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Plot Synopsis

Shindou Hikaru is a lazy, under-achieving 6th grader until the day he finds an old goban in his grandfather's storage shed. The goban is haunted by the ghost of the greatest Go player of the Heian era, Fujiwara no Sai, who has spent a thousand years seeking the Hand of God; the Divine Move. Sai's soul attaches to Shindou's, so only Shindou can see or hear him, and Sai wants only one thing: to play Go.

Shindou has no interest in Go, but he takes Sai to a go salon to allow him to play. There Shindou and Sai meet Touya Akira, the same age as Shindou and a gifted Go player. Shindou is fascinated by both Touya's intensity and Sai's love of the game. Soon he develops his own desire to walk the path of Go and become a great player... and Touya's rival.

Written by thefourthvine.

Story & Characters

In an intricately fabricated story of hot-blooded rivalry by Hotta Yumi, a boy name Shindo Hikaru is found with his childhood friend searching for junk items in the attic of his grandfather's house to sell for extra pocket change. He comes across an old Go table with blood stains on it, although the bloodstain is invisible to his friend's eyes. Shindo is even more shocked when a ghostly figure name Sai appears before his eyes. Sai, an ancient Go player instructor during the feudal age of Japan, bears an earthly desire to play Go all his life, after he commited a suicide when he was accused of chating during a game to decide to would teach the emperor Go. Although Shindo is at first reluctant to play what he thinks is one of the most boring game in the world, he is pulled in to the world of fierce competition by the young Go prodigy, Touya Akira, who considers him his rival after Sai uses Hikaru's body to play a game with him.

Soon, Shindo joins his school's Go club, but does he have enough skills to surpass its level and enter the world of the pros?

Rating

9 (very good)

Art

One can easily argue that Takeshi Obata is one of Japan's top illustrator. His work is detailed and magnificently well-drawn, and he is renowned for his other work, such as Death Note. Hikaru no Go is no exception, mostly in that not only does it have the usually amazing character design, but it also shows the characters aging. In the beginning, Shindo and his Go comrades are drawn in a semi-chibi style, but as the series go on near the end, Shindo's design become more slim and mature looking, along with all his other rivals, such as Touya Akira.

The animation quality seems to be somewhat lacking, in that there's not much moving frames for it, especially during the game. It just shows a person extending an arm, and the camera just moves up and down to induce a feeling that character moves, which is a bit dissappointing.

Rating

8 (good)

Sound

While the the opening and ending of Hikaru no Go have appealed to many fans for its upbeat sound, the origional soundtrack is somewhat on the low side. It plays the same soundtrack over and over to an extent where it is overplayed. Of course, there are some exceptions, in that some of the music scores sound extremely nice and create an extremely intense moment. Voice works are pretty nicely arranged, which gives the sound department an average rating.

Rating

6 (average)

Presentation

Hikaru no Go is one of the best rivalry based anime/manga ever created. I took great interest when they made it so that Shindo's true ability was kept hidden among his Go peers. While the anime may bore many people due to its lack of action, its manga counterpart as proven extremely successful due to its drama, comedy, and character relationship. The steps taken toward to show how steadily Shindo improves as he joins the school club, the insei, and into the world of professionals is really well thought of.

Unfortuantely, the anime is short of the true extent that the manga goes into, where manga goes into an international game among China, Korea, and Japan in a tournament called the Hokuto Cup. Those who enjoy the anime and are seeking more can look forward to the New Year special, which acts as a prelude to this disregard arc, although the actual competition was not animated.

All in all, I recommend this series a lot, especially moreso if the person chooses the manga version.

Rating

8 (good)

Final Verdict

8.00 (good)

Reviewed by sammo, 3y 25wk ago