Hikaru versus girlfriend

[Chew Terr]

So, in another thread, I mentioned that my girlfriend and I had recently made a deal: I would read Pride and Prejudice if she would read all of Hikaru no Go. I finished P&P, and ended up enjoying it, to my surprise. As a result, my girlfriend has begun to get to know Hikaru. She decided to write down her thoughts on it as she read it, and is doing it in a blog format. As ya'all are the only people I know who care about Hikaru no Go, I figured I'd share the link (after getting permission, of course), so you can enjoy the thoughts of a total neophyte on the series.

http://moreink.blogspot.com/

edit: Fair warning, she's only finished the first book so far, but she plans to post after each volume. Also, as may be obvious, there may be spoilers on the series there, eventually.

[Jordus]

Lol! that is a great blog! I can't wait to read more

[daal]

"I also understand that there are people for whom Go is Serious Business."

I bet she does.

[palapiku]

Can we see your blog on Pride and Prejudice, too?

[ketchup]

More than Go, I think she'll find the growth of the characters interesting. I re-read HnG because of that growth(personality, age, strength, etc), rather than the Go itself. It's really what makes that series amazing. Because, let's face it, the Go in that manga is pretty minimal. You could pretty much replace it with any other game, and it would still work as well. Although, maybe then, a lot of us might be playing some other game

Good blog though, this is a good/funny statement. Hidden because I do not want to spoil blog content:

I feel mostly sorry for Akira, as he doesn't seem to do much else but Go, obsessing over Go, thinking about Go, and solving Go problems. I bet his "About Me" section in facebook would be superboring, and he status updates would all be Go board coordinates.

[apetresc]

Your girlfriend made an analogy to Calvin and Hobbes.

She's a keeper, Chew. Remember that.

[palapiku]

Replying to ketchup

I don't feel sorry for Akira-kun at all, he's really good at something and knows what he wants in life. Is having varied Facebook updates that much more worthwhile?

[CSamurai]

Replying to ketchup

I don't feel sorry for Akira-kun at all, he's really good at something and knows what he wants in life. Is having varied Facebook updates that much more worthwhile?

I find social websites mystifying. my last attempt at live journal died when I was in my early 20s. I've never had a myspace page, or a facebook profile. I have a twitter account. Which I have never used. The whole idea of social media escapes me. Given all this, let me say a few things.

There is more to life than whatever singular thing you excell at. If I were the best coder on earth, and all I did every day was code, if I gave up friends because they didn't talk about optomizing search algorythms, if I eschewed relationships because they failed to understand the importance of perl implimentation in a web based environment.. I'd be an amazingly boring individual to be around. I would, in fact, be what is commonly refered to as a 'nerd'. I've met sports nerds whose entire world revolved around their sport. I've met computer nerds whose entire life revolved around your computer. Her observation, tinged by her own facebook obsessed culture, holds water in this regard. She basically said, (for those of us who do not live in the Social Web)

'Isn't it sad, this young boy is so driven to succeed in this field that he doesn't play games with other children, he doesn't read comics and have fun. All he does is go. He just studies and works all the time, and gives up what most of us would consider to be the important bits of life for it.'

And she's right.

[palapiku]

Akira obviously thinks that what's important in life is to get stronger at Go. Do you think he's mistaken, then? Or are you just trying to impose your own values on him?

[RazorBrain]

@CSamurai:
Given the nature of the audience of this forum I wouldn't say anything bad about nerds...

Nerds indeed! I prefer Go Geek. It rolls off the tongue in a more pleasing fashion.

-------------------------

"It's just surprising to read such a dramatic account of something that, at least to me, is fairly mundane."

I hate to admit that black and white stones and a wooden board don't make for excited onlookers. As a spectator sport, go lacks a little something, especially for casual fans. That however is what makes go players as excited as Sai when someone begins to glimpse what we all too clearly see, go's depth and beauty.

Hah, and if Sai didn't get crazy excited, the Hikaru series would have lost people to deep comatose states. That's half the fun of HnG is seeing the way they hype go up and turn essentially a cerebral adventure into something worthy of 75 episodes:)

Looking forward to more blog posts, as I'm just beginning to watch HnG again with my 9 year old.

[Chew Terr]

Her second post is up. I'm not going to post everytime she comments on a book (as there are 20+ of them and I don't want to flood the forum), but I figured that there was enough response to the first to merit an update.

[tchan001]

"Chew is more likely to concentrate quietly, without a single, delicate sweat drop forming on his brow"
Chew you're not studying hard enough. Your girlfriend won't fall in love with go if you don't show her more dedication to the game. lol

[CSamurai]

Akira obviously thinks that what's important in life is to get stronger at Go. Do you think he's mistaken, then? Or are you just trying to impose your own values on him?

A) He's not real. He's a character in a comic. He doesn't think anything, or have any values other than the ones imposed by his author.

B) As a fictional character, he's clearly meant to be an example of dedication. This is what's called an 'archtypical' character. However, when writing an archtypical character, especially one whose archytype is Singularly Focused Dedicated Student, you run the risk of making the character hard to relate to. Few people in life are a single focus. Very few well balanced individuals are a single focus. Since he is hard to relate to, and further, hard to emulate, he becomes the foil for Hikaru's youthful desire to 'grab a few titles'. He becomes a counterpoint to a character we can all relate to.

C) I would feel sorry for any child, in any field, struggling with the pressures and forces that Akira is dealing with, even if they became wildly successful in their field, be it sports, go, etc. To have a father who is 'the very best', to be under pressure from within and without to live up to not only your father's expectations, but the expectations of those around you, and your own internal expectations is a crushing thing for anyone.

D) I find it strange that you're that worried about what I think about a fictional comic book character.

E) On the list of things that are important in life, I think most people would find that 'getting better at go' should rank below 'being a well balanced and sane individual'. Even pros are hardly ever 'singularly focused' upon go. They do show a great deal of dedication and perserverence. They do struggle with a harshly competative world to succeed. But they have other interests, and do things besides study go every minute of every day.

Hikaru no go is Not Real.

Thank you.
C-Sam

[Monadology]

I think it's less that Akira matters, and more that your attitude towards people of Akira's type, whether fictional or not, matters.

You also reference what most people consider "important in life," you also use the word "sane". All of these tend to be loaded terms that people unconsciously employ that create and reinforce implicit social norms. To use another example, often extroverted people will view those who keep to themselves with a similar kind of pity and view them as lacking "what's important." Certainly they are welcome to have their values, but it's very easy to step from that to a general atmosphere that excludes differently inclined individuals from a sense of 'normalcy'.

C) I would feel sorry for any child, in any field, struggling with the pressures and forces that Akira is dealing with, even if they became wildly successful in their field, be it sports, go, etc. To have a father who is 'the very best', to be under pressure from within and without to live up to not only your father's expectations, but the expectations of those around you, and your own internal expectations is a crushing thing for anyone.

This on the other hand I think is a pretty legitimate reason. In this case it's external factors and the pressure they exert not a question of Akira's fitting the "healthy" range of behavior/personality.

[palapiku]

D) I find it strange that you're that worried about what I think about a fictional comic book character.

I was talking to ketchup actually, but then you replied to to my post directed to him.