Hikaru No Go
Table of contents |
Introduction
Hikaru no Go (ヒカルの碁) is a manga (a Japanese comic) and an anime (a Japanese cartoon) about a boy (Hikaru Shindo) who discovers the ancient game when he finds an old board in the attic and meets the spirit of a past Go master (Fujiwara-no-Sai). Thanks to the comic, Go has come into fashion again with the Japanese youth. Published by Jump, the hilarious storyline is by Yumi Hotta*; the gripping art is by Takeshi Obata; and photogenic pro 5 dan Yukari Umezawa (Umezawa Yukari) gets credited for go technical advice.
The Hikaru no Go manga is published by VIZ Media in the United States, and the Hikaru no Go anime has been licensed by VIZ Media in the United States.
- Note: The United States editions of Hikaru no Go renders many Japanese names in Western order. E.G. Shindo Hikaru becomes Hikaru Shindo.
Characters
- Hikaru Shindo (進藤 ヒカル Shindō Hikaru) - Protagonist who is assisted by Sai.
- Fujiwara-no-Sai (藤原佐為) - A spirit who can't stop playing Go and the mentor of Hikaru Shindo. Sai wants to play the divine move (a.k.a. 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 effeminite by today's standards, 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.
- 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.
- 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 obssessed 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. Tetsuo hates Go because he likes Shogi better and because Akira is better than he is, yet 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.
- 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 brat that Akira tutors so Akira can test Hikaru's strength.
- Kaoru Kishimoto (岸本 薫 Kishimoto Kaoru) - Kaio Middle School Go club chief and former insei who did not become a professional
Where to find it
Discussions
- Hikaru No Go - Questions And Answers
- Discussion
- Hikaru No Go References
- Hikaru No Go Junkie : Some readers of the comic are in denial about becoming a junkie.
- Favourite Character In Hikaru No Go
- Japanese Big Question Mark - If you have questions about the manga in Japanese, post them here.
Go Material
- Hikaru No Go Problems
- Sensei's Library has a separate shelf devoted to the study of the various go problems and interesting game positions that appear in the manga.
- Hikaru No Go Games
- Some (if not all) of the game positions that appear in Hikaru are from real games played by professionals. Can you add to the list of identified?
- /Errata
- errors, mistakes, glitches found in the manga, anime, etc.
Background and miscellaneous
News and Spoilers
- Hikaru No Go News and Spoilers
- DON'T READ if you are happily progressing through the series and want to maintain the suspense. That page discusses what happens later in the story. (I warned you :-)