Title: Hikaru no Go

Director: Shin Nishizawa

Japanese Production Studio: Studio Pierrot

Type: (TV)

Number of Episodes: 75

Vintage: 2001-2003

US Licensing Company: VIZ

Related Series: Hikaru No Go: New Year Special (Sequel)

 

General Summary:

 

Hikaru Shindo, age 12, hobbies none, friends few, future unknown. Hikaru was just any ordinary 12 year old, who was starting his first year in middle school (6^th grade) when his life dramatically changes when going to his grandfather and grandmothers one day. Hikaru is not very good in social studies therefore he rarely receives his allowance. To make up for it, he decided to go in his grandfathers’ storage room in hope of finding something worth selling, then it happened. Hikaru found an old “Go” board and decided to start cleaning it when he spotted a blood stain in the top right corner. His friend Akari, who came with him, was unable to see the stain and when she noticed Hikaru hysterical face she fled. This is Hikaru first encounter with Sai Fujiwara a man who has been playing “Go” for over 1,000 years, Sai died after drowning himself in a lake two days after he was banished from the royal city because he was accused of cheating when in reality his opponent was. He then explains how he came to “attach” his soul to this “Go” board in hopes of one day returning to the living to seek out the “divine move” of “Go.” Hikaru, who has no interest to play “Go”, is now faced with a man (Sai Fujiwara) whom he can only see and communicate always nagging to play “Go.” Will Sai discover this “divine move”? Will Hikaru ever give in and allow himself to be used by Sai to play “Go” games? Will Hikaru come to enjoy “Go”? You will have to watch Hikaru no Go to find out!

 

Art and Animation

 

First off the art aspect of Hikaru no Go is pretty solid. The characters have unique hair designs and the characters themselves are well drawn, especially considering how many sub important characters there are in this series it really is amazing. The animation is great, I did notice some still shots here and there but I found them to be placed well and really don’t inter fear with the show itself. Especially considering the length of the show they did a fantastic job.

 

Character Development and Storyline

 

Well ill be honest, I have seen quite a lot of shows that have a very poor character development and storyline that for the most part all they offer is pretty looking animation. This show is different. Even from the very start of the show, episode 1, you will notice how not only the main characters grow but also how the side characters grow as well throughout the show. I believe the show as a whole from start to finish goes through about 2 years and 4 months. During this time its amazing how the main character, Hikaru changes throughout the show and matures. The other characters follow suit, unlike many shows there are no characters just thrown in but really all the characters in this show serve some high purpose and when looking back they all connected together perfectly. This is a show that has some mediocre rivalry based on something petty. But really has a foundation that builds and builds. The characters don’t all get along and that’s the fact of life, no one gets along all the time. In this show some characters will go from disliking a person, to hating them, to admiring them and so on. The pacing of the show is fantastic, throughout all 75 episodes the show is non stop entertainment. Even with the two side episodes (which occur late in the series) they are still highly entertaining and offer solid entertainment. The ending did a fantastic job wrapping up the series, the series started off strong and ended strong, an ideal series.

 

Music

 

I generally don’t write anything regarding the music but this show is different. During the “Go” games throughout the series the music is just fantastic. It fits well with the mood of the show during that specified time as well as the severity of the match. I really enjoyed listening to the background music throughout the show. Regarding the OP and ED I found them to be quite enjoyable, I found that I did prefer some over another but I can’t say I disliked any.

 

Final Summary

 

This review honesty doesn’t do this show justice. From start to finish it constantly surprised me by getting better and better. When I thought the series reached its limit, it surpassed it. From the characters to the storyline everything is done perfectly. If someone asked me the flaw of this series I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell them. I highly recommend you check out this series, trust me, a series regarding a board game seems far from entertaining but those who are willing to give it a chance are in for a real treat!

 

Rating:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(This review/pictures made by EternityOfPain)