So, in another thread, I mentioned that my girlfriend and I had recently made a deal: I would read Pride and Prejudice if she would read all of Hikaru no Go. I finished P&P, and ended up enjoying it, to my surprise. As a result, my girlfriend has begun to get to know Hikaru. She decided to write down her thoughts on it as she read it, and is doing it in a blog format. As ya'all are the only people I know who care about Hikaru no Go, I figured I'd share the link (after getting permission, of course), so you can enjoy the thoughts of a total neophyte on the series.

http://moreink.blogspot.com/

edit: Fair warning, she's only finished the first book so far, but she plans to post after each volume. Also, as may be obvious, there may be spoilers on the series there, eventually.

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Someday I want to be strong enough to earn KGS[-].

Lol! that is a great blog! I can't wait to read more

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I'm thinking...

I bet she does.

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Patience, grasshopper.

Can we see your blog on Pride and Prejudice, too?

More than Go, I think she'll find the growth of the characters interesting. I re-read HnG because of that growth(personality, age, strength, etc), rather than the Go itself. It's really what makes that series amazing. Because, let's face it, the Go in that manga is pretty minimal. You could pretty much replace it with any other game, and it would still work as well. Although, maybe then, a lot of us might be playing some other game

Good blog though, this is a good/funny statement. Hidden because I do not want to spoil blog content:

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I know nothing.

Your girlfriend made an analogy to Calvin and Hobbes.

She's a keeper, Chew. Remember that.

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The road to wisdom? Well, it's plain, and simple to express: Err, and err, and err again; but less, and less, and less!

Replying to ketchup

Akira obviously thinks that what's important in life is to get stronger at Go. Do you think he's mistaken, then? Or are you just trying to impose your own values on him?

Nerds indeed! I prefer Go Geek. It rolls off the tongue in a more pleasing fashion.

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"It's just surprising to read such a dramatic account of something that, at least to me, is fairly mundane."

I hate to admit that black and white stones and a wooden board don't make for excited onlookers. As a spectator sport, go lacks a little something, especially for casual fans. That however is what makes go players as excited as Sai when someone begins to glimpse what we all too clearly see, go's depth and beauty.

Hah, and if Sai didn't get crazy excited, the Hikaru series would have lost people to deep comatose states. That's half the fun of HnG is seeing the way they hype go up and turn essentially a cerebral adventure into something worthy of 75 episodes:)

Looking forward to more blog posts, as I'm just beginning to watch HnG again with my 9 year old.

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RazorBrain


- Another One Bites the Dust
- BOOK REVIEW: How Not To Play Go
- Finally, a DGS Client for the iPhone

Her second post is up. I'm not going to post everytime she comments on a book (as there are 20+ of them and I don't want to flood the forum), but I figured that there was enough response to the first to merit an update.

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Someday I want to be strong enough to earn KGS[-].

"Chew is more likely to concentrate quietly, without a single, delicate sweat drop forming on his brow"
Chew you're not studying hard enough. Your girlfriend won't fall in love with go if you don't show her more dedication to the game. lol

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http://tchan001.wordpress.com
A blog on Asian go books, go sightings, and interesting tidbits
Go is such a beautiful game.

A) He's not real. He's a character in a comic. He doesn't think anything, or have any values other than the ones imposed by his author.

B) As a fictional character, he's clearly meant to be an example of dedication. This is what's called an 'archtypical' character. However, when writing an archtypical character, especially one whose archytype is Singularly Focused Dedicated Student, you run the risk of making the character hard to relate to. Few people in life are a single focus. Very few well balanced individuals are a single focus. Since he is hard to relate to, and further, hard to emulate, he becomes the foil for Hikaru's youthful desire to 'grab a few titles'. He becomes a counterpoint to a character we can all relate to.

C) I would feel sorry for any child, in any field, struggling with the pressures and forces that Akira is dealing with, even if they became wildly successful in their field, be it sports, go, etc. To have a father who is 'the very best', to be under pressure from within and without to live up to not only your father's expectations, but the expectations of those around you, and your own internal expectations is a crushing thing for anyone.

D) I find it strange that you're that worried about what I think about a fictional comic book character.

E) On the list of things that are important in life, I think most people would find that 'getting better at go' should rank below 'being a well balanced and sane individual'. Even pros are hardly ever 'singularly focused' upon go. They do show a great deal of dedication and perserverence. They do struggle with a harshly competative world to succeed. But they have other interests, and do things besides study go every minute of every day.

Hikaru no go is Not Real.

Thank you.
C-Sam

I think it's less that Akira matters, and more that your attitude towards people of Akira's type, whether fictional or not, matters.

You also reference what most people consider "important in life," you also use the word "sane". All of these tend to be loaded terms that people unconsciously employ that create and reinforce implicit social norms. To use another example, often extroverted people will view those who keep to themselves with a similar kind of pity and view them as lacking "what's important." Certainly they are welcome to have their values, but it's very easy to step from that to a general atmosphere that excludes differently inclined individuals from a sense of 'normalcy'.



This on the other hand I think is a pretty legitimate reason. In this case it's external factors and the pressure they exert not a question of Akira's fitting the "healthy" range of behavior/personality.

I was talking to ketchup actually, but then you replied to to my post directed to him.

I think the idea of having a "rival ghost" of Sai is interesting. It didn't happen in the manga, but it's an interesting observation of how the story could have unfolded.

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be immersed

I find this observation rather interesting. As someone who is most definably /not/ sane, I tend to be very aware of people who's behaviour is well outside accepted social norms for sanity. This is why I use terms like that.

Notice, I never said what I consider important in life. My values are quite skewed, and well into the abnormal. But those aren't what we're really discussing.

Akira, as observable in the first book, is not what would be defined by modern psychology as a well adjusted individual.

While I often defend the 'Abnormal Viewpoints are Still Valid Viewpoints' banner, there are times when weird is just weird, and an obsession that takes over your entire life to the point that you eschew all other activities, well, that's one of the definitions of weird in a rather large book all about weird.

Back nominally on topic, I really enjoy reading your girlfriend's take on Go and on manga. Seeing her getting a greater understanding of the japanese culture is a neat bonus to introducing her to her first manga. I think HNG is a really interesting choice as a first manga, and I will start checking the blog regularly to make sure I don't miss any updates.

EDIT: Also, Chew, have you told her that the creator/pro behind HNG is a woman? I wonder if that would colour her reading of the interactions with girls and women in the book?

I live near the US Olympic Training Center and have had the opportunity to get to know several Olympians and wanna be Olympians. They can be more like Akira than different I've watched one medalist's life fall apart because that person was focused solely on Olympic glory.

I'm one that agrees with the statement above. The funny thing is that Western culture seems to embrace this form of weird as something to shoot for: "Higher, Faster, Stronger!" Perhaps it should be "Obsessive, Compulsive, Unbalanced!"

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RazorBrain


- Another One Bites the Dust
- BOOK REVIEW: How Not To Play Go
- Finally, a DGS Client for the iPhone

Yes, she was surprised and interested to hear that, and that may inform her further impressions of the gender interactions in the books.

I'm happy that she's enjoying the series, as it's kind of a good introduction to go from the perspective of "I can listen to people talk about this game and care about what they're saying, even if I only kind of understand the rules." Hikaru no Go is an interestingish story, wrapped in "go light", which is plenty, from the perspective of "sharing your boyfriend's interest". Similarly, it was nice to enjoy Pride and Prejudice, especially as our cat is named "Darcy". More later, time for lunch.

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Someday I want to be strong enough to earn KGS[-].

You shouldn't be surprised! P&P is a great book. Jane Austen is a very good writer. People who haven't read her stuff sometimes think that she writes weepy romances, and the movies of her books don't help that much, but in reality her books are funny and sarcastic.