Rewatch Hikaru no Go 25th Anniversary Rewatch: Episode 18 Discussion
The Eighteenth Match: Akira vs Sai
◄ Episode 17 | Index | Episode 19 ►
Series Information:
Streams:
Purchaseable:
On Apple TV or Prime Video.
Proverb of the Day:
Strengthening your own weak group makes your opponent's weaker.
Tsumego of the Day:
Today's theme: White to kill!
Questions of the Day:
- How do you feel about aquariums? Have you ever had one, or would you like one?
- Is there or was there ever a webcomic you followed and enjoyed?
Rewatchers, remember there are first-timers present!
Be careful not to spoil anything that hasn't happened yet in the show. If you wish to discuss something in the future, make sure to hide it under spoiler tags.
Spoiler tags work like this:
[Hikaru no Go]>!Sai is cute.!<
Which becomes: [Hikaru no Go]Sai is cute.
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u/Biokabe 19d ago
Rewatcher
Looking back on this game as someone approaching shodan strength makes you really appreciate just how brutal it can be playing against someone who just sees so much more of the game than you do.
I'll go more into the Go side of things in the Go corner, but just thinking about the drama side of things - it's a lovely parallel going on with the three people chasing each other. Akira is desperately chasing after Sai, and losing ground because Sai has found more opportunities to strengthen himself - he was already strong without the benefit of 1000 years of development, while Akira's strength already included the knowledge gained from the millions of games of Go played since Sai was last able to seriously play. It has to feel like that ghost of whatever was in Hikaru is getting further and further away from Akira.
And then you see the same thing with Hikaru chasing after Akira. He wants to be strong enough to face Akira on his own, but while he's messing around with middle school Go clubs and playing around online, Akira is stepping into a world filled with people like Sai to make him stronger. Seeing the desperation coming from both sides shows us how much Hikaru has changed since being a bratty kid looking to pawn off a dusty old Goban for walking-around money.
And seeing Ogata's aquarium setup makes me laugh. A title-holding 9-dan Go pro, and he's running around with a standard 20g AGA tank with a basic hood and green (?!) light. Does he keep glofish?
QotD 1: How do I feel about aquariums? Well, my living room is constantly illuminated by the soft blue glow coming from my three Ecotech Radeon XR15 lights over my 90 gallon reef tank. I also have a 20 gallon reef tank running right now. The current tank is the successor to a 75 gallon tank, which was itself the successor to a 55 gallon tank, which was itself the successor to a 29 gallon tank. I grow living coral (the reason I have $1,500 in lights over my tank). So yeah, I've had an aquarium, and I'd like another one too. =)
QoTD 2: Yeah, I used to follow quite a few, don't follow any regularly any longer though. PvP, Real Life Comics, XKCD, Something Positive, Queen of Wands, 8-Bit Comics, Order of the Stick, and more.
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u/wloff 19d ago
In Ogata's defense, he hasn't won a big title yet, I believe. Maybe he'll reward himself with a nicer tank if/when he eventually brings home some gold!
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u/Biokabe 19d ago
That's true, I forgot that he hadn't yet won a title yet. Still, though, he's a 9d pro and is regularly challenging for the titles... you'd think he could afford something nicer!
Then again, it might have more to do with lifestyle than money. Tanks can get heavy (even that 20g tank weighs close to 200 pounds just sitting on that desk), and he appears to live in an apartment like most Tokyo people do. His lease might not allow for something much bigger. And that's before you factor in that he has to travel a lot for Go - he might not have the time to care for something much bigger.
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u/ChampionEntire9660 19d ago
But isn't Sai strong because he's just that good? I mean, yea, he's had 2 lifetimes (well, one and a half, I suppose) worth of playing the game, sure, but that was in the distant past. The game has changed in the meantime, yet Sai was still able to easily adapt and run circles around Akira.
And I agree about the "competition triangle" - Hikaru chases after Akira, Akira chases Sai, Sai plays through Hikaru and has to regularly beg Hikaru to let him play. It's a nice way to handle this kind of premise.
As for Ogata, I replied in an earlier comment - I get that he's supposed to represent a "cool" character, but idk, it all falls flat for me. Then again, I don't know the economics of this setting (it was explained at some point, but I forget). Like, these adult man basically get paid to play the game, with a bonus when they defeat a current title holder and claim it for themselves. But Ogata doesn't seem that affluent. I bet that sportscar he drives is a secondhand beater...
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u/Biokabe 19d ago
But isn't Sai strong because he's just that good?
Sai isn't superhuman (other than the fact that he literally is, being a ghost and all). He is exceptionally strong, but he's not seeing things that another exceptionally strong player couldn't see. He's not unbeatable - if you take as a fact that all of Shuusaku's games were Sai playing, as professional player in Shuusaku's lifetime Sai lost 35% of his recorded official games. That's someone who is among the very best in the world, especially given the competition, but not an unbeatable god of Go. He was strong for the reasons everyone else is strong - he had a talent for the game and diligently applied himself to develop that talent.
But there were real holes in his game when he first woke up with Hikaru because he didn't have the benefit of all the study that has happened since Shuusaku's time. He was stronger than Akira by a large enough margin that he could still win despite those holes in his game, but if he had actually played that full game with Akira's father he very well may have lost.
Normally, the stronger you are at something, the harder it is to progress. That's because there are fewer weaknesses for you to correct, and a greater chance that what you're doing is already the optimal way to play. So given that, Akira should have been the one between him and Sai to get stronger - he has more weaknesses to correct, more suboptimal techniques to polish.
Instead, though, it was Sai who got stronger, taking in all the development from the past 150+ years and incorporating it into his game.
[Hng Ogata - minor spoilers]I should edit my statement about Ogata to remove the bit about him holding a title, I don't think that's happened yet. Regarding the economics - it's kind of like tennis pros. If you're at the lower levels of it, you're technically a pro, but unless you can live with your parents and find some other gigs to support yourself you still need a second source of income. 1-, 2-, and 3-dan professionals are likely not earning a whole lot of money solely from Go.
The way the economics are structured: Pros have three main sources of income. Game fees, tournament winnings, and outside money.
Game fees were paid for every official game you sat down to play, with your pay rate set by your ranking. This includes tournament games as well as games in the regular Oteai ranking competition. In addition, if you won the game, you got a winner's bonus.
Tournament winnings come from the tournaments that award the titles. These games count for the game fees, so you would get paid for them. You would also get paid your winner's fees if you continued to win. And on top of that, if you continued to win you would stay in the tournament, so you would have more games and thus more game fees. And on top of all of that, depending on how you do in the tournament you'd also walk away with a portion of the tournament winnings, which could be significant even if you didn't win the title. And of course, if you won the title you could easily double your annual salary or more.
Finally, there's the outside money. This is money earned outside of playing games, but that being a pro essentially unlocks for you. You can throw in tutoring fees, appearance fees, commentary fees, writing articles, writing books... they're like endorsement deals (and sometimes, they're exactly endorsement deals). It's technically not from the professional circuit, but it's highly unlikely that you'd be earning this money if you weren't a pro.
A 9-dan pro who's regularly challenging for the titles, even if they're not yet winning them, would still earn a pretty respectable income. Something on the order of $140k-$200k per year, or more if they're charismatic and regularly find other ways to bring in outside money like Ogata.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 19d ago
First-Time Viewer no Go
Cool visuals during the match between Akira and Sai. The image of the go board in front of Akira with Sai's hand reaching out from the shadows was a good depiction of Sai's literal nature as a ghost, and also the way Akira feels as though he's been figuratively chasing a ghost since his first game against Hikaru.
Sai remains undefeated in his go matches, but the real loss is now that he came too close to their identity being revealed, they'll have to stop playing online - at least, as often as they were. But I guess summer break was ending anyway, so he just wouldn't have the time anymore. That's too bad for Sai. (And me, because I was enjoying this plotline.)
When Akira was racing to the internet cafe to confront Hikaru, I honestly wasn't sure which way I was hoping that would go. A big, dramatic confrontation and reveal would have been fun! But on the other hand, if his cover was blown, Sai wouldn't get to play go online anymore. In the end, it was a mix of both - we got the dramatic confrontation, though Akira couldn't prove that Hikaru was playing as Sai. The way they parted felt a little forced (which was likely intentional, because there's no way Hikaru could have provided a satisfactory explanation for this), but the lead-up was pretty exciting.
Questions of the Day:
1) I love 'em! They sound like a lot of work to take care of though, so I just enjoy looking.
2) If that counts weekly manga, then yeah, there's plenty! Spy x Family and the recently completed Kill Blue are favorites. I haven't really gotten into other webcomics yet, but have a few bookmarked to check out later on.
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u/Biokabe 19d ago
They sound like a lot of work to take care of though, so I just enjoy looking.
They can be as much or as little work as you like, within reason. My two tanks take about 2.5 hours of work a week. But I've spent a lot on automation, and put a lot of time into the setup, specifically to get that number as low as possible. I also run a reef tank, one of the more complicated and expensive types of aquariums.
If you just wanted a simple freshwater fish setup, you could probably get by with a couple hours of work per week without spending a whole lot of money on it.
With aquariums, the bulk of the work is on setting it up and researching what to do, the actual maintenance isn't so bad.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 19d ago
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u/Biokabe 19d ago
Well, that's fair. It's certainly not for everyone, and that's even before you touch on how they can really handcuff you to your home if you'd rather be traveling.
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u/wloff 18d ago
I'm sure it's one of those things where it's not really "work" if it's something you enjoy doing, and half the fun of having the tank.
For me, that "few hours per week" sounds like a lot more than I'd care to do!
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u/Biokabe 18d ago
No, most of it is definitely still work. Water changes are especially irritating... pulling water out of the tank, dumping it in buckets, lugging those buckets to the sink, and then doing it all in reverse. I've spent about $700 to make them as easy as I can (spending on pumps, portable outlets, building a cabinet to mix the water in, etc), and I still have to psych myself up to do them every week.
But watching the fish thrive, watching the corals grow, seeing as the tank evolves and changes over time - that's rewarding enough that I'm willing to put up with the work. Plus I think I'm slightly insane.
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u/zambonijesus 19d ago
Rewatcher, manga reader, subs
I'd like to learn more about the Touya family because I do not think a professional Go player would make huge money but they seem to be very well off.
I'm not sure if it would be surprising or not how easily Sai adapted to playing Go on a screen rather than a physical board. I guess he can visualize everything anyway so maybe it doesn't matter, but I personally find screens to read differently than a board, but that might be a me thing.
I appreciate that Sai is still getting stronger after a thousand years
Also was Sai conscious for all those years before Shusaku and then Hikaru showed up? I just want to know if he spent a thousand years playing Go matches with himself waiting for someone to awaken him.
[HnG major spoilers don't click if you haven't watched/read the whole thing before]I do wish that we'd gotten to really see Sai against the best of the best rather than basically just this little arc and Touya Meijin toward the end.
I find this dramatic shot to be very funny
Time for Hikaru to chase Akira instead
Has Hikaru managed to learn how to computer in the last month? When he first started playing Go on the internet he couldn't even respond to comments for himself and now he's managing to pull up webcomics.
This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series.
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u/wloff 18d ago
I'd like to learn more about the Touya family because I do not think a professional Go player would make huge money but they seem to be very well off.
Well, if you're the best of the best... the Meijin title alone nets you 30 million yen every year you successfully defend it, and he holds, what, three other titles as well? Jyuudan is 7 million, Gosei 8 million, and Tengen 12 million for the winner. And he has other enterprises too; I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he owns that go salon Akira always hangs out at.
He's doing alright.
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u/wloff 19d ago
wloff's go corner #18
The third full match between Akira vs. Sai comes from Kim Hyonjon 1 dan vs. Kobayashi Satoru 9 dan, from 1998.
It's a pretty interesting choice: it comes from a 1 dan vs 9 dan series game. It's a sort of a ceremonial game for freshly promoted new pros, where they get to play an established 9 dan title-holder, in a sort of a "welcome to the world of pros, here's what you're up against now, kid" kind of a game. The new pro gets a handicap of black stones with a reverse komi of 5.5 points.
In other words, the game chosen was one where Black (Akira) faced a significantly stronger and more experienced opponent (Sai). Pretty cool and appropriate!
The move that Touya thought "looked like one of Hikaru's moves" was White 66. Akira plays 65, an attachment on the two white stones, asking Sai how he's going to defend those two stones. Instead, Sai just calmly connects at 66.
Now Black could just capture the two stones at a, or maybe jump out with his weak group with 67. But then White could play something like 68 and 70 to cut off the other two black stones. Because of 66, there are weaknesses in White's formation around these two stones, and they are stranded and almost dead.
Akira realizes this and defends the two stones with 67, but this allows Sai to instead keep attacking the other black group. With 68 to 72, Black is cut off and has at most one eye at the top; and 50 moves later, it is this black group that ends up dying, at which point Akira resigns.
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u/Biokabe 18d ago
Is this the most in-depth we've covered a single match so far? If not, it's pretty close, and it's a fun match to look over, a great example of the value of power and thickness.
In terms of territory (both potential and realized) Black has a clear lead on the board when he plays 65. If he converts everything and saves his groups (a big if, as the game demonstrates), Akira has close to 65 points on the board. Sai has fewer weaknesses to aim at, but only has about 50-55 points. If Black can just hold steady, then he can absolutely win.
The problem, though, is that black has two weak groups near each other (the group around 65, and the two stones on the left). And that is something you always want to avoid, because it gives your opponent the opportunity to execute dual attacks. White can threaten both groups with a single move, but Black can only defend one at a time. So no matter what move he makes, it ends up looking like a mistake - which is exactly what happens in the game.
65 was Black's mistake, arguably a thank-you move - as in, White thanks Black for making that move, because it forces him to do what he wants to do anyhow. And that's to start a splitting attack against those two Black groups. This has a pinball effect all across the board, allowing White to dance across the board making life difficult for Black (literally and figuratively).
What should Black have done instead? Well, I'm not knocking on the doors of pro strength, so any suggestion I give will likely be missing something key. But what White did is also what Black wants to do, and there's an obvious target - the same White stones that White reinforced with 66. So rather than trying to kill White by playing inside with 65, Black likely would have been better off playing something like H12 (strengthening his two left-side stones while threatening to wall in that White group), or 67 in the actual game (skipping 65 to play 67 directly), or jumping down somewhere around L11-M12 to save that group and trusting that you can save the two left-side stones when they come under attack.
Overall, this game gives a nice illustration of a few proverbs:
- Five groups may live, but the sixth will die (after the 65-66 exchange, White is able to cut Black into many smaller groups, and one of them does indeed die)
- Give your opponent what he wants (Akira wants to capture the two stones he attaches to at 65, so Sai lets him)
- Strengthening your group makes your opponent's group weaker (After White strengthens his weak group with 66, both of Black's groups on either side become weaker)
- You only have one weak group. Your other weak groups are dead. (Because Black lets his groups get split up, he is unable to defend all of them and eventually White kills one) *
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u/wloff 19d ago
Tsumego of the Day
Today's theme: White to kill!
To "celebrate" Sai killing a big group as white, let's do some "white to kill" from One Thousand and One Life-and-Death Problems. (Only a couple because I'm in a hurry!)
Beginner 18-1. White to kill. There's a proverb: "Play on the point of symmetry."
Intermediate 18-1. White to kill.
Advanced 18-1. White to kill.
Solutions to yesterday's problems:
Beginner 17-1
- Pushing in with 1 leaves White with a false eye, so she dies.
- If Black ataris with 1, after White 2 he can't connect at a, so White gets her second eye.
Beginner 17-2
- If Black extends to 1, White's eye on the left will become a false one.
- If White captures at 2, Black throws in at 3, and it's still a false eye.
- If it were White to play, she could play 1 to make a real eye on the left and live.
Intermediate 17-1
- Black 1 threatens a snapback at 2. If White plays there, Black kills with 3. If White 2 at 3, Black 3 at 2.
- If Black plays 1, after White 2, a and b are miai for White to live.
Intermediate 17-2
- Black cuts with 1. If White 2, Black plays 3 and White is caught in a double snapback.
- If Black plays anything else, White can immediately live with 2.
Advanced 17-1
Advanced 17-2
- Black 1 and 3 are the killing moves.
- After White captures two stones, Black plays 5 and sets up a double snapback.
If you wish to discuss today's problems, please do so under spoiler tags, to give others the chance to solve them on their own! I'll be posting the solutions to today's problems tomorrow.
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u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick 19d ago
[Beginner 18-1]Woah, that's nefarious already. E-1 kills, preventing Black from making eye shape via double threat of snapback.
[Intermediate 18-1]E-1 D-1 D-2 C-2 F-1 and Black's eye is false.
[Advanced 18-1]Ahhh this is so big and scary. But after E-1, I quite honestly don't see any potential eye space remaining that could fit 2 eyes.
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u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick 19d ago
Nice breakdown. This has me thinking, are you gonna give use tsumego about aji at some point?
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 19d ago
First-Timer no Go, subbed
I very much appreciate the show animating Akira vs. Sai as if they’re playing in person (even if Sai is represented by a disembodied hand) rather than just them clicking away at the computer screen. Makes it a whole lot more interesting.
Man Hikaru, you’re lucky Akira doesn’t pick up on how obvious you’re acting here.
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u/wloff 19d ago
I very much appreciate the show animating Akira vs. Sai as if they’re playing in person (even if Sai is represented by a disembodied hand) rather than just them clicking away at the computer screen. Makes it a whole lot more interesting.
Yes, but with the computer screens we get the hilarious space battle sounds!
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 19d ago
Ah, that’s a handy TL note.
In the English dub, he just says "Sai means rhinoceros, doesn't it?" Looks like the original Japanese joke added a white/black theme like go stones?
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u/TrekkiMonstr 19d ago
That's so weird, official subs do a better job. Don't remember exactly but it's something like, "Cyborg? Psycho?" I don't know why you guys all insist on the fansubs when they're like, so bad... /u/Shimmering-Sky saying it's a handy TL is like thanking the guy who cut your hand off for applying a tourniquet afterwards lmao
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u/wloff 18d ago
I don't know why you guys all insist on the fansubs when they're like, so bad...
There's a certain charm and soul to them, not to mention a whole lot of nostalgia for me. I couldn't imagine watching the show any other way!
Besides, from what I've seen of the official subs, they seem pretty bad in other ways.
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u/TrekkiMonstr 18d ago
I mean fair enough if it's how you watched back then, but I'm seeing a lot of first time watchers seem to be using them. Official subs being bad, how so?
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u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick 18d ago
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u/TrekkiMonstr 18d ago
I would think official subs are still pirateable, no?
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u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick 18d ago
Probably... but much more cumbersome to find, especially as soft subs.
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u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick 19d ago
Rewatcher
Ugh, I'm feeling so under the weather today... Let's hope this is just some kind of hay fever or something...
They're using a very funky way of visualising the duel between Akira and Sai. Honestly, I'm a huge fan. It manages to translate the screen board onto a (meta-)physical board; it reflect the anonymity of web play; and it even incorporates the ghostness of Sai, packing all of these aspects into one cohesive visual.
And this cat and mouse game surrounding Hikaru and Sai's identity... this could totally have been in Death Note. Hikaru can luckily deflect Akira's suspicions; his greedy display back in episode 4 or when it was that Akira first confronted him really came in clutch here.
And yet, with Akira finally giving up on Hikaru for good, he returns the favour by stirring the storm for Hikaru as well: Are you really satisfied with reaching me "eventually"? Or would you not much rather play right now?
Alas, this was to be the last netgame of Sai. This is what we call quality mythmaking
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u/IndependentMacaroon 13d ago
this cat and mouse game surrounding Hikaru and Sai's identity... this could totally have been in Death Note
Yeah I've thought the same thing, funny that it's the same artist
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u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer 19d ago
first time baduker hikaru no go to the polls
Mitani's sister looks like one of Xiaolang's sisters from CCS
he was such a happy young child, its great watching his demons take over his life
my solutions for yesterdays tsumego
B17-1: D2
B17-2: B1
I17-1: A4
I17-2: C2
A17-1: F1
A17-2: A1
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u/MaskOfIce42 https://anilist.co/user/MaskOfIce 19d ago
First Timer, Subbed
I'm a little surprised how short the internet Sai arc ended up being. I'm curious if Akira will notice that Sai disappeared as soon as he confronted Hikaru about it lol. I'm having Death Note moments of "how would I hide my identity" when this story isn't operating on that level lol.
I will say I find Sai's comment about Hikaru's growth being interesting, since I both can see how it would be the case that watching numerous high level games, he gets a better sense of the game, but also still looking forward to seeing it in action. I think I do enjoy the series a bit more when it's Hikaru playing, although I say that and I did blitz through these episodes.
I will say I find the comment during the game of "why did that move feel like Hikaru" very interesting, is it indicating that Sai is learning from Hikaru, that that was a move Hikaru suggested and Sai decided to do, or something else. I personally kinda like the idea Hikaru suggested it, even if not much else supports that. I do like that the show doesn't confirm what exactly happened there.
Question 1: Oh I love aquariums, I've been to a couple at different points.
Question 2: Yeah, I've followed a few webcomics. If you count Webtoons, I really enjoyed Siren's Lament, I also enjoy Gator Days and I Want to be a Cute Anime Girl as well. Noticeably more modern than the usual examples like Questionable Content, Penny Arcade, or Ctl-Alt-Del
I am curious about these questions lol, they seem to be getting away from being related to the show, don't mind answering them, I still enjoy it, just kinda interesting personally.
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u/TrekkiMonstr 19d ago
is it indicating that Sai is learning from Hikaru
No, you misunderstood. Remember, from Touya's perspective, it was Hikaru that beat him those few times, not Sai, except for the time Hikaru for some reason played like total shit. Now this mystery player shows up, and his play reminds Touya of strong-Hikaru. Hikaru hasn't influenced Sai, Touya is just recognizing Sai's play in Sai's play
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u/IndependentMacaroon 13d ago
I'm having Death Note moments of "how would I hide my identity"
That makes three people now
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u/ClearlyQ 18d ago
partial rewatcher, manga reader, subs
Came into this thread late so I'll try to not be redundant!
Touya sheepishly admitting he forgot the first day of the pro exams because he wanted to play a game with someone else is one of my favorite small moments in the series, ngl. I've mentioned this before but part of what I love about Hikago is how the series shows us these glimpses of who Touya is off the goban and how different he is from the kid Hikaru most often sees. Touya's intensity is limited to the board and his Hikaru (and Sai) obsession. Outside those two things, Touya's consistently a pretty mellow kid. In-universe, his whole schtick with Hikaru is an out of character moment for him and the people close to him.
Also, I do like how we've never seen Touya be truly boastful. Like, yes, Touya has a lot of confidence in his own abilities, but he's never been outright haughty. Even when he challenges Hikaru with "why wait someday? why don't we play now," it's part making a point about Hikaru's bravado, part Touya sincerely hoping that the rival he first saw in Hikaru is still there.
All that said, the netgo arc ends relatively quickly, doesn't it? lol. Even in that short amount of time though, Sai made quite a name for himself! And brought Touya and Hikaru's paths together again.
Answers to QotD:
- When I went to Japan for the first time, the Osaka Kaiyukan was the tip-top of my itinerary! It was incredible and more than worth the visit. But I'm a bit intimidated of actually owning and maintaining my own aquarium, even just a small tank. Also, I like pets I can, well, pet lol. That's why I have two cats. But maybe someday when I have the space and the time!
- I lurk on the comics sub pretty often and follow the swordscomic webcomic.
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u/TradingStoicly 19d ago
First Timer Subbed
It's crazy that Sai wasn't even trying as hard as he could vs the other opponents. It shows how good Akira is but also how much better Sai has become. I really hope that Hikaru has been taking notes lol. I feel bad for Hikaru because his main goal now is to catch up to Akira. He feels like he's so far away...and with Akira's goal to catch up to Sai, Hikaru is falling further behind. I wonder what will happen after the summer break
QOTD: 1. I like aquariums! Like the places you can go visit. I'd never have one in my own home though 2. Umm there was one. It was called The Case of an Otaku of Sunday Morning Anime, Reincarnating as a Villainous Student and Crushing His Destruction Flags lol. I actually haven't read it in a while and I don't think a new chapter has come out in a while but the premise was cool!
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u/cppn02 18d ago
First Timer, subbed
Is Ogata secretly a vampire? Why is he sitting in the dark at 10 am? Have we actually seen him outside of a building yet?
Also apparently Sai destroyed Akira so hard that he turned stupid because why did Akira think that running straight into the internet café and confronting Hikaru was the smart decisions when really he or someone else should have actually spied on Hikaru for a bit to see what he's up to on the internet?
QotD:
How do you feel about aquariums? Have you ever had one, or would you like one?
At home? Never had one and don't plan on changing that.
Is there or was there ever a webcomic you followed and enjoyed?
Plenty. For starters a ton of popular manga are webcomics.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 18d ago
Rewatcher
ep 18 still catching up. Sai vs. Akira. Still haven't read yesterday's thread (since I only posted a few hours ago) and I'm still behind.
They had my favorite go game music yesterday. I hope they have it today, too.
It's really unfair to Akira's opponent too, I bet. The pro candidate is probably evaluated on their games, and his opponent didn't get to play.
- Oh, of course, the Touyas would have a Thing that Goes Doink!
- If Akira has been studying Shuusaku, and Sai has been studying modern play, where does this take the game?
LOL, it's such a disconnect to go from the VR Go game in hyperspace to derpy PC graphics.
- Yeah, everybody on the go gamer network is watching this game, except Waya.
- gg no re
- 55
- doink!
When is Waya getting home to check the match and finds out Akira lost?
Actually, now I'm wondering what Touya Meijin is going to say about him skipping the pro exam?
- Holy shit! BUSTED! But he's just reading web manga I bet
- "Stop stalking me!"
- Talk to the hand!
Hikaru's wearing thigh-highs?
Now Sai can't play any more, either.
1
u/Kain_Shana 16d ago
Rewatch
Waya hating on Akira for shit that is none of his business is annoying as hell. This guy just sounds jealous and bitter
I really like the way the game between Sai and Akira id portrayed. It looks mysterious and elegant. Sai being hidden in darkness aside from his hand makes him seem so badass.
And as expected, Akira already lost his match
Waya pay attention to your own fucking match and shut up ＜- doesnt really like Waya and it shows
Akira can feel the strenght of Sai, and how much he has improved in such short period of time. The chasm between them became so much larger so soon, and Akira is starting to cave under the pressure of Sai's monstrous strenght
Everyone watching carefully two kids playing a board game. Creeps (?)
And Akira lost once again.
Ogata spending his free time sitting in the dark talking to his fish always makes me laugh. Sir you should get a girlfriend or another hobby
Akira has cognitive dissonance over who the fuck he has been playing againt. My poor guy is going to blow a gasket if he keeps overthingking things.
Even while not being physically there Hikaru is still a bad influence for Akira heheh.
This nosey guy giving Akira a heart attack just when he's already having an existential crisis over Hikaru lmaaao.
This is the secon time Akira crosses Tokyo on foot on a wild goose chase over Hikaru. He's lucky fate wants them to meet because what was his plan exactly? Visit all internet cafes in that area?
Akira is lowkey insane and a literal stalker and that's my favorite trait about him.
(Almost) Busted! Fun fact for anime onlys, in the original manga, Hikaru is looking at the Shounen Jump website with cameos of the manga that were being published at the time :3
Akira: Hikaru can't be Sai
Also Akira: Have you played online yes or no?
I like how Hikaru is acting hella suspicious but Akira has like, zero social skills so he doesn't notice.
This fucking scene feels like a breakup, it's so dramatic.
And now this is the moment where their roles reverse, and Hikaru will be the one to chase Akira. Wonderful
Questions!
1.- I love fishes, but I suck at taking care of fishes, so I like to go to the aquarium to look at them. I also love turtles v much :D
2.- I read the entirety of Homestuck and I am a worse person because of it (?)
8
u/wloff 19d ago
Rewatcher and your host, E-F subs
Akira vs. Sai 3! Or 4 if you count the school tournament game, or 5, technically, if you count that last one that ended about 10 moves in... And it's the first time Akira has ever had the black stones, isn't it?
I forgot to mention it when I noticed it in an earlier episode, but this Engrish with "taim Left" and "Think taim" is delightful.
I have to admit, Ogata is a pretty cool cat. He's sitting in a dark room illuminated only by his computer screen and aquarium, of all things, smoking a cigarette, and watching an online go game! He should be a Bond villain, or some kind of a quest giver in a cyberpunk show, not a go player.
Akira loses decisively, even more so than their second game way back then. As Sai himself points out: Sai has leveled up over the summer.
Appropriate reaction from Ichikawa to Akira just not bothering to go to the first pro exam game! I really do love these occasional old school anime faces!
Oh yes, Akira is not at all obsessed with Hikaru.
Riveting storytelling in this webcomic! I guess the name has to be a reference to Go! Go! Igo?
This confrontation scene is absolutely gorgeous. The colors are beautiful. I'd love to know how they did the glow/bloom effect. It must be some kind of a traditional method, I'm pretty sure? I wouldn't think they had the digital tools for it quite yet. Although I guess it is possible, too.
But honestly, I just love this whole scene. Akira has a very different kind of intensity when he's around Hikaru, and a whole new kind of a confident "come and get me" attitude. Their whole relationship and rivalry is pretty unique, not really at all like most eternal rival relationships you see in sports anime. And once again, Akira delivers the most devastating one-liners. Do you want to play now, instead of "eventually"?
That's brutal. Hikaru has no retort to that.
QotD 1: I never used to see the point. I think now I might enjoy watching some cool and rare fish, but actually owning one sounds like way more work and maintenance than I'd like to do.
QotD 2: Webcomics used to be a huge thing in the 00s, I had a big folder of bookmarked ones I'd check daily (or however often they updated). Some were good, some less so... if I had to pick one, probably my favorite was Pictures of You by Gibson Twist. More of a graphic novel and a long-term story than "only" a strip comic, but it was excellent.