Hikaru no Go 23
Posted: March 27, 2011 Filed under: Hikaru no Go 8 Comments »Yumi Hotta / Takeshi Obata – Viz – 2011 – 23 volumes
Here it is. The end to one of my all-time favorite Shounen Jump series. As good as this series is, as much as it makes you really care for the characters and really want to know how their go games evolve despite yourself… the ending is unfortunately a letdown.
We get the rest of the Hokuto Cup, of course. The Japan vs. Korea game. We get to watch all of Hikaru’s game in-depth, with a lot of different people giving commentary about the surprising turns of events during the game. The game is good, though I liked it a little less because Hikaru’s Korean opponent was a little less developed and likable than some of the others throughout the series. It was certainly intense, and there are few games that last an entire volume and end… well, the way this one does.
And that’s the end. The Hokuto Cup ends, and then the series ends, too. There are two one-shots in the back, indicating that the rivalry between Akira and Hikaru will continue, and that it will fuel another generation of go players. I especially liked that one of the stories featured young Hikaru and Akira, and the other one featured them as professionals a couple years in the future.
But seriously. It just ends. And it ends on a rather sour note. Granted… there’s no real good way to draw a go series to a conclusion. But I was so bummed.
Actually, the thing that bothered me most is a spoiler, so I’m going to cut and talk a little bit behind a spoiler tag.
But in the meantime, don’t let the lukewarm ending deter you. The first sixteen or so volumes of this series are well worth a read. I’ve read the whole thing twice now, and I hardly ever re-read series anymore. But Hikaru no Go is worth it. It’s one of the best examples of a character-driven series, and shows that you don’t need a lot of action and magical powers or sports-related miracles to make an interesting series. Sometimes all it takes is a boardgame and the right people playing it.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
And from here on down is a spoiler, so don’t read it if you haven’t yet enjoyed the ending.
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So, Hikaru didn’t win his last game of the series? And because of that, Japan came in dead last in the tournament? I do like it when series turn expectations on their head, and ending the series with the main character losing is something I would usually endorse.
But there’s a reason it’s not a very good strategy. For all the (granted, very much appreciated) talk about how the game was a good one, and that the winner doesn’t really matter in a game that good… the series ended with a loss for Hikaru and him in tears over it. What a sour note to go out on. It’s one of those final impression things. Since that’s the last little bit of the series I read, every time I think about it, I’m going to be a little bummed, because I’m going to remember Hikaru crying over that go board, and Akira consoling him.
Similarly, we’ve spent the last several volumes mired in this somewhat uninteresting tournament, with the characters we like playing against characters that aren’t developed very well, and are a little less interesting because of it. As much as I do like watching the games, we’ve now been forced to sit through several volumes where Japan loses, and has no chance of redeeming itself.
It’s interesting that the entire end of the series goes to great lengths to either talk down game results, or to leave them out entirely. Winning doesn’t matter, but it still feels good, dammit.
From what I understand, it’s not that rare an ending point for Japanese ‘sports’ manga, of which HNG semi-qualifies. I remember being disappointed by a baseball anime that ended the same way.
Oh yea, do they mention Sai at all? He was the focus much of the series, after all, I’d expect even if he’s gone, the ending should include him in some way.
I have to admit the way this arc and the series ends is somewhat dour and anti-climactic. Though what really makes this loss all the more hard to enjoy is the fact that this ‘rivalry’ all started due to that translation mixup due to that comic relief of a reporter incompetence.
And for me personally, the fact that Sai never came back, makes it all the more disappointing (no matter how much it makes sense). I’ve said this before, but sometimes it feels like HnK started coasting in its plot development ever since Sai’s departure.
I heard that Hikaru no Go lost a good deal of support BECAUSE of the Hokuto Arc, it was canceled as a result. The manga hadn’t originally been indended to end there.
Not sure if there is any truth to that though. Even so, it’s one of my alltime favorites now and forever (I certainly like it better than Death Note and Bakuman). It’s a shame about the ending, although most of the series is so strong its still easy to reccomend. The same thing happened to Shaman King and they eventually came out with another printing which added a “true ending” to the series. But with the artist having moved on the other works, the writer retired, and a 2nd edition already in print, I doubt that will ever happen for Hikaru no Go. It’s a real shame.
P-chan: Amazing that the Hokuto Cup was so unremarkable that it brought down such a great series.
When it originally ended, I did half expect some sort of conclusion chapter, or a better ending, to expand on what happened for the graphic novel. It was a popular series, and it’s a shame that they didn’t have Hotta and Obata collaborate for bonus content or a short follow-up, or something. I didn’t know Hotta was retired, though. That would explain why there hasn’t been more work from the two. I do like that Obata has another successful collaborator, but as much as I like Death Note, it’s just not the same. In fact, it’s almost the exact opposite tone-wise from Hikaru no Go, and it’s interesting that Obata can do both, but Hikaru no Go is more of a pleasure to read.
Tim: I have to agree with you. While I have enjoyed some of the material since then, I always thought that Sai’s departure was a fine and natural conclusion for the series.
ZeroSD: I think they name-drop him briefly, and he’s in one of the two bonus stories at the end, but he’s not discussed nearly enough for my liking. The final note/theme is about “linking the far past with the far future” or something like that, so I think Sai is implied to be a big part, but that whole theme wasn’t conveyed very well. Or I just glossed over it because I was mad.
It’s interesting that it’s not uncommon for a Japanese sports manga to end with a loss. I just realized that I’ve read several, but haven’t worked my way to the end of any but this one (Eyeshield 21 is getting close, though). It just seems like such a sour way to end things, even if it is a little unexpected.
This is one of the best manga ever!! I first read it when it was 15, my, that was almost 7 years ago. since, i’ve reread all 23 volumes and rewatched the whole series couple times. i’ve just done rewatching the anime last week during easter holidays. and it never fails to make me cry, especially eps 70 where hikaru realized sai was in the go he played. strange enough since no other series had ever made me shed a tear.
ahem.. ahem lets get to the point. i was looking all over for the HnG – gorgeous characters’ guide and just could find it anywhere. anyone has any idea where i could read it online or even better, download it? thanks in advance to all Hng fan fellows.