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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane Hikaru no Go started out with an extremely simple premise: Hikaru, a completely normal 12 year old boy, finds a Go board that’s haunted by the spirit of Sai, a Go master who wants nothing more than to continue playing the game he loves. At first Hikaru only humors the ghost, reluctantly acting as his hands, but they discover that Hikaru himself has both an interest in and a natural affinity for the game. Sai’s games, played through Hikaru, attract the interest of Akira, a child prodigy, and the two boys develop an unusual rivalry as Akira goes pro and Hikaru works to catch up to him. This series is all Go, all the time; especially after the first few volumes, once Hikaru is committed to playing the game for himself, nearly all of the action takes place on and around Go boards. The games themselves are meticulously detailed, with Go consultants involved in the production of both the Japanese and English versions, and yet the story doesn’t bog down in the constant parry of moves. Volumes 10 and 11 cover the final stages of the highly-involved pro test, where talented players compete to break into the professional world of Go. These volumes do an excellent job of highlighting the characters’ relationships and stresses, as things come to a peak for many of them. Other than the game itself, Hikaru no Go paints a contrasting picture of obsession and competition, with Hikaru and Akira each striving to beat the other...while hardly ever having any direct contact. They keep tabs on each other through other players’ accounts and recreations of games, since Akira is literally out of Hikaru’s league; Hikaru goes from game to game with the constant awareness that he’s aiming to go pro and challenge Akira, while Akira tutors another participant in the pro test and uses him to get information about Hikaru (as well as training him to be a challenge for Hikaru). Beyond that, the story begins to test the friendships between the competing characters. During his study of Go, Hikaru has developed relationships with other talented young players, honing his skills with them. The inevitable result is that they wind up in direct competition with each other during the pro test, facing off against one another in serious, high-stakes games. Creator Yumi Hotta does an excellent job of conveying that particular strain, never forgetting that these are--for the most part--kids and adolescents trying to balance friendship against ambition, each desperately wanting to win without seeing their friends lose. It’s also interesting to watch Hikaru’s relationship with Sai change, as he relies less and less on his ghostly tutor’s skill and counsel. The artwork, by Death Note artist Takeshi Obata, is very clean and expressive, with strong lines (I’m particularly fond of the determined faces and the decisive placement of Go stones); meanwhile, Hotta’s writing keeps the story interesting for far longer than I would have thought possible for a series centered so thoroughly on a board game. With quite a few volumes left to go, I’m looking forward to seeing how things play out. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
1 September 2010
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