi is also something to love. The art is simple, yet the crispness of the images lends a freshness. The inks are bold and striking - no swishy strands, frail noses, and feathers and cherry blossoms here. Everything is pretty much realistic. The details right down to the shoes are awesome. Seriously, I love Hikaru's outfits. He's like a Nike posterboy or something. Also, if you read the manga from volume 1 all the way to 20 in one go (again, no pun intended) you will notice something rather surprising. Hikaru grows up right before your very eyes. Literally. I have seen manga in which the storyline spans at least two years and yet the characters never change. But here, Hikaru grows taller, loses some of the baby fat, and Akari fills out. This attention to detail is really very interesting. About the only thing that remains the same on Shindou-kun is his hair - though it's shorter in the back in the later volumes. The art style also grows cleaner and the inking smoother as the series goes along, which shows that Hikaru isn't the only one whose style is growing and changing. Obata Takeshi's art, by the end of volume 23, is noticeably similar to his incredible work in Death Note and is a far cry from HikaGo's first volume.

However, the manga may not be for everyone. I admit that people who do not like wordy manga or manga with no action, magic or romance will probably not enjoy this very much. Still, if you want substance and realistic inner struggles without the excessive angst and hyperactive SD-ness (although there are still some of those), this is a good manga to read. It can appeal to anybody with even the tiniest bit of ambition, as that is ultimately what the story is about. Those who like comedy can enjoy this, too, as it doesn't take itself too seriously. It would be better if you have some small working knowledge of Go, so you might want to check the game out and play sometimes (though playing is likely to drive you even more nuts). Hopefully, Hikaru no Go will achieve one of its obvious goals - to reach out and make the youth (or anyone, really) interested in this difficult yet highly satisfying strategy game.