Hoshizora no Karasu

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Given there haven't been an exact review on this manga, I guess I'll post something.

I was simply searching up something shojo-y and it had been hard finding a shojo where the character is just fawning over some guy and being all meek and timid and need to be saved.

Luckily Hoshizora no Karasu managed to avoid this. If I could describe this manga, it is a little bit like Chihayafuru, but with the focus on Go instead.

The story is about Karasuma Waka, who is obsessed with Go and planning to go Pro. She met Sagisaka, Souji, who is a 17-year old 7th dan player ... at the beginning of the manga, and quickly became attracted to his playing style. Her goal was to catch up to him, but through her admiration slowly developed into romantic feelings. Luckily, the romance is pretty light, and not much happened, which is good because I rather our heroine focus on developing her own goals first. Souji also falls for Waka but holds himself back due to her age (13) and the fact that he's her mentor and I'm glad he didn't take advantage of her or do anything shady.

As someone who had no knowledge of Go whatsoever, the manga still managed to capture my attention with the moves and the art, and it did explain a bit of things here and there so the reader isn't completely lost. Waka's determination to play Go and never give up is what make it really enjoyable.

Some side characters include Hizuku, who was Waka's childhood friends and plays Go because he was also attracted to Waka's determination and wanted her attention. There's a small hint of rivalry between Hizuku and Souji. There are also other classmates of Waka who also had their own reasons for becoming Pro and getting better. Sadly, the manga isn't translated online past Chapter 30 so I have no clue what happen after that so for me, it ended midway with the introduction of a new character.

Overall, this manga is great, and I'm glad the author decided to focus the majority of themanga on Go and Waka's continual improvement of herself in the game instead of making it too romantic heavy and detracted from the plot. Definitely recommended!