Hikaru no Go 18

Yumi Hotta / Takeshi Obata – Viz – 2010 – 23 volumes

This volume was an interlude from the main story, called “Six Characters, Six Stories.”  The short stories covered everyone from major players like Akira and Hikaru/Sai to old favorites like Kaga and Mitani, and they even slipped in Nase, who I forgot about completely.  In a way, her story was my favorite, if only because of the contrast between her and the go parlor.

I thought all the stories except the final one, featuring Sai and Hikaru, were quite good.  Even that one was enjoyable, but it wasn’t quite as cute or enlightening as the others in the book.  Two of them were sort of glimpses into what was happening at the story when we were introduced (the circumstances surrounding Mitani at the Go parlor before he met Hikaru, how Akira was playing before Hikaru entered the picture).  The story covering Kurata was about his school days, Kaga and Nase’s stories were set in the present, and Hikaru’s story was from the near-past.  They also all covered a variety of subject matter, from horse racing to Japanese pottery to dating.

It’s a testament to the strength of the series and characters that there could be an interlude like this, and that it is still just as enjoyable as the regular storylines normally are.  They do play go in most of the stories, but it’s not present at all in one or two of them, and doesn’t play a major role in any of them aside from being a common theme.

It’s comparable to the Isumi volume in its relation to the story, honestly, but I liked it a lot better than Isumi’s story.  It didn’t interrupt at such a critical time (at the moment, the story’s getting ready to start a new major plotline), it covered more characters, and was overall much lighter in tone.

Once again, Hikaru no Go really is one of the finest shounen series available in English.  There are series I like better, certainly, but I’ll freely admit my tastes run to series that are more over-the-top.  But even then, it’s impossible to deny the charm of the characters and the addictive, dramatic nature that the writing grants to their go games.  It is ridiculous, in its way, but it’s also well-written and it’s an easy series for anyone to get into, not just manga fans.  And I must say, the fact that it’s drawn by Takeshi Obata doesn’t hurt it one bit.