When I stumbled upon Hikago I was shocked to see its rank as Seven here at Anime Nfo. A series soley revolving around the world of Go and not simply a theme for a plot centralized elsewhere. Though a drama at heart Hikaru no Go is a an anime that goes beyond the experience of enjoyment, it has affected me personally and the world of Go, nearly tripling the number of active players worldwide. It is a series that will remain a classic in the realm of anime as one of the greats.
Now, though I have given much praise to Hikago, it is not flawless. With that being said, its main weakness is episodes 65-70 (fillers), plot holes, and a weakness in the core of the plot. Given the plot solely relies on Go, if you don’t take the slightest interest in Go within the first five episodes you might as well cease watching the remaining 70 episodes; however, even if you take the slightest interest, it will hook you till the very end. As for the plot holes, Hikago builds such a vast array of characters it is impossible to give each group of characters the air time that they are worthy of, this alone causes close friends of Hikaru to simply disappear for nearly 20-30 episodes and then reappear out of nowhere. However, each meeting and interactions with each group of friends serves a vital role in progressing the development of Hikaru in strength and character – afterall growing up is a gigantic theme in hikaru no Go. The greatest weakness and what prevents Hikago from being a masterpiece as a whole, is a critically horrible filler between epison 60ish to 70. Here the series deviates from the manga in attempts to give Fujiwara no Sai a final good bye, even though he never truly leaves as anyone who has watched knows.
Despite the filler, I still place Hikaru no Go in my top five greatest anime of all time. It builds on a young boy who starts as a regular brat that talks in slang and has no respect for elders or anyone else around for that matter. But as the series continues he depends on Sai as a mentor, best friend and a third parent - which he still gives little respect too ironically enough. As his interest in Go increases he becomes set on passing Akira Touya. This serves as a crucial catapult into his dedication to the path toward Kami no Ittoue or the Hand of God (It is every Go players dream to play this hand). As he faces many opponents he also grows as a person, learning to overcome his weakness. Towards the end, though he still harbors that bold and rash disrespectfulness, he becomes more polite, calm, and focused. But above this incredibly astounding growth, what shocks me most is the way he grows – it is so natural I didn’t realize he had grown taller and older until the first flashbacks Sai had and then the very end. Stunned, I gained a new respect for the author Yumi Hotta – no one could have carved out a better character who portrays such growth and development than her.
The fact that the author who wrote Hikaru no Go was a girl did not surprise at the least. In fact it made sense, seeing how feminine like many of the characters were drawn, for example Sai and Akira, but beyond the style in which they were drawn, the story its self was a typical “slice of life” type drama – and she couldn’t have done a better job. Each match was pieced together in such a way that the viewer could actually feel the intensity and tension between two players, if not actually understand the game of Go itself! The highs and lows intertwined and spiraling upwards in perfect combination that the ending is very symbolic and worthy of great praise, especially the moment Sai left Hikaru – this pivotal moment changed Hikaru as a person and tripled his dedication to Go. She does a great job of riding this tremendous wave to the very end when Sai hands his fan to Hikaru. As a whole, Hikago has a bit of everything, you may laugh at the brat in Hikaru, or cry at the loss of sai, or cheer him on against a tough opponent – it’s a good “slice of life.”
Beyond the 75 videos I watched over the internet, pulling two all-nighters, Hikaru no Go didn’t simply capture my heart and love for anime, it changed me as person. I now have learned to play go and play on KGS online (Kyzoryn). And if I weren’t as senior in highschool, I would have started a Go club. In the future I plan on joining a local club sponsored by the American Go Association – who knows how good I’ll become. Hikaru no Go has also left me interested in learning more about the culture and language of Japan. It has open many doors than just one and has changed the world of Go, inspiring much of the worlds youth into playing Go. Raising respect for go, this series has brought back an ancient board game to the future of many of our worlds youth and for those of you who have read the manga has “linked the far past, with the far future.”
Overall, I simply love Hikaru no Go, from the opening song, to the credits of the last episode. I have no complaints about the music, special effects, and opening and endings. There are moments when I couldn’t stop laughing and there are moments when I nearly cried. They all contributed to the series in such an astounding way. For those who appreciate anime and understand the meaning of each and every GOOD series (forget the bad ones), then you will surely love Hikago just as much as I do, but I do warn you, you must atleast take a slight liking in Go, when you do, you’ll fall in love with Hikago. If you haven’t watch it – you must! I hope my review did not give to many spoilers away and most of all I hope you enjoyed it! This is what I do when I’m not watching :)
