@SnowflakeChallenge
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The Manga tells of an eleven year old boy who sees blood on a Go board that no one else can see. A ghost manifests and stays with him for years. The ghost is a Go master and must play Go or his sorrow will make the boy, Shindo Hikaru, sick. Hikaru plays Go for him and the ghost, Sai teaches Hikaru how to play Go.

Sai beats another child, Akira Touya, who is son of a famous Go player, and a lifelong rivalry starts between Akira and Hikaru.
#snowflakechallenge2025

@SnowflakeChallenge
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The story follows Hikaru from when he first learns what the game Go is, to his becoming a professional Go player as a teenager. The story was made into a popular #anime .

One cool thing about HNG is that the artist accurately draws the boy as he transforms from a child to an adult. You can see this transition in this title opener from the 75 episode anime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AoCSWINKLQ
The worldbuilding and the character growth in this anime is top-notch and compelling.

@SnowflakeChallenge
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The anime #HikaruNoGo was adapted into a popular Chinese Drama. All of the Japanese references were converted to Chinese (except Sai's appearance), and it was set in Mainland China starting in the late 90s giving us a rare view of daily life then.

In this clip, the ghost Sai (Chinese name Chu Ying) is playing against a drunk Go master through Hikaru (Chinese name Shi Guang). The humor comes from the fact that only Hikaru can see the ghost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m78v7-tcfqU