Hikaru no Go - Complete!
So I couldn't help myself and read to the end of Hikaru no Go (all 23 volumes). Many years ago, I read a webpage responding to the then recent ending of the manga - so I knew the outcome of the final battle, but got a completely wrong impression of the series. Spoilers follow...
Perhaps it's my detachment from shounen manga, or my interest in Go rather than the battles, but Hikaru no Go seemed like an expository, educational manga rather than the typical series of fights. The webpage of 7-8 years ago was sore that the series ended abruptly with Hikaru losing, but I didn't mind that conclusion: Hikaru understands that professional Go involves losses as well as wins, and is a path that doesn't end; he's achieved international standing, and plays with his own strength, for his own reasons. It's a coming of age manga, and Hikaru has come of age.
The rumour is that the manga was meant to end with Hikaru passing the pro-exam, Sai passing on his fan and disappearing, and then Hikaru and Akira going into a match. However the publisher wanted the author to continue, and so the post-Sai era occurred. I was dubious when he disappeared - it seemed like he was just a trigger for the storyline - but the Hotta Yumi's care not to reintroduce him earned my respect.
So, it was a good manga on an unlikely topic, less character- or story-driven than driven by an exploration of the world of Go. Concluding when Sai passed on would have been more elegant, but Hotta Yumi did wrap up the themes of the manga.
Perhaps it's my detachment from shounen manga, or my interest in Go rather than the battles, but Hikaru no Go seemed like an expository, educational manga rather than the typical series of fights. The webpage of 7-8 years ago was sore that the series ended abruptly with Hikaru losing, but I didn't mind that conclusion: Hikaru understands that professional Go involves losses as well as wins, and is a path that doesn't end; he's achieved international standing, and plays with his own strength, for his own reasons. It's a coming of age manga, and Hikaru has come of age.
The rumour is that the manga was meant to end with Hikaru passing the pro-exam, Sai passing on his fan and disappearing, and then Hikaru and Akira going into a match. However the publisher wanted the author to continue, and so the post-Sai era occurred. I was dubious when he disappeared - it seemed like he was just a trigger for the storyline - but the Hotta Yumi's care not to reintroduce him earned my respect.
So, it was a good manga on an unlikely topic, less character- or story-driven than driven by an exploration of the world of Go. Concluding when Sai passed on would have been more elegant, but Hotta Yumi did wrap up the themes of the manga.