Hikaru No Go

"Hikaru No Go" is a Japanese comic manga series as well as anime. It is our family favourite, as even my parents also read the comic books and watched the DVDs which we borrowed from the libraries. It also piques our interest in the Go game, which we are playing now :)

Hikaru No Go is the story of a 6-grader, Shindo Hikaru (left on above picture: boy with yellow hair), who by chance meets a 1000-year old ghost, Fujiwarano Sai (right on above picture: man with almost lady-like features) , who was trapped in a Go Board before his release. Together, Hikaru Shindo and Sai make a great go-playing team and they follow the path that leads them to the divine move or "Hand of God"; along the way they meet many memorable characters, such as Waya, Isumi, Ochi and Hikaru's and Sai's respective destined rivals, Touya Akira and Touya Kouyo.

There are many touching scenes such as those depicting the close friendship ties fostered between Hikaru and Sai, as well as among the the group of friends as they graduate from Insei to become Pro, or professional Go players, the integrity conflict and how a depressed Hikaru goes searching for Sai when he leaves suddenly. This is definitely a manga which I would recommend to anyone, even if you don't play Go.