Hikaru no Go: Volume One

Well, I just finished the first book of Hikaru no Go. First and foremost, I want to admit to the fact that I've never really read manga before. The one series I read was called Tarot Cafe' and was read front to back, like a book. It seemed to have relatively few Japanese influences besides the vaguely anime-esque art, so I'm not sure it actually counts. Additionally, it was about a clairvoyant cafe' owner whose friends consisted of vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, living dolls, etc, so it tended towards the dramatic because of the subject.

Hikaru no Go does not seem to be like that. EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING, is super dramatic, regardless of subject. When Hikaru says something even slightly less than complimentary about Go, Sai sobs into his vaguely kimono-y, puffy sleeves. And occasionally makes Hikaru vomit. Akira has a Heroic (?) Blue Screen of Death about being defeated at Go, and people dedicate their lives and futures and make horrible sacrifices to play Go. People's fingertips glow. Repeatedly.

I understand this is a convention of sports manga, and I also understand that there are people for whom Go is Serious Business. It's just surprising to read such a dramatic account of something that, at least to me, is fairly mundane.

After I got over the drama, however, my general opinion of the book is approval. Hikaru behaves like a kid possessed by a long-dead Go player would, I suppose. He's snarky and thinks cooties are a big deal and considers, first and foremost, the financial gain that being a pro Go player would offer, which made me snicker. Frankly, he reminded me a bit of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes, with Sai as a more despondent, less furry counterpart to Hikaru's hijinks. I totally hope the girl who offered him the tickets (Akari?) gets set up to be a Susie, and they end up playing a rules-less, full tackle version of Go played outside and won whenever people are too exhausted to continue.

Akira is an interesting character as well, as is his father. I'm not sure whether his father is a good parent attempting to encourage his son in something his son is obviously good at and wants to continue with, or a parent who's trying to live vicariously through his offspring and mold said offspring into a little version of himself. I guess only time well tell on that one, though I'm putting my money on the former, because the series, thus far, is too interesting to do something so cliche and overused. I feel mostly sorry for Akira, as he doesn't seem to do much else but Go, obsessing over Go, thinking about Go, and solving Go problems. I bet his "About Me" section in facebook would be superboring, and he status updates would all be Go board coordinates. Hopefully he develops over the next few books, though the teaser for the second volume does seem to imply the series is moving in that direction.

As for whether the manga taught me anything about Go, well, that remains to be seen. So far, I think I've learned more from watching BoyFriend play, but I'm sure the Go will ramp up as the books continue. I'm also really enjoying the series so far, more than I expected to, so I'm sure no shortage of reviews will show up here. Hopefully they end up being less scatter-brained than this one.

-K.