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Hikaru No Go Questions And Answers
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Question: Has there been any word that the manga/anime series will continue? And was there ever an explanation of why it ended? Question: kritz available in the USA yet? Hikaru79: The manga is already being featured in Shonen Jump. The anime is still to be released (on DVD). I don't think the anime will ever be aired on American television -- it's too esoteric. =/ Meh. Just as well, I suppose-- I don't think I'd be able to stand walking around my schoolyard and seeing little kids going "I'M HIKARU!! I'M GONNA USE MY KOMOKU ATTACK! RAWW!" -_-;; Question: Tualha: In the Hikaru no Go manga, Chapter 4, Akira says there are "8 crowns". He seems to be talking about Japanese titles. Were there eight then? Mistranslated? Anyone know? Answer SAS: Perhaps "8 crowns" includes the Fujitsu Cup, which the Nihon Ki-in seems to rank above the Gosei (judging by the list on the web page linked at BigTitles). Tualha: I just noticed, near the end of Chapter 61, Isumi mentions the "Student Meijin, Student Honinbo, and Student Juuketsu" titles (in reference to Kadowaki). Is there a Juuketsu title? Google came up empty...
mAsterdam: HolIgor: There was a tournament called "Best Ten". There is similar tournament for the best ten new players in Korea nowadays. Ten players a divided in two five player leagues and then the winners of the leagues meet in the final title match. Dieter: I mad Juketsu alias for Pro best ten. Correct if mistaken. Question: In an effort to open a bit of discussion, I present a theory: Early on in the manga, Hikaru perfectly reproduces a Go board that he's only seen once, very briefly. He plays three simultaneous games, then writes his first three kifu from those games from memory. He plays one-colour Go without losing track of the stones, and is nearly able to produce 4 ties on four boards simultaniously the first time he tries it. Now, skip back to when Akira is forced to play Blind Go against fellow Go club members: someone says that blind Go is difficult even for a pro player. Hikaru's memory is phenomenal, and blind Go requires this skill. Is this foreshadowing? Will Hikaru play a game of blind Go and win with ease? Question: I'm sure that this has been asked before, many times, but I'm not an anime junkie (never have been, really); I can live without anime as long as there's manga! ^___^x Anyway, the result is that I finished Toriyamaworld's supply of Hikaru no Go in only 48 hours. So, I was wondering - where can I find English translations/scanlations/scans of chapters 131-the most recent chapters? Question: In my attempts to feed my family's addiction, I came across an anime of the 6th extra chapter (the one with the antique pottery shop). Is there a subbed version of this? Does anybody know when it was aired? It is rather loosely adapted from the manga, which I have read in its Chinese translation. Answer- MikeNoGo: That special anime was created at the same time as the first episodes of the anime in order to be shown in Fall '01 at a touring version of Jump Festa, an annual festival (hence the name) put on by Shueisha every December with stuff from their Shounen Jump properties and panels with the authors. It was later released on video as part of a sort of Jump giveaway thing, not for sale. Hotta-sensei was the one who penned the story, so she decided to reuse it in the manga many months later as the Sai extra chap. This was a very disappointing move to me, since this chap was to be Sai's last hurrah and Hotta-sensei got lazy and reused something that wasn't even really about Sai that much.
Answer 2: This episode is available subtitled in English by Response to Answer 2: The original video was slightly different to episode 64. Most of the differences were relatively trivial, but in the original there was considerable mention made of the resemblance of the little girl to a girl that Sai used to play with 1000 years ago. I thought that it was a shame that this got left out. Barry MrFigFace? Can ANYBODY please tell me what the song is that they play at the end of the special edition? The one that goes «Yarikake no shukudai wo ki ni shiteru, itsu datte kokoro wa sonna kanji demo, Seikai wa nai tte kimi kara iwarete jiyuu ni nattanda...» that is seriously the best song in the world!!! Any leads? If anybody wants an mp3 I'll gladly post it. Question: Why haven't we seen a ko yet? Answer: We did: the match between Mitani and Kishimoto in the inter-school competition, remember? Answer: Wasn't the san-ko the main point of that theater omake in manga 6? It had to do with some story about how three ko represent misfortune ... Question: I noticed in Episode 101 (the beginner pro game), Hikaru asked Sai to win by 15 pts which Sai was unable to do. Now, the game was played with reverse 5.5 pt komi, so a 15 pt win would require a 10 pt on the board win. Since standard komi is 5.5 pts, it is to be expected that even players will achieve a 5-6 pt win on the board as B. Ok so far? Sai learned go in the era before komi so a win as white (I never lost as Black) required the board to be in jigo or better, which effectivly means Sai can catch up at least five points on the board against a top pro. i.e. Sai is about 5 pts better than the top pros. Putting this together, Sai will be 5 pts ahead from playing first, 5 pts ahead from reverse komi, and 5 pts ahead because he is brilliant. I.e. Sai did not need to handicap his play. --Corrin Stefan: Lots of people seem convinced Sai is as good as or better than the present day top pros (also on the TW forum), but I have my doubts about that. To put it differently: great player though he was, I'm convinced Shusaku would lose out to Cho Chikun or Yoda. (Which reminds me I saw Episode II yesterday evening. Visually stunning, of course, but their plots ain't getting any better!) Even accounting for the 'differences in playing style', hoshi and the likes, that Sai is supposed to have picked up by now. And in any event: he tried and he lost, didn't he? :-) Dieter: Similar questions: would Pele have his place in the current Brazilian team ? Would Borg defeat Hewitt ? Would Luke Skywalker defeat Roy Robert McGregor in a swordsfight ? Shusaku was the dominant player of his era AND made substantial contributions to the development of the game. So did Dosaku and Wu. Cho dominated the Japanese scene - impressive indeed. Whether one could beat a player of another era is impossible to answer and therefore irrelevant, I think. Although I agree that comics are better if they have a coherent plot (which I think Hikaru has), it is rather funny to argue about Sai's strength. Stefan: I see your point, but it is not just a matter of A against B and who is the better player (in my, as always, humble opinion). There is such a thing as evolution of sports and their standards as a whole (I know I said "sports", but please don't get started on go-and-the-olympics). Take world records as an indication - Roberto Salazar was a great marathon runner, but he'd struggle to finish in the top ten of any major event these days. Eddy Merckx dominated his discipline more than Shusaku, but his level is common in today's peloton. Still irrelevant in light of your statement that it's pointless to compare, you say? Ah! But the entire Sai think in Hikaru makes it relevant, I say. :-) (And Nigel Mansell would whoop Schumi's ass, though.) TimBrent I do think a Genan, a Jowa, or a Shusaku would easily adapt to komi and the game of today. I also think they'd do very well,after all what a 7-Dan was then would be a 9p today. Also,there are tactics,etc. in their games that could be brought back into the game and effectively used today, such as Fischer did with Staunton's games in Chess. Could a master such as Sai beat say O Rissei? Yes. Basically outside of some josekis and komi,there really is very little difference from the Go of ancient times (Heian and Edo periods) and today. After all, a lot of Shin Fuseki came from people such as Senkaku. Answer 3: (Chris) I thought the whole point of the game was "how" he played, and not actually what the score was. Sai was playing "like" he was behind by 15 points. He wasn't including komi. In other words, he'd have to win by 20.5 points, including the reverse 5.5 points. IMHO, they are equal strength, and I am looking forward to the rematch. It's just that Sai isn't two stones stronger than Touya Meijin. :) Answer 4: (JoanPonsISemelis) Shusaku's games are still the ones more studied by pro players or wannabe pro players. They would all have shifted to study more modern players if they thought they played better than Shusaku. Answer 5: (Vikki) Two things, both an addition to the previous notes: 1) Hikaru asks Sai to play as if he's 15 moku behind, requiring him to make desperate plays that sink him. That's why Sai loses; later Touya Meijin and play an even game over the 'net, and that... well, you'll see. :) 2) By this point, Sai has learned a lot of modern techniques. As Waya mentions when he sees Sai play over the 'net, it's like watching Shuusaku play after he's learned the modern forms of Go. kungfu : Answer 5 seems correct. I would also like to add that when Touya played 'Sai' the first few times he noted that 'he slowed down in some odd places'. The reason for this is that he was reading out the modern josekis. The fact that he came up with the correct response and still won the game would indicate Sai is several stones stronger that Touya Akira. Perhaps six. Now, if Touya Akira takes three stones from Touya Meijin, then Sai is only one stone away from God (Cho Chikun says he could take 4 stones with God playing white but also said that he wouldn't bet his soul on the game). The whole point of Sai is that Sai is someone who is nearly at the divine move - stronger than any human player. With this in mind answer 5 seems correct and also from what I saw in the anime :) Zarlan: Not the first few times. The first time. The first time Sai played Akira, Akira noticed that Sai's playing style was old, but even though that he still considered some stones to be placed at strange places. "His playing style is old... And why does his hand stop at odd places?" - Touya Akira (chapter 2 of Hikaru no Go) Not because Sai was unfamiliar with the modern plays. No. It was because Sai was playing shidougo. - Actually, I had been assuming that the weird delays were due to Shindo counting the intersections, trying to drop the stones at the right place. Sai and Shindo had not yet organized the 'pointing-fan' approach to signaling moves. Zarlan: He is counting the intersections to know where to play of course but what Akira comments on is the odd places that the stones are played Question: (Thomas) In some of the jpg files from toriyamaworld, there are 2 pages of the manga. It sounds stupid, but i couldn't figure out which one to read first, so, here is my question: left page first, or right? The manga are printed to be read right to left. You read the right page first then left. It is the same as the situation when there are two panels side by side on one page, first the right panel then the left, also the dialog within a panel is read from the right balloon to the left. DaveSigaty Question: (Agnes) and how do you play at the GBA game ? it is all in Japanese, i'm not able to pass only the first screen... (question cut and pasted from the main page, by Dieter) Answer: (jvt) Initially you get to play 2 characters at a very low level. You can choose the handicap and board size (9x9, 13x13 or 19x19), see Hikaru Handheld Game. Meeting other characters, and finishing the game is more difficult. If someone could post translations or a walk-thru it would help a lot! Jasonred : I've done one and posted it on this site. The walkthrough only though, I can't read enough Japanese to understand most of it. Try Walkthrough for Hikaru-GBA Question: No one on IRC is willing to help me out, and I only have the first five episodes. I'm well on my way to becoming a Hikaru No Go Junkie. Anyone know any other way to find the rest of the anime? Thanks! --Regyt
Answer: They seem to be available at least on the
Answer 2: Also, you can try the newsgroup alt.binaries.anime. But the load of the group is pretty high and unavailable in most news servers, so you may need to spend $$ to subscribe to a commercial server to get it.
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Answer 3: Since they turned Napster down (sob!) I use musiccity's client Morpheus ( Answer 4: If you're really, really desperate, I could burn Episodes 1-9 on 3 CD's and mail them... That'll probably be cheaper than trying to download them via a phone line. Ahh, the joys of cable and Winmx and/or Kazaa :-) (Jan) Answer 5: (Regyt) I asked on IGS and some nice person sent 1-10 to me via AIM. I'd be glad to pass them on that way, just IM AshtorethD.
Answer 6: I just opened an FTP server for this purpose. Go to
Answer 7: (Tomjk) There has been opened recently another ftp server for HikaruNoGo anime download. Check it out at:
Answer 8: (Rainer) I found this ftp server a while back and got everyone up to 64... Answer 9: (DevilsKin) The hikago.flirble server now has the 75 episodes and a special new year episode.
Answer 10: Question: Windows media player refuses to play the anime. Where do I find the software for playing the AVI files?
Answer: (jvt) You need a fairly recent media player (such as Windows Media Player 7.1 - download at Answer to the Answer: (AGiss) You do not need to have a recent media player, only the right codec is important (notice that installing/uninstalling players (dvd/avi/other) may corrupt your media player, in the way the only solution is to unistall/install media player) Further Question: (Jan) Does anyone know what codecs etcetera are required to play episode 16? The first 15 played perfectly, but this one gets me a 'Invalid file format' error... Answer: (jvt) All episodes (1-20) use the same DivX codec. Someone asked the same question on #elite-fansubs a few days ago about HnG19. The file got corrupted somehow during download. I don't know why... It never happened to me. Jan: Oh well, I'll just download it again :-( Question: Is the 'room of profound darkness', mentioned in the manga, the Yugen room? Answer 1: (DaveSigaty) Yes but this is not a very good translation. The room's name is Yugen no Ma in the story. This would be better translated as room of mysteries (in the sense of secret or hidden knowledge). There is a scroll on the wall of the room that reads (I think) Shin-oh Yugen which means something like Deepest (most profound) Mysteries. I think that the proper implication is that this is a room for seeking the most profound mysteries of Go - the kami no itte (God's hand) that Sai seeks. Answer 2: (jvt) In the anime episode 13, Umezawa Yukari talks about a visit with children to the Yuugen room at the Nihon Kiin. A note explains:
Answer 3: Yuugen, subtle beauty, is one of the seven major aspects of Zen-based art. (Don't ask me what the other six are because I think I threw out that notebook when I graduated college.) It's the idea behind Noh theatre as well: extremely understated, calm, subtle art. I saw a video that explained this and gave examples of a tea ceremony room that was supposed to exemplify yuugen. It looked remarkably similar to the anime's "Yuugen no Ma." Question: What exactly is meant by "the hand of god"? Is it something that real players think about? Was it just invented for the series? --adamzero Answer 1: (Regyt) As far as I can tell, it's the perfect move. According to combinatorial game theory, for every two player game of perfect knowledge (games where you know everything your opponent knows, with no random chance and no hidden cards), there is a series of moves that will guarantee the win[1]. The perfect series of moves[2]. [3] It could also just mean divine strength. I read an article somewhere in which a bunch of Go professionals were asked how many stones God would have to give to a professional 9-dan in order to have a fair and fun game. The answer they came up with was that God would need to give the 9p a three stone handicap. To achieve the hand of god, then, is to not need that handicap, in such a situation. [1]: Actually, that's not necessarily true! Take tic-tac-toe for example: perfect play will only get you a draw there. There are also games in which the second player will win. However, in Go, you have pass moves which ensure that Black doesn't lose in an even game without komi. If all moves would lead to a loss for Black, he would pass on his first move, and put White in the same position - thereby ensuring a draw (remember: no komi!). (Jan) evpsych: What if W passes after B passes? Jasonred: Then the game's over. Or it will be, eventually. With a draw. HOWEVER! Go seems to have black, going first and winning in most instances I see of small board go, which I admittedly haven't researched much... [2]: Scartol has jabbered a bit about this in PhilosophyOfGo. Odd, insofar as he's a total newbie. [3]: Jasonred - Theoratically, this theory IS true. If you analyse ANY game of Go, you can identify a point at which it all went FUBAR. Or at least a point at which, if you did something else, a loss was no longer certain. It just depends how far back you go. Now, imagine that pro players have an "undo" button in their games, and just at the end of the game, they just go back to that point and do that move over. Then, once THAT game is over, (no matter who won) you keep "working backwards" until you find a "flawless" game, or one in which neither player can see any way to change the outcome. Of, course, the further back you go, the more alternatives are possible. Thus, in reality, after some point working backwards, you'll hit a point where both players get tired of the whole thing. Usually this occurs when they find 4 alternatives which all look equally good/bad/they can't tell. In the end, people have tried this and failed, in chess as well. There's just too many combinations possible, even on a 9x9, for even modern supercomputers to handle. BUT, it just might be possible for a computer to work out the "hand of god" so to speak. On a 9x9, someone might have almost completed it. Want to work out your own Go Hand of God? Just work out a game on a 5x5 board... I tried a 3x3, but too many games just end in seki... And then you have to factor in komi as well, AUGH!!! Confused: Jasonred, it has been done, just have a quick look at the page on small board go. 7x7 is the smallest board, where the perfect game has not been calculated yet.
Answer: (AGiss) It sound like "kami no itte" in the anime. while kami mean god, it- mean one and te mean hand (meaning of the kanjis). but the itte as a whole word mean (referring to the Answer(2): (Vikki) My friend is Chinese, and she says that the idea of 'The Hand of God' originates from a legend in which two godlike characters became locked in battle over a Go board. I don't know all the details, but they were in a stalemate for thousands of years (or something like that). Supposedly, the move that will allow one of them to overcome the other is the move known as 'The Hand of God'. Of course, she also mentioned that the legend is 'broken' because a guy who knew nothing about Go managed to make the perfect move purely by chance. Personally, I think this reflects (on some level) the innocent revelation of Hikaru after the Touya Meijin vs. Sai game, involving how Touya Meijin could have beaten Sai with only one move. Trick-Question: Whats wrong with the board position in ep 14 at approx 16:33? ;) Answer: The two stones at 4-3 and 5-3 get exchanged! Another one: In episode 34, 13:40, the goban don't look right too! =) --unkx80 Scartol: In the English translation of the manga, before a game, each character says "Please." What's the original Japanese, and is there (I assume) a difference in the meaning? (It feels like an awkward translation.) On a related note -- does anyone else get ticked when the sound effect for the stone clicking is translated into "pa-chi"? What's wrong with the original? And another thing -- was anyone else disappointed in the way the final chapter of Vol. 11 was told? I expected more celebration from Shindo. Instead, he's just mopey and his face is all twisted in preparation for his next meeting with Touya Akira. I would at least like to have seen Ochi's face when he lost.. moonprince: I bought a copy of Jump Weekly to help me study Japanese. In the original the sound of the stones is 'pachi' and written in katakana. "HadouKen24?": Pachi is a very literal translation. As someone pointed out elsewhere on this site, it is not uncommon to either whisper a "u" or "i" or just remove it entirely. (The Japanese word for is, "desu" is pronounced "dess") If you whisper the "i" or omit it, the word sounds much closer to the actual sound. splice: The original Japanese is "onegaishimasu" (お願いします). It can be used in many situations, and does carry a meaning of "please". I think a better translation would be "Good luck" or "Have a nice game", but then not as literal. I haven't read the manga, but I bet pachi was how the stone clicking on the board would have been written. In katakana, obviously, denoting an onomatopoeic word: パチ. It's a type of word that's often used in manga. HolIgor: I looked at the meaning of the word "negai" in the dictionary. It means hope, wish, desire. "O" is honorific, "shimasu" is a present polite tense of "suru" (to do). Thus the whole phrase means: "I do excersize a honorable hope (or wish)". It is clear now that taking away all politeness the phrase means "I wish". There is not much difference between "please" and "good luck" after all. --Just a note, "negai" is the verbal stem of the verb "negau", which in addition to meaning hope, wish, desire, also means request and petition. Given that Japanese is a foreign language, the meaning probably means something in between all of these, something like a wish/petition that you hope will be granted. In the context of Go, my theory is it means something like "I request/wish for a good game", although everything except the request/wish part is implied. "Onegai-simasu" is the humble polite form of the verb "negau" which is made by taking the verbal stem, adding "o" to the beginning, and appending the polite version of the verb "suru", which is "simasu" onto the end. This is mostly a ritual expression which essentially means "please". It means something like "I humbly make a request", which can be contrasted with a slightly less polite "kudasai" (which is incidentally the stem of the verb "kudasaru"), which means something like "give me" but in an honorific polite way. Another example of making a humble polite tense: the verb "kaku" which means "to write/draw", the stem is "kaki", so the humble polite tense would be "okaki-simasu". You would only use this when you are writing something down for someone to whom you need to be polite. For example, a humble little kyu ameteur recording a pro's game, "kifu o okaki-simasu". Incidentally, if you are speaking to someone whom you want to be especially polite too, you could use the humble polite version of the verb "suru", which is "itasu". "Onegai-itasimasu" wouldn't be used casually however. Under more casual circumstances, the verb "suru" may be dropped all together in favor of simply "onegai". --Your friendly neighborhood stickler for Japanese, who hopes he didn't sound to know it all, and tried his best not to ramble on forever and ever. Virag0?: Used in a restaurant the expression "onegai-shimasu" is essentially a jocular vernacular "Let us get on with it". nobody special?: I'm surprised that no one here has mentioned that "Onegaishimasu" in this sense is basically short for "Yoroshiku onegaishiasu." I know the full phrase has been said in a few places. I have seen yoroshiku onegaishimasu used in dozens of similar situations. It means "Please look on me? favorably," and is used when you meet someone for the first time, when you are brought into a new working or team situation, when you begin a competition, etc. The idea behind it is "Take care of me, treat me honorably and fairly, and let our relationship be what it should be." It's often translated as "Nice to meet you," "Nice to be working with you," "Take care of me," or, in this sort of rival situation, "Good luck" or "Let the best man win." tps12: "Pachi" is also the sound made by pachinko. Syb: In the chinese version it's translated into something like "please show and guide me". Politeness in assuming the superiority of the opponent. The sound effects stayed in katakana. Warcraft III player's should recognise "onegaishimasu" as like Perfect Play OK? Question: What is it with this "5" or "55" on almost every of Hikaru´s shirts. Is there something special with this number? --benni Answer: Sure. Ichi, ni, san, shi, go - one, two, three, four. five. Addenum: Also, if you see this character on his shirt: 五, it also means five and is also pronounced "go". :-)
Bitti: I asked me this question as well, and thought about the same connection between the pronunciation of "Go" and 5. But in my opionion, although there's a picture playing with this correlation ( So does anyone knows more on this subject?
JoanPonsISemelis: There's still 1 more pun on this, as saying that Hikaru was born to play go: his birthday is the 5 of may (the 5th month, and in Japanese months are just numbered). addendum:(Vikki) On the subject of puns: As Joan said, Hikaru's birthday is on the fifth day of the fifth month, which was also the day when Hikago was first published, which was the date Sai disappeared (Real Time, not plotline). As the manga-ka said: Is May 5th the day of Hikago? ^^x;; Rainer: Actually May 5th is also the day sai disappeared in the plot line. If you look out of Hikaru's window you see the fish 'banners' that represent Children's Day (Boy's Festival) (japanese holiday) which takes place on, you guessed it, May 5th! Question: Am I the only one who -- while loving HNG and being a total HikaruNoGoJunkie -- has trouble with the implicit messages in the story? To wit: (1) Two years is a reasonable amount of time to go from complete beginner to professional shodan; and (2) It's a good idea to start a go club, recruit new members, then throw it all away in order to achieve your goal of besting another individual. The former seems to be another brick in the wall of our society's instant gratification fetish; the latter gives a nod to the maxim of 'go for self, forsaking all others'. Maybe I'm just too critical, but I wish the story were a little more realistic and the characters less single-minded. -- Scartol I do not see it like that at all, in fact I think the message you should read is - Two years of constant study under a 9dan Pro will probably bring you to Shodan level if you have the talent for it. - Sometimes you have to make a choice in life between your own achievment and not progressing to please someone else. Although I do agree on the fact that the characters are too single minded but then again would they progress so much if they weren't? (Darak) Answer(2): (Vikki) I'd like to address both issues separately. 1) It seems to me that the manga emphasizes how extremely unusual it is that Hikaru has progressed so quickly in Go. Before I read this question I was talking to a friend and exclaiming how amazing it is that Hikaru goes from total Go dunce to Go pro in just two years, so I don't think it's lost on the average reader how amazing and shocking Hikaru is. As to the 'instant gratification' thing, I disagree; I think that Hikaru's brilliance is a reflection of a different message: that Hikaru is meant to surpass Sai, Akira, and Kouyo in reaching for the Hand of God. 2) The second message is a bit more difficult, because I agree with you. ^^x;; There are three things, however, that seem to point the other way; first of all, it's not 'okay'; (1) Hikaru misses his friends once he's left the club and is something of an outcast; (2) he is torn with indecision when he first realizes the consequences of becoming an insei; and (3) he doesn't go wholeheartedly with his plan until Kaga encourages him. Ultimately, though, I think this aspect of the manga reflects on the Japanese culture and highlights the difference between Western and Eastern mindsets. In Japan, being single-minded and driven to the point of caring about nothing else is ... more accepted than it might be elsewhere. Being successful is more important. (Please, correct me if I'm horribly wrong.) Kungfu : Speaking as soneone who wants to be a pro and who studies Go all the time: If I played 1 or 2 games every day with a very strong pro (i.e. Sai) I can gurantee you I would be a professional shodan in 2 or 3 years, too! :) Question: Does anybody know how many episodes have aired in Japan? I am wondering how many episodes elite fansubs have left to do. Answer(Sort of): I haven't heard of them stopping it, and the story follows the manga almost exactly. Currently, episode 46 of the anime corresponds to episode 96 of the manga, about a 2 manga per 1 anime episode ratio. If this continues, there will be at least 75 episodes and probably more, as there are currently over 160 published chapters of the manga. They'll be busy for quite some time. Can anyone tell me for sure where does HnG New Year Special fits; when should i watch it!? Thanks...Alex Stefan: It belongs right after episode 12. Answer 2 (Chris Hayashida): When I was in Japan (September 13-23, 2002) they were airing episode 49. As of right now (October 11th) episode 46 is out, so it looks like they are still a few behind... By my math, episode 52 aired this week in Japan. jvt: ??? episode 51 is out on channel #R-F today (October 11th). Question: Has Sai lost as black? He said that he hadn't before komi was invented, but I sort of lost track in the manga and anime. I thought it might be used as some sort of foreshadowing or to add tension... Answer: (Vikki) Sai lost once as black in the manga, last I checked, and that was the Beginner Dan series. In that game he was asked by Hikaru to behave as if he were 15 moku behind rather than 5.5 moku ahead, and thus he played a wild, desperate game. So, Sai lost that one time ... One Thing I don't get. Does Sai count the games he played as black when he was a kid and/or still learning. At what point in his GO life did he say. "All of my previous games no longer count. If I don't lose from now on, my record will be flawless when I am black" Answer: (JD) I assume it is correct to say that he is referring to all games either as a PRO or in competition, i.e., all the salon type or "friendly" or tutoring games do not count. Question: On the Toriyama Forum they regularly use MangaTalk? like yaoi and bishounen. It probably has to do something with sex. Is anyone familiar with these terms ? Thanks. (I get scolded when I ask there). Dieter Jurgen: Yaoi is a woman's genre of manga (comic books) and short stories, produced by female artists and writers for the enjoyment of female readers. Bishounen, on the other hand, is a Japanese term relegated to 'pretty boys' and other such, often with regard to the anime genre. I guess Studio Clamp (with titles like X, Rg Veda, ...) is a good example of that. Or is it more Ecchi ? Brian: That's not entirely accurate. Yaoi usually refers to an explicit male/male relationship (as opposed to shounen ai, which is usually more subtle, though many don't make a distinction between the terms). While yaoi manga/anime is most popular with women, that's not the meaning of the term. A bishounen is indeed a 'pretty boy', a male with feminine features.
There are a number of web pages which discuss manga/anime terms, such as Vikki: 'Yaoi', as Brian pointed out, refers to explicit male/male homosexual relationships. It is actually an acronym, YAOI, which stands for a Japanese phrase ('YAmette, Oshiri Itai!') that literally translates to 'Stop, my arse hurts!' *sweatdrop* 'Shounen-ai' is non-explicit male/male homosexual relationships. It literally translates to 'boy-love'. (You know how one can refer to an erotic story as 'hardcore sex' or something? You could say that yaoi is 'hardcore shounen-ai'.) You're probably running into these phrases regarding Hikago because a popular 'pairing' is Hikaru with Akira, which is 'shounen-ai'. Other terms include 'yuri' (female/female hardcore homosexuality), 'shoujo-ai' (female/female non-hardcore homosexuality; 'girl-love'), 'hentai' (pervert(ed) ), and 'ecchi' (perverted act; erotic material). Although 'hentai' translates to 'pervert', it is usually a general term used applied to erotic material - at least on the internet. And now you know what to watch out for. ^^x;; Madoka: Actually, yaoi came from yama-nashi, ochi-nashi, and imi-nashi (without climax, ending, and meaning). Although your version is more widely known... Vikki: Actually, I've heard both, so I think it might be safe to say both are correct ...? (After all, there is a climax ... ^~x;; ) Question What is the actual English translation of "Hikaru No Go"? Stefan: "Hikaru's Go" The Japanese sentence particle "no" indicates ownership or composition ("A no B" means "B belonging to A", or "B which is a part of A"). It is thus usually translated to the various English possessive forms ("mine", "yours", "his", "Hikaru's", etc.), or "of" with the nouns reversed. Thus, another translation might be "The Go of Hikaru". -- Bignose Hikaru is also the Japanese verb "to shine." This can be interpreted as "Shining Go" or "Brilliant Go;" which also has the implied meaning that it is Hikaru's playing that is brilliant. --JaisBane? Question Is it possible to identify manga pros such as Touya Meijin and Kuwabara Honinbo with actual pros? If so, who corresponds to whom? exswoo: Not really an answer to you question, but it wouldn't surprise me if Hikaru develops into a sort of a Lee Chang Ho-ish player, since his biggest strength seems to be in yose. Jasonred : This is BOUND to happen... since they have to make the games more dramatic for the readers! Hikaru should be behind for most of the game, then make a recovery in yose. Not quite Lee Chang Ho-ish, but close enough. Question In the most recent comic (potential spoiler ahead), Sai gets his opponent to resign, then offers to switch sides (captured stones and all), and beats his opponent again. Has anyone ever heard of this actually happening? That would be so tight! Grauniad: I've read short stories about chess in which this is done as a way to humiliate an opponent. Question Where the heck is Hikaru's dad? On page 4 of chapter 67 Grandpa mentions his name, Masao, when Hikaru's mom asks what a Go Pro is. She says he'll do some reasearch about it. His left hand and shoulder appear in one panel on page 20 of chapter 122, and his left foot and ankle appear in another panel on the same page. He mentions Grandpa's loft being burglarized but says he's not going there with Hikaru. His absence from the story is probably intended to represent how Japanese fathers in general are not very involved with their children's lives. I guess this is due to the fact that Japanese middle-class fathers usually are so involved with their jobs that they hardly get to see their kids at all.. 10 to 12 hours of work a day, maybe more, and then after-work-parties. HolIgor: There is the rumour that the second part of Hikaru no Go ends with the chapter 189. Hikaru79: Sadly, this rumor is true. Hikaru no Go ended with Chapter 189 of the manga, and episode 75 of the anime... :( Question: What kind of clock is used at the Pro Exam? Is it modeled after a real clock (it looks somewhat like a Chronos) or is it completely stylized? Matt Noonan: I don't recognize the clocks used at the Nihon Kiin in Hikaru no Go, but in the anime when they show games in China they are clearly using Ing clocks. Because of this, I would guess that the clocks shown are actual models. Question Can somebody explain what the heck this "Hikaru No Go Special Edition" is that has been circulating the fansub rings lately? It's like somebody else made that same side-story about Kaga's teacup or something, with totally different music...any word on its origin? JohnnyC? It's written above, it's just an early draft of what is now episode 64 that the animators released as a demo. The quality isn't great, but the ending theme is fantastic!!! Does anybody know what it is? -WAYNE- Hi, I just recently started getting interested in Hikaru No Go, and was wondering how to play it for real. I've only seen it in Shonen Jump and it doesn't tell you how to play. So if you know how to play please email me the rules and how to play at capitonnemo@comcast.net. Thanks. Path: HikaruNoGo · Prev: HikaruNoGoDVD · Next: HikaruNoGo/Discussion This is a copy of the living page "Hikaru No Go Questions And Answers" at Sensei's Library. ![]() |