Hikaru no Go
ヒカルの碁 (2001-2003)
Seasons: 3,
episodes: 75
Episode runtime: 23 min
Average rating:
8.5/10
14 516
Status
Completed
Scenario
Shikichi Ohashi
Producer
Taihei Yamanishi
Actors
Tomoko Kawakami
Hikaru Shindō (voice)
Susumu Chiba
Fujiwara no Sai (voice)
Sanae Kobayashi
Akira Toya (voice)
Yumi Kakazu
Akari Fujisaki (voice)
Makoto Tsumura
Kimihiro Tsutsui (voice)
Kentaro Ito
Tetsuo Kaga (voice)
Yuu Asakawa
Yuki Mitani (voice)
Mayumi Asano
Okumura (voice)
Short description
Hikaru Shindo is like any sixth-grader in Japan: a pretty normal kid with a two-tone head of hair and a penchant for antics. His life completely changes when he finds an old bloodstained go board in his grandfather's attic. The ghost of an ancient go master named Fujiwara-no-Sai was trapped in the board and soon becomes a part of Hikaru's consciousness. Together Hikaru and Sai make an unstoppable go-playing team!
Seasons
| Season | Episodes | Release date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 2001-10-10 | 10 | |
| 30 | 2002-05-15 | — | |
| 15 | 2002-12-11 | — |
What's left behind the scenes
- The first volume of the manga 'Hikaru no Go' was released on May 5th. The number '5' also appears on one of the protagonist's T-shirts. In Japanese, '5' is pronounced as 'go'.
- Almost all the positions on the boards are taken from actual games played by Japanese Go professionals.
- While the authors invented Fujiwara Sai, the Fujiwara clan actually existed; founded in the 7th century, it left a significant mark on Japanese history. Its branches produced Japanese chancellors and regents (Konoe, Kujo, Nijo, Ichijo, and Takatsukasa), as well as ministers and high-ranking officials. Women of the Fujiwara clan became wives of emperors; of the 21 emperors from Montoku to Sutoku, only two—Uda and Gosanjo—were born to women outside the Fujiwara clan. In later periods, the clan lost its power but provided the country with talented scholars and poets. Specifically, it includes the Buddhist priest Jitin-kase (1155–1225)—head of the Tendai school, a poet, and historian—and Fujiwara Tamaakira, a poet and one of the authors of the 'Shin Waka Shuishu' anthology. Thus, theoretically, a skilled Go player from the Fujiwara clan could very well have been the personal tutor to the emperor a thousand years ago.
- Kuwahara Torajiro, in whom Sai was reincarnated during a previous awakening, is a real historical figure. He lived in 19th-century Japan, became a professional Go player at a young age, was officially declared the heir to the Honinbo school, and changed his name to Honinbo Shusaku. He was considered the strongest player of his time and at least one of the strongest in the entire history of Go in Japan. As mentioned in the series, during the cholera epidemic of 1862, Shusaku cared for the sick at the Honinbo school, subsequently became infected himself, and died at the age of 33, before he could assume the position of head of the school.
- In the episodes depicting events at the Japanese Go academy, the interior of a real building is reproduced, including the room for high-title matches, classrooms and tournament halls, and even the electronic simulation of an aquarium in the lobby.
- Most of the games shown in the series were played by professional Japanese and Korean players at various tournaments over time. Specifically, the game between Sai and the Emperor's second teacher at the beginning of the series is Honinbo Dosaku vs. Yasuya Titetsu (Nov 9, 1669); the game of the Toi Meijin watched on TV in the Go school lobby in episode 2 is Takemiya Masaki vs. Otake Hideo (18th Meijin League, Feb 8, 1993); and the first game between Sai and Akira is Kuwahara Torajiro, 6 dan (the same Honinbo Shusaku, i.e., Sai) vs. Honinbo Shuwa, 8 dan (Jan 15, 1851). Records of more than 100 games used in the series and manga can be found online.
- When Hikaru plays Go online, he uses an iMac G3 (drawn in considerable detail); all other characters use standard PCs. While playing Go online, it can be noted that Windows XP is installed, with Internet Explorer 7 as the browser and a Google search bar.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
