Hikaru no Go

Hikaru's Go) is a Japanese manga series based on the board game Go, written by Yumi Hotta and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.

Sai finds himself trapped in Hikaru's mind and tells him which moves to play against opponents, astonishing onlookers with the boy's apparent level of skill at the game.

It was adapted into an anime television series by Studio Pierrot, which ran for 75 episodes from 2001 to 2003 on TV Tokyo, with a New Year's Special aired in January 2004.

It is largely responsible for popularizing Go among the youth of Japan since its debut, and considered by Go players everywhere to have sparked worldwide interest in the game, noticeably increasing the Go-playing population around the globe.

While exploring his grandfather's shed, Hikaru Shindo stumbles across a Go board haunted by the spirit of Fujiwara-no-Sai, a Go player from the Heian era.

In a Go salon, Hikaru twice defeats Akira Toya, a boy his age who plays Go at professional level, by following Sai's instruction.

Through training at Go clubs, study groups, and practice games with Sai, he manages to become an Insei and later a pro, meeting various dedicated Go players of different ages and styles along the way.

Although Ko Yong Ha later finds out, he refuses to correct the error and instead emphasizes it when he realizes that it enrages Hikaru, who takes it as a direct affront to Sai.

However, Hikaru wants to play against Ko Yong Ha, who is the captain in Korea, in order to show him that Sai is the most skillful Go player in the history of the game.

A bonus story, set shortly after the Hokuto Cup event, shows two Inseis, who are ranked 14th and 16th in the group, discussing whether Akira Toya or Hikaru Shindo were stronger.

Written by Yumi Hotta and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, Hikaru no Go was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from December 8, 1998,[a] to July 14, 2003.

A 36-episode Chinese live-action adaptation titled Qi Hun, directed by Liu Chang, was streamed on the iQIYI online platform from October 27 to November 26, 2020.

[30] In November 2014, readers of Da Vinci magazine voted Hikaru no Go 14th on a list of Weekly Shōnen Jump's greatest manga series of all time.

[36] Go professional Yukari Umezawa served as the technical advisor for the anime and promoted the game on behalf of the Nihon Ki-in.

"[37] Reviewing the series for the School Library Journal, Lori Henderson highly recommended Hikaru no Go as a "funny, touching, and slightly bittersweet" coming-of-age story.

She praised Hotta's diverse and interesting characters who have rather complex relationships, and Takeshi's artwork, which "can make placing a stone on the board seem like a life or death situation."

Henderson noted that, while some technical terms are used and explained, readers do not have to know how to play Go as the matches are more about the players than the actual mechanics of the game.