One option is missing:
- I stopped playing Go because of HnG

I wonder how many would have picked this one.

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- Bantari
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WARNING: This post might contain Opinions!!

I think it's safe to say that anyone who did so for longer than it took to read/watch it wouldn't be reading this forum to comment.

Actually, there was time when I was seriously tempted... and I never look at the game the same way since.
The forum is still fun, though.

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- Bantari
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WARNING: This post might contain Opinions!!

It introduced me to Go, it's also the best manga I've ever read. Definitely a big impact. I'm not even sure if I would play Go if I knew about it not through HnG.

4 or 5 years ago I tried to learn Go, but I felt astray in the board and gave up one week later. So this year I watched Death Note and heard about another anime about Go by the same producer/director/writer/or something. I must say that the anime caught me right on and after a few episodes I was already trying to learn the game again. My first month of Go was essentially watching HnG and reading everything about Go. I believe that HnG was crucial for bearing the steep learning curve and keep playing until I could get the bug for the game.

I learned about Go and started to play online about a year before I heard of HNG. While I doubt I would have quit the game if not for the anime, it made me and the players around me much more intense.

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a1h1 [1d]: You just need to curse the gods and defend.
Good Go = Shape.
Associação Portuguesa de Go

The fact that a large proportion of go players were introduced to the game from anime kind of puts me off the game. The association is not one I'm sure I like.

I've not seen HnG and I plan to keep it that way.

It's actually a good anime.

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a1h1 [1d]: You just need to curse the gods and defend.
Good Go = Shape.
Associação Portuguesa de Go

I must be hearing things. What?

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My "guide" to become stronger in Go

I think it should be made clear that I don't like anime.

Like, at all.

I find this a very strange comment. Would you care to elaborate?

Not only do you not like anime (which I could understand) but you don’t want to be in any way associated with people who do like anime. I’m not sure what you think anime is, but it’s really just a story being told using animation rather than real life actors. I for one can appreciate a good story regardless of what medium is used to deliver it. I’m curious as to what you see as being so offensive?

PS. I won’t take offense. You are free to form your own opinion and I’m not about to try to convince you otherwise.

Don't feed the trolls.

Hardly a troll. I genuinely don't like anime.

Although, I was exaggerating when I said it put me off the game. I talk specifically about Japanese style anime as well. Generally, I don't like the culture that surrounds anime - similar to things like JRPGs, the angsty teens with scene haircuts and whatnot. You know what I'm on about. I know I may be generalising, but regardless, I do stay away from that kind of culture. I don't like the art style of anime either. So it's really just a taste thing, but I don't like it. My brother keeps telling me about animes he likes (Death Note and Soul Eater, for example). Sounds really lame to me.

I have no problem with people who do like it - let me make that perfectly clear. But the association between go and anime is not one I am fond of.

Thanks for sharing Annihilist.

Bantari also suggested that the anime actually put him off the game a little. I find this interesting since in my mind the link between Go and anime is so insignificant that the idea of it affecting your enjoyment of the game sounds impossible to me.

I enjoyed HNG (introduced me to Go) along with many other anime over the years. But for me, the culture that surrounds a thing doesn't usually affect my opinion of the thing itself. So I guess it's just a different way of looking at things.

I suppose there's a certain vanity/ego complex at work, i.e. not wanting to be seen associating with a particular culture, and so distancing yourself from that culture in the eyes of others. To a certain extent, that is what I do.

I suppose I can understand Annihilist's point of view, as there are some very over-the-top sections of the current anime pop culture (here in Canada, anyways) that can be rather off-putting. Hell, I've been around anime for close to 20 years (which is impressive around here; not many new gen anime fans know older titles like Ushio and Tora, Magic Knights Rayearth, Bakuretsu Hunters and even Rurouni Kenshin ... it's all Death Note, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach ...) and I can't stand a lot of "anime fans".

That being said, I do enjoy when I find a great story, and there are a lot of good stories being told in Japanese (and other cultures') animation style(s). I'm just a big kid, so "watching cartoons" of any type is simply what I enjoy doing. I don't need to dress up or talk about or obsess over shows. I can just sit back and enjoy.

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On another note, yesterday I wanted to keep my 4 year old out of trouble for a short period of time while I was cleaning up the kitchen, so I planted him in front of my laptop and put on some Hikaru No Go for him to watch while within my view. That night, before going to bed, he asked me "Can I watch more of the show about the game tomorrow?". I guess it made an impression on him.

Silly you. Death Note is pretty awesome. Well, except for a part in the middle.

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a1h1 [1d]: You just need to curse the gods and defend.
Good Go = Shape.
Associação Portuguesa de Go

I understand not liking the art, but not all stories told through the medium are bad. Some have very funny stuff, instead of angsty teens. Others have very serious stories, or interesting ethical questions, among other things. There's one for every taste.

I think you're missing out because of the social association you're making. Oh well. Not my loss.

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a1h1 [1d]: You just need to curse the gods and defend.
Good Go = Shape.
Associação Portuguesa de Go

I like some anime (love Miyazaki's work, for instance), but I sort of relate to Anihilist's point of view in that I gravitate away from the more juvenile stuff. The one aspect of anime that makes HnG rather juvenile, at least in my eyes, is the way in which the game is given heightened drama by portraying it as though it were a physical combat sport. The characters pick up stones, strike karate-like poses, and then place the stones with all the usual anime-styled whooshing lines of "dramatic force" while shouting some woefully inappropriate invective. While this might appeal to children, it just looks silly and contrived to me. And while one might say, "Well that's what you have to expect from anime, stylistically," that is probably why Anihilist dislikes anime.

I should point out, however, that HnG isn't the only show based on a classic board game that gets this sort of contrived, silly treatment. Both Shion no O and Hachi One Diver do this very same thing with regard to shogi, and in its own way it is rather off-putting, at least for those viewers such as myself that would like to see good stories told with less of that silly anime "flash" and goofy over-acting/emoting. I mean, if that is what you have to do to make games like go and shogi appealing to kids, then these games are ultimately doomed.