What do you think?
Rate this book
日中韓Jr.團體戰“北斗盃”日本代表選拔賽開戰。關西棋院新秀·社與阿光初次交鋒，兩人之間旋即迸出激戰的火花…！戰火持續蔓延，阿光與師範森下九段、阿亮與緒方十段於公式戰展開首次對陣！
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 6, 2003
15 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Yumi Hotta
103 books100 followersYumi Hotta (堀田 由美 Hotta Yumi, most often written as ほった ゆみ) is a Japanese mangaka, best known as the author of the best-selling manga and anime series Hikaru no Go, about the game of go that is widely credited for the recent boom of the game in Japan. The idea behind Hikaru no Go began when Yumi Hotta played a pick-up game of go with her father-in-law. She thought that it might be fun to create a manga based on this traditional board game, and began the work under the title of Nine Stars (九つの星 Kokonotsu no Hoshi), named for the nine "star points" on a go board. She later worked with Takeshi Obata (the illustrator) and Yukari Umezawa (5-Dan, the supervisor) in the creation of Hikaru no Go. She won the 2000 Shogakukan Manga Award and the 2003 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for Hikaru no Go.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 20, 2024
The players get ready for the under 18 tournament.
They work hard, but then out of nowhere, a kid from a little known Go Club shows up and plays an unusual game.
Great stuff. Who knew Go was so exciting?
They work hard, but then out of nowhere, a kid from a little known Go Club shows up and plays an unusual game.
Great stuff. Who knew Go was so exciting?
September 14, 2020
The story introduced a couple of new players with their own inimitable tics. Basically new go weirdos to this story. The story has started to drag on but it's still interesting to see Hikaru grow into his potential.
February 9, 2012
So we're now in the final arc of the series, which much like the earlier multi-volume pro-test arc, is the series of qualifiers leading up to the Japan-Korea-China Junior Tournament. Although I'll be amazed if Akira and Hikaru aren't both members of the Japan team, this volume does manage to make each game tense, just like some of the better volumes earlier in the series.
The "threat" is rather gimmicky. Since we already know the established players in Hikaru's league, Hotta introduces the Kansai Go League and yet another brash new player to represent Hikaru's major "boss fight." He's a fifteen-year-old named Kiyoharu Yashiro. He has bleached white hair and he makes "stunt" moves like playing tengen (the center star point) as his first move.
On the one hand, this isn't terribly original storytelling -- Hotta is just doing the Pokemon/Dragonball thing, where in order to challenge the main character you keep bringing in new opponents who have some new trick up their sleeve. It's particularly hard to do this with go, since how many "tricks" can you realistically depict in a go game? But I liked it even if the outcome is almost a foregone conclusion.
This late in the series, there are more go terms being bandied about, so while you still don't need to be a good player to follow the story, it definitely helps to have learned the basics by now.
The other final match is between Ochi and Waya. Ochi has always been an annoying little punk, and I greatly enjoyed seeing him called a "four-eyed little mushroom."
Meanwhile, we see more evidence that Ogata 9-dan is turning into an egotistical jackass.
So, a bit of character development and some exciting go. I don't think Hotta can keep pulling these "Most Exciting Go Ever!" moments out of a hat, but there are only four volumes left.
Incidentally, this volume is where Hikaru graduates from middle school, but he's not going to high school since he's already making a living as a go professional. And so perhaps we have seen the last of Akari. Too bad that Hotta seems not to intend to make any kind of subplot involving Hikaru's non-go personal life.
The "threat" is rather gimmicky. Since we already know the established players in Hikaru's league, Hotta introduces the Kansai Go League and yet another brash new player to represent Hikaru's major "boss fight." He's a fifteen-year-old named Kiyoharu Yashiro. He has bleached white hair and he makes "stunt" moves like playing tengen (the center star point) as his first move.
On the one hand, this isn't terribly original storytelling -- Hotta is just doing the Pokemon/Dragonball thing, where in order to challenge the main character you keep bringing in new opponents who have some new trick up their sleeve. It's particularly hard to do this with go, since how many "tricks" can you realistically depict in a go game? But I liked it even if the outcome is almost a foregone conclusion.
This late in the series, there are more go terms being bandied about, so while you still don't need to be a good player to follow the story, it definitely helps to have learned the basics by now.
The other final match is between Ochi and Waya. Ochi has always been an annoying little punk, and I greatly enjoyed seeing him called a "four-eyed little mushroom."
Meanwhile, we see more evidence that Ogata 9-dan is turning into an egotistical jackass.
So, a bit of character development and some exciting go. I don't think Hotta can keep pulling these "Most Exciting Go Ever!" moments out of a hat, but there are only four volumes left.
Incidentally, this volume is where Hikaru graduates from middle school, but he's not going to high school since he's already making a living as a go professional. And so perhaps we have seen the last of Akari. Too bad that Hotta seems not to intend to make any kind of subplot involving Hikaru's non-go personal life.
September 10, 2025
4.5/5 (Review is for the series as a whole and does not contain spoilers)
12-year-old Hikaru finds an old Go board in his grandfather’s attic and accidentally frees the ghost spirit of a young Go teacher from medieval Japan, named Fujiwara-no-Sai. Sai has a strong passion for Go and wants to achieve the “Divine Move,” but unfortunately for him, Hikaru knows nothing about Go and has little interest in learning the game. When Sai finally convinces Hikaru to play, they defeat fellow middle school student, Akira, who has been training relentlessly with his father, Go master Toya Meijin. Akira, who is good enough to go pro, is shocked at his defeat and declares that Hikaru is his rival. This rivalry sparks a passion in Hikaru, who decides to learn the game and soon becomes a good enough player in his own right.
This series is appropriate for the middle grade age group, and may inspire readers to want to learn how to play the game of Go. The author consulted with actual Go players to make the manga moves more authentic, and throughout the series there are tidbits and instructions on how to play and resources for learning more about the game. In addition, this series teaches valuable lessons about friendship and explores some of the challenges in coming-of-age, especially as we grow up and move away from some people. This series is also likely to appeal to fans of sports manga, as it features similar story telling devices, and works to build tension in the Go games that the players play. Overall, this series is a fun, low stakes story that makes me want to learn a bit more about the game of Go.
12-year-old Hikaru finds an old Go board in his grandfather’s attic and accidentally frees the ghost spirit of a young Go teacher from medieval Japan, named Fujiwara-no-Sai. Sai has a strong passion for Go and wants to achieve the “Divine Move,” but unfortunately for him, Hikaru knows nothing about Go and has little interest in learning the game. When Sai finally convinces Hikaru to play, they defeat fellow middle school student, Akira, who has been training relentlessly with his father, Go master Toya Meijin. Akira, who is good enough to go pro, is shocked at his defeat and declares that Hikaru is his rival. This rivalry sparks a passion in Hikaru, who decides to learn the game and soon becomes a good enough player in his own right.
This series is appropriate for the middle grade age group, and may inspire readers to want to learn how to play the game of Go. The author consulted with actual Go players to make the manga moves more authentic, and throughout the series there are tidbits and instructions on how to play and resources for learning more about the game. In addition, this series teaches valuable lessons about friendship and explores some of the challenges in coming-of-age, especially as we grow up and move away from some people. This series is also likely to appeal to fans of sports manga, as it features similar story telling devices, and works to build tension in the Go games that the players play. Overall, this series is a fun, low stakes story that makes me want to learn a bit more about the game of Go.
March 29, 2023
I rate this 2.5 stars.
Besides the problems I stated in my reading update of this book. I'm also annoyed that they keep saying how strong a player is when they actually mean how good they are. Why not say, this player is really good. You can't say someone is strong in something when that something does not require strength. Sure there is emotional strength but I don't think that's what they mean when they say a player is strong. Saying Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach is a really strong fighter or that Natsu Dragneel's magic is really strong makes a lot more sense than saying Hikaru Shindo is a strong go player.
Another negative about this volume is that it felt like the prelims for the last two spots for the Japan-Korea-China was taking two long and that some of the chapters in this volume weren't even needed. In fact, it would have been better to not have the preliminaries because who couldn't guess who the other two players wound end up being?
During the last few volumes and this one I kept thinking, "maybe I should dnf this series and sell by Hikaru no Go series collection," but now I only have 3 volumes (24 chapters and 2 bonus chapters) left to read so I might as well finish the series.
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01
Besides the problems I stated in my reading update of this book. I'm also annoyed that they keep saying how strong a player is when they actually mean how good they are. Why not say, this player is really good. You can't say someone is strong in something when that something does not require strength. Sure there is emotional strength but I don't think that's what they mean when they say a player is strong. Saying Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach is a really strong fighter or that Natsu Dragneel's magic is really strong makes a lot more sense than saying Hikaru Shindo is a strong go player.
Another negative about this volume is that it felt like the prelims for the last two spots for the Japan-Korea-China was taking two long and that some of the chapters in this volume weren't even needed. In fact, it would have been better to not have the preliminaries because who couldn't guess who the other two players wound end up being?
During the last few volumes and this one I kept thinking, "maybe I should dnf this series and sell by Hikaru no Go series collection," but now I only have 3 volumes (24 chapters and 2 bonus chapters) left to read so I might as well finish the series.
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01
November 25, 2018
Hikaru finishes his game with Kadowaki, which he wins. Kadowaki admits that Hikaru is good but thinks that Hikaru was somehow better the last time they played (I'm pretty sure his last time was actually against Sai). He's shocked when Hikaru cheerfully agrees with him. A new character, Kiyoharu Yashiro from the Kansai Go Association, is introduced.
This was a fun volume. Again, a bit scattered, and I honestly have no clue what any of them are working towards anymore. Even Hotta admits that pros' schedules and tournaments are confusing and complicated. I'm better off just focusing on individual matches and their outcomes rather than trying to figure out the big picture. One thing I do know is that the Hokuto Cup qualifier determines who's part of the Japanese team in the big Japan-China-Korea tournament.
Yashiro and Hikaru's game is exciting, even though I suspect it's unrealistically reckless.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
This was a fun volume. Again, a bit scattered, and I honestly have no clue what any of them are working towards anymore. Even Hotta admits that pros' schedules and tournaments are confusing and complicated. I'm better off just focusing on individual matches and their outcomes rather than trying to figure out the big picture. One thing I do know is that the Hokuto Cup qualifier determines who's part of the Japanese team in the big Japan-China-Korea tournament.
Yashiro and Hikaru's game is exciting, even though I suspect it's unrealistically reckless.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
November 6, 2023
Hikaru no Go has reached a bit of a slump for me; as the prelims to see who will compete in the tournament leaves little room for who will get the spots. There is one standout game in this volume; where Hikaru has to play against someone with unconventional tactics. Other than that; it is a standard affair with slow pacing that doesn't pay off. However I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Hotta's characters still keep me motivated to read this series through to the end. Even with the absence of Sai.
April 10, 2025
I will be the first to admit, that this volume began a little different than I would have anticipated. Even this late in the series we are being introduced to new players! To further have both Hikaru and Akira grow, they must take on mentors and masters and keep moving forward. This volume punctuates that thought more than many in the past. I must admit the more Go games completed in a volume, the more epic that volume sometimes feels. As the players all attempt to improve, that only comes with challenges and so the greater the obstacle, the richer the reward.
January 21, 2022
SPOILER
.
.
.
.
.
This suffered kind of a 2nd book phenomenon.
They made competition to see who is gonna play in the team of japan. But it was clear as day, that it would be Hikaru, Toya and the new guy.
I found it VERY unfair against Ochi. VERY UNFAIR.
You could literally see no one accepting is talent. They were all just amazed by Yashiros cool moves. And he is hot, while Ochi is small, has a mushroom haircut and small eyes. I really like this volume the least.
.
.
.
.
.
This suffered kind of a 2nd book phenomenon.
They made competition to see who is gonna play in the team of japan. But it was clear as day, that it would be Hikaru, Toya and the new guy.
I found it VERY unfair against Ochi. VERY UNFAIR.
You could literally see no one accepting is talent. They were all just amazed by Yashiros cool moves. And he is hot, while Ochi is small, has a mushroom haircut and small eyes. I really like this volume the least.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2019
Basically at this point, if you're still reading its because Hotta's characters have held you attention well enough that you want to keep following them. I'm honestly not certain what else to say beyond that...It's not a stunning volume, so 4 not 5, but it's pretty darned good and I'll go out and chase the 21st immediately.
November 24, 2021
Karakter baru semakin banyak bermunculan. Terkadang kangen juga dg karakter lama hhe.
Akira dan Hikaru tiba-tiba mengubah kepribadian mereka pada liga Honibo yg masing2 mereka ikuti. Akira bingung ketika menghadapi Ogata Kisei Dan 10. Sementara Hikaru juga bingung saat melawan Morishita-sensei Dan 9. XDD
Akira dan Hikaru tiba-tiba mengubah kepribadian mereka pada liga Honibo yg masing2 mereka ikuti. Akira bingung ketika menghadapi Ogata Kisei Dan 10. Sementara Hikaru juga bingung saat melawan Morishita-sensei Dan 9. XDD
May 17, 2022
I'm really starting to miss Sai, he was such a joy to look at and his dynamic with Hikaru was always fun. Now I feel like Hikaru is an isolated loner since his most developed friendship with Sai is gone...
I am also not over the abrupt disappearance of Sai, it felt sudden and at an illogical part of the story.
I am also not over the abrupt disappearance of Sai, it felt sudden and at an illogical part of the story.
February 9, 2024
Things are getting so hype right now!
Haven't seen much personality (outside playing Go) from Yashiro, but I like him. I thought from the cover he would be like Tetsuo, but it doesn't seem that way.
Haven't seen much personality (outside playing Go) from Yashiro, but I like him. I thought from the cover he would be like Tetsuo, but it doesn't seem that way.
June 25, 2017
A continuation of of the final arc. A sign of great storytelling. But it did feel a bit drawn out, almost that it could be 2 volumes.
December 17, 2017
新しいキャラがどんどん現れている。何か寂しい。終わりがもすぐ来そう。
この巻はちょっとへん、真中に突然紙の品質かわって色もつけてる。なんで?
最後のモンクはあきらもヒカルも突然性格変わった。あきらがおがた先生に体験して混乱した。なんで?あきらはヒカル以外の相手に冷静で受けている。ヒカルも森下先生に体験した時混乱した。なんで？ヒカルはいつも楽看的。何で突然絶望になるの？
この巻はちょっとへん、真中に突然紙の品質かわって色もつけてる。なんで?
最後のモンクはあきらもヒカルも突然性格変わった。あきらがおがた先生に体験して混乱した。なんで?あきらはヒカル以外の相手に冷静で受けている。ヒカルも森下先生に体験した時混乱した。なんで？ヒカルはいつも楽看的。何で突然絶望になるの？
April 8, 2019
Pretty great board game manga, Really liked the story and the art was really nice😁😻👌♟♟📖💕
Read
February 14, 2020Yashiro cracks me up, his game play is so chaotic
Read
May 2, 2025This shelving represents Volumes 16-20
August 11, 2024
Play good moves only ⚪️⚫️
July 19, 2021
This tankobon delves into the First and Second Preliminary Rounds for the Hokuto Cup Team Selection Tournament. Being a Junior Tournament, there aren't many candidates to participate in the first place, but what I like what these preliminaries do is to subtly introduce the other branches of the Japanese Go Institute (Kansai and Central) and the other Go Institute in Japan – the Kansai Institute.
Kiyoharu Yashiro is introduced in this tankobon and is featured on the cover. He just turned pro and hasn't played any official games yet, but Hikaru Shindo found out that he likes to play unconventional and interesting hands on the goban, which Shindo so desperately want to play against. Likewise, Yashiro became interested in Shindo by watching his preliminary match.
As fate would have had it, Yashiro and Shindo did face each other in the Finals for one of the two open spots. As Shindo hoped Yashiro did play an interesting, albeit unconventional hand, just not the one he was hoping for. In response, Shindo responded with a hand just as interesting and unconventional and not to be outdone, Yashiro responded in such – it became a messy, brutal, but interesting game, which was left unresolved as a cliff-hanger.
Two matches of note were the parallel matches of Shindo vs. Morishita Shigeo, the leader of his study group and Akira Toya vs. Seiji Ogata, the highest ranking profession in his study group. They both lost their game, but they soon realized that playing a game without the pressure of a tournament is a totally different monster than just a pick-up game.
All in all, I really like the direction that this tankobon has taken us. It opened up the Go World further by introducing the Kansai Institute and other small branches of the Japanese Go Institute. It also introduces new characters and we get to see Hon Suyon again.
Kiyoharu Yashiro is introduced in this tankobon and is featured on the cover. He just turned pro and hasn't played any official games yet, but Hikaru Shindo found out that he likes to play unconventional and interesting hands on the goban, which Shindo so desperately want to play against. Likewise, Yashiro became interested in Shindo by watching his preliminary match.
As fate would have had it, Yashiro and Shindo did face each other in the Finals for one of the two open spots. As Shindo hoped Yashiro did play an interesting, albeit unconventional hand, just not the one he was hoping for. In response, Shindo responded with a hand just as interesting and unconventional and not to be outdone, Yashiro responded in such – it became a messy, brutal, but interesting game, which was left unresolved as a cliff-hanger.
Two matches of note were the parallel matches of Shindo vs. Morishita Shigeo, the leader of his study group and Akira Toya vs. Seiji Ogata, the highest ranking profession in his study group. They both lost their game, but they soon realized that playing a game without the pressure of a tournament is a totally different monster than just a pick-up game.
All in all, I really like the direction that this tankobon has taken us. It opened up the Go World further by introducing the Kansai Institute and other small branches of the Japanese Go Institute. It also introduces new characters and we get to see Hon Suyon again.
August 4, 2025
Hikaru and his peers are competing to qualify for the Hokuto Cup alongside Akira Toya, so the best of the young pros are going at it. There's not much to say here, really. It's a mini tournament arc to qualify for what is the next tournament arc, I guess. It's good! The new characters are cocky and throw some confusion into the mix alongside all these other characters we've spent the series getting acquainted with.
March 29, 2015
The addition of another Really Strong Player was a little sudden, but it was understandable in that I really wouldn't have wanted Oshi to play in the international tournament and Isumi wasn't available. As for Waya, he just wouldn't have fit with Touya Akira and Hikaru. Anyway, this was still fun and exciting.
September 25, 2010
I have to say, I think this has been my favorite volume so far. I like that they are finally talking about real tournaments. I miss Sai but not a whole lot and kind of like that Hikaru is on his own now. I also thought the story with the Kansai Kiin player was cool and dramatic.
October 11, 2011
ヒカル and アキラ graduating -- touching chapter. It's like a rite of passage into the "adult world" that they've thrust themselves into by their craziness for Go. Then, 社 makes things interesting. Ah! And what a way to end the volume! Must start next volume...
October 4, 2017
Ogata-sensei is now one of my favorite manga villains and the remainder of the series had better only enhance my impression of him. (He's not evil or anything, but he is a decidedly sharp and charismatic obstacle to Hikaru/Akira's progress)
September 16, 2013
I found this to be quite an interesting volume within the series. The artist/writer team were able to really capture the excitement of a real Go tournament. I would have loved to have seen this volume adapted into the Anime series - especially the Tengen sequences!
September 10, 2015
This story is comfort food for me. I can't quite put my finger on what keeps me rereading/rewatching this and the anime, but my interest in Go certainly helps. I also like that it's a generally positive story about getting good at something.
March 11, 2011
Huh? A new character? Hmm.... a bit more story would be nice.
June 10, 2011
The suspense is killing me! I knew I should have checked out those other three volumes!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews