Customer Reviews

Hikaru No Go, Vol. 1: The Go Masters Descent

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would like to highly recommend the Hikaru no Go anime. If one can get past preconceived notions concerning the premise of the show (What? Kids playing an ancient board game? That's boring...), one will find that the anime is a very good study of character development, motivation, and a very detailed and accurate insight into a world that most are not privy to in our lifetimes. The music of the series is very well suited, with a very inspirational theme that reflects well on the scenes. This series has all the classic motifs of shonen manga (conflict, friendship, and adventure), and does them well.

I would also recommend that people DO NOT read I. Kim's review, as it contains spoilers for the entire series and should definitely not be read by any who wish to read the manga or watch the anime.

Hikaru no Go centers on the intense rivalry between Hikaru and Akira over the game of Go. Akira has been training since he was two years old, and Hikaru has only gradually come to see the lure of the game after making the acquaintance of a ghost, Sai, who loves Go more than life itself.

This series draws out the humor and drama of modern life on the 19-by-19 grid of the Go board. This series has a universality that is rarely seen. It can be appreciated by people of all ages, a major feat by itself, and is very unlikely to offend.

I watched this because of my own interest in Go, and because I thought it would be fun to watch with my daughter - who is studying the game with me. But it is my wife and I who watch Hikaru No Go so raptly! It's very hard, with so many episodes available, to avoid just burning through them. The story does an excellent job of building anticipation for what happens next. The animation itself is nothing special, although it isn't bad by any means. What really shines in this series is the great story, about friendship, personal growth, determination, and Go, of course! The games of Go are very exciting. For reference, some other animes that we think are good are FMA, El Hazard, A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, and Witch Hunter Robin. (Just in case you thought I was a big Sailor Moon fan spouting off about the next "big thing".) After my wife and I watched these, I was concerned they were too sophisticated for my daughter (age 6). I was wrong. She loves the show.

One irritating thing about these DVDs is the poor dub quality. Do yourself a favor and watch them in Japanese with the subtitles. The English voices are extremely grating. Hikaru doesn't sound like a sixth grader. Akira sounds like he has a stick up his backside, and poor Sai has been given an extremely foppish voice. Come on! Sai in the Japanese is really cool! Again, watch with subtitles! The only other thing that irritates me about these discs is the Naruto preview at the beginning of each disc, which cannot be skipped. You have to fast forward through it.

A special bonus: each episode is accompanied by a live-action Go lesson!

We really look forward to the rest of the series.

I have seen this entire series at least three times in Japanese, and found myself absolutely obsessed with the series. Each character is individually crafted and each has a unique and fascinating personality and his or her own story to tell. The story totally draws you in, Sai is cute and sad at the same time in his desire to play Go, Hikaru is annoying at first but grows tremendously throughout the story, both emotionally and intellectually. It's a story of love, friendship, the search for excellence, the power of persistance, and the indomitable spirit that fills each one of us. As so many others have stated after seeing this, I wanted to play Go too, I want to meet other people who play Go, and the characters now live in my heart for all time.

I know that Anime often uses adults to do the voices of the kids. However, I feel that in this case, either the wrong choices were made for the English version or the voices were directed/coached improperly. I've been a huge fan of this series for years and until recently could only watch the anime on the web. It was nice to see it on DVD but I found the English voices to be fairly annoying--they sound too forced and somewhat childish. Shindo and friends are young, but not childish. I was initially disappointed but then switched to Japanese voices with English subtitles. There's a lot more emotion, interest and excitement in the original Japanese. Now I really enjoy the DVDs in the original language. I recommend the series because the topic is so unique, the characters are well-developed, and the plot easily retains your interest over the whole series.

I just finished watching the third DVD of this series and I have to say this is normally not my cup of tea. I was amazed how much this kept my interest and me asking for more at the end of every DVD. It is unique in the best way. It was nice to see a different story line. I can't imagine anyone watching this and not getting wrapped up in it. No matter what your age is I'm sure you will love this anime. Im looking forward to seeing more for every episode gets better and better.

What a wonderful story! Hikaru is searching his granddad's basement, to see if there is anything of value he can sell, to compensate for losing his allowance after a failed test, and he comes across a Go board. This has a profound effect on his life, since together with the board, he finds the spirit of Sai, an ancient Go player that has some unfinished business with the game; he seeks to play the Divine Move. Therefore, he possesses Hikaru and they quickly struck a deal, Hikaru will play go following Sai's guidance in exchange for the spirit helping him with his courses, especially the dreaded history.

The transformation Hikaru suffers, even in this few first episodes is mesmerizing, since he goes from a disrespectful attitude for the game to displaying an interest and passion that grow with each game he plays. Sai's past life is a central part of the story, and one that gives it a very interesting twist. Being a fanatic chess player myself, I can relate with Sai's passion for the game. Since Go has similar characteristics to chess, I can understand how the events that developed in his past life affected his existence.

Right from the start we get to see a myriad of opponents Hikaru has to face, each with his unique characteristics. The fact that the story provides background on each of these is a big plus in my book. There is also a hint of romance in the air, between Hikaru and his female friend, but the series has not gone there yet; I am pretty sure it will though.

In terms of the graphics, these are some of the most impressive I have ever seen, with drawings with an unbelievable level of detail and bright and crisp colors. The animation is so good that you can almost feel that Go is an action game, instead of a quiet board game. Such is the intensity of the characters when they play it! Another important feature in this DVD, which is helpful for a big part of its Western audience, is the glossary explaining the game of Go and the terms used in the anime. Besides this, there are short video segments in between episodes, with a teacher and two kids explaining the basics of the game.

I never thought that a series about playing a board game could be so fast-paced and exciting. This is definitely a great find!

I read the chinese translated version of the manga many years ago but only watched the anime series late last year. This story does not only teaches one to never give up what seems impossible, but also the meaning of life through Go. The anime does not only tell the story but also educates audiences in playing Go as well. It is so influential that I went to learn and buy a Go set and came to appreciate this anime even more. The theme songs and BGM are also very catchy and nice. This anime is great for all ages and whole family to watch.

If I were to describe this to you as a show based on a kid being taught how to play an ancient game kinda like chess by a ghost, you probably wouldn't want to watch it. Yes, it is similar, but the series is a LOT more than that, seriously!

You don't have to play or even understand the game of go to watch this series, they describe certain things to you through the characters so you aren't completely lost. It gets to be fun to watch the matches played out (in fast motion mostly, don't worry, it's not boring.) The show even got myself and my boyfriend into playing the game.

The plot of the series is young Hikaru finds an old go board in his father's attic and since he has this hidden talent to play go, the ghost of the board (a VERY important go player back in the day, teacher to an emperor) is released to teach him to play go and live vicariously through Hikaru. After Hikaru gives in to Sai's pleading to find someone for him to play, he ends up at a go parlor where go kid genius Touya Akira regularly plays. Sai ends up beating Touya and Hikaru is marked as competition for Touya later down the road.

Throughout the series, Hikaru makes friends through playing go and works his way up the go ranks by going to a go school and entering tournaments and receiving ranks. There are many different and interesting plotlines in each series and we see the characters grow up before our eyes. The character development is intense and when they start showing clips from the beginning of the series in characters' memories, you are amazed at how little and immature they were in the first series.

The soundtrack is awesome, too. The theme songs are good ("Bokura no Boken" is my absolute favorite) and after a while the songs and segues are easily recognizable while you watch the series. The music is highly stylized and flows very well in the scenes.

Read the manga! Watch this series! It's very much worth the time (and money) spent.

Imagine this: you are a 6th grader and you are running home with your next door neighbor to get out of the rain. You go into your grandfather's attic and come across an old Go board. It's in great condition, an antique that would sell for a pretty penny. If only you could get that one blood stain wiped away...but your neighbor is saying it's a perfectly good board with no stains on it! You hear a voice inside your head and see the ghost of an ancient pro Go player named Fujiwara no Sai, then you promptly lose consciousness. The next day you wake up and go to school like always, but only you still hear and see Sai in your head. He wants to play Go, but you're not interested. But you find out the hard way that whenever you make him sad it turns your stomach inside out. In order for this to cease, you agree to learn Go, but under some conditions. Later you take Sai to a Go salon and there you meet another kid your age named Akira Touya, but you've never heard of him. He's practically a genuine bona fide Go guru at his age and then plays against Sai through you. Only, Sai wins and no one but you knows about Sai. So then he makes it his goal to beat you and you are also thrust into the game itself, meeting new people and gradually becoming enthusiastic about the game yourself.

...Welcome to the world of Hikaru Shindo.

The first time I heard of this series was in the monthly manga magazine Shonen Jump just before "Hikaru no Go" made its debut as a regular manga series. A little later on in that school year I read a friend's Shonen Jump magazine and immediately became immersed in Hikaru's world. I started watching fansubs of the anime around a couple of months ago or so and it's one of the best shows I've seen other than "Full Metal Alchemist". At first it seems like it's gonna be really boring but it's not, trust me on this one. This is a real masterpiece and, in my book, destined to become a classic.