Hikaru no Go has been liscenced

[Lovely]

I realise we have other Hikaru no Go threads, but I thought this was a big enough announcement and news that it deserved it's own thread.

Anyhoo, if you've been reading the News Fader for the board lately, you would see the following announcement.

The anime for Hikaru no Go has been liscenced by Viz Media
Drat... no song subtitles then V_V ....
source and more specultations...
More info as it develops!
(and whether this is good or bad news STILL remains to be seen.)

The release will apparently be 4 episodes at $25 MSRP. Not bad really.

Now for those of you who don't know, some background:

So why did I put this in the news section of a SHAMAN KING board? Well... I just really like Hikaru no Go.
It's an amazing series that doesn't SEEM like it would be amazing when you hear the concept and first start watching it.

The concept:
A young boy of Hikaru, desperate for cash, goes through his grandads attic in search of things to sell. He finds an old "Go" board in the attic and this board is stained with blood! "Go" is an old Japanese stategy/board game.
Hikaru than meets the spirit that posseses this board. A ghost by the name of Fujiwara no Sai. A man who used to be a brilliant "Go" player.
With Sai as his teacher, Hikaru eventually starts playing the game of Go. Relectunantly at first, but Hikaru soon discovers the wonders of the game for himself!


Sounds weird and pretty dull huh?
Another "game" anime with some supernatural elements.
IT'S NOT! This show is just amazingly interesting and incredibly well written. Each character is full of personality. And ... well... it's hard to explain the appeal of this little show. I will say that this show put me through pretty much every emotion possible.

Well, discuss away folks.
Dub wise, I believe Viz normally uses Ocean.

EDIT:
The following links are to the previous Hikaru no Go threads.
Dub Speculation back in the day~
Hikaru no Go original general thread (funny thing is, I'M the one who started this one *laughs*. Note my "I don't think the anime will ever be liscenced" comment XD .


EDIT 2: Apparently, Sam Vincent will be playing as Hikaru.

[TakinawaTonfa]

YES! This is another one of my favorite anime!!!
(*launches fireworks and shoots confetti guns*)

I think it will definetly be interesting to see how well the show does over here, because Go is not exactly the great American pastime. Then again, I do know some people (including myself) that have become more and more interested in the actual game after reading the manga. I've even taught my dad and brother how to play Go (the basic stuff though, I'm certainly not Akira Touya level ^ _ ^; )

I am certainly hoping that Viz uses the orginal score for the show, I find the music to be a big contribution to the overall feel and intensity.

Of course, there would not be a whole lot that I would see have the need to be edited for TV. There's barely (if any) violence (save a short bit where Shuusaku coughs blood on a Go board), no sexual situations,and profanity may be limited to a "damn" every now an then. The only thing I can really see edited are the ciggarettes, which are pretty common, but y'know, If Adult Swim can get away with leaving a "bullshit" in Paranoia Agent, whats not to say restraints to what can be on TV will be reduced?

Overall, I think this will be a new flavor of anime introduced to the market, I'm just hoping that...

Number A: The orginal music is intact.
Number B: Something similar to (or if possible, the actual) "Go! Go! Igo!" sessions at the end of each episode is present.
Number C: All the characters are treated well in the dub.

(Personally, I'm thinking of Sam Vincent more as a Kimihiro Tsutsui than Hikaru, but I guess I'll have to wait for the final product.)


BONUS:

Heres a link to the Kisedo Go Server. You can also learn how to play Go on this site, and its free! I'm on here occasionally (when I feel like it ^ _ ^ ).

kgs.kiseido.com/en_US/index.xhtml

[Lovely]

As a side note, it hasn't been said whether this show will be put on broadcast or cable tv. I kind of doubt it though. I'm thinking a dvd only release (which is fine by me ^^. )

[StrawberryInuPie]

! Cool! I readsome HNG in a SJ a few months ago, and really liked it. I've been meaning to buy the first book, but..i erm, just..havent. o.o;;

The designs are adorable, and i've heard one song and it pwns. X3 Whee~ I can't wait to see it.

[Lovely]

strawberryinupie said:

I've been meaning to buy the first book, but..i erm, just..havent. o.o;;

Not sure if this is an issue with you or not. But I just thought I'd let you know that the first two books are edited.

Me personally, I won't stand for manga edits, so the Hikaru no Go manga is a deffinate NO BUY for me.

[StrawberryInuPie]

Well, it usually depends what's been edited for me but...bah, i don't know. If I really uberly wanted to read something and it was edited, i'd probably read it anyway. I might just wait for the anime though.

[TakinawaTonfa]

admin said:

Not sure if this is an issue with you or not. But I just thought I'd let you know that the first two books are edited.

If its about the whole Tetsuo "putting out his ciggarette gum" on a Go board, Then I would'nt really care about that. It's pretty noticable, and in the actual anime, Tetsuo is chewing gum in the same scene. My guess is that even the Japanese version did'nt want to show a middle-schooler smoking. Which to me, does make sense.

[Lovely]

On the one hand, the SMOKING gum in book two is pretty hilarious. Give it a look, SMOKE is coming from the cigerette that has been modified to be gum XD.

On the other hand... I won't support edited manga. PERIOD. No matter how small the edit. I earn my own money and I like and purchase a LOT of manga. I have plenty of other options of things to buy and edited manga isn't on that list.
Yes, I may seem extreme but, meh, that's just the way I feel.

Oh, but I understand if some of you don't feel that way. I'm a little saddened. But I understand ^^; .

NOW. Putting that aside (because speaking of the manga edits is kind of off topic. Sorry all, my fault ^^;.)

Actual ON TOPIC STUFF XD :

I got this info from a poster on the AoD boards, who got this info from Crystal Acids.

Additionally, reports about Texas actor Vic Mignogna being in cast are apparently untrue, stemming from him stating at Anime North that he hoped to visit Vancouver at a later date and get a part in the show then.

So apparently, Vic is just saying he wouldn't mind playing a guest shot . Vic is in a traveling mood it seems *laughs*. More power to him. Maybe he'll set some sort of anime VA record ;D .

CAST LIST. Yes, it's an Ocean dub ^^. (After Ryvius and Gundam Seed I'm starting to really dig Ocean lately ^^;.)

Hikaru - Sam Vincent
Sai - Brad Swaile
Akira - Scott Perrie
Toya Meijin - Paul Dobson
Yuki - Cathy Weseluck
Kimihiro - Keith Miller
Kaga - Andrew Toth
Ms. Ichikawa - Kelly Sheridan
Akari - Chantal Strand
Ogata - Michael Adamthwaite

Directed by Rob Bakewell

Oh yeah, as a side note, people on the AoD dub forums are hoping that maybe Vic could try landing the role of Waya. After some consideration, I think Vic would be good for that role. But It's probably too big of a part for Vic if he's only visiting.

[StrawberryInuPie]

VIC ICANTSPELLYOURLASTNAME!!!!! =D....^^; Sorry, but he rocks. I think he's gonna be at A-KON tomorrow ^o^ This would be my second time seeing him X3

....Sorry..

..; I have never heard of any of those VA's I don't think..

[heezaaaa]

Yay for this thread, Lovely! I got a little bit more information about the dub. You also got a thank you on the news fader on my new Hikago forums. Yes, I made Hikago forums yesterday on invsionfree, but moved them to pro boards. Getting off topic here...

Anyways, I did see somethin' about the Hikago anime beign released on Anime News Network. Then I get Shonen Jump in the mail the next day. Fweee.

I didn't notice the manga edits. They edited a ciggarete? Gee, what's this for then? "This magazine is rated T for Teen - it contains violence and the use of alchohol and tobacco." .... They're becoming dumbasses. Though, I don't have a choice but to read the manga in SJ for I can not buy anime and manga off the net. Only got bootleg SK DVDs from my friend in the mail. >__>