Print Review: Hikaru no Go volumes 1-6

Review Hikaru no Go volumes 1-6Written by WarpshadowRating very good

A manga about a board game might not sound like a really good story but If there is one thing that I have learned over the years is never judge a story entirely on it’s premise.

Hikaru Shindo was just an ordinary boy looking around his grandfather’s attic for something to pawn when he touched an old Go board. When he did he was possessed by Sai a thousand year old ghost with a passion for Go. Eventually he caved into Sai’s desire to play another game and in doing so makes a rival of the Go prodigy Akira Toya since Hikaru beats Akira using Sai’s skill. Even though he starts out unwilling Hikaru soon learns not only about the game of Go but grows to love the game himself.

Hikaru no Go is a sports manga if one takes the definition of the genre loosely. One thing that I feel the need to tell the manga is a good read even if you aren’t interested in the game of Go. This story of a game and people’s love of it is an interesting one in that it not only features a broady assortment of character types but also a main character that grows as the story progresses. Also the artwork is a couple of degrees better than your average weekly shonen manga. Overall Hikaru no Go is a manga that I would recommend reading to just about anybody.