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While rummaging through his grandfather's attic searching for valuables to pawn, sixth-grader Hikaru Shindo discovers an antique Go board marked by bloodstains only he can see. Suddenly, the board releases the spirit of Fujiwara no Sai, a legendary Go master from the Heian era who tragically committed suicide after being falsely accused of cheating. Trapped in the modern world with an unquenchable desire to achieve the Divine Move, Sai convinces Hikaru to let him play through him. Matching wits against prodigy Akira Toya, Hikaru is captivated by the ancient board game, embarking on his own professional journey.
⚠ Background — may contain spoilers
Studio Pierrot animated this iconic seventy-five-episode sports television series, which broadcast between October 2001 and March 2003. Directed by Susumu Nishizawa, Tetsuya Endo, and Jun Kamiya, the anime adapts Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata's bestselling manga serialized in *Weekly Shounen Jump*. The production was officially supervised by real-world professional Go master Yukari Umezawa. The series triggered a historic, unprecedented cultural craze across East Asia, inspiring millions of young school children to take up the ancient board game of Go. The production won the Shogakukan Manga Award and remains an undisputed masterpiece of sports anime.
Established in 2002 and launched as an independent event in 2014, the Tokyo Anime Award Festival (TAAF) is an annual international animation festival hosted in Tokyo, Japan. Operating under the slogan "TOKYO is the HUB of contemporary ANIMATION," its goal is to discover new talent, promote animation culture, and celebrate outstanding works worldwide.
