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Hikaru no Go

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Hikaru no Go (ヒカルの碁) is a popular Japanese anime and manga coming of age story based on the board game Go written by Yumi Hotta and illustrated by Takeshi Obata who also was in the creation of Death Note. The production was supervised by Yukari Umezawa (5-dan). The manga is largely responsible for popularizing Go among the youth of Japan in recent years, and in other areas such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.

Hikaru no Go
File:HikarunoGo.jpg
Hikaru No Go
GenreFantasy, Historical Settings, School Life, Shonen
Manga
Written byYumi Hotta
Published byJapan Shueisha
United StatesCanada VIZ Media
France Tonkam
Germany Carlsen Comics
Italy Panini Comics
South Korea Daiwon C.I.
Indonesia Elex Media Komputindo
Thailand NationGroup
Taiwan Daran Comics (Volumes 1-21) Tong Li (Volumes 22-23)
Hong Kong ?
Singapore Chuang Yi (Chinese)
Anime
Directed byShin Nishizawa
StudioStudio Pierrot
Related works
  • Hikaru No Go: New Year Special (sequel)

First released in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1998, Hikaru no Go has achieved tremendous success, spawning a popular Go fad of almost unprecedented proportions. Twenty-three volumes of manga were published in Japan, comprising 189 chapters plus 11 "omake" (extra chapters). The anime series, which was created by Studio Pierrot, ran for 75 half hour episodes from 2001 to 2003 on TV Tokyo, along with the 77-minute extra New Year's Special that aired in January 2004.

In January 2004, the manga series debuted in the United States in the English language periodical Shonen Jump published by VIZ, now VIZ Media. In 2005 it was announced that VIZ Media also has the license to the anime. Hikaru no Go Volume 1 DVD was released on December 27 2005. A Hikaru no Go "Sneak Preview" DVD (first episode) was released in the January 2006 issue of Shonen Jump (Volume 4, Issue 1) to subscribers.

Sometimes abbreviated as 'HGO', 'HikaGo' or 'HnG'.

Hikaru no Go premiered on Toonami Jetstream on July 14, 2006.

Series Premise and Story

The same basic storyline was followed by the manga and anime, with a few changes between versions.

Template:Spoiler

Hikaru Shindo, the title character, is a 6th grade elementary school student in Kita Ward, Tokyo. While exploring his grandfather's shed for something to sell, he stumbles across a Go board haunted by the spirit of Fujiwara-no-Sai, a fictional Go player from the Heian era. Sai wishes to play Go again since he has not been able to since the late Edo period. Because of this desire, and because Hikaru is the only one that can "hear his voice" (unofficial translation), Sai inhabits a part of Hikaru's mind as a separate personality, coexisting, although not always comfortably, with the child.

Urged by Sai, Hikaru starts playing Go even though he really has no interest in the game. The arrangement is that Sai will tell Hikaru the moves to make and Hikaru will place the stones on the board, although Sai also helps Hikaru in his Japanese history homework. When Hikaru, aided by Sai, defeats Toya Akira, a boy his age but very skilled at Go, Akira begins a quest to discover the source of Hikaru's strength. Thus begins an obsession which will come to dominate the rest of Akira's life while captivating the reader's (or viewer's) attention.

Hikaru becomes a member of Haze Middle School's Go team along with Kimihiro Tsutsui and Tetsuo Kaga, the latter forcing him to join. They play in the Winter Middle School Go tournament, but right after Haze's team defeats Kaio Middle School's team in the final, a boy discovers Hikaru Shindo's identity. Haze's team gets disqualified because at the time, Hikaru is not a registered Haze Middle School student. By this time, Hikaru himself is becoming interested in Go, even making a move on his own when Toya Meijin requested a game with him. Hikaru had feared at first that Sai had controlled his body when he played go like a professional, but Sai assured him this was not so.

Despite Kaga being good at Go, he prefers Shogi to Go, due to what happened in his past. He returns to his school Shogi team, and Hikaru and Tsutsui must search for another boy so that they may play as a team in the summer middle school tournament. Hikaru drags in reluctant boy named Yuki Mitani, who is above Hikaru and Tsutsui's go level. Tsutsui, Hikaru, and Mitani play in the summer tournament winning the first round 3-0 but lose to Kaio Middle School (Kaiō) 3-0 in the second round. Hikaru, wishing to see how good he is at Go compared to Akira, plays him with his own ability instead of allowing Sai to. Akira is disappointed, to say the least, at Hikaru's playing ability, and discounts him as a rival.

During the summer holiday, Hikaru finds a way to let Sai play anonymously--through go on the internet. Sai starts to play through Hikaru in an internet cafe for two months, during which the mysterious existence of the legendary internet go player under the nickname "Sai" draws the interest of Go players across the world in China, Korea, USA, and the Netherlands, as the person has defeated pros under their aliases. Akira realizes the similar techniques in Hikaru and Sai's Go and nearly finds out Hikaru's connection to Sai. Akira even races to the cafe to confront Hikaru face-to-face on the matter. Hikaru is saved by the fact that he wasn't playing Go at that moment, and even goes as far as saying that he does not play internet Go. Hikaru and Sai stop playing online. The summer is nearly over.

Hikaru realizes that Akira is gaining strength as he has turned pro. He immediately decides to become an insei himself. In his haste, he does not realize that he cannot play in the next school tournament, as insei are not allowed to participate. Tsutsui, the founder, knows that he has to take time out to study for high school exams and cannot participate in the club as much. Mitani becomes furious that Hikaru had dragged him into the club but now is quitting to be an insei. The club won't be able to challenge Kaiou junior high in the tournament. It is up to Hikaru's friend, Akari Fujisaki, to keep the club together along with the other three members. Mitani leaves but he returns after a long period of time to the club for occasional play. Several members have gradually joined since his departure.

Hikaru becomes an insei despite applying days after the deadline has passed. A day before the interview, he is told he will be required to submit three kifu, but he doesn't even know what they are. Along with the application fee (which is expensive, according to his mother), he will need a parent to attend, and a sponsor. However Ogata-sensei 9-dan, one of the people that has an interest in Hikaru, sponsors him. He passes the interview due to the amount of potential he has, having only been studying Go for a year through the school club. Other applicants before him that day leave in tears. He meets fellow trainees such as Shinichiro Isumi and Yoshitaka Waya who have both been insei for at least two years. Hikaru also meets a 13-year-old boy named Kosuke Ochi. After working his way up the ladder as an insei, at first very slowly, Hikaru, along with many of his insei peers, make it into the pro exam.

The structure of the exam is a series of matches over 27 days. Only the top 3 players with the fewest losses will pass. Ochi is the first to pass the professional exam, without having to complete all of his games. Waya is the second, by winning his game on the last day.

One night early on in the pro exams, Akira, who became a pro the year before, is called to Ochi's grandfather's house. His grandfather has been so happy that his grandson has taken a liking to Go that he pays to have pros come to help Ochi become pro. Akira would have declined the request to concentrate on his matches had he not found out the person requesting was an insei. Akira decides he wants to see Hikaru's current strength by tutoring Ochi to beat him in the match on the last day of the exam. But Ochi refuses Akira's offer as he feels that Akira is overestimating Hikaru since Ochi had beat him in a game before the break before the pro exam started. Three weeks before Ochi will have to face Hikaru, Ochi decides that he will accept Akira's invitation, with a bit of persuasion. However, Ochi loses to Hikaru. Shinichiro Isumi quits the Nine Star Club and is no longer an insei, but still pursues Go. Hikaru passes the professional exam and becomes a professional player.

Akira has an impressive winning streak as a professional, which ends at twenty-six victories with a loss to Kurata. He gets an award for the highest win percentage and the longest winning streak. Hikaru gets his professional player certificate and vows to catch up to Akira. He also realizes why Akira had ignored him earlier, as they will have a match against each other.

Hikaru learns that he is to play his first oteai game, and it will be against Akira. Hikaru is excited that he will finally play against Akira and that they are on equal ground. He is informed that Akira will not show up due to Toya Meijin, Akira's father, having been rushed to the hospital. Hikaru finds out where Toya Meijin is staying reluctantly and is bugged by Sai to visit him. He will be in the hospital for several days. Hikaru discovers that Toya Meijin has had internet Go set up to occupy himself in the hospital. Hikaru sees this as an opportunity to have Sai play Toya Meijin evenly. He asks him if he would play a friend of his on the internet. Toya Meijin is reluctant as why is this person Hikaru knows hiding himself with the internet? Toya Meijin accepts the internet game but there is still reluctance, and Sai knows that though he is going to play Toya Meijin, he will not play him seriously. However, Hikaru realizes this and insists that the Meijin to play sincerely, saying "I don't want you to say that you didn't play it seriously if you lose." This gets a rise from the Meijin, with Hikaru thinking that he could lose, and so he says that if his opponent wins, he will retire, to Hikaru's astonishment.

The time for the game is set as 3 hours. The Meijin will request no visitors that day. The game is watched by several people around the world that realize who the opponents are. It is a tense battle throughout, and the Meijin resigns. Hikaru sees the part where the Meijin could have won the game over Sai, and Sai discovers that the reason why he has been around all this time was to show Hikaru this game with him against the Meijin. True to his word, despite Hikaru's and the Go's community sadness and shock, Toya retires after his next title match, but remains a respected player in the Go community.

Throughout the series, as Hikaru grows, Sai begins to realize that the purpose of his attachment to Hikaru is primarily intended to help Hikaru, rather than allow Sai to continue to play. After Sai's game with Toya Meijin, he (Fujiwara-no-Sai) realizes that his time on Earth is coming to his end. He fades away a few days later while he is playing against a sleepy Hikaru. It is on Kodomo no hi (こどもの日), or Children's Day, May 5th, as indicated by the carp flags in the background of the manga scene.

Distraught at Sai's disappearance, Hikaru embarks on several journeys to the various memorials of Honinbo Shusaku, the Edo-era go master whose body Sai last possessed, in an attempt to find him. When Hikaru finally realizes that Sai is nowhere to be found, he vows never to play Go again.

After Hikaru misses several matches and is threatened with expulsion from the Professional Go Player's Association, Shinichiro Isumi comes back from a Go study trip in China and convinces Hikaru to play with him. Upon playing the first few moves, Hikaru realizes that the only way he could find Sai was to play Go, as he is still with him in the skills he taught him. Afterwards, Hikaru once again begins playing in his matches.

The anime series ends with Hikaru's match against Akira Toya, the culmination of their years of rivalry, but without the presence of Sai. Hikaru loses, but afterwards is visited in a dream by Sai, who hands Hikaru his fan. Following this dream, Hikaru buys his own fan, and carries it with him to Go matches as a memento.

As a result of the match, Hikaru and Akira acknowledge each other as rivals. The final scenes in the anime show Akira and Hikaru arguing like kids in the Go parlor owned by Touya family, along with character's futures to come.

The manga version of Hikaru no Go goes beyond the anime, and goes further on in Hikaru's career to the International Youth Go Tournament, the Hokuto Cup. Hikaru, along with Akira and a Kansai Go player named Kiyoharu Yashiro are selected to represent Japan, while Hong Su-Yong (a Korean Go player who was beaten by Hikaru earlier in the series) and two others represent Korea and three of Shinichiro Isumi's Chinese friends represent their country.

Due to a translation error, an interview of Korean team captain downplays the skill of the legendary former player Honinbo Shusaku. When the Korean learns of the error, he refuses to correct the error and instead emphasizes it when he realizes that it enrages Hikaru, who takes it as a direct affront to Sai. This leads to Hikaru challenging the Korean captain, in a match where Hikaru loses by half a moku. Japan comes in last, behind Korea (1st) and China (2nd).

After the game has ended, the Korean captain asks Hikaru for the reason he plays Go. Tears in his eyes, Hikaru answers: "To bridge the distant past and the distant future". The manga ends symbolically, with a transcendental voice (resembling that of Sai's ghost) asking: "Can you hear my voice?"

English-language adaptations

Hikaru no Go is published in English in the United States Shonen Jump magazine, and in individual graphic novels. The anime is now being shown in English on streaming video one episode at a time on www.toonamijetstream.com to USA residents, although there have been no announcements that it will be shown on their television block on Cartoon Network.

The manga is unedited in the Shonen Jump version and the manga chapters that can be read on the Shonen Jump website. Unlike the earlier Shonen Jump versions, instances of cigarettes are removed from the Hikaru no Go graphic novels so that they can be labelled as appropriate for everyone. For instance, the cigarette that smoker Tetsuo Kaga puts on a Go board is changed to a wad of chewing gum in the graphic novel. The cigarette habits were edited out in more recent (as of 2005) Shonen Jump editions along with the graphic novels. However, the translator slipped up and had Sai communicating his outrage about Tetsuo's "dirty cigarette" (graphic novel vol. 2, p. 9), and in another panel Tetsuo is shown in the background smoking. As of September 2006, references to cigarettes and smoking are still prevalent in the version seen in Shonen Jump. The change in the graphic novels is controversial with the series' fans. Similar changes were made when it was adapted as an anime, inside Japan.

Characters

Names are in Western order (first name before surname) except for Fujiwara-no-Sai's.

  • Hikaru Shindo (進藤 ヒカル Shindō Hikaru) - Protagonist who is assisted by Sai.
  • Fujiwara-no-Sai (藤原佐為) - A spirit from the Heian era of Japan who can't stop playing Go and the mentor of Hikaru Shindo. Sai wants to play the divine move (also known as the Hand of God). In the manga and anime, Sai had possessed the real-life figure Hon'inbo Shusaku and through his body, became the world's best go player of all time. Extremely effeminate by today's standards (as is appropriate for a high-born Heian man), Sai is often drawn with traditionally feminine features and mannerisms, and many fans sometimes mistakenly call him a "she" in passing only to correct themselves after realizing their mistake. His name Fujiwara indicates that he's related to a noble family of extremely high prestige in the Heian period.
  • Akari Fujisaki (藤崎 あかり Fujisaki Akari) - Hikaru's childhood friend. She begins to learn Go as well when Hikaru becomes interested and later joins the Haze Middle School Go club, serving as captain of the girls' team, despite her being a weak player.
  • Akira Toya (塔矢 アキラ Tōya Akira) - Hikaru's biggest rival and Kaio Middle School student. Akira was already a very strong player when Hikaru first began playing and was amazed by Hikaru's seemingly impossible strength. Since his first game with Hikaru, Akira has been obsessed with discovering the secret behind Hikaru's strength.
  • Yuki Mitani (三谷 祐輝 Mitani Yūki) - A player at the Go Club at Haze Middle School who overcomes his cheating habit.
  • Tetsuo Kaga (加賀 鉄男 Kaga Tetsuo) - President of Haze Middle School's Shogi club. Kaga hates Go and prefers Shogi better because, his father forbade Shogi and forced him to play Go from an extremely early age, and he could never please the old man no matter how well he did. He also says he hates Go because Akira is better than he is, while keeping a completely detached attitude towards the game. He still plays Go from time to time to keep his skills limber. Tetsuo smokes cigarettes, which were kept in the earlier U.S. Shonen Jump versions of Hikaru no Go, but were removed from the U.S. graphic novels and the later (as of 2005) Shonen Jump versions.
  • Kimihiro Tsutsui (筒井 公宏 Tsutsui Kimihiro) - Optimistic nerd who relies on a strategy book. Kimihiro is the founder of Haze Middle School's Go club. More of a strategist than a real player, Kimihiro prefers the intellectual pursuits of Go more than its nature as a game.
  • Toya Meijin (塔矢 名人 Tōya Meijin) - Akira Toya's father. His real name is Koyo Toya (塔矢 行洋 Tōya Kōyō); Meijin is a title he received for defeating the best Go players in Japan.
  • Yoshitaka Waya (和谷 義高 Waya Yoshitaka) - Hikaru's "big brother" insei. Like Kaga, he has a dislike for Akira Toya because he can never defeat him and because of Akira's detached attitude towards the game. He had once faced Sai in Internet Go as Zelda for his nickname. He became a pro at the same year as Hikaru.
  • Shinichiro Isumi (伊角 慎一郎 Isumi Shin'ichirō) - Insei that has a lot of self doubt during the pro exam.
  • Kosuke Ochi (越智 康介 Ochi Kōsuke) - Spoiled insei that Akira tutors so Akira can test Hikaru's strength. He then passes the pro exam along with Hikaru and Waya with only 2 losses.
  • Kaoru Kishimoto (岸本 薫 Kishimoto Kaoru) - Kaio Middle School Go club chief and former insei who did not become a professional
  • Yun, also known as Yun Sensei (尹先生) - Yun is Akira's Middle School teacher who is in charge of the school Go club
  • Yuri Hidaka (日高 由梨 Hidaka Yuri) - A 3rd year Kaio Middle School student who stands up for Akira when he gets bullied by three other kids who dislike his presence. She hates bullying of all kinds.
  • Ito (伊藤 Itō), Kojima (小島), and Okumura (奥村), also known as Mean Kids - The family names of three pupils who dislike Akira Toya's presence in the Kaio Middle School Go club; they bully him by making him play two games at the same time without even looking at the boards.
  • Shu (修 Shū) or Shu-san (修さん Shū-san) - The owner of a Go salon where Hikaru finds Yuki. Shu knows a cheater when he sees one. He hires Dake-san to teach Mitani a lesson about cheating.
  • Dake-san (だけさん, Mr. Dake) - A person hired by Shu to teach Yuki Mitani not to cheat. He poses as a regular at the Go salon and hides his strength. He bets money on the game, reveals his strength, and wins 10,000 yen (about $90 U.S.) from Yuki. Hikaru and Sai later win the money back. Dake-san sings romantic songs while playing Go.
  • Heihachi Shindo (進藤平八 Shindō Heihachi) - Hikaru's grandfather.
  • Kuwabara Hon'inbo (桑原本因坊 Kuwabara Hon'inbō) - The current holder of the Hon'inbo title in Hikaru no Go. Kuwabara is friends with Toya Meijin.
  • Harumi Ichikawa (市河 晴美 Ichikawa Harumi) - Ms. Ichikawa is the cashier of the Go club that Akira Toya teaches at. She feels saddened when Akira leaves the club to become a better Go player, primarily because she sports a small crush on the go prodigy.
  • Shigeo Morishita (森下 茂男 Morishita Shigeo), also known as Morishita Sensei or Mr. Morishita - A man who became a pro at the same time that Toya Meijin became a pro. He is Waya's go teacher when Waya first appears. Morishita also mentored Michio Shirakawa (7-dan), the community Go leader.
  • Yuta Fukui (福井 雄太 Fukui Yūta), nicknamed "Fuku" (フク) - An insei and classmate of Waya who does not have Waya's unruly temper.
  • Mitani's sister (三谷の姉 Mitani no Ane) / Yuki's Older Sister - A girl who works at an internet cafe and lets Hikaru go on the computers for free during her shifts. Helps Hikaru with his English. The name used to describe Yuki's sister is different in the English version since Yuki Mitani is usually called by his given name, "Yuki", in the English versions. In the Japanese versions Yuki is referred to by his family name, "Mitani" - therefore his sister is called "Mitani's sister" in the Japanese versions.
  • Seiji Ogata (緒方 精次 Ogata Seiji, 9-dan) - A Go professional who sees Hikaru's talent when he explains a go move that would baffle professional Go players. He is also a student of Koya Toya and soon takes the Meijin title when Koya Toya retires.

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Media and release information

See: Hikaru no Go media and release information

Voice actors

Japanese version (Seiyū)

English version

Episodes

Main article: List of Hikaru No Go episodes

Template:Hikaru no Go

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