Brief Description: Hikaru no Go is an anime of 75 episode length that circles around Hikaru Shindo. And ordinary kid, Hikaru has little interest in Go until he frees a spirit named Fujiwanna No Sai from a Go board, and his life changes forever.
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Hikaru no Go sounds like it would be a boring series. But it isn't. It is an awesome show, with great character development used to hook you on to the show. Although their is slight spiritual things with Sai being a ghost and all, but overall it is a series the whole family can enjoy together.
Dub vs. Sub: I have only watched the dub, but some of the character's voices are awkward, so if you are distracted by that, please watch the sub.
Violence: Only the occasional slapstick, and Hikaru and Sai imagine a game of Go in certain points of the series to be a sword match, and is shown on screen. It is only imaginary, howeber, and no blood is shown.
Nudity: None. And compared to alot of other anime, the characters don't wear short skirts.
Theological themes: Sai is a ghost. He was stuck in a Go board for a long time, and is now a spirit dwelling within Hikaru. But this is pretty much it. Nothing is explored on religion.
A great story for a wide age range, if a bit dramatic (it's a Shonen Jump, what did you expect?). I was actually very surprised at how many different techniques they used to build tension, create humor, and set the mood. Hikaru no Go is definitely not your typical Shonen (I actually cried at two points, it was so bittersweet). My friends and I found it very addicting (I'm 15 Female). This show has a lot of great content. What it means to grow up (all characters age and change mentally and physically), Respect towards Go and other people, Honesty, Loss (dealing with it, from games to friends), and the Long Road to Success, along with loyal friendships and competitive rivals. I'd definitely recommend it to young boys and girl who have some amount of patience (don't need explosions and or battle scenes to be satisfied) and teenagers who are looking for a simpler anime with a diverse range of characters, as well as parents with children who are looking for something less violent or random than Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh.
I agree with Zeldafan2 for violence, nudity content, theological themes, and Dub vrs. Sub.
I do have to point out that there are some problematic themes. The adults in Hikaru no Go smoke, a lot. Even around children. The children dislike it and are never seen smoking. They complain about the smell and it is mostly portrayed as negative and only for adults. There are a few adults who are also seen drinking and/or drunk. But again, this is portrayed as adults only, and children are never seen drinking. There were some bets on Go games between children and adults.
Also in the Religious Content, in both the dub and sub Sai often wonders why "the gods" (kami) allowed him to carry out his wish as a ghost. They also make references of going to "Heaven" (not sure what the original Japanese word was here). They also make references to a "God of Go" and "God's Hand" also called the "Divine Move." Also in the final New Year's Special it's revealed that
And for Violence content, along with the symbolic sword fighting, there is a brief scene of Sai floating in a lake (not graphic) when Sai commits suicide (due to depression of no longer being able to play Go). This scene is only played twice, and is very fleeting each time.
Music: All openings and endings are enjoyable, catchy, and fit with the themes of the anime. I didn't mind listening to them multiple times. The background music was probably the biggest tension builder and mood setter. Dramatic music always makes games of Go more intense. Very well done.
Animation: Not astounding, although sometimes it surprised me. But it's made up for with a great story. Characters are all very distinguishable, including minor characters, and even background chracters.
Anime vrs. Manga: The manga's artwork is on a different scale to the anime (Takeshi Obata = Death Note). The story follows the same basic plot. There are differences to look out for. Such as in the anime Kaga (middle-schooler) chews gum, in the manga he smokes cigarettes (removed from 2005 and later versions). I have not finished the manga, but know it goes a bit farther than the anime does.
