Anime and Graphic Arts

Here are listed some Anime (Japanese animation), graphic fiction (comics, comix, manga, and graphic novels), paintings, drawings, and other artwork that make references to Go.

Works where Go is the focus of the story

• Hikaru no Go, anime and manga created by Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata and supervised by Umezawa Yukari.
  • Manga : January 1999 – September 2003
  • Anime : 10 October 2001 – 26 March 2003

• Hoshizora no Karasu (星空のカラス - Crow in the Starry Sky) Chinese name 星空 之 鸦 , manga created by Morie Satoshi
  • Manga : June 2012 - Present (44 Chapters as of Mar 2015) Genre: Romance, Shojo, Slice of Life, Age Rating: Unknown

• " Go junior"? Chinese name 围棋少年. A chinese anime on go. See http://www.tudou.com/playlist/playindex.do?lid=8773327 and http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1716. First episode on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSxXipxWxWU

• "Chess Player 2 (Go Player 2)" 围棋少年第二部 Chinese anime/cartoon. Here's a fan video on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltyQj6Nir70 Possibly part 2 series for "Go junior"?

see: Go Comic Strips for a list of online comics that are all about Go

Works that reference go, but it is not part of the main plot

• Heads I Win, Tails You Lose by Sam Glanzman (comic book story).
• Glimpse of a go board in one episode of Pokémon (Pocket Monsters).
• Two people are playing go in the Samurai X (Rurouni Kenshin) OAV when someone busts in to inform them that the Shinsengumi are on a tear.
• Go comic strips
• There are also several 18th and 19th century UkiyoE prints that refer to Go.
• A goban appears in the corner of a Harold Hedd panel.

• Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai: Demon Mask features a story with Go as a fairly central theme. The whole series offers and interesting and alternative view of medieval Japan.

• Go was seen twice in Peace Maker Kurogane episode 4. Once with Kondou Isamu and Yoshida Toshimaru, then again later in the episode with two unknown characters.

• Cyborg 009 by Shotaro Ishinomori (石ノ森章太郎 Ishinomori Shōtarō).

• Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi (高橋 留美子 Takahashi Rumiko) episode 152

• Ranma 1/2 manga by Rumiko Takahashi: Ranma Saotome (早乙女 乱馬 Saotome Ranma) had to battle the twins with a huge go board. Was this in the manga or the movie or both?

• GaoGaiGar Final: Several scenes with a goban and some playing.

• Otogizōshi: A scene where Hikaru is flipping the channel due to static and one channel shows some stones and a board.

• Kibi Daijin nittō emaki

• The Twelve Kingdoms (Jūni Kokki): In episode 20 Sugimoto talks to Taiki in the library, and the flash up a guy reading a book with a go board on the cover (similar to the elementry series).

• Tenjho Tenge by Oh! great: Ultimate Fight OVA 2,

• In the Sci-fi anime Planetes, two astronauts are playing go using handheld gaming devices (like two connected gameboys)

• In the Webcomic Blipcomic Go scenes appear in page 206 till 210

• In an episode of the popular anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion there are two soldiers of the Japanese Liberation Front shown playing go in the JLF's secret hideout at Narita. Lelouch, disguised as Zero, enters said hideout and geasses them into ignoring him. While Lelouch creates battle plans for his Black Knights, the soldiers continue their game (being a chess person, Lelouch does not pay any attention to them).

Japanese scroll painting about a Japanese minister travelling to China about 770. The scroll paintings are not as old, maybe Heian time.

• There is also an emaki (scroll painting) of GenjiMonogatari containing go scenes

• Detective Conan A goban acts as a key-factor to the solution in a mysterious murder-case.
  

mb: Which episode ?

Pics: http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2888/1905/1600/Conan3.0.jpg http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2888/1905/1600/Conan5.0.jpg
--axd: hmm... players don't seem to know the rules very well...
--VV: Actually, the pattern with the caught stones that are still on the board played an important role in solving the case. Afaik the murdered person left a message in braille on the Goban :)

• One of the anime Naruto major characters (Shikamaru) is an avid go and shogi player. During the opening of Naruto Shippuuden EP33, a goban can be seen.
  • Phelan: I just watched the scene, and I'm not sure if it's a goban. It does look like a floor goban, but he has shogi pieces on top of it, so it's probably a shogi floor board.
• Naruto also features mention of Go in EP64 and EP70 in reference to Shikamaru's mastery of strategy.

• In the online comic Order of the Stick (#651) two players are playing a game of Go, although the one appears to be very bad at it. http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0651.html

• Chapter 32, page 12 of Kekkaishi shows the grandfather walking in holding a board with two bowls.

• On the first episode of K-On, Go is seen twice, first as a poster for a Go club, then being played half way through the episode.

• Nichijou they have a combination of Go and Football which really is just juggling and balancing a football, Goban and other stuff.

• Shonan junai gumi (young gto) ep.2, 29th minute,Kamata a rival delinquent puts black stones in the mouth of Danma Ryuji and punches him in the face.