Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Hikaru no Go: Mid-story Review

Episode Count: 38

Characters
The characters are some of the most loveable and well-designed characters I have ever seen. The main character, Shindou Hikaru, is devoted to Go and becoming a pro. His main goal is to catch up to his rival, Touya Akira. Though Touya is strong, I'm not particularly fond of him right now. Shindou passed the Finals of the Pro Exam (so far) with 6 straight wins, and immediately Touya is going out of his way to make Hikaru, ultimately, lose. Sai, a ghost from the Heian period of Japanese history, has manifested himself in the mind of Hikaru. In the beginning of the story, Sai helped Hikaru in his matches, but Hikaru has grown to the point of not needing Sai's help or advice. Hikaru is extremely strong and shows an amazing amount of perseverance. The other characters are likable, though I'm not sure when I'll see more of Mitani, Tsutsui, Akari, and the rest of the Go Club at Haze. It seems as though Mitani and Tsutsui have been replaced by Isumi and Waya, and they're likable characters. Leave it as it may, Isumi, Waya, and Hikaru are still rivals in this Pro Exam, even though they've been training together as Insei prior to the exam.

Storyline
Talk about turning a painstakingly boring board game into an interesting, captivating game that could possibly make you want to play the game. If Hikaru no Go was done poorly, it would be the same as watching a boring game of checkers in each episode. However, Hikaru no Go shows much emotion, and a sense of thrill in each of the episodes. The story thus far has been a spiral; having high points, and low points. A few episodes were fillers, to make the watcher realize how much Hikaru has changed over the year(s), but other than that, the storyline has great flow and isn't rushed. Afterall, there are 75 episodes, and two extras to watch, so there is no saying that this won't change, although I'm most certain that it won't.

Animation/Drawing
In the beginning, the animation was iffy. As the story progressed, the animation was of higher quality. I'm not very captious when it comes to anime animations. If the animation is poorly done, I can still enjoy the anime if the storyline and characters can make up for the poor-quality of animation. Hikaru no Go is partially the case; as the animations aren't THAT bad, but if you watch anime solely for the animations, then you might be a bit disappoints. The drawing style is very diverse, and can be racial at times. For instance, Korean go players often look different from Japanese go players. As of late, I'm not happy with the way Hikaru has been drawn. His face is a bit too mature and his hair long. Though, I suppose that everyone grows up over a year or two, so it is expected (but I do miss the old Hikaru style!).

Overall
Overall, Hikaru no Go has become a fantastic piece and retained the title of "emotionally appealing board game." Go fans can enjoy the anime for the go strategies (each match was done by a professional go player!). Anime fans can enjoy it for the wonderful storyline, bishounen, and overall emotional appeal. I recommend Hikaru no Go to anyone who is interested in either go or anime, because this is a must-see for all anime fans. In addition, the 75 episodes aren't even a lot, considering the story is so long (I recall that the manga is over 200 chapters).
counted stars at 7:18 PM

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