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Main Characters
Hikaru Shindou
Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (JP), Samuel Vincent (EN)
The protagonist of the series.
Hikaru is an ordinary sixth grader in elementary school. After stumbling upon a haunted Go board, he is possessed by the spirit of Fujiwara-no-Sai, a completely obsessed Go player from the Heian era.
At first Hikaru plays only for Sai, but soon after meeting and playing against some of the best Go players, he begins to develop an interest in Go. He also develops an initially unintended rivalry with Akira Touya, son of the world's top Go master. Hikaru joins his school's Go club and participates in tournaments. Later, in effort to catch up with Akira, he becomes an insei and finally a professional Go player (at 14 years old).
- Almighty Janitor: Hikaru is only ranked a 1st Dan because of his two months absence, which left leaving his official rank lagging behind his actual one.
- Always Second Best: We never actually get to see him beat Akira. The only times he did, it was Sai who was playing.
- Anime Hair: Black hair and blond bangs.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Inverted. He's able to concentrate on playing Go so hard that he can't hear people talking to him.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Gets better at playing Go after watching Sai play dozens of games on the internet.
- Bad Liar: Lampshaded:Sai: "Hikaru, you're getting better at lying."
Hikaru: (sourly) "It's all thanks to you." - Berserk Button: If you suggest to him that Shusaku's style is obsolete, he'll be out for blood. Also, he wasn't too pleased with two guys that ripped off the school club poster.
- Betty and Veronica: Could have worked out nicely with Akari as Betty and Akira as Veronica, if only Akira had been a girl. They even have Theme Naming.
- Big Eater: As is par for a traditional Shōnen protagonist.
- Book Dumb: The better he becomes at Go, the worse he does in school.
- Cavalier Competitor: Subverted. He beats Akira while treating the whole thing as a joke. Actually Sai was playing, with a slightly more serious attitude.
- Character Development: Matures throughout the series and grows from an ill-mannered brat to a person who has a clear goal in life, and values friendship. Is a rare case in which physical growth is shown alongside emotional.
- Child Prodigy: To a certain extent, might be called a Teen Genius. He learned Go in three years and became pro two years after learning the basics. He could match up against the other Child Prodigy, Touya Akira, when others in his age group could not.
- Confusion Fu: Both he and Yashiro use this while playing against each other.
- Disappeared Dad: Hikaru's father is seen very rarely. He's mentioned a few times as an afterthought and has zero impact on the story. Justified since many Japanese fathers do not have time to see their children due to work.
- The Dreaded: Several characters break into nervous fits at the thought of playing against him. Even Akira is terrified of him, though that's because of Sai's play in their first matchups.
- Dream Sequence: Dreams about Sai, after he's gone.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: After Sai disappears.
- Epiphany Therapy: Snaps out of his depression after playing a game with Isumi and realizing that Sai is still with him when he plays.
- Genius Ditz: Acts like an idiot frequently, not to mention his never-ending tongue slips, but eventually becomes a strong Go player.
- The Gift: Sai and The Meijin realize that Hikaru has a surprising raw talent for GO. Despite having starting as a weak player, he can find moves that are both unconventional and could turn the tide of a game with a single decision. This is what causes Sai to depart the mortal world, when Hikaru was able to discover a move that was close to be what considered the Divine Move during Sai's final game, Sai realizes that his reason for staying as a ghost was to get Hikaru realize this potential. It's not long afterwards that Sai is forced to move on.
- A God Am I: In a metaphorical sense. During the first time he playes at a tournament, he envisions the Go board as the universe and the placing of stones as creation of the stars, and gets a bit carried away. Since he was a new player, he lost horribly.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: More so when he's around Akari, for some reason.
- Heroic BSoD: After Sai dies, Hikaru stops playing Go for two months. But then...
- He's Back!
- Hidden Eyes: When undergoing emotional stress his bangs cover his eyes.
- Instant Expert: Subverted Trope. The first time he plays Akira, unable to even hold the game pieces correctly, he trounces the experienced prodigy... because Hikaru was actually being directed by Sai. This drives Akira nuts and becomes his primary driving force.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Sai.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Can be annoying, rude and loud mouthed, but is essentially a good person.
- Kid Hero: Is eleven years old at the beginning of the series.
- Like an Old Married Couple: He and Akira quarrel like an elderly couple... or a pair of seven year olds.
- Loose Lips: Is constantly spilling secrets and saying things he shouldn't.
- My Name Is Inigo Montoya: Inverted in one case. Instead of announcing himself, his opponent (Su-Young Hong) asks for his name, because he promised to remember it if he lost. Cue the dramatic name saying.
- Naïve Newcomer: To the world of Go.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Comes to visit the Go club and insists on playing despite Akari telling him that his presence might drive Mitani away. Of course Mitani decided to return to the Go club on that very same day, and Hikaru's presence drives him away. For a while, anyway.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Sometimes makes a move that looks like a mistake, but becomes useful la
- Oblivious to Love: Never seems to notice Akari's feelings for him.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Is unhappy when Akira loses his first dan match.
- Ordinary High-School Student: An elementary school student variant.
- Phrase Catcher: "You really don't know anything, do you?" Whenever someone gets annoyed at him being The Watson.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Is red to Akira's blue.
- The Rival: To Akira. Lampshaded multiple times. Hikaru specifically avoids developing too close a friendship with Akira because their rivalry is what gives both of them their competitive edge.
- Selective Obliviousness: Chooses to ignore and disregard all of Sai's warnings of his upcoming death. Even after it happened he refuses to believe it for a while.
- Spirited Competitor: Eventually.
- Student–Master Team: With Sai.
- Talking to Themself: When he's not talking to Sai in his head, he's talking out loud to him. Thank goodness no one questions his strange behavior or thinks there's something wrong with him.
- Tears of Joy: After discovering that Sai is still with him when he plays.
- Terror Hero: His playing style relies on fierce, risky attacks that break his opponent's will to fight, rather than on consolidating territory and slowly marching toward a victory. However, he plays with the trope in that he's generally a pretty nice kid.
- Took a Level in Badass: Becomes gradually better at Go over the course of the series.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Ramen. Lampshaded by Hikaru himself: "I think it's the greatest food in the world."
- Unknown Rival: Akira is his at first, when Hikaru doesn't take Go seriously and is completely bewildered by his attitude. However, it soon grows into a full fledged rivalry.
- Visual Pun: Occasionally wears shirts that have the numeral "5" on them. The number five is pronounced "go" in Japanese.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Akira, although it takes them a long while to get to that stage.
- The Watson: Hikaru is constantly berated by his fellow insei and teachers for not knowing anything about the Go world and its inner workings. Of course, the real reason he doesn't know anything is because most of the audience needs someone to ask the questions.
- What Would X Do?: Thinks about how would Sai play in his situation when he doesn't have a good move. He manages to win one of his most crucial games this way.
- You Wouldn't Believe Me If I Told You: While he never says this, this is the reason Hikaru never tries to tell anyone the truth about Sai.
Sai A.K.A. Fujiwara-no-Sai
Voiced by: Susumu Chiba (JP), Brad Swaile (EN)
A spirit from the Heian era who was once the Go instructor to the Emperor. His ultimate goal is to play the divine move (also known as the Hand of God).
After losing his livelihood and being unjustly blamed for cheating, Sai committed suicide by drowning. However, he still wanted to play Go, so he inhabited the body of a young boy who grew to be Honinbo Shusaku and played through him. After Shusaku died of a plague, Sai haunted his Go board until Hikaru discovered it.
Sai becomes Hikaru's mentor and occasionally plays through him. He holds a rivalry towards Kouyou Touya (a.k.a. Touya Meijin) who is the best Go player of the present age. At last he manages to play against Toya Meijin on the internet. Shortly afterwards he disappears.
- Agent Peacock: Is very effeminate by today's standards,note and is probably the best Go player that ever lived.
- Always Someone Better: He has been undefeated in every match he played.
- Angst: Not normally, but only once he realizes that he might not be able to play Go forever.
- Always with You: Sai reluctantly departs the mortal world once he gets Hikaru to realize his talent for Go, especially after witnissing Sai's and the Meijin's final online game. Hikaru is depressed and withdrawn when he realizes that Sai would no longer be around to accompany him, and considered quitting Go for good if it would bring back Sai. However in a casual game that Hikaru plays for old time's sake, he realizes that Sai would live on through him, and that the way to honor him is to continue to play Go. This give Hikaru the resolve to continue playing Go in a professional capacity.
- Berserk Button: Bullies drive him absolutely berserk.
- Beware the Nice Ones: All right, he could never actually hurt you, but he can defeat you in Go no matter how good you think you are.
- Blue Blood: Was a nobleman in the Heian era.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Every time he sees wrongdoers, his natural instinct is to teach them the errors of their ways, usually through a game of Go. Fortunately, Hikaru agrees and cooperates most of the time.
- Cool Teacher: He teaches Hikaru very well.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: He's so good at Go, that it is difficult for him to find an opponent he really has to struggle against. One example would be when he played against a shopkeeper who was cheating his customers. At a certain point of the game, when the shopkeeper was in bad shape, Sai suggested that they switch places, and then proceeded to win from a losing position.
- Determinator: Wouldn't give up on playing Go even after he died.
- Driven to Suicide: He drowned himself after his jealous rival accused him of cheating during a Go match, and causing him to lose both his reputation and his position as the Emperor's Go instructor.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Averted, despite being extremely pretty. Hikaru, the only one who can see him, doesn't mistake his gender for a minute. Curiously enough, he is voiced by a female voice actress in the Latin American Spanish dub.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Doesn't always get the respect he deserves from Hikaru.Examiner: "Is it true that you don't have a teacher? "
Hikaru: "Yes. Well I kind of do... A totally useless one."
Sai: "What? A totally what one, Hikaru?!" - Eccentric Mentor
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Is excited by things such as vending machines, calls television and computers "boxes" and aquarium fish "realistic looking fake fish", and is incredulous when Hikaru tells him that humans have been on the moon.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: He is completely unable to understand someone who's into Go for money, instead of for love of the game.
- The Glomp: Occasionally does this to Hikaru.
- High-Class Fan: He carries a paper fan, which he uses to cover his mouth while strategizing, which lends an air of mystery.
- His Quirk Lives On: After he disappears Hikaru buys a fan which looks like the one he used to carry and keeps it with him for Go games.
- Historical Domain Character: Not Sai himself, but the person he possessed before Hikaru, Honinbo Shusaku
, was a real Go player who is considered by many to be the greatest player of the golden age of Go. - I'm Standing Right Here: Since no one can see him except Hikaru, people will sometimes discuss Sai right in front of him.
- Invincible Hero: Is the strongest player in the series. Even the Meijin can't defeat him.
- Let's Get Dangerous!
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy
- Manly Tears: He's prone to Ocular Gushers, but he's a Heian nobleman. His behavior in general would have been considered the absolute height of manliness back in his day, and that includes the tears.
- The Mentor: Let's see. A mentor that travels with the hero? Check. Has a brilliant mind? Check. Is better skilled and more experienced than the hero? Check. His role is to introduce a new skill to the hero? Check. Has a very calm attitude? Che- Well... It depends.
- Mistaken Identity: A lot of confusion arises from the fact that he and Hikaru share a consciousness. Some people thought that his internet identity was Hikaru. The closest to guessing the truth were Waya, who thought Sai was Hikaru's teacher, and Akira, who figured out that Sai had been the one playing against him in their first game.
- Nice Guy: He's completely Go obsessed, but nevertheless a compassionate and caring person.
- No Sense of Personal Space: He tends to invade Hikaru's personal space when he hugs him or watches him play Go.
- Obi-Wan Moment: Dies peacefully after realizing that his work at helping achieve the divine move is done.
- Ocular Gushers
- One of the Kids: His only true companion is Hikaru and that does make him rather childish.
- Our Ghosts Are Different
- Parental Substitute: Was probably much more a father to Hikaru than his real father.
- Plucky Comic Relief
- Power of the God Hand: His objective is to attain it. He doesn't, but he pushes Hikaru along his own path to attaining it.
- Secret Identity: People know about Sai because he plays Go on the internet, and at some point everyone was trying to guess who he is.
- Serious Business: Playing Go is Sai's reason for existing. Not even death can keep him from the game.
- Spirit Advisor: His main purpose is to teach Hikaru how to play Go. There are also times where he gives Hikaru some valuable life lessons.
- Spirited Competitor
- Student–Master Team: With Hikaru.
- Tender Tears: Cries frequently, which in his own time would have been respected as a sign of intelligence and sensitivity. Nowadays it looks a trifle ridiculous.
- Undeath Always Ends: Once he completes his unfinished business, he finally passes on.
- Underestimating Badassery: Since he's inhabiting the body of an eleven year old child, it's inevitable.
- Unfinished Business: Didn't obtain the Hand of God. (Although that's kind of impossible to do.)
- Unknown Rival: To Touya Meijin, but that's not because Touya ignores him, rather because he's invisible. Eventually they do play against each other on the internet.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Is afraid of frogs, or at least is afraid of a spectacularly ugly shop owner whose smile was frog-like.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Knows that he is going to disappear long before he does.
Akira Touya
Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (JP), Scott Perrie (EN)
Hikaru's rival and son of Kouyou Touya, possibly the best Go player of the present age.
Learning to play Go from a young age, Akira is already a very strong Go player when Hikaru meets him. He is amazed by Hikaru's (actually Sai's) skills and becomes obsessed with discovering the secret behind Hikaru's strength. After playing against Hikaru himself he is disappointed and tries to forget about him, but is unable to do so. Becomes a pro at age thirteen.
- Almighty Janitor: While Akira goes up in rank throughout the series, his ability is far in excess of his ranking.
- Always Someone Better: Is this to most of the Go players his age.
- Badass Adorable: Especially when he is younger.
- Beneath the Mask: Is Hot-Blooded under his stoic facade.
- Berserk Button: Don't suggest to him that you play Go for money, as Hikaru learned the hard way.
- Berserker Tears: When playing against Hikaru at the tournament.
- Betty and Veronica: The Veronica, had he been a girl. (Opens Hikaru's mind to new possibilities and changes his world).
- Blatant Lies: Claims that he doesn't care about Hikaru in a way that makes it very clear that he does.
- The Chessmaster: Downplayed, as he usually doesn't try to be one. However, after Hikaru refuses to play against him, he goes to great lengths to insure Hikaru won't have a choice but to do so. Also trains Ochi and uses him to test Hikaru's strength.
- Chick Magnet: Quite a few girls from the Kaio Middle School Go club ask him to play a tutoring game with them, while blushing and giggling. Also, the receptionist from the Go Salon picks him up at school and drives him to the Salon, where she promises to serve him coffee and cake.
- Child Prodigy
- Curb-Stomp Battle: His game against Hikaru during the tournament of the school clubs was this. Akira was not pleased.
- His game against Okumura, who tried unsuccessfully to play a Mirror Match with him.
- Death Glare: Is quite◊ good◊ at it.◊
- Defrosting Ice King
- Determinator
- Follow In My Foot Steps: Inverted, since Akira has no problem doing exactly what his father does.
- Foil: To Hikaru. See Red Oni, Blue Oni.
- Hair Color Dissonance: In the manga it's dark blue, in the anime dark green. It's supposed to be black.
- Hot-Blooded: Though he hides it well, he actually can be very passionate. It's only apparent when it comes to Hikaru.
- The Idealist: He became slightly more jaded over the course of the story.
- Insufferable Genius: Is seen as such by some Go players (such as Kaga, Waya and Ochi), who interpret his indifference to them as disdain.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation
- Like an Old Married Couple: He and Hikaru bicker like an elderly couple, or rather like a pair of seven year olds. Hikaru is wonderful at bringing out Akira's immature side.
- Like Father, Like Son
- Lonely Rich Kid: Comes from a well-to-do family and doesn't seem to have any friends his age. However, the lack of friends is probably more due to the fact that he's a child prodigy Go player. Also, unlike many examples of this trope, he does not suffer from any sort of Parental Abandonment.
- Master of the Mixed Message: While not necessarily in a romantic sense, Akira's behavior in regards to Hikaru is very much this. First he is obsessed about him and chases him relentlessly, until he is disappointed and promises never to appear before Hikaru again. But won't stop thinking about him, and checking on him... and surprising him from behind... and watching his games... and asking questions about him. But will refuse to talk to him, and so on.
- No Sense of Humor
- The Perfectionist: Is so shaken by losing to Sai that he chases after Hikaru for quite a long while in order to defeat him.
- Rage Quit: When playing against Hikaru (as opposed to Sai) for the first time, he tries to do this, but his teacher stops him and forces him to finish the game. Inverted, Akira was angry not because he was losing, but because he was winning too easily.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Hikaru's red.
- The Rival: To Hikaru.
- Second Place Is for Losers: Does not like being told to throw his game, even if it's necessary to pacify an important politician. His solution is to intentionally play to a draw.
- Shy Blue Haired Boy: Brought up in the company of adults ever since he was young, he tends to be somewhat awkward and shy around peers his own age.
- Spirited Competitor
- Stalker without a Crush: Is almost completely obsessed with Hikaru/Sai, and constantly looks for opportunities to challenge him to a game. He sought out Hikaru at his school to challenge him to a game because Hikaru was no longer going to the go cafe. When Hikaru was playing online go as Sai, Akira ran all the way to an Internet cafe Hikaru was at because he suspected he was really Sai.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality
- Teen Genius: Grows into one.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: While teaching Ochi, insisted that he call him Sensei (teacher) for as long as the lessons last.
- Unknown Rival: Is this to Hikaru at first.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Hikaru, complete with a Hypocritical Heartwarming moment:Akira: (to a customer who disregards Hikaru) "Don't look down upon Shindou just because he's a first-dan." (Strides away indignantly.)Customer: (in bewilderment) "Weren't they just fighting?"
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Always seeks his father's approval, although he usually gets it.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Despite being male he fits the trope pretty well: calm, mature, joining the family business, coming from a traditional Japanese family etc. Except when it comes to Hikaru, where he becomes unusually aggressive.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Tells this to Hikaru when he's having his Heroic BSoD:Hikaru: "I'm no good."Akira: "You're no good, what do you mean?"Akira: "I disagree."
Students Of Haze Middle School
Akari Fujisaki
Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu (JP), Chantal Strand (EN)
Hikaru's childhood friend.
She begins to learn Go as well when Hikaru becomes interested and later joins the Haze Middle School Go club, serving as vice captain of the girls' team, despite her being a weak player. She also seems to have feelings for Hikaru, as noted by her two friends in the carnival and various other characters. Hikaru doesn't show much interest in her.
Although their connection weakens, she and Hikaru remain friends throughout the course of the series.
- Betty and Veronica: The Betty, if that wasn't clear.
- Can't Catch Up: She starts learning to play Go about the same time Hikaru does, but remains incredibly weak even at the end of the series.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Is seen preparing everyone's meals during the tournament and offering cookies she prepared in cooking class.
- Girl Next Door: As well as fitting personality wise, she is Hikaru's next door neighbor.
- Girlish Pigtails: Which show her youth and Tsundere qualities.
- Just Friends: She and Hikaru, with unrequited feelings on her side.
- Luminescent Blush: Blushes when Hikaru asks to play with her, a thing he never wanted to do. It's quite pretty.◊
- Naïve Everygirl
- Nice Girl: Genuinely cares about Hikaru's wellbeing.
- Out of Focus: After Hikaru leaves the Go school club, she is seen a lot less than before.
- Token Girl: The only girl close to being a main character.
- Tsundere: Type B. While normally sweet and kind, she's more than capable of shouting at Hikaru (or pelting him with Go stones) whenever she thinks he deserves it.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend
Kimihiro Tsutsui
Voiced by: Makoto Tsumura (JP), Keith Miller (EN)
President and founder of the Haze Middle School Go club.
When he founds the Haze Middle School Go club he is the only member, but through the efforts of Hikaru and Akari the club grows. Tsutsui graduates from Haze Middle School before his dream of defeating the Kaio Middle School Go club can be realized.
- Bookworm
- Character Development - Subtle and minor. He's noticeably more confident by the series' end.
- Club President: Founder, president and initially the only member of the Haze Middle School Go club.
- Curtains Match the Window: Gray hair and gray eyes.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: He strongly dislikes Mitani at first, and during a tournament publicly announcing his habit of cheating. A moment later, when a member of the Kaio Go club predicts that Mitani will try to "con a win", Tsutsui immediately jumps to his defense:Tsutsui: "What do you mean con a win? Mitani is... Mitani is... He's only a freshman, but he's ten times better than I am! He is our first board! Don't underestimate him."(Later, Mitani looks at Tsusui)Tsusui: (defensively) "I only told the truth."
- Lovable Nerd
- Nerd Glasses
- Nice Guy
- Odd Friendship: With Kaga, though perhaps friendship isn't exactly the right word.
- Put on a Bus: After he graduates Haze Middle School.
- Back for the Finale: Is seen watching Hikaru's match against Ko Yeong-Ha in the manga.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Kaga's red.
- Security Blanket: He relies on a strategy book during the tournament until Kaga forces him to give it up.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The sensitive guy to Kaga's manly man.
- Shrinking Violet: Downplayed. He has some elements of this.
- Team Mom
Tetsuo Kaga
Voiced by: Kentarō Itō (JP), Andrew Toth (EN)
President of Haze Middle School's Shogi club.
Kaga hates Go and prefers Shogi because his father forbade Shogi and forced him to play Go from an extremely early age, and because he always lost to Akira Toya.
He still plays Go from time to time to keep his skills limber. He participates in a tournament together with Hikaru and Tsutsui.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Subverted. While he first seems like one, he is revealed to have Hidden Depths.
- Club President: Is President of the Shogi club.
- Death Glare: Once, and once was enough.◊
- The Dreaded: "It's Kaga!" "Kaga! Who can silence a crying baby!" note Played for Laughs.
- Freudian Excuse: His father treated him pretty horribly.
- Hair-Trigger Temper
- Jerkass: Threatens and bullies people regularly, destroys a book on one occasion, and doesn't like Go.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Goes with Tsutsui to a tournament, and helps Hikaru when he wants to become an insei.
- Odd Friendship: With Tsutsui.
- Pride
- Minored In Ass Kicking: Purely in relation to the subject matter of the series. Kaga is primarily a Shogi player, but is good enough at Go to stand up against pretty much anyone that isn't an insei or pro.
- Put on a Bus: After he graduates Haze Middle School.
- The Bus Came Back /A Day in the Limelight: His last appearance is as the main in one of the side-stories in Vol. 18, helping Koike restart the Haze Go Club.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Tsutsui's blue.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The manly man to Tsutsui's sensitive guy.
- "Stop Having Fun" Guy
- Unknown Rival: To Akira, who lost to him on purpose because he didn't care about him.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: When he was younger.
Yuki Mitani
Voiced by: Yuu Asakawa (JP), Cathy Weseluck (EN)
The third member of the Haze Middle School Go Club.
Mitani is a rather good Go player who fell into the habit of cheating. After being taught a painful lesson, he is recruited by Hikaru for the Go club and remains a member throughout the series.
- Aesop Amnesia: Even after he loses 10,000 yen because of cheating, he still cheats while playing against Tsutsui and continues to talk about cheating for a while.
- Achilles in His Tent: Gets angry when Hikaru decides to leave the Go club in favor of chasing Akira, and quits the Go club, until his friends pester him back.
- Break the Haughty: Invoked by Shu-san, the owner of the Go salon who hires a hustler, Dake-san, to feed Mitani some Humble Pie. However, even he admits that Dake-san overdid it.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: He doesn't put nearly as much effort into his game as the other players.
- Cool Big Sis: Has one.
- The Cynic: Seems to believe that not noticing the other person cheating shows your hopeless naivety and proves that you didn't deserve to win in the first place. He also radiates apathy about life in general, although he gets better as time goes by because of The Power of Friendship.
- Deadpan Snarker: After Hikaru had practically dragged him to the Go club and sits him down in front of a Go board to play against Tsutsui, he points his thumb at Hikaru and asks, completely straight faced: "Is this guy always this forceful?"
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: To Hikaru, after he loses all his money, betting it on a game.
- Greed: Cheats for money even though he doesn't really need it.
- Ineffectual Loner
- Jerkass: Is arrogant and a shameless cheater.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Turns into this as time passes.
- Loners Are Freaks: His story almost seems to imply that only friends can stop you from committing immoral acts.
- Out of Focus: After Hikaru leaves the Go school club.
- Pride
- Recruiting the Criminal: Subverted, since he's recruited for his skill at playing Go, despite his criminal behavior, not because of it.
- Sour Supporter: Of the Go club.
- Token Evil Teammate: The most cynical, jerky and amoral member of the Haze Middle School Go club.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Is the only one to call Hikaru out on the somewhat selfish act of leaving the Go club.
Insei
Yoshitaka Waya
Voiced by: Reiko Takagi (JP), Matthew Erickson (EN)
An insei who is first introduced playing Go on the internet against Sai.
Later, after Hikaru turns into an insei, becomes his friend. Passes the pro exams the same year Hikaru does, at age 15.
- Achilles' Heel: Almost always to loses against Fuku, who is technically weaker than him.
- Berserk Button: Do not insult Isumi in front of him. Especially if your name is Mashiba.
- Big Brother Mentor: To Hikaru.
- Big Eater
- Book Dumb: Hates going to school. However, he is still pretty sharp as he deduces Hikaru is Sai's student based on what Hikaru slipped up. If it wasn't for Hikaru being an accomplished liar at that point, Waya wouldn't have let it go easily.
- Brutal Honesty: Doesn't hesitate to tell Hikaru how bad he is at Go.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Appears first as an anonymous internet player.
- Establishing Character Moment: Sending the message: "Hey Jerk! Don't quit the game just because I captured a bunch of your stones! Moron!". Although you have to take G.I.F.T into account.
- Fiery Redhead
- Fight Off the Kryptonite: Manages to beat Fuku, his Achilles' Heel, at the last match of the pro exams.
- A Friend in Need: He and Isumi help Hikaru get over his psychological fears before the pro exams despite the fact that they are making their opponent stronger.
- Hair-Trigger Temper
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Isumi.
- Hot-Blooded
- Inexplicably Identical Individuals: Him and Le Ping.
- Messy Hair
- Mr. Exposition: Waya often has to tell Hikaru (and the viewers) about various aspects of the go world.
- Rage Quit: Gets very angry when an internet player does this in a match against him.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Isumi's blue.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: Sometimes wears a sleeveless shirt.
- Talk to the Fist: Punches Mashiba without warning him or giving a chance to defend himself.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Hikaru seem to like insulting each other.
Shinichiro Isumi
Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (JP), Kristian Ayre (EN)
Another insei friendly with Hikaru, Isumi is the eldest in Hikaru's peer group, turning 18 during the series.
Despite being ranked first among the insei, he does not pass the pro exams. Later, he goes to China and studies there, and passes the pro exams a year later than Hikaru.
- Angst: Quite a lot during and after the pro exams.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Generally a very calm person, but after suffering from Heroic BSoD and losing a few crucial games, he was not in the mood to hear Ochi's taunting.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Tells Ochi, who was busy gloating, to shut up before they begin their game. Downplayed since he said it quietly, to match his tranquil fury.
- Curtains Match the Window: Blue hair and blue eyes.
- A Day in the Limelight: Gets a few episodes centering on his experience in China.
- Death Glare: Gives one◊ to Ochi before their match. As he's not the kind to usually give death glares, this served to emphasize his state.
- Emotions vs. Stoicism: Learns to control and deal with his emotions better while in China.
- A Friend in Need: He and Waya help Hikaru get over his psychological fears before the pro exams despite the fact that they are making their opponent stronger. Also forces Hikaru to play with him when the latter was suffering from Heroic BSoD.
- Heroic BSoD: After cheating by mistake in his game against Hikaru.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Suffers from this, but eventually, while in China, grows out of it.Isumi: (after losing a game) "It wasn't bad? I am dissatisfied with that game I just played. I'm not depressed at all. I'm just angry with myself for playing too aggressively because I thought I couldn't lose... For not being able to play my best..."
- He's Back!: After beating Ochi.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Waya.
- Hidden Eyes: When undergoing emotional stress his hair covers his eyes.
- Icy Blue Eyes/Innocent Blue Eyes: Often innocent◊ but can be icy◊ as well.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness:
- Is aghast when he learns that Yang Hai is using psychological tactics on Le Ping (such as coming late to make him angry) in order to help Isumi win his crucial game against him.
- He considers it a bitter memory that he even considered cheating in the pro exams, instead of resigning when he realized he'd violated a rule.
- In-Series Nickname: "Shin-chan", although only one person calls him that.
- Journey to Find Oneself: When he goes to China.
- Mr. Fanservice: The only character that has a shirtless scene.
- Nice Guy
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Passing the pro exams without losing once.
- Only Sane Man: Clearly considers himself this while going to visit Go salons with Hikaru and Waya. The other two are busy proposing dangerous challenges, fighting over what the reward will be, and eating vigorously.
- The Quiet One: Talks a lot less than his friends.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Waya's red.
- Shirtless Scene: Has a very short one while changing clothes.
- Shrinking Violet: While in China, alone among strangers and suffering from self confidence issues, he quickly turns into this for some time. It's also very apparent when he's being photographed before his beginner dan match with Kuwabara.
- To Be Lawful or Good: Cheats by mistake while playing against Hikaru during the pro exams, and hesitates for some time before resigning.
- Tranquil Fury: When playing against Ochi at the pro exams.
- Warrior Therapist: Strengthens Waya and Hikaru, helping them get over their fears and Hikaru's Heroic BSoD.
Kosuke Ochi
Voiced by: Youko Matsuoka (JP), Burkley Duffield (EN)
Another insei in the same group as Hikaru, Ochi is one of the youngest and the most talented, and very outspoken about his ability. Akira tutors him to find out about Hikaru's current strength.
He becomes a pro the same year that Hikaru does.
- Ambition Is Evil: While he is certainly not the only ambitious character and not really evil, he is the most ambition-obsessed. He rarely thinks of anything else, and lets it take over his whole life.
- Big Fancy House: His grandfather's, whom he regularly visits.
- Character Development: After Hikaru defeats him, their relationship mellows a bit. He is also shown in a more sympathetic light later, when he insists on playing against Yashiro.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Becomes jealous of the amount of attention Akira gives to Hikaru.
- Insufferable Genius: While he is one of the best insei up there with Isumi and Waya, he cannot beat Akira and later on Hikaru. He wanted to be Akira's rival.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation
- Jerkass
- Lonely Rich Kid: Though his loneliness is probably more due to his anti-social behavior.
- Loners Are Freaks
- No Social Skills
- The Perfectionist: He hates losing.
- Pride
- Scary Shiny Glasses
- The Short Guy with Glasses: Is one of the youngest and most talented insei, in addition to actually being short and wearing glasses.
- Spoiled Brat
- Trash Talk: Gloats about his assured victory against Isumi (who was suffering from Heroic BSoD). This was a mistake.Ochi: "You even lost to Fuku yesterday, Isumi-san? I'm disappointed. I thought that Isumi-san would be the biggest hurdle in towards my passing undefeated. You're too worried about Shindou. I kind of regret ever seeing you as a rival. Though thanks to that, it shouldn't be hard to pass undefea-"Isumi: "Ochi. (death glare) Shut up."
- Unwitting Pawn: Subverted. He understands very quickly that Akira only wants to use him, but eventually decides to go along with it.
Kaoru Kishimoto
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (JP), Brent Miller (EN)
Kaio Middle School Go club president and a former insei.
- Affably Evil: While the rest of the Kaio Go club was unpleasant towards the Haze Go club, Kishimoto was very polite towards his opponent, Mitani.
- Club President: The president of Kaio Middle School Go club.
- Feet of Clay: Played With, since he isn't completely incompetent. Hikaru thinks at first that he's an incredibly talented Go player, only to discover when he becomes an insei, that Kishimoto used to be an insei and was considered a fairly bad one.
- Flaw Exploitation: He beats Mitani by identifying his weakness and exploiting it.
- Good Is Not Nice: Gives Hikaru a "The Reason You Suck" Speech in order to motivate him.
- Manipulative Bastard
- Real Men Hate Sugar: Among the insei he is remembered mostly for his habit of drinking black coffee.
- Scary Shiny Glasses
- The Stoic
- Stoic Spectacles
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Hikaru after playing against him:"Quite a gap between you and Touya. No, I'm not talking about your strength. I'm talking about your attitude towards reaching your goal. [...] Having Touya as your goal while clowning around. Not only do you sicken me, you disappoint me as well. What exactly was it that Touya was chasing after?"
Asumi Nase
Voiced by: Atsuko Enomoto (JP), Alexandra Carter (EN)
The Insei of Class 1, and the prominent female protagonist after Akari went Out of Focus.
- Action Girl: As an Insei, she definitely qualifies.
- Badass Adorable: She's as much an Insei as the rest of them.
- Cool Big Sis: She acts as an unrelated one for Hikaru.
Professional Go Players
Kouyou Touya A.K.A. Touya Meijin
Voiced by: Eizou Tsuda (JP), Paul Dobson (EN)
Akira Touya's father and the best Go player in Japan. He rivals Sai, and like Sai, he also pursues the divine move.
He has an interest in Hikaru and requested to play him in the Beginner Dan series after Hikaru becomes a pro.
Following his defeat by Sai, he retires from the Japanese Go circuit and plays in China.
- Badass Boast: "This is my Go. The Go of the Meijin, Kouyou Touya!"
- Death Glare: Akira inherited it from somewhere.
- Follow In My Foot Steps: Subverted, since Akira has no problem doing exactly what he does.
- Good Parents
- Heroic RRoD: Collapses from overwork. At his age, maintaining five titles is just too much.
- Kimono Is Traditional: Always wears one, marking him as an Old Master.
- Like Father, Like Son
- May–December Romance: His wife looks a lot younger than him.
- No Sense of Humor
- Old Master: The oldest ordinary human player, and the best.
- The Patriarch
- Perpetual Frowner / When He Smiles: Compare this◊ (his normal expression), and this◊.
- Retired Badass: A subversion. He promises to retire if he loses to Sai, and does so, but then he moves to China and signs up with the Beijing team, where he can play against master-class players without the responsibilities that come with being an Institute professional.
- So Proud of You: Tells this to Akira when he was young:Akira: "Father, do you think I have talent at Go?"Kouyou Touya: "Talent at Go? I'm not sure if you have that or not. But even if you don't, you have two much greater talents. One is your willingness to try harder than anyone else. The other is your undying love of Go."
- Stern Teacher: To his son.
- The Stoic: When he's not frowning. (He basically has only two expressions).
- Worthy Opponent: To Sai. He even lampshades it.
Seiji Ogata
Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (JP), Michael Adamthwaite (EN)
A Go professional who is also a student of Kouyou Touya and soon takes the Judan and Gosei titles when Koyo Toya retires.
He keeps tropical fish and smokes heavily.
- Badass in a Nice Suit
- Broken Ace: Is one of the best Go players, good looking and apparently has money, but is also a very proud, deeply socially awkward and highly selfish geeky guy in his thirties whose personal life extends to his old Sensei and his tropical fish.
- Cool Car: Owns one.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Exact Eavesdropping: Subverted, he only hears Hikaru mentioning Sai, and immediately draws conclusions.
- Good Is Not Nice: As mentioned below, he manipulates both Akira and Hikaru in order to make both of them work harder and play better.
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Depends on how you view his character.
- Loners Are Freaks: His best friends are probably his pet fish, and you have to admit there is something weird about him, if not outright creepy.
- Manipulative Bastard: Keeps reminding Akira of Hikaru in order to motivate him, even after Akira makes it clear that he doesn't want to have anything to do with him anymore.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Anybody who thinks it is okay to drag a 14-year-old by his collar and pin him on the wall of the hospital hallway doesn't understand what personal space means.
- Pet the Dog: Gets enough moments of these to not be a plain Jerkass. For example, sponsoring Hikaru when he's applying to the insei exams.
- Pride
- The Resenter: The "I am still better than you" speech that he gives to Akira, after winning an official match against him, hints at this.
- Scary Shiny Glasses
- The Stoic: Tries to be one. However, the result usually is...
Kuwabara Honinbo
Voiced by: Rokurō Naya (JP), French Tickner (EN)
An elderly professional and current holder of the Honinbo title.
Kuwabara is friends with Toya Meijin, but rivals Ogata, whose challenge he defeats. In his title defence next year, he defeats the young fast-improving Kurata.
He is able to vaguely sense Sai's presence, and develops an interest in Hikaru.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He's an eccentric, genial old man, but he's also an extremely skilled player who easily trounce most pros.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Talking about his six sense, and laughing at completely random moments.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: He was able to sense Sai's presence, which supports his claim.
- Combat Pragmatism: Doesn't hesitate to use psychological tactics on his opponents.
- Determinator: Is a stubborn old man who won't give up his title, no matter what methods he has to use, much to Ogata's frustration.
- Eyes Always Shut: He opens them (or one of them), when he's paying attention to something.
- Kimono Is Traditional: Almost always wears one, marking him as an Old Master.
- The Obi-Wannabe: Most people consider him this. He seems aware of it, and is probably doing it intentionally. Gives unwanted advice in this fashion:"Sakamaki-san, did you know that Go is a two player game?""Of course I know that.""No, you don't."
- Psychic Power: Claims to have some sort of sixth sense that enables him to feel something particular about Hikaru (i.e. Sai's presence).
- Unusual Eyebrows: At least compared to the other characters.
Shigeo Morishita
Voiced by: Katsuhiro Kitagawa (JP), Richard Newman (EN)
A 9-dan pro who is Waya's go teacher and leader of the study group which Hikaru also frequents on Waya's invitation. He considers Touya Meijin a rival, since the two of them became pros at the same time.
- The Dreaded: Played for Laughs. Seaki suggests to Hikaru to exercise picturing his face before a match, so as not to get too relaxed.
- Eyes Always Shut
- Follow in My Footsteps: He tried to teach his children to play Go when they were younger, but they had no interest and he gave up on them.
- Hot-Blooded
- No Indoor Voice
- Parental Substitute: To Waya.
- Stern Teacher
- Unknown Rival: To Touya Meijin. He also forces his whole study group to be unknown rivals to Touya Meijin's study group.
Hiroyuki Ashiwara
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (JP), Chris Cound (EN)
The youngest pupil of Touya Meijin and one of Akira's friends.
- Big Brother Mentor: He is something of this to Akira.
- Butt-Monkey
- Friend to All Children: He was Akira's only friend when Akira was younger, and seems to get along well with all children.
- Friendly Enemy: Having no idea that Saeki is supposed to be his rival (at least according to Morishita), he's extremely friendly with him.
- The Generic Guy: Probably the most normal pro.
- Nice Guy
- Unknown Rival: Saeki is his, though not by choice.
Mitsura Mashiba
Voiced by: Hiroyuki Hoshino (JP), Michael Coleman (EN)
A former insei who passed a year before Hikaru. Played against Isumi during the Young Lions Tournament (the Wakajishi Sen).
- Born Lucky: He passed the pro exam more due to luck than talent, as he himself admits.
- Butt-Monkey: He loses to Kuwabara in his first dan match, falling for a simple psychological tactic, and is later mocked for it. During the Young Lions Tournament he plays against Isumi and loses miserably. When he tries to get back at him verbally, he gets punched by Waya.
- Collective Groan: Elicits one from all the insei the moment he appears on the scene. Even Ochi can't stand him.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Tries to degrade Isumi because he's jealous of him being a better player.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Acts so arrogant towards the insei because he's a mediocre player and he knows it.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Acting this way is the main reason why he's disliked.
- Sore Loser
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Tries to give one to Isumi, telling him that his victory wasn't worth anything because he didn't pass the pro exams. He gets interrupted by Waya.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating: Likes to gloat about passing the pro exam.
