Why I love Hikaru no Go

[meteordust]

In honour of Hikago Day yesterday.

I didn't get into it when it was wildly popular. It wasn't until a long time after, when I stumbled upon the first few volumes at the library. After that, I went out and bought every single volume that had been translated. Problem was, that was only 5 out of 23, with Viz releasing new volumes on an achingly slow schedule. So getting hold of the rest of the series was a saga in itself, trekking to hole-in-the-wall manga rental places, hunting down sketchy online summaries, and pulling out my extremely rusty translation skills.

But it was worth it.

The story is almost a perfect example of the best of shounen manga, full of striving and passion and determination and courage. The classic story arc has the hero entering a new world as a novice, inexperienced but enthusiastic, with a drive that allows his latent talent to emerge through overcoming obstacles. A far distant goal, a path to follow, growth through intense competition, and of course a rival - someone to race with and push against and finally prove himself to.

And so we have Hikaru no Go.

But for me, there's more to it. Something that takes it beyond the other shounen manga I've read. Something that makes it personal.

Because when Akira tells Hikaru that many have struggled and still failed on the path to becoming a Go professional -

When Kishimoto tells Hikaru that the difference between Akira and Hikaru is the attitude with which they approach their goals -

When Hikaru takes the exam to join the insei -

When he throws all his efforts into going pro -

I see myself, I see not Go but my own special goal in life. It makes me want to work harder at succeeding, it fires up my heart, it tells me the way will be long and hard, but that it is *worth* striving for.

So yeah. Why I love this manga so much.

And then there is everything else that it is. Sai's shining love of the game. Hikaru drawn in by Akira's intensity. Akira telling Hikaru, "I'm waiting for you." And Hikaru in turn deciding, "I'm going to make him wait, until I catch up to him." Waya's fire, Isumi's quiet determination, the long road they are all taking - a long and endless road, as Honda's sensei tells him. Sai slipping away with a smile, Hikaru's inconsolable grief, finding his Go again, the fan, the match with Akira, "Maybe I'll tell you someday." To see them all growing up, maturing into adults. The Hokuto Cup, and that cathartic realisation: "To link the distant past with the far future - that is why I play." "Not only you, but all of us!" And ending with the echo of Sai's first words:

"Can you hear me? Can you hear my voice?"

And the answer is yes. We can.

Comments

[evilhayama.livejournal.com]

It was a great series, I read all the scanslations ages back and enjoyed them. At the end it kinda petered out, after all he had achieved most of his goals by then and there wasn't much left to do. What did you think of the last arc?

[meteordust.livejournal.com]

I did enjoy it, because I could keep reading about these characters forever, but yeah, it was kind of strange. The first arc was so huge and full that in some ways the last arc felt like something tacked on and in some ways it felt like something cut abruptly short. Sort of like the special telemovie you sometimes get after a TV series has ended.

[mrtang.livejournal.com]

I will come back and read this post in 5 years -__-

[meteordust.livejournal.com]

When you finish, I'll make another post just for you!