Qi Hun (2020)

Fun, touching, and inspirational

The original Japanese manga is probably my favorite manga of all time. Then the anime adaptation did not disappoint and was a joy to watch. So obviously, I had hesitations going into this show.

But all my worries were blown away and the show exceeded expectations. Definitely recommended!

This Chinese live-action did so well in adapting the events/details in the story to fit the Chinese Go world. As a fan of the original, I got to see my favorite characters again. And at the same time, they were also completely different. Some personalities were slightly changed, some matches were with different characters from the original, and there were some added background or information about other characters.

One of the characters whose changes I really loved was Shi Guang's mother. She barely appeared in the original manga, where she was mostly shown as a supportive but rather clueless mom. In this live action series, her character is more fleshed out. I absolutely love that scene where she and Shi Guang had a fight about him playing Go and his future. They actually talked about it and Shi Guang grows to be so open about showing his appreciation for his mom.

Personally, I felt that the last 2 episodes of the show were a little too rushed. They really cut out events just to make it work. I wish they'd given the show 3 or 4 more episodes to really flesh out the changes and the growth after "the disappearance". It wasn't bad, per se, but it could have been better.

The main actors Hu Xian Xu (as Shi Guang) and Hao Fu Shen (as Yu Liang) were perfect for their roles. I've become a fan of theirs from this series. Individually, they carry their roles well. Together, their chemistry is so natural and fun to watch. Even the kid actors of their roles did so well at the start of the show.

Zhang Chao (as Chu Ying) portrayed his character in a way that slightly deviated from how I've always taken it (Sai in the original manga/anime). It took a bit of getting used to but it did crawl into my heart over time.

In any case, the whole thing was a lot of fun to watch. It's making me want to reread the manga (which did make a cameo in this show)!

Leer más

Nothing just go for it

So i am reviewing this now but i watched it like last year. So i don't know why but i watched it in one go. It was so addicting to watch. I loved the bromance and this was the only drama where the interaction was so less between the shi guang and yu liang but i still did not feel sad. Like it did some black magic on me or something. I kow nothing about go but i can watch this again and again😊💜💜💜💜. Amd i loved the ending although felt sad for hong he as he was my most favourite character. I really wished he was with them but i know he would been the third wheel between them😂💜

Leer más

Finding life’s meaning through a sport

I am not interested in Go. But I love a good sport centric or solid character development story.

And Hikaru no Go nails it - essence of what makes for a great sport / competition centric story.

True to good Japanese sports animes’ spirit, Hikaru no Go has well fitted cast which brings out the characters on screen, solid storyline which makes us care for the characters’ growth and journey, and lovely relationship dynamics - be it mentor-mentee, rivals or friends.

1. Acting and cast
First things first, what drew me in first was young Shi Guang played by Lucas Lu. What made me stayed after was older Shi Guang played by Hu Xian Xu. Shi Guang is one of the typical leads of “hidden talent who started late” troupe in sports story. They both nail this character well and manage to maintain the consistency even when it’s played by 2 different people. They piqued my interest and made me care for Shi Guang’s journey and development with Go. From not knowing what it is, to tolerating it because of Chu Ying, to learning about it and then to taking it seriously.

Both of them also had great chemistry with Chu Ying, played by Zhang Cao. This is important because it’s the story’s backbone and spirit. Chu Ying was a spirit who can only interact with Shi Guang throughout and the one who introduced the latter to Go. If this mentor-mentee dynamic didn’t work out, it means Shi Guang’s connection to Go won’t be as believable. Kudos to all 3 actors and their dynamics.

Other actors and actresses were also well casted, which adds to the enjoyment of this live adaptation.

2. Storyline and character development
Next, the pacing of storyline was done well.

I hadn’t read the manga before, so it probably helped considering I didn’t have any biased lens watching this.

The show first started with young Shi Guang playing Go reluctantly because of Chu Ying. Thereafter, he picked up Go again during high school because of an incident with his school mates. I enjoyed how the show took time to tease this part out and to establish this context for Shi Guang. I may not know or interested in Go. But I cared for Shi Guang, which then extends to the thing that Shi Guang came to love - Go.

Thus, I got invested in his improvement after he found his own motivation and interest in Go - not because of Chu Ying, not because of extra pocket money, not because of his ego, not because of his friends.

Every improvement and a small win by Shi Guang gave me a smile.

3. Relationship dynamic
Great sports stories are made up by characters who have a devotion and dedication to said sports as our main lead dived deeper into it. In Hikaru no Go, we see characters’ relationship with each other and with Go.

How lovely, to understand the characters motivation and to follow their discovery / learning of themselves through the game of Go and with each other. I still know nothing of Go after watching this (because I kinda zoned out whenever they got too much into the technicalities of it), but it never hindered my understanding of the characters’ motivation or traits or quirks.

I particularly loved Chu Ying’s battle with Yu Xiao Yang - on their 领悟 (learnings) from their inevitable face off. It stands to show how learning is boundless and everyone has their own unique journey / lesson on mastering an art.

While Yu Liang was supposedly the rival of Shi Guang, I somehow can’t seem to connect much to their dynamics. Not that the storyline or the actors’ chemistry were bad. Just other things - be it moments, characters or friendships- seem to drew me in more.

Ultimately, my favorite dynamic remains Chu Ying and Shi Guang.

Nevertheless, I rated Hikaru no Go at 8.5 because the story and cast didn’t managed to draw me in completely to the Go world. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think one requires to know Go to enjoy this story - just like I did. While it’s barely hit the mark for me, it might for you.

Leer más

This is not an adaptation this is a Spin off.

Warning guys this is not an adaptation of the anime, this is a spin off.
They made their own story using the IP. It's in a chinese setting with chinese world and characters. I appreciate the effort so much, not only you get the nostalgia but its an original story, most live actions the best thing they can do its just make a shitty adaptation of what we like. But this is different, in a good way, its fresh its new, its 2021. So much love was put into this, it only adds to the original because its not trying to copy it. I love that creators of this show, they wanted to put their heart their personalities into this and they succeed it. I hope more studio take this examples and make their original stories, yeah i know detective pikachu sucked but hey, I can appreciate the effort. Take more risks try new things, thats the spirit.
If you are one of the few people that have watched this and not the original anime, then watch the original you are not missing anything, you see its a WIN-WIN. This show could have been so bad but because it isnt makes me so happy. It get too soap opera at times, but besides that absulutely fantastic. It's a slow start so watch atleast 6 episodes i reccomend if you dont like it, then quit for sure. It has a lot of build up at first but then its followed by a lot pay off, a little boring at the beggining but fantastic middle and ending.

Leer más

hm

omg really boring ,,curious opening but the story maybe to long for that boring story ,, this drama like a combine a set of cut scenes ,, i very hate annoying stubborn ML ,stubbornness out of place ,, it's actually quite interesting when discussing Igo, especially since I really intend to study it, and there are some problems that actually make me quite curious how it happened, until ep 12 I really couldn't stand to continue it, the plot was too slow ,alot of cast with annoying character ,, maybe it will get better at the end of the story, but too late

and for some events actually I don't understand why?
even though yuliang was able to finish the IGO online match but he chose to give up and rematch so he passed an important match

Leer más

非常棒的改编，剧情中国本土化了，不逊色于日本原作。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

Leer más