Related titles: Hikaru no Go (anime)

Alternate Title: ヒカルの碁 | Hikaru's Go
Genre: Sports | Drama | Humor
Company: Shonen Jump
American Liscensing Company: None
Format: ??? On going
Dates: ????
Original Creator: Takeshi Obata and Yumi Hotta
Age Rating: 10 and up
How much I read: The vast majority of the available 18 volumes

Synopsis: Hikaru Shindo is just a normal 12 year old Japanese boy. One day, he's rumaging through his Grandfather's things to see if he can find something to sell. He pulls out an old Go board and starts cleaning it. It cleans well, except there are bloodstains on the Go board that only Hikaru can see! A ghost of a man named Sai Fujiwara comes out of the board, a Go player that lived a thousand years ago! Sai now haunts Hikaru and wants to accomplish the perfect Go game, called the "Hand of God". He hopes to do this through Hikaru, since he could not accomplish the perfect game in his own lifetime. Hikaru is still himself, but now Sai is haunting him and is a constant companion, always pestering him to play Go. Remarkablely, Hikaru takes it in stride, though there are times he wished there was only one voice in his head. Hikaru is the only one who can see and hear Sai and so his journey to help Sai's dream come true starts. Hikaru meets many fellow Go players and starts learning the game, and soon finds that he has a love for it too. Now he wants to become a great Go player, without having to rely on Sai to win. He especially wants to become better so he, not Sai, can be the one to beat his rival, Akira Touya, the first person he and Sai ever played against, and a prodigy Go player who is the same age as Hikaru! Can Hikaru and Sai both accomplish their goals and possibly make Hikaru the best Go player of his time in the process?

SCORE: 88%

It's a manga about a "sport". I don't like sports, so I do not like sports manga. But do I like this sports manga? Yep!

Plot: Does it have plot? Yes! Is it a masterpiece of all plots of all time? Lol, or course not.

Nothing is left to the imagination; pretty much everything that happens in the series is summed up in the synopsis, even though there are several different interesting situations when it comes to the tournments or practicing more. However, characters are what drive this series. All characters have very different personalities and looks, and many are just adorable. ^_^

Unlike the anime, the manga is faster paced, if you can get your hands on as much manga as you can possible at one time. That just makes sense; you can read this as fast as you want, unlike the anime, where you have to go at their pace. So, there is just a little bit less filler in the manga than the anime of course, and it's a quicker read. If you do reread this manga however, it's to catch little thing and to study the art, not the story, since it's pretty much impossible to miss anything. Jumping into this manga with a basic idea of what it is about is pretty much all you need to read it.

Visual: This has to be some of the best manga art I have ever seen. Many picture of Hikaru, Akira and Sai are awesome, beautiful and cute, rendered in beautiful, but not shocking color (watercolor I think too). The pics on this page are nothing compared to bigger, lucious scans of this art. The manga itself is also beautifully rendered; no incredibly off proportions, and a nice crisp look with a nice amount of screentones and shading without confusing the reader of what is happening at all. GREAT visuals! ^_^

Extra Rants and Bitching: I'm s-so pissed! I got so far in the manga when Hikaru and Akira are finally facing each other! Now they're halfway through their game, and I'm not waiting for the rest of the story...*grumble grumble bitch* I want to see who will finally win!

If you've read my anime review of this series, you know what kind of dork I am. ^_^ Hikaru and Akira are little cuties! Hee-hee-hee! You can guess how I've made fun of those two while reading this manga...it's just as fun as the anime...lol. Akira with his girly looks and hair. I love his bitter aloofness, poor "Angry Boy".

Gotta love dorky Sai!

Score Comments: Beautiful art, cute characters, but not much of a plot, since it is about Go after all. However, the plot is there and exists, even if it is rather simple, predictable and uncomplicated. At least enjoy the visuals of the characters!

Websites:

Have a website about this series, or do you know of a good one? Want me to link to it on this review? Well, the feel free to email the sucker to me! Just make sure to put "Review Link" in the subject.