Anime Column] Tokimeki☆Time Trip vol.8 "Hikaru no Go" - Their Meeting is Fate!　Dramatic Go Anime

I still love it when I look at it now!"
Why were they so popular with the ladies?"
There is a reason for everything interesting!　A female anime writer takes a look back at some nostalgic works that became hits with female anime fans.

March Lion" featuring a young shogi (Japanese chess) player is currently airing, which reminds me of "Hikaru no Go" (aired from 2001 to 2003, total 75 episodes) that triggered an unprecedented Go boom.

This was the first ever Go anime that was almost faithfully adapted from the original comic series serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. Despite the fantastical setting in which the soul of a genius Go player from the Heian period possesses a child of today, the portrayal of the characters and the development of the game of Go are very realistic and sensitive.

The relationship between Hikaru Shindo, the main character, and Akira Touya, his rival, and the dramatic nature of their relationship attracted many female fans.

The animation is captivating!　Dramatic Go

Fujiwara no Sai, a prodigy professional Go player in the Heian period (794-1185), lived on as only his soul because of his passionate desire to "master the divine move.

Without a body, Sakae is unable to touch the Go stones and cannot play Go by herself. Hikaru is not interested in playing Go at all at first, but Sadame insists on playing, so he goes to a neighborhood Go club, lends his body to Sadame, and tries playing against a child of the same age.

However, this opponent was no ordinary child. It was Akira Touya, the son of Gyoyo Touya, a master Go player who reigned at the top of the Go world, and a prodigy of the game that even a few adults could not beat. Akira, such a thoroughbred, was shocked when Hikaru (Satame) easily defeated him. Influenced by Akira, Hikaru also discovered the charm of Go and began to play the game himself.

So, although this work started with a fantasy setting of "the ghost of a genius Go player from 1,000 years ago," it is also a very royal sporting story. The story starts with an encounter with a great instructor and a fated rival. Through Hikaru, who is a complete amateur, the story is structured to explain what kind of game Go is in order and to convey the fun of the game to the viewers.

How to depict the seemingly simple game of Go, of which few people know the detailed rules, must have been a major challenge for both the comic and the anime. The majority of the game is played in front of each other with the Go board in front of them, and the only thing that is shown is the placement of black-and-white stones on the board.

The original comic book dramatized the game of Go with its black-and-white pen drawings and frame-by-frame composition. On the other hand, the weapons of animation are sound, timing, and movement. The sound of the stones being placed, the lighting of the stones during the decisive move, and the use of the Net Go game to show the two players facing off in an imaginary world, all add to the excitement of the game and beautifully depict the tension that a game of Go entails.

Fateful rivals!　Hikaru and Akira

Hikaru and Akira are depicted as fated rivals from the start.

Akira had no rivals in his own age group because he was too talented, but then Hikaru appeared. Akira is too bright to have any rivals in his own age group, but when Hikaru appears on the scene, he becomes intensely aware of him as a rival and is inspired.

On the other hand, Hikaru, who had no knowledge or interest in Go as a modern child, was inspired by Akira to become a professional Go player and become an insei at the Nihon Ki-in.

He wants to be recognized by Akira as his rival. However, the person that Akira is after and wants to play with is Sadame, not him. This is the dilemma.

Thus, the two think of each other, are pursued by each other, suffer from barriers, cross paths, and conflicts, sometimes hurling harsh words at each other, and at other times acting coldly in despair. When Akira pursues, Hikaru does not deal with him, and when Hikaru pursues, Akira does not turn around anymore.

It is, as it were, the composition of a classic romantic drama!　This is the strongest pattern that makes you curious to watch the rest of the story.

The drama of the various professionals is depicted, but the main focus of the story remains the same: the two professionals.

In the world of Go, age is not necessarily proportional to playing ability, and it is common for children to beat adults. And yet, the spirit of Hikaru and his friends is anything but childlike. Hikaru's baseless confidence and headstrong selfishness, and Akira's overly pure passion and single-mindedness, are both fearless and borderline fragile and dangerous. It is thrilling to watch.

Hikaru and Satame, two for one, like mentor and disciple and friends.

The other main characters in the story are Hikaru and Satame.

In order to master the divine move, Sakae is searching for a partner who inhabits the Go board and can hear her voice. He is a single-minded genius who loves the game of Go. He has a beautiful neutral look, and although he is an adult, he is out of touch with the world, showing an innocent and endearing side.

Hikaru and Satame are also destined to meet.

Sadame first fulfills Hikaru's desire to play Go through Hikaru, but as a lover of Go, she honestly appreciates Hikaru's budding interest in the game and stands by Hikaru as a good guide, a friend who loves Go and a counselor who is always by his side as he strives to reach higher levels of Go.

The existence of Satame, who has existed beyond the millennium, and Hikaru, a child who has just recently begun playing Go. The difference in power between them is obvious, but Hikaru climbs up the stairs one by one with child-like desperation. Hikaru is climbing the stairs one by one with a childlike gusto, and at a remarkable speed.

Even though Satake is always watching and training him, Hikaru is growing up too fast. In fact, this is what shows Hikaru's own Go sense and potential. This was first noticed by Satame, and then professional players such as Gyoyo Touya and others took notice.

Before long, the positions of Sadame, a leader, and Hikaru, a beginner, were reversed. Hikaru has youth, a living body, and a future. Sadame fulfills her long-cherished wish and plays a game of Net Go with Yukihiro Touya, but at the same time, she realizes her role as a player who has survived beyond 1000 years and realizes that she has no more time left to live.

Eventually, the time comes for the two to part ways.

Was Satake there?　The final answer

Hikaru is so distraught with grief, regret, and shock at the loss of Sasame that he surprises everyone by deciding that he will never play Go again. Akira's scolding does not reach Hikaru.

Akira wants to play against Sasuke, but Sasuke is no longer there. Sasami also wanted to fight a strong opponent, but he can't let her fight anymore. If this was going to happen, I should have let him play more and more. What is the meaning of playing Go for me now ......?

Hikaru's lament is heartbreaking. It is a bit painful to watch.

In the pain of losing the half of his body that has walked the path of Go together, Hikaru's face, which used to be round and childish, changes the picture with deeper and more delicate expressions, and in a short time, Hikaru becomes very mature.

Was Sadame, who only looked like Hikaru, real?　If one were to make a mistake, it would even seem as if Sadame was an illusion that appeared only in Hikaru's mind. From the outside, Hikaru was a boy who encountered Go, improved, and grew up. That's all there is to it.

But it was not so.

Sadame certainly existed. And the final episode, in which the role he played is confirmed, is very moving.

The two people who confirm this are Hikaru, who has chosen to continue playing Go even without Sadame, and Akira, who has finally been able to play with Hikaru. Akira's wish, which has long pursued Hikaru, is also fulfilled here, completing the story of the three of them.

The original story continues with the "Hokuto Cup Arc," in which Hikaru and Akira fight a Korean Go player, but the anime TV series ends here.

I think that was one of the right choices for the story that started with the encounter between Hikaru and Satame, and between Hikaru and Akira. When I finished watching it, I felt a sense of exhilaration that I had completed a story.

I was deeply moved by the special ending of the last episode.

There were many other fascinating characters in the story.

The serious Kimihiro Tsutsui, a fellow member of the Go club at the Hase Junior High School Hikaru attends, and the slightly cynical Yuki Mitani.
The free-spirited Tetsuo Kaga, head of the Shogi Club, who is a strong Go player.
Yoshitaka Waya, a fellow graduate student, is a friendly and caring person.
Among them, Izumi Shinichiro, who is sincere and loved by his juniors but is mentally weak and unable to clear the professional examinations, is becoming more and more handsome and has become a very popular character!

Go is a serious game.
Go is a serious game.
And it is repeatedly said that Go is also communication through the board.

The opening theme song "Get Over" was played from the first episode to the 30th episode of the anime. The chorus of the lyrics of the song is very fitting to the relationship between Hikaru and Saori, who climbed up the stairs of growth step by step.

This song will be played in a long version in the final episode.

Sasuke is in the game of Go that Hikaru is playing. As Hikaru continues to play Go with Akira and his friends, aiming for a higher level, Satame also lives.

The people Hikaru meets through Go are also walking toward the future in their own ways.

It was a good performance that made me feel this deeply.

It has been a long time since I watched this movie for this manuscript, but the content is surprisingly not old because it depicts a human drama in the classic Go world.

If you watch the first episode, you may not be able to stop watching it.

(Text by YAMAYU)

(C) Yumi Hota, HMC, Ken Obata, Noel/Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, Pierrot