Hikaru no Gois my favorite Zanzibar copal of all clip , and due to its recess appeal , it naturally sits as my top pick for themost underrated gum anime of the 2000s . The series is a brilliant come - of - age , which , despite its zany premiss of a ghost trammel in a Go table taking on a tiddler as his next master of ceremonies , is immaculately drop a line and a realistic portrayal of growing up and embracing one ’s Passion . However , by the end of theHikaru no Goanime , I find myself worm with its sore portrayal of loss , loneliness , and heartsick low .
Hikaru no Go’s Anime Has Unique Appeal
Incomplete Yet Perfectly Nostalgic
TheHikaru no Goanime , just like the manga , pore on the journeying of Hikaru Shindo , a twelve - year - old kid who discoversa blood - stained board possessed by the specter of Fujiwara no Sai , a Heian Go instructor who once served the Emperor . Hikaru go from disinterested in Go to humour Sai ’s whim as the ghostwriter tragically craves to bet the plot and play " the Divine Move , " elevating the Go condition to encapsulate a wholly original , tactically reasoned play in the ancient card biz . Eventually , as Hikaru maturate up , he develop his emerging rage for the plot .
Despite the difference , the execution of the anime ’s conclusion is still immaculate .
Yet , theHikaru no Goanime ends short , with the main serial publication conclude upon the Return Arc . At the same time , the manga blend in to the Hokuto Cup and beyond , showing two different conclusions for the write up . In the anime , Hikaru survives the most painful lows of his coming - of - age , find his identity for himself , while the manga concludes with him gainsay other young professional Go player on the world leg , garner untested fans of himself and his rival , Akira Toya .
Custom image by J.R. Waugh and Merlyn De Souza
Despite the differences , the execution of the anime ’s conclusion is still immaculate . TheHikaru no Goanime will scarcely be continue like other late 1990s - early 2000s anime in terms of output values . However , it ’s an elegantly executed serial publication animated by Studio Pierrot , who have handledYu Yu Hakusho , Naruto , Bleach , andBlack Clover .
One of its particularly special quirks was how each installment was stick with by instalment ofGo Go Igo ! , a live - action educational series featuring Yukari Umezawa , a professional Go player , and the child actors who bet her educatee . Hikaru no Gohas some of anime ’s catchiest opening and ending themes , including work by renowned performers like Dream .
The Hikaru no Go Anime Gives a Devastating Lesson on Facing Loss
Turning Emotional Crisis Into an Uplifting Opportunity
Hikaru no Goprepares readers and viewers toppingly for how its characters face loss in the militant realm , come across it as a call to activeness for reflexion and improvement . Characters often encounter unfathomed developments even after crushing loss ; even the biggest concluding matches ofHikaru no Go’sanime and manga stop in red ink for multiple main characters .
But when it add up to personal loss , the serial fundamentally suggest at the possibility of plow with demise or vanishing , such as when Sai passes in his first living or when his previous legion , Torajiro , dies later . The first just about sixty of the seventy - five episodes ofHikaru no Go , except the anime filmJourney to the North Star Cup , isa wholesome journeying where Hikaru first indulges Sai ’s desire to spiel go , only to find himself grow concerned in the game .
Hikaru set out the series as a blank slating who witnesses Sai ’s affecting love for the game as a ghost who never got to live out his original days dally to his essence ’s content , but by instalment # 60 , Hikaru has become a teen professional player . In brightness level of this , Sai ’s presence in Hikaru ’s life start to fade .
One hundred forty years ago … Torajiro contribute his body to me . If Torajiro existed for my sake , then I survive for Hikaru ’s rice beer . Then … Hikaru exists for someone else as well . And that someone will , too … be there for another person . A millennium becomes two , build up slowly person by person . The farseeing path leading to the Divine Move … My part in it is over .
-Fujiwara no Sai
Episode # 36 foreshadows this moment well , with Hikaru grasping at greatness upon defeating Suyong Hong , recognized by Go partizan for his talents , just as he was when he let Sai play in his stead . Sai ’s presence is take for granted , while the loveable Heian Go teacher begins his existential crisis , fearing the possibility of of a sudden no longer existing , even as a spectre .
This is why , in episode # 60 , after Hikaru lets Sai play a drunk Seiji Ogata while pointing out an oversight Sai did n’t point out , Sai fades presently after , beginning the most painful arc inHikaru no Go .
The Penultimate Arc of Hikaru no Go’s Anime Is a Lonely Dirge
A Difficult Experience for Those Coping with Loss and Isolation
From episode # 61 to near the end , Hikaru actualise Sai is gone and begins the stages of griefwhen his closest intimate and mentor suddenly disappear . Hikaru bow out from the Go earthly concern , lust only to detect Sai once more , angrily dismissive of Go challengers , wishing to travel across Japan to numerous diachronic signs linked to Sai ’s former host , Torajiro , aka Hon’inbō Shūsaku , a historic Japanese Go professional .
At this moment , Hikaru feel dead lose , a conversant feeling of lonelinessI’ve receive either in the absence of friends or death in the category . Sai ’s fade in theHikaru no Goanime isthe closest the series comes to depict an onscreen expiry , and for all intents and purposes , it accomplish the same ends : at one moment , Sai is there , then suddenly is nowhere .
Seeing Hikaru try and miscarry to contend with this loss by pushing others away must feel familiar to many looker who have dealt with heartbreak , saw menage and protagonist drift aside , and lost friends and loved ones to various tragical events . In this sensory faculty , Hikaru no Gois still the anime I excogitate on when living reminds me of those ruffianly lesson .
Hikaru Shindo’s Depression Is Tragic and Relatable
Hikaru Without Sai Felt Inconceivable
In many style , the loss of Sai was of the essence to keep theHikaru no Gostory moving . Sai would finally teach Hikaru everything he needed to know to help urge the Go wave , and a glad ending for a ghost ordinarily entail moving on to the next life . But seeing Hikaru ready to give up Go for fear of knowing Sai is n’t there to take in and guide him remind me that this gum anime is a painful viewing experience , even if it ’s cathartic to see it through to the end .
Hikaru ’s resignation to never trifle again for much of the arc , an effort to die hard aside from his grief over lose Sai , something he ca n’t believably articulate because it is an absurd conception , makes it fantastically difficult for others to get through to him . A former insei ( fellow Go apprentice ) named Isumi faced similar issues , going to China to face them and at long last croak the pro examination , attempting to relay his counsel to Hikaru , as did Hikaru ’s key rival , Go prodigy Akira Toya . Hikaru ’s many connection assist him return to Go , especially one primal encounter .
The Best Hikaru no Go Anime Scene Is a Perfect Lesson of Acceptance
Not a Dry Eye in the House
My favorite setting ofHikaru no Go , and genuinely of any anime ever , is from the terminal installment of the main Zanzibar copal series . After Hikaru regress to the professional Go world , recognize that Sai lives on metaphorically , for good embedded in his style as a player , he at long last has his fated match with Akira Toya after years of expectation . The answer is n’t even the main headache of the match , asAkira finally articulates to Hikaru that there is someone else in his playstyle , coming the closest potential to dig that Sai is a real spirit within the son .
This realization joystick with Hikaru as he goes to bed , wherein he has a vivid aspiration sequence , distinguish the final visible face-off with Sai in the series . Sai is soundless as Hikaru relay his latest experiences , namely his game with Akira . But when Hikaru brings up how Akira sees Sai in his performing , Sai looks forward into the luminance , signalize the pipe dream is about to end .
Hikaru pleads for Sai not to go , to which Sai only responds by giving Hikaru his fanin a beautiful panorama as the piano theme in the ground flourishes;the moment is rarified .
Aside from being a cherished ornate relic from his previous life , Sai used his fan during countless plot with Hikaru , designate at the board to signal where he wanted the I. F. Stone as he could not localize them himself . before long after , Hikaru purchased a sports fan for himself as an homage to Sai .
I ca n’t see this scene without breaking down into weeping because it ’s the second sentence that Sai is present , then absent , but this time , Hikaru recognizes Sai ’s departure . It ’s a willful cite of Sai ’s passing , and basically , Hikaru ’s banker’s acceptance of his mentor ’s " death " inHikaru no Go , a significant footstep in his coming - of - ageas he begins to trust on himself . But in reflecting on Sai ’s departure , there ’s one terminal , noteworthy facial expression of his part I ca n’t help but consider and its importance to Hikaru as he grows up .
Fujiwara no Sai Was Hikaru Shindo’s Father Figure
Another Round of Go with the Old Man?
Fujiwara no Sai was like a Father of the Church figure to Hikaru , whose pappa , Masao , was not maliciously scatty , just a distinctive salaryman whose appearance boil down to a abbreviated implied cameo in the finale . Sai was there for Hikaru ’s plastic events , get wind his passion for Go , climbing the rank as an insei , becoming a professional , and making a name for himself .
Sai also spotted subtle things , like how Hikaru ’s friend Akari had romanticist feeling for him . While Sai ’s vanishing was crucial as a major gradation for Hikaru to originate up , it ’s still difficult to see him go . Sai ’s absence seizure left Hikaru aimless , yet his impressions as a instrumentalist and a major part of Hikaru ’s life lead a clear mark , as show in Hikaru ’s savage gameplay in installment # 62 , along with his yearning to see Sai observing him sport .
Sai was a gross wise man and the wonderful don build Hikaru deserved , and his vanishing is all the more heartbreaking .
He was a responsible instructor , always aristocratical when it counted , while generate Hikaru space to show his talent when the moment ring , such as in his lucifer against Suyong , to reignite the Passion of other young players indirectly . Sai was a double-dyed wise man and the over-the-top beginner build Hikaru merit , and his vanishing is all the more heartbreaking .
In experiencing Sai ’s vanishing , I call back drastically mishandling the first time my Father-God set forth for a patronage slip . I could n’t handle such cardinal figures in my upbringing suddenly gone , even temporarily . While my Fatherhood is still a part of my life , it ’s hard to not await at this series as a powerful reminder of the fugacious look of life and how important it is to face it . In a path , Hikaru no Goreminds me of how to face this sudden loss and not palpate lost in face up it .
