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Title (English) Hikaru no Go
Title (Japanese) Hikaru no Go
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book cover

Fantasy Novel

Notes Creator: Yumi Hotta, Ken Obata (manga)
Classification -
Synopsis The story is about Hikaru, a 6th grader, who while digging around in his grandfather's attic, finds an old, stained Go board, and is found in turn by the spirit of an ancient Go master.
Review Well, I've just watched the first episode of the new TV Tokyo anime "Hikaru no Go" and I'm pleasantly surprised at how entertaining and interesting it was. The story is about Hikaru, a 6th grader, who while digging around in his grandfather's attic, finds an old, stained Go board, and is found in turn by the spirit of an ancient Go master. Before seeing the show I couldn't figure out what they were going to do with this concept - it sounded like a cross between the current anime "Shaman King" and a televised chess match, but it turned out to be quite a well done story.
I don't know anything about "Go", so I figured that if they actually played any Go games, it would be like "watching grass grow", but I was wrong - the show was a nice balance of mystery, humor and fantasy, along with a game. Once Hikaru accepts the "reality" that he is sharing his body with Sai the Go spirit, he decides to go to a Go parlor to try out Sai's tutoring. Upon entering the room, Hikaru comments that "there are only old guys here", but he does notice a boy his age sitting in a corner. The boy gets up and proposes a game, despite the protestations of the hostess. Hikaru happily accepts and they start.
The boy introduces himself as Akira and they start, with Sai crying with joy prior to giving a series of orders to Hikaru. Hikaru has no real idea of what he is doing or why, he just follows along, in as much of a state of bemusement as I was watching. Akira, however, is obviously a real pro, and starts to get more and more frustrated as Hikaru effortlessly uses classic moves to eventually win the match. Hikaru leaves, unaware of his accomplishment, but everyone else in the room is stunned.
At the end of the show, there was a short live action "introduction" to Go, given by a young women called "Yukari sensei", who proceeded to give a very basic lesson on how to start the game to a young girl and boy. The lesson named the board and pieces, and told the kids to put their stones on the intersections of the lines, not in the middle of the squares. The lesson will be continued next time, which is great - I'll be able to learn something of Go both by watching the anime and by watching the lessons. (g)
In addition to the interesting story line, the animation is very well done, as is the voice acting and music. So all-in-all, "Hikaru no Go" is one of the more promising shows of the new season and I look forward to seeing more episodes.

"Hikaru no Go" 2 episodes seen: A big and positive surprise for me, I did not expect that a series about a boy who gets haunted by the spirit of an ancient Go champion could be so original, realistic and engrossing. In one way, the series reminds me of "Comic Party", because of the way that the "world" of Go playing is being revealed. For someone like me who knows nothing about Go and it's place in Japan, this is a wonderful eye opener. Add to this great animation, music, writing, characterization, and to boot, a Go tutorial at the end of every episode, and you have one of this year's "don't miss" series. Rating : A++
(Dave Baranyi ) After 1 episode - I second Dave's comments. This is a really interesting series, especially if one has played Go. It's amusing in places and Akira's discomfiture at Hikaru's effortless win is well done. On the design side, it's well designed and the use of colour is beautiful, with some use of rich red, a colour not much used in most anime palettes. (GC)

Credits Dir: Shin Nishizawa
Episodes
Release
TV Showing See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.
Date 2001 October 10 -
Production Studio Pierrot
Broadcaster TV Tokyo
Animation Studio Pierrot
References & Help Look up the latest data on this title at:
Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or
Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) ,
or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001).
Help & further information.

 

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