Kotori
Singapore
This review may contain spoilers
One of my favorite dramas of the year!!
Hikaru no Go is one of my favorite animes when I was young. I even started learning Go (though I did not continue) because of this drama. When I heard that the Chinese drama adaption is very good, I just had to watch it. And I did not regret any minute of that.
★Passion for Go
What I find fascinating about this drama is the ability to show the suspense in every go game, though, at the same time, the audience has no understanding of the rules of the game. I cannot recall any anime/drama that has successfully achieved this. However, the makers still did enough research so that every set up is correct and each move is real so that they are faithful to the game itself.
★The characters
I have rarely seen a drama with such a great supporting cast. Have you seen a better and more loyal friend than Hong He? How about Fang Xu, who is both a great bigger brother to Yu Liang and a successful businessman to the Go World? Shi Guang's school friends had also supported Shi Guang all the way esp. when he most needed them. Even characters who just appeared in 1-2 episodes, such as the go factory workers, the monks in the temple, or the mystery go player who has beaten all go schools except for Yu Liang, are three-dimensional with a story to tell. Many of those characters are original characters of this drama, and one notices that the writer wants to show Go through these characters' eyes. Before Chu Ying's disappearance, it was very memorable that every character appeared to say good goodbye to him.
★The friendship between Shi Guang and Chu Ying
I have watched many dramas. As far as I can recall, I cannot remember a time that I cried as much as watching Hikaru no Go. The episode in which Chu Ying disappears is the most heartbreaking moment that I have experienced. My eyes were as puffy as grapes the next day.
For Shi Guang, Chu Ying was not only a Go teacher, but he was also his friend, his playmate, and his biggest cheerleader. To Chu Ying, Shi Guang started off to be someone who can help him play go, but soon he realized Shi Guang was so much more than that. Both of them believe in each other, depend on each other, and supported each other. If this is not the best friendship you have seen, then else is there?
This drama also demonstrated many other beautiful friendships: Shi Guang and Yu Liang, Shi Guang, Hong He, and Shen Yi Lang, Shi Guang and his school mates, teacher Da and teacher Ban Fang Xu and Bai Chuan... all very different but all very sincere and heartwarming.
★Sticking to the original story but adapted to a drama in China
The manga and the anime were an all-time favorite at that time of the airing, all thanks to the great writing. They have stayed true to the original story, at the same time, the writer adapted the story to China in its 90s and 2000s. Many details are well reproduced and nostalgic. While the original work was heavy Go focused, the drama goes beyond Go and focuses a lot on the characters, their real struggles, their achievements, and their contribution to where Go is today.
★The acting
This list would not be complete without praising the two main characters' outstanding acting: Hu Xian Xu starring Shi Guang and Juck Zhang starring Chu Ying. Hu Xiang Xu successfully depicted an immature young boy who wants to try Go as a hobby to someone with confidence and conviction. The audience can truly feel his desperation and his loss of direction after Chu Ying has left. He is indeed one of the best young actors of our time.
Juck Zhang did have an easy challenge as Sai's in the manga/anime is extremely unique, and there is a huge gap between the serious him and his 2-D cartoon one. I found it surprising that Juck Zhang gave us a different Sai - his own interpretation of Sai. A Sai who we also cherished and loved throughout the drama because of his loveable character, his passion for Go, his determination to support Shi Guang wherever Shi Guang needed him.
Hao Fu Shen's Yu Liang is slightly less of a show-off character, but I still did a great job depicting the serious Akira.
An honorable mention is the little actor who played the young Shi Guang. Oh, this kid has talent! He is better than many baby-faced grown-up actors in China!
Now one point which this drama could have done more to get to a 10/10 - the ending.
☆The last episode focused too much on Yu Liang and Shi Guang. It was slightly anti-climax as after Chu Ying has left and Yu Liang has finally found his way back to Go, it would have been great if the drama ended with an exciting game of the two on an international stage. However, this did not happen, and there was little happening until the very end. Though the episode lasted more than one hour (almost the time of a move), the writer should have made something better of this.
☆Another element they could have added is giving a more satisfactory closure to Chu Ying and Shi Guang. In the end, no one understood why Chu Ying never told Shi Guang that he was leaving before - though that might be the writer's intention to increase the drama and force Shi Guang to go through a tough phase of recovery. We could have more of a final moment of Shi Guang meeting Chu Ying in one way or another. For instance, Chu Ying returned to the past and picked up Go again, was he able to recover his name? If Shi Guang know where Chu Ying has gone back to and wouldn't he be happy for him? Did Shi Guang know that it was him, in the end, who fulfilled Chu Ying's drama and played "Hand by God"? What would be Shi Guang's reaction? All these elements could have been easily incorporated in the last episode.
Despite some shortcomings, all in all, Hikaru no Go is still one of my favorite dramas of this year. Who would have thought that! There is no romance, no good looking actors, no fancy special effects or CGs. But it has proven that you don't need all this to make a great drama. I promise, you will not regret watching this, even if you don't know the original work!
★Passion for Go
What I find fascinating about this drama is the ability to show the suspense in every go game, though, at the same time, the audience has no understanding of the rules of the game. I cannot recall any anime/drama that has successfully achieved this. However, the makers still did enough research so that every set up is correct and each move is real so that they are faithful to the game itself.
★The characters
I have rarely seen a drama with such a great supporting cast. Have you seen a better and more loyal friend than Hong He? How about Fang Xu, who is both a great bigger brother to Yu Liang and a successful businessman to the Go World? Shi Guang's school friends had also supported Shi Guang all the way esp. when he most needed them. Even characters who just appeared in 1-2 episodes, such as the go factory workers, the monks in the temple, or the mystery go player who has beaten all go schools except for Yu Liang, are three-dimensional with a story to tell. Many of those characters are original characters of this drama, and one notices that the writer wants to show Go through these characters' eyes. Before Chu Ying's disappearance, it was very memorable that every character appeared to say good goodbye to him.
★The friendship between Shi Guang and Chu Ying
I have watched many dramas. As far as I can recall, I cannot remember a time that I cried as much as watching Hikaru no Go. The episode in which Chu Ying disappears is the most heartbreaking moment that I have experienced. My eyes were as puffy as grapes the next day.
For Shi Guang, Chu Ying was not only a Go teacher, but he was also his friend, his playmate, and his biggest cheerleader. To Chu Ying, Shi Guang started off to be someone who can help him play go, but soon he realized Shi Guang was so much more than that. Both of them believe in each other, depend on each other, and supported each other. If this is not the best friendship you have seen, then else is there?
This drama also demonstrated many other beautiful friendships: Shi Guang and Yu Liang, Shi Guang, Hong He, and Shen Yi Lang, Shi Guang and his school mates, teacher Da and teacher Ban Fang Xu and Bai Chuan... all very different but all very sincere and heartwarming.
★Sticking to the original story but adapted to a drama in China
The manga and the anime were an all-time favorite at that time of the airing, all thanks to the great writing. They have stayed true to the original story, at the same time, the writer adapted the story to China in its 90s and 2000s. Many details are well reproduced and nostalgic. While the original work was heavy Go focused, the drama goes beyond Go and focuses a lot on the characters, their real struggles, their achievements, and their contribution to where Go is today.
★The acting
This list would not be complete without praising the two main characters' outstanding acting: Hu Xian Xu starring Shi Guang and Juck Zhang starring Chu Ying. Hu Xiang Xu successfully depicted an immature young boy who wants to try Go as a hobby to someone with confidence and conviction. The audience can truly feel his desperation and his loss of direction after Chu Ying has left. He is indeed one of the best young actors of our time.
Juck Zhang did have an easy challenge as Sai's in the manga/anime is extremely unique, and there is a huge gap between the serious him and his 2-D cartoon one. I found it surprising that Juck Zhang gave us a different Sai - his own interpretation of Sai. A Sai who we also cherished and loved throughout the drama because of his loveable character, his passion for Go, his determination to support Shi Guang wherever Shi Guang needed him.
Hao Fu Shen's Yu Liang is slightly less of a show-off character, but I still did a great job depicting the serious Akira.
An honorable mention is the little actor who played the young Shi Guang. Oh, this kid has talent! He is better than many baby-faced grown-up actors in China!
Now one point which this drama could have done more to get to a 10/10 - the ending.
☆The last episode focused too much on Yu Liang and Shi Guang. It was slightly anti-climax as after Chu Ying has left and Yu Liang has finally found his way back to Go, it would have been great if the drama ended with an exciting game of the two on an international stage. However, this did not happen, and there was little happening until the very end. Though the episode lasted more than one hour (almost the time of a move), the writer should have made something better of this.
☆Another element they could have added is giving a more satisfactory closure to Chu Ying and Shi Guang. In the end, no one understood why Chu Ying never told Shi Guang that he was leaving before - though that might be the writer's intention to increase the drama and force Shi Guang to go through a tough phase of recovery. We could have more of a final moment of Shi Guang meeting Chu Ying in one way or another. For instance, Chu Ying returned to the past and picked up Go again, was he able to recover his name? If Shi Guang know where Chu Ying has gone back to and wouldn't he be happy for him? Did Shi Guang know that it was him, in the end, who fulfilled Chu Ying's drama and played "Hand by God"? What would be Shi Guang's reaction? All these elements could have been easily incorporated in the last episode.
Despite some shortcomings, all in all, Hikaru no Go is still one of my favorite dramas of this year. Who would have thought that! There is no romance, no good looking actors, no fancy special effects or CGs. But it has proven that you don't need all this to make a great drama. I promise, you will not regret watching this, even if you don't know the original work!
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