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I absolutely loved Hikaru no Go. (A little bit of trivia: For those who didn't know this already, Hikaru no Go was drawn by the same artist who drew Death Note, Obata Takeshi-sensei.)

Actually, I've already heard of Hikago a long time ago. However, I felt no sense of urgency to read it. I knew it was good though since I hadn't come across any bad reviews for it. But being primarily a shoujo fan, I lacked enough interest to actually download/buy the manga. It wasn't until I bought an issue of Shonen Jump which contained some chapters of Hikago that I had a reason to ... read the manga.

This issue contained only a few chapters but it generated enough interest for me to look for the earlier chapters. It was just that good. The story and art simply hooked me.

One would think that a manga about a game you barely know about would probably be boring and confusing. On the contrary, it was anything but. The manga was more about the characters' development and their interactions with each other. It would help if you knew a little about the game but if you didn't, it was okay too. (I had no idea about the game of Go.) It was truly a coming-of-age type of manga as you would witness the growth of the characters, both literally and metaphorically. The story, in the beginning, especially when they were introducing characters, was very engaging. I literally couldn't bring myself to stop reading it. (Which is why I finished it in 3 days. =_=)

The story becomes a little boring in the second saga though. Which would explain for the 9 points in the Story and Enjoyment area.

Now, the art. I could not simply rave enough about Obata-sensei's art. It is simply wonderful. This isn't surprising as he had mentored the likes of mangaka Kentaro Yabuki (Black Cat), Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin) and Yusuke Murata (Eyeshield 21), among many others. Another plus side to reading Hikago is you would witness the evolution of Obata-sensei's art. His style of drawing differs as the chapters go on. Definitely a good reason to read the manga.

Yumi Hotta (the author) did a wonderful work in making the characters. There are a lot of characters and, although it may seem like hard work, she managed to shed light on their personalities, struggles and victories. Character development is (there's no other word for it) sugoi. It is for this reason (and the amazing art) that I have more than my share of character favorites in the series. :3

I thoroughly enjoyed this series and I recommend it to anyone wanting a great, engaging read.

On the ending: I thought the ending was a little disappointing. Nonetheless, I didn't regret reading this great series. :)

I encountered Amatsuki as an anime first. I was curious when someone mentioned that it had a manga counterpart. I am the kind of person who would prefer reading/watching the original work before seeing the other version.

The story is not so unusual. It involves alternate worlds and realities. The mangaka chose to portray it via the VR (Virtual Reality) technology. The protagonist arrives at this other world when he encounters two unusual types of monsters, which he, at first, thinks of as part of the VR programming. However, he soon realizes that he is not in the VR world that he had come from. In ... the story, this is done quite seamlessly that you have to wonder how it could have happened. There are events that happen in the manga that make you realize that there is more to the "accidentally-being-in-an-alternate-dimension" coincidence, which we have experienced many times in a manga story. What makes this story different in my opinion is the unique way of how the mangaka portrays it. There are times, however, that I get confused in some instances of the story. There are certain blanks that are drawn, which I suppose is up to the reader to interpret or, probably, left in future chapters. This manga is not all serious. There are cute little moments that make you laugh, or at the very least, smile.

Despite the sometimes-confusing plot, what made me continue on reading this is the art and the character portrayal. Like the great Obata Takeshi, Shinobu Takayama (the mangaka) can seamlessly make his characters chibi to serious and vice versa. I may not be exaggerating if I say that the art is the reason why I'm going to continue on reading Volume 2. The art style for the characters is somewhat relaxed. The details that go in certain scenes are also great. I love how the mangaka's art just seems to flow in the pages. Subjectively, I am a fangirl. The guys are bishounen enough for me to find reason to go on. :D

The characters' portrayal have been compressed quite awkwardly in my opinion. It has only been seven chapters and yet I have seen many characters appearing in the pages, giving hints of their significant role in the story. There is the issue of Toki's seeming nonchalance of the events that happen to him in the other world. But, again, the mangaka provides hints of why that could be Toki's case. Also, I can easily warm up to the characters that appear. That is a problem in my case because I haven't found anyone that I can consider an antagonist. This is considerably bad seeing as I've just finished a volume. Also, this may be just my imagination, but the way Shinobu Takayama-sensei portrays the characters, it's like he's giving a definite go signal to yaoi doujinshi possibilities.

Another upside to this story is the appearance of random trivia. Of course, since this is a historical manga, historical trivia should only be expected. I am referring to the little bits of trivia that could definitely qualify to "I-didn't-know-that". It could, arguably, be considered useless trivia (useless, in the case of not really applicable in real life) but the discovery of certain little facts could definitely make you say a little bit of "Ooh!"

A little redundant, but I have to say this again. The art is simply wonderful! Especially the color pages. I recommend this manga even if only for the art. :D

Overall Score: 7/10