Seasons & episodes
S1 · E19Hikaru's Strength 2002-02-20 · 24 min
Hikaru is slowly, but surely, getting better as evidenced when he beats Mitani in a game though with a handicap as well as Tsutsui. To play go with Sai, now that they decided not to play internet go anymore, Hikaru tries to get his gramps to buy him a go board/stones. When Hikaru beats a strong opponent at the go school, even to the astoundment of the teacher, he finally understands that one can only judge how strong others are when he's strong himself. He bumps into Kaio's first board when he's browsing a bookstore and the latter pulls him away to a match.
S1 · E20The Road to Becoming a Pro 2002-02-27 · 24 min
Kishimoto (Kaio's first board) played a match with Hikaru to find out his real strength and expressed his puzzlement as to why Akira sees Hikaru as a opponent when he's not as strong. Through Kishimoto, Hikaru realises the widening gap between Aikaru and himself and that it would be impossible to catch up with Akaru with Hikaru's current pace. All fired up, Hikaru decides to start off with enroling in the Insei program with becoming a Pro and defeating Aikra as his goal. However, he failed to realise that Inseis can't participate in Amateur tournaments. Thus, he's being forced to make a choice between being a Insei or quitting Haze Jr's Go Club.
S1 · E21The Haze Jr. High Go Club 2002-03-06 · 24 min
Hikaru is torn by the decision he has to make. An unlikely saviour came in the form of Kaga who proposed that Shindou quit the club after showing them how strong he is - by playing three of them at once (Mitani, Tsutsui and Kaga). Hikaru prepares to take the Insei exam. Having bumped into Hikaru at the institute, Waya's interest is piqued by Hikaru who declared to surpass Akira and remarked to Isumi that Hikaru will most probably pass the exam.
S1 · E22The Insei Examination 2002-03-13 · 24 min
Hikaru is losing the game in his anxiousness to win it. He freaks out when he realised that he didn't necessarily have win the game to pass as the purpose is for the examiner to gain an idea of his strength/potential. In reading the kifu, the examiner is amazed that Hikaru played the way he did during the 3-way match (with Mitani, Tsutsui & Kaga) and passed him. Hikaru unwittingly blurted out that Akira pursues him as a rival and received a cold reception from the Inseis who then see him as a threat. Waya and Isumi questioned Hikaru's validity when observing Hikaru's matches. Hikaru is shellshocked to find out that Kishimoto didn't even make it up to the upper half of the Insei class when he was an Insei and had quitted trying.
S1 · E23The Room of Yuugen 2002-03-20 · 24 min
Hikaru aims to progress to the first class of the Insei program where Waya and Isumi take the top spots. Both of them wanted to pass the Pro exams quickly this year, due to various personal reasons. Ogata feels that Akira doesn't seem to have much of a fighting spirit recently and bring him to the insitute to show him that Hikaru had gotten into the Insei program. It succeeded in provoking Akira to rev up his pace. Hikaru learns of the new dan series that is to take place in The Room of Yuugen and witnessed for himself, the imposing presence/aura of the room. Meanwhile, the end of the episode marks the start of Akira's first dan match with Zama-sensei.
S1 · E24Ouza vs. Akira 2002-03-27 · 24 min
Although Ouza initally contemplated letting Akira win the match as a form of encouragement, he is angered by Akira's nonchalent attitude and decided to crush him completely. Akira forgot the safer strategy which could have won him the match, in order to show Hikaru his play. While the first snowflakes that mark the arrival of winter fell, Sai muses on the symbolic link between Hikaru and Akira and likened the presence of Akira as being placed there by God to help Hikaru on his path.
S1 · E25Sai's Sword Unsheathed (1) 2002-04-10 · 24 min
HIkaru can't seem to get any better at Go, despite the fact that he plays with Sai every day. If he wants any chance to get into a tournament and face Akira, he needs to get stronger. Sai reveals the ultimate weakness of Hikaru, he's afraid of Sai, and every other opponent he faces.
S1 · E26The Greatest Wall for Hikaru (2) 2002-04-10 · 24 min
With help from Sai, Hikaru overcomes his weakness and finally makes it into the A league. Back at school, Kaga and Kimihiro have already graduated to HIgh School. Now that Hikaru's in the A league, he's slowly reaching his goal of 16th. He's even able to defeat Fuku, someone who not even Waya can defeat. Waya is Hikaru's next opponent, and Waya's confident that Hikaru will lose. That is, until HIkaru accidentally blurts out what the online user Sai said to him. Can Hikaru defeat Waya and prove to Waya that he isn't Sai at the same time?
S1 · E27A Place To Go Back To 2002-04-17 · 24 min
Yuuki Mitani decides to go back to the Go Club.
S1 · E28The Wakajishisen 2002-04-24 · 24 min
The top 16 in the A league all take part in the Young Lions Tournament. If Hikaru can manage to get past the first round, he'll finally get to face Akira again. Meanwhile, Isumi faces an old rival, and everyone wants Isumi to put him in his place. As Sai and Ogata monitor Hikaru's game, they become shocked when Hikaru turns a bad move into a good move. However, when the round ends, only 3 Insei will have made it to the next round.
S1 · E29Kuwabara Honinbou 2002-05-01 · 24 min
Ogata and Kuwabara are anticipating their matches for the Honinbou title, both anxious to greet the upcoming wave of pros in the Go world. Meanwhile, a guy who has won many college titles for Go and is well-known among the Insei is planning on taking the Go test.
S1 · E30Ogata vs Honinbou 2002-05-08 · 24 min
Ogata and Kuwabara Honinbou continue their set of matches for the Honinbou title. They are on their final match, both having won the same number of games. When Ogata plays a sealed move for the first time, will he be able to follow up his actions and defeat Kuwabara?
S2 · E1The Preliminary Starts 2002-05-15 · 24 min
Hikaru takes the prelims to qualify for the Pro exams whereas Waya/Isumi are admitted straight to the finals being among the top 8 of the Insei program. Hikaru is intimidated by Tsubaki, a really loud and brash guy, who turns out to be his first opponent. Tsubaki plays mind games with Hikaru and won the match. For Hikaru, the loss highlighted his inexperience with playing with adults since starting go and it represents a hurdle he has to overcome to reach his goal.
S2 · E2The Last Day of the Preliminaries 2002-05-22 · 24 min
Hikaru is overwhelmed in playing go with adults and his second loss placed him at a precarious position (third loss means an ousting). As desperation climbs, he becomes more determined than ever by drawing his inspiration from Akira. Fortunately, his third match with Fuku started him on a winning roll. While Waya/Isumi were practicing at a Go salon, a customer gave them the address of another Go salon where there're supposedly many experts. Waya/Isumi decided to drop by the Institute to check on the gang and are dismayed to find out about Hikaru's performance. Hikaru won his last match by default and gained entry to the pros exams. Waya decided to bring Hikaru along on their Go salon visits after hearing about his encounter with Tsubaki.
S2 · E3Team Formed! 2002-05-29 · 24 min
This is a very fun episode where Waya, Isumi and Hikaru form a team to go around challenging the patrons of the various Go salons. The bet being that they won't have to pay the admission fees in event of a win and Waya raises the stakes even higher by allowing a few moku handicap in subsequent games, much to the protests of Isumi/Hikaru (since they have to wash all the stones if they lose). Hikaru becomes friendly with a particular go salon named 'Heart of Stone' and its patrons. Through this exercise, Hikaru manages to overcome his weakness in playing go with adults.
S2 · E4Don't Win 2002-06-05 · 24 min
At a Friendly Go festival, Akira was invited to play a 4-way game with a council member and his three assistants. Though originally told to lose the game, Akira decides otherwise when the council member shows disrespect to Go by placing a cup on a Go board. Akira displays his amazing prowress by forcing a draw on all 4 players. Ashiwara feels that Akira should take it easier by just participating in the pro games but Akira just mutters to himself 'But he passed the prelims to the pro exams'. Meanwhile, Hikaru grows his mastery of go at the Heart of Go salon where he learns how to force a draw in 2-way/3-way games.
S2 · E5There Is Only One Winner 2002-06-12 · 24 min
Isumi, Waya and Hikaru decides to go to a recommeded Go Salon and Hikaru bumps into a rude young boy at the convenience store. Sai advises Hikaru not to pursue the incident as he senses that the young boy had some issues with himself. Upon entering the salon, the trio realised that it's a Korean Go salon (Koreans are known for their strength/domination in the Go world)and that the rude young boy is the owner's nephew called Su Young - a Korean insei-equivalent. Back at the institute, the editorial team was discussing Japan's poor performance in the world stage and Korea/China's domination. When Hikaru challenges Su-Young to a match, it turns into a Korean Vs Japan fight-out. The owner recounts Su-Young's history to Isumi. Su-young has been a very promising young talent who rose quickly through the ranks but a losing streak demoralises him to the extent of almost quitting Go and his parents sent him on a holiday to Japan. As the game starts, Hikaru vows to win and let Su-Young remember
S2 · E6My Name is... 2002-06-19 · 24 min
Hikaru plays a Korean Insei-equivilant at a Go Salon.
S2 · E7The Pro Exam Begins 2002-06-26 · 24 min
The Pro Exam has finally begun, and the intensity reaches new heights after the pairings are chosen. Everyone seems so tense, except for Hikaru, who is unusually calm. Thanks to Waya and Isumi, Hikaru has learned how to handle the pressure. However, could their actions have turned Hikaru into a real threat?
S2 · E8The Challengers 2002-07-03 · 24 min
Hikaru and Tsubaki must face each other in the Pro matches, and Akira begins teaching Ochi in an attempt to learn how strong of a level Hikaru is playing at.
S2 · E9The Dead Moment 2002-07-10 · 24 min
Isumi has gone on undefeated, while Hikaru has lost only one game so far. The time finally comes for them to play each other, and only one of them can win.
S2 · E10Whereabouts of the Win 2002-07-17 · 24 min
After losing to Hikaru, Isumi begins to break down and begins losing his matches. Hikaru is also having trouble concentrating, upset about pointing out Isumi's illegal move. As Sai helps Hikaru regain his concentration, Isumi faces off against Ochi. Perhaps this game will be enough to return Isumi to his old self.
S2 · E11Three Weeks Isn't Enough! 2002-07-24 · 24 min
Realizing that Hikaru is getting stronger, Ochi swallows his pride and decides to ask Akira for help. When Akira tells Ochi about the game Hikaru played against Su-Young, Ochi realizes that Hikaru is a serious threat and that three weeks might not give him enough practice. However, Ochi still doesn't understand why Akira is obsessed with Hikaru, forcing him to show Ochi the match at the Go Salon from two years ago, the game where Hikaru destroyed him!
S2 · E12The First One to Pass 2002-07-31 · 24 min
The Pro Exam is nearing its end as the last three matches arrive. Ochi, Waya, and Hikaru are currently the top three, and Ochi is at the point where he'll pass even if he loses all of his matches. Hikaru and Waya must still be careful, as a loss or two could cause them to lose their spots.