The Totally Epic HikaGo Reread - Vol. 1

[effex]

Happy Wednesday, everyone!
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME HIKARU NO GO?

Yes? Excellent. Let's get this party started - to the comments with your thoughts, observations, revelations, etc!

(A reminder - there are several people who are reading the series for the first time, let's try to keep spoilers to a minimum.)

A question - how did the one volume/week work for you? Was it doable, difficult, ridiculously easy? Do we want to stay with it or kick it up to two volumes a week (or down to chapters a week)?

Comments

[twig_tea]

I love this series. Man. I've forgotten how much, how immediately impactful it was. I started reading, and had a REALLY HARD TIME stopping after the end of the first volume (I admit it; I went to chapter nine) before coming back here to talk about it. It just sucks you back in so quickly ♥

I love Hikaru's character; he's so nonchalante about being haunted, about this ghost with such a passion for something that he defied death and waited a hundred years just to play this game once more... god, so powerful a premise, and Hikaru is just like "meh, Go's BORING" *lol*. I love how we get to see Hikaru captivated not by Go, at first, but by these people who love and are VERY SRS about the game; it's their passions that make him feel like he's missing out, something that I totally relate to and love. The first time I read this manga I was so pissed at Hikaru, for being so selfish *lol* Now I can appreciate the moxy it takes to tell a haunting spirit that their 150 year passion will just have to wait until Hikaru doesn't have something better to do.

And speaking of passion, I love that Hikaru and Touya encounter one another so early and IMMEDIATELY get under one another's skin; Touya is PISSED that this kid who's never played before totally schooled him (lol literally, get it? get it? *is shot*) and Hikaru is all starry-eyed by Touya's intensity, even before he understands how freaking GOOD Touya is (the bit where Sai totally kicks Touya's butt and then Hikaru tries to show that he gets it now, that he doesn't think taking Go seriously is dumb, he wants to make Touya feel better and not be thought of badly... so cute!). It's so fun to see this early rivalry, and to know how it changes....

I started reading it, and the seven year old son of my roommate came in the room, and he was like "what's that?" So I told him, summarized the premise, and began reading aloud to him; he was immediately interested and I realized all over again how powerful this manga is. Then he saw the image of the front cover, announced "He (Hikaru) looks sick in colour", so I had to tell him about the anime, and we watched the first episode. He had trouble getting over Sai's looks in colour ("he's wearing lip gloss *giggle*") but halfway through the first he was making me promise we'd watch the second episode together too, and had me explain Go to him (which was actually a problem, since I am a terrible HnG fan and never learned even the basics of the game really well, so I failed miserably at that--he'd wanted me to show him why Touya lost the first game against Hikaru).

tl;dr HnG is LOVE.

[bookshop]

MY PITIFUL REACTION TO THIS POST, BASICALLY I AM JUST LIKE YES *DRAWS HEARTS AROUND* EVERYTHING

[twig_tea]

♥ ♥ ♥ TOO MUCH LOVE MY HEART CANNOT TAKE IT

[effex]

[hugs this comment a lot]

Yes, yes, this - Hikaru's still not sold on this Go thing but the intensity, the passion he sees in Akira and the others? He wants that. It's beautifully drawn.

Hurray for young converts!

[twig_tea]

LOL I KNOW RITE? I was like "yeeeees come in to my web" XD I honestly wasn't sure he'd be into it because there's a lot of *staring intensely, clack clack* Go playing, but man he was like "MUST WATCH MORE", I was very happy.

[ariadne_chan]

I'm spanish so my children don't read english yet one is 6 and the elder 7. I have problems to try to make them watch the anime where the people talk in japanese and the subs are in english... they are bore trying to follow my translations, but that you mentioned maybe is a better idea trying to read them the manga!!

[twig_tea]

Reading the manga together is fun! I recommend it. My roommate's kid is still struggling with reading, so the fast-moving subtitles are too quick for him; as a result, I read the subtitles of the anime aloud to him too, which he really likes, even though it gets awkward when I have to talk over the voice actors all the time *lol*

[ariadne_chan]

but they listen to you and go with the series!

my probem i think is that i must translate into spanish while watching so i'm slower than the action and maybe that's why they are bored :(

but if i translate the manga it could be more easy to follow it for them! i will try

i didn't find the anime or the manga in spanish.

[twig_tea]

ah, yeah, I didn't think about how translating would be slower. I bet the manga would be easier, you're right! I wish you luck! There's something irreplacable about watching/reading a series with a little kid, you get to see everything with new eyes ^_^