Unfortunately, the last book of the series was my least favorite.

There were a plethora of things that I would have preferred over this ending.

For instance, Sai coming back. Or Hikaru winning the last game for Sai's sake.

I mean, we hadn't seen Sai in numerous chapters, so it would have been truly wonderful for Hikaru to see him one last time, even if he lost.

I thought that particular aspect was a little lackluster.

Ultimately, I was hoping that Hikaru might even defeat Akira in a match using his own skill, but alas, we didn't get to witness any of that.

It was kind of a letdown for me.

I had become really invested in Hikaru's Go journey, and he seemed to have matured so significantly in the last few chapters that I was wholeheartedly rooting for him.

It's sad to be disappointed.

But the series as a whole is rather strong, so I do recommend it.

Just don't expect this ending chapter to be everything you hoped for if you're anything like me!

And so the long story comes to an end.

I've been reading Hikaru no Go off and on since the days of the store, at least seven years now. It's truly a remarkable journey that has spanned such a long time.

The ending is a good one. The last few installments take a more philosophical turn, which is quite engaging. As Hikaru slowly comes to understand that the journey is more important than the destination or the setbacks he encounters along the way, it makes one reflect.

It's a simple lesson, perhaps, but it's profound. Despite being almost three times older than Hikaru Shindo, I find myself still struggling to learn it. It shows that no matter our age, we can still gain valuable insights from fictional characters and their experiences.

Hikaru no Go has been more than just a manga for me; it has been a source of inspiration and a reminder that the process of growing and learning is what truly matters.

Frustrating and Unsatisfying Manga: A Sense of Betrayal

I have never been so deeply disappointed by a manga that I was initially quite enjoying. This particular manga managed to draw me in, despite my complete lack of knowledge about the board game it centered around. However, it has now left me feeling extremely let down.

I truly feel cheated. The mangaka used a dangling carrot throughout the story to capture the readers' interest, but in the end, I couldn't even get a taste of it. Reading this manga has proven to be completely unrewarding. The characters I was rooting for did not receive the prizes they rightfully deserved, and the much-anticipated showdowns between important characters never materialized. What more can I say? I feel duped. It's as if the manga is telling the readers that hard work is meaningless and unrewarding, and that geniuses can just go to hell.

This experience has been a real letdown, and I'm left wondering why I bothered to invest my time in this manga in the first place.

Overall, it was indeed a really good book. However, the end of the story was not satisfying at all. He fucking lost! Like what? How could he lose to Ko Yong Ha after all that had happened? And how could that be the end? After how amazing the other books were and how deeply invested I was in the rest of this book, I was expecting so much more. I had high hopes for a great conclusion, but unfortunately, this was not the one I was hoping for. It left me feeling a bit disappointed and longing for a different outcome. I really wish the author had come up with a more fulfilling ending to tie up all the loose ends and give the story the proper closure it deserved.

FINAL SERIES THOUGHTS: Well, after spending three days devouring this series, I have some thoughts™ that I'm eager to share.

First, the good: The characters are truly remarkable. I don't know how it was achieved, but the masterful way they were written and drawn makes the millions of them portrayed still easily recognizable and unforgettable. This requires genuine talent (especially for my brain). The art is also a delight. You can clearly see the growth of Obata-sensei's artistic skills. He expertly showcases the physical growth and changes of the characters with such subtlety. It's a pleasure to witness his style evolve over these 23 volumes. The rivalry in this series is done just right. While most anime and manga have the common 'rivals' trope, often spurred by annoying factors like pride or vanity (or one of them being a jerkwad), in HNG, it's different. The main reason for the characters, especially Hikaru and Akira, to start their rivalry is out of sheer passion for the game of go. They don't seek bragging rights or a title; they simply want to play go. They strive to be better for the sake of the game's legacy. Their rivalry is thus driven only by the desire to improve themselves and out of pure mutual respect. I loved it, and it's truly heartwarming.

What I disliked: The rushed ending was a letdown. By rushed, I mean it needed at least one or three more chapters to properly wrap things up and show where the characters are now, their final thoughts, and so on. Manga is known for its unsatisfactory endings, often stopping abruptly or being dragged out without a satisfying conclusion. I didn't expect anything different from a long-running series like HNG, but one can dream, right? The way women are depicted and treated in the manga is also a major frustration. The formula it follows is sickening: women either don't appear or have no significance in the story. If they do show up, it's either to serve tea, make or offer food to the boys, be told they don't play go as well as the boys, or, on rare occasions, play go, do okay, and then disappear. It's disappointing to see women only in a servile role to men and not even have the simplest of subplots here and there.

I still don't understand how to play go. I wasn't expecting to become a master player after reading this, but I was hoping to have at least a basic idea of how the game works so I could watch a game. I did learn about the beauty of its incredibly complicated and nuanced style. However, when I read other sports-focused manga like Eyeshield 21 or Chihayafuru, I usually come away with at least the basics to observe or play the game (albeit as a very bad rookie).

Overall, I give the series a solid 3.5 stars. It's a good old classic that gets you interested in its subject and has wonderful characters. However, it's very much 'of its time' and has some frustrating aspects.

So, this is partly a rating for the last volume in the series, Volume 23, "Endgame," and partly a rating for the entire series. Overall, I give it a 3.5. There were some truly inspiring moments and several games that I really relished. On average, it was, while not outstandingly brilliant, highly enjoyable. I have to give this series major props for achieving what nothing else has in the past 20 years – it inspired me to take up go again.

However, the fact remains that the series seemed to grind to a halt with this volume and just stopped. Hikaru is now a respected up-and-coming go professional, regarded as a peer of his longtime rival, Akira Toya. Yet, although they've had a few matches, we never witnessed the truly decisive showdown that we were all eagerly anticipating. And Hikaru has lost to Akira every time they've played when it wasn't Sai making the moves for him. In fact, Hikaru has lost most of the really crucial, climactic games in this series. While there is always something special about them, something that makes everyone else sit up and take notice and say "He's a player to watch out for," the reality is that "potential" is just what you haven't accomplished yet. Much as I hate to concur with that four-eyed little mushroom Ochi, "So who cares how good he was at losing?"

There were numerous unresolved points. Fujiwara-no-Sai simply faded away and never came back. We never saw the Divine Move. The supporting cast who have been a part of Hikaru's life also just receded into the background. (Would it have been so difficult for Yumi Hotta to show Hikaru going on a date just once?) And Hikaru himself has gone from being the star of the series to just one among the rising wave of new go professionals. The theme, in the end, was connecting the past to the future and ensuring a future for go, and that was inspiring enough. But for the Western reader who desires a climax and some resolution, it was a bit lackluster. On the one hand, this series could easily have continued for several more volumes considering how little was wrapped up in this one. On the other hand, I still think it could just as well have ended back at Volume 16.

So, I did enjoy reading Hikaru No Go. It's the first manga series I have completed in a long time. Given that it's targeted at a middle school audience, the fact that it engaged me so deeply and inspired me to return to the game means it has earned my praise. I firmly believe that anyone will find this an enjoyable read. But, Hotta definitely reached the limits of her storytelling capabilities, which were never overly profound to begin with. This isn't a work of genius or a timeless classic, but it's fun and may just turn you into a go enthusiast too. See you on KGS!

The End.

It's the end. I'm a bit disappointed, but I can't say it's a bad ending.

However, I still want to keep reading.

It was really a good journey.

This story has taken me on a wonderful adventure.

The characters were interesting and the plot was engaging.

Even though it's over, I feel like I've learned something from it.

I'll remember this story for a long time.

Maybe I'll even pick it up and read it again someday.

Who knows what new discoveries I might make?

For now, though, I'll just have to be content with the memories of this great read.

Who would have ever thought that the game of go could be so interesting as to inspire an entire manga? Thanks to this manga, the board game has attracted a huge number of new players worldwide, rejuvenating it in the process.

I was initially drawn to the manga because of its graphics, which were created by Takeshi Obata. Later on, he would go on to draw the highly popular "Death Note." In fact, it was his work in this manga that led me to start reading "Death Note"!

It was truly enjoyable growing up with Hikaru and witnessing how his relationships with Sai and Akira developed over time. Their interactions and the challenges they faced made the story both engaging and captivating.

However, despite my love for the manga, I still don't play go myself. Maybe one day I'll give it a try and see if I can experience the same excitement and strategy that the characters in the manga did.

This is my review for the whole series, not just volume 23:

8/10

Hikaru No Go truly exceeded my expectations. I picked up several volumes to satisfy my sense of nostalgia. I watched numerous episodes when I was a kid. I was captivated by the outstanding artwork of Takeshi Obata (Death Note) and the engaging writing between volumes 7 - 17. The ending was a bit sudden, but it didn't make me as melancholy as Slam Dunk's.

This series could have benefited from a few more slice of life elements. Perhaps a few chapters away from the go boards, showing our characters simply relaxing. And also some romance between Hikaru and Akari or something. Clearly, she liked him.

PS: Why on earth is Hikaru's relationship with his mother so void? It seems rather strange and unexplored. There could have been more depth added to this aspect of his life. Maybe some scenes showing their interactions and the reasons behind the emptiness. It would have made the story more well-rounded and added another layer of complexity to Hikaru's character.

I really hated the ending of this series.

It just abruptly ended right at the moment when they won the tournament.

It felt so incomplete and left me with a sense of dissatisfaction.

However, despite this terrible ending, I still had to give it 2 stars.

This is because, overall, it was a great series.

The story, the characters, and the plot development were all quite engaging.

It had me hooked from the beginning and kept my interest until the very end.

The only downfall was that disappointing ending.

But even with that, I would still recommend this series to others who enjoy a good story.

Maybe they will have a different perspective on the ending and be able to overlook its flaws.

Nevertheless, it was a great series that I will remember for a long time.

Wow.

I was just massively disappointed with the way this series fizzled out at the end. There were so many loose ends and unresolved issues. I had been eagerly anticipating some kind of grand finale or intense showdown, but alas, nothing of the sort ever materialized.

Take Sai for example. He just vanishes without a proper return, only living metaphorically through Hikaru. It feels rather lackluster.

And what about all that mystery surrounding Toy Meijin? It seems to have led nowhere.

Akira and Hikaru, the two main rivals, never have a truly significant showdown.

Also, the much-hyped divine move that everyone was waiting for - it never gets played. I really thought that was the direction the story was headed.

Furthermore, the relationship between Hikaru and Akari was left hanging. It was quite obvious that they were going to get together at some point, but we never see it happen.

I'm just really angry and frustrated about this unsatisfactory ending. I've heard rumors that the author based one of the Korean Go players on an actual Korean Go player and ended up in a lawsuit, which forced her to wrap up the series hastily. I really wish I could find a reliable citation for that somewhere to confirm this.

I was truly astonished by the conclusion of this series.

Yumi Hotta did an outstanding job in crafting a satisfying and plausible character arc for Hikaru. By the end, he has matured significantly compared to the beginning, and he now appreciates and respects his fellow players.

I also appreciate that the series ends with a certain degree of ambiguity regarding what Hikaru will do next and how this mirrors Japan's uncertainty about Go (at least as of the time the series was written).

I have a penchant for good genre fiction, but I hold a great deal of respect for niche sub-genres such as sports fiction or manga related to other hobbies. It is abundantly clear how much research the writer and artist have put in.

This is a great series, and I'm delighted that I finally completed it.