Hikaru no Go · Episode 26
Welcome to the A-League!
2002-04-1025 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?
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1Eternal Rivals2001-10-1025 minSixth grader Hikaru Shindo stumbles upon a mysterious Go board with a blood stain on it. Before he knows it he's hearing voices, one voice to be exact. The voice of an ancient Go instructor, Sai of the Fujiwara. Sai occupies a space in Hikaru's mind. Hikaru is the only one who can see, hear, or talk to Sai. Sai's one and only desire is to play Go. But he can only do that via Hikaru's body. However, Hikaru has no interest in playing Go. Will Hikaru allow Sai to play? And who is this mysterious young boy, Akira Touya?2The Key Point2001-10-1725 minWith the recent defeat of the Meijin's son, Hikaru goes about his day normally. However, Akira is obsessing over the game he lost. He won't do anything but stare at the Go board and replay the game that he lost. When he gets word that Hikaru is at a Children's Go Tournament, he rushes there hoping to confront Hikaru and ask for a rematch.3Akira Bares His Fangs2001-10-2425 minAfter confronting Hikaru, Akira challenges him to a rematch. As they sit down to play, Sai notices Akira's fangs bearing down on him. Will Sai go easy on Akira, or will he crush him? And, what will happen when the Meijin challenges Hikaru to a game?4Kaga of the Shogi Club2001-10-3125 minAkari invites Hikaru to the Haze Junior High festival. Hikaru reluctantly goes, but cannot find Akari anywhere. So, while walking around he stumbles upon a group of kids around a Go board. Tsutsui, the head of the Haze Junior High Go Club, is holding a competition. The prize is a book entitled "Assorted Tsumego from Touya Meijin's Matches". After seeing this Sai is eager to win it. But, can he with the sudden appearance of the Shougi captain, Kaga?5An Inkling of an Awakening2001-11-0725 minAfter loosing the game to Kaga, Hikaru is forced into joining a Jr. high school Go Club Tournament. He is to join Tsutsui and Kaga as the third member for the Haze Jr. High Go Club team for the tournament. But when Hikaru insists that he wants to play for himself, will he come out victorious?6A Game of Beauty2001-11-1425 minThe finals of the Third Annual Junior High Go Tournament - Kaiou Junior High V. Haze Junior High. With a score of 1-1 it is up to Hikaru to win it for Haze. Can he do it? And what will happen when Akira spots Hikaru playing?7I’m Not Going to Play You!2001-11-2125 minHikaru is now in Haze Middle School and joins the Go club. Akira Toya is now in Kaio. He pays a visit to Haze and challenges Hikaru to a match. Will Hikaru accept to play him?8Rainy Day Strategy2001-11-2825 minAkira is too good against everyone at Kaio's Go club. The members don't take this sitting down, as three of them plan to take him down.9Eyesore2001-12-0525 minAkira is still loathed in the Go club, but he doesn't care. Even the club's sensei has bad feelings about him being there. How long will Akira stay in the club?10The Third Player2001-12-1225 minA boy named Yuki Mitani solves a challenging problem on the Haze Go club's posters. Hikaru knows they need a third member really badly, and tries to convince Yuki to join. However, he soon discovers Yuki's true strength.11A Very Despicable Act2001-12-1925 minThe Go Sallon Yuki goes to doesn't mind giving him money for winning games, but they are tired of him cheating to get it. They hire a skilled player who pretends not to know anything about Go to teach Yuki a lesson. Unfortunately, Yuki falls for the trick and ends up betting 10,000 yen (about $90). Can Yuki manage to defeat this skilled player?12No Cheating Allowed2001-12-2625 minAfter Hikaru gets back Yuki's money, Yuki decides to join the club, but refuses to play in the tournament. Tsutsui explains how strong Kaio is and Yuki changes his mind. But will he play without cheating? Meanwhile, Akira discovers that Hikaru is the third board in the tournament and begs the club sensei to put him there. Is Akira willing to give up all his pride and his reputation, just for this one spot?13A Personal Resolve2002-01-0925 minHikaru, Tsutsui, and Yuki all manage to defeat their first round opponents. But, the next next round won't be so easy as they face of against Kaio. Hikaru is excited about facing Akira, but wishes he had more time to get stronger. However, Hikaru soon learns during the break that Akira was treated very harshly in Kaio's Go Club, but he never quit because he was chasing after Sai. Touched by the story, Hikaru informs Sai that he will play Akira instead of him.14The Third Match2002-01-1925 minAkira is quite tense at the fact that he is finally facing Hikaru, or rather Sai. All is going well, until Hikaru notices a point that he thinks should be played and Sai doesn't play it. Determined to find out why, Hikaru takes over and plays it. Sai reveals that the move might have worked, if Hikaru was good enough to back that move up. How will Akira handle the situation when he sees Hikaru really play?15The Ghost in the Net2002-01-2625 minHikaru let's Sai play Go online, that way nobody will think Hikaru is really good when in reality he's not.16Who Is Sai?2002-01-3025 minEveryone is anxious to find out just who this mysterious user named "Sai" is. How long can Hikaru keep playing before he gets caught?17The Match of Revelation2002-02-0625 minPlayers who have been following Sai's net matches attended the 20th International Amateur Go Tournament in Japan. A commotion occurs at the mention of Sai's name as everyone is trying to who out who he is. The commotion caught the attention of Ogata and Akira. When Akira and Sai engaged in a match over the net, the former is reminded of his first match with Hikaru. Akira discontinues the match so as not to disrupt the ongoing tournament but fixes a date for a match with Sai which happens to be on the first day of Akira's Pro exams.18Akira vs. Sai2002-02-1325 minAkira skipped his first match of the Pro exams in order to play the match against Sai on the net. Akira is perplexed over the identify of Sai which he thinks might be Hikaru while Ogata has his own thinking. Players all over the world are observing the match. Though Akira lost the match, he feels as though he had finally caught up with 'Hikaru'/Sai. When Akira heard from a Go cafe customer that Hikaru was sighted at an internet cafe, he races to the site thinking that he might be Sai. Hikaru denies he's Sai but gets ruffled when Akira seems to disregard him as a opponent. The episode ended…19Hikaru’s True Strength2002-02-2025 minHikaru 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.20The Road to Turning Pro2002-02-2725 minKishimoto (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…21The Haze Middle School Go Club2002-03-0625 minHikaru 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.22The Insei Test2002-03-1325 minHikaru 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…23The Championship Room2002-03-2025 minHikaru 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…24Akira vs. the Oza2002-03-2725 minAlthough 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.25Fear and Impatience2002-04-1025 minHIkaru 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.26Welcome to the A-League!2002-04-1025 minWith 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?27A Place to Return2002-04-1725 minYuuki Mitani decides to go back to the Go Club.28The Young Lions Tournament2002-04-2425 minThe 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.29Kuwabara Hon’inbo2002-05-0125 minOgata 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.30Ogata vs. the Hon’inbo2002-05-0825 minOgata 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?31The Awful Opponent2002-05-1525 minThe Prelims for the Pro Exams are about to start! Hikaru starts off on an unlucky streak when he draws Tsubaki, a loud and overbearing biker who uses his time to think about his moves…on the back of his motorcycle…32The Last Day of the Prelims2002-05-2225 minAfter losing two games in a row, Hikaru’s self-confidence is shaken…33We’re a Team!2002-05-2925 minIn the hopes of helping Hikaru get over his fear of playing adults, Waya and Isumi take him to a Go Salon to take on opponents of a more mature nature…34No Winning Allowed!2002-06-0525 minAt a local festival Akira is asked to play 4 players simultaneously including Kurimoto, a boorish and rude city councilman. To make matter worse, he’s been asked by the festival organizers to let Kurimoto win…35Only One Can Win2002-06-1225 minOn the recommendation of a fellow Go player, Hikaru, Waya and Isumi try out a new Go Salon that’s different from the rest…36My Name Is...2002-06-1925 minAfter a contemptuous and intense battle, Hikaru triumphs over Su-yong, leaving his Korean opponent more determined than ever to take on Hikaru once again…37The Pro Exam Begins2002-06-2625 minIt’s time for the Pro Exam and Hikaru’s starting off with six straight wins in a row. Can he keep his winning streak going or will his fellow insei knock him off his undefeated pedestal...?38The Challengers2002-07-0325 minAs the Pro Exam continues, Hikaru learns from his fellow opponents that the road to turning pro isn’t as easy as it appears to be.39An Ill-Fated Moment2002-07-1025 minReady to take on an undefeated Isumi, Hikaru knows he’s in for a tough match…40Where Are the Victories?2002-07-1725 minWith the pressure mounting, Isumi makes a wrong move forcing him to resign and forfeit the match…41Three Weeks Isn’t Enough!2002-07-2425 minDetermined to get his game back on track, Isumi takes on Ochi with a vengeance. But Ochi is more concerned with his final opponent: Hikaru.42The First to Pass2002-07-3125 minNow that the Pro Exam is winding down, the stronger players are beginning to distinguish themselves from the weaker ones…43Hikaru vs. Waya2002-08-0725 minNow that Ochi has passed the Pro Exam, there are only two spots remaining. With only two games left in the exam, Hikaru faces off against Waya…44Comeback from the Brink2002-08-1425 minAs Hikaru takes on Waya to advance towards the pros, Waya notices that his opponent’s game bears a interesting resemblance to Sai…45Hikaru vs. Ochi2002-08-2125 minGearing up for the match, Ochi reveals to Hikaru that he has been studying with Akira Toya in the hopes of learning how to beat him in the pro exam…46The Final Day of the Pro Exam2002-08-2825 minIt’s down to the wire as to who will make it into the world of the pros. Will Hikaru upset Ochi, the newly crowned pro, or will Isumi sneak by with his four losses...?47Into the World of the Pros2002-09-0425 minNow that Hikaru’s gone pro, he can’t wait to play all the top pros, including Akira Toya and his father, Toya Meijin…48Sai vs. Meijin2002-09-1125 minThe ever-busy Toya Meijin has finally decided to participate in the Shinshodan Series on one condition: his opponent must be Hikaru Shindo…49A Game of Desperate Measures2002-09-1825 minFrom newly-turned pros Ochi and Waya to Go-playing veterans Ogata and Kuwabaru Hon’inbo, everyone’s got their eye on this match between Hikaru and Toya Meijin…50Fujiwara-no-Sai2002-09-2525 minIn order to better understand why the spirits of Go have kept his soul on the planet, Sai reflects upon his life during the Heian Period as well as when he met Hikaru and faced Akira Toya.51Kurata 6-Dan2002-10-0225 minFeeling the need to cheer up a depressed Sai, Hikaru takes him to an Amateur Go Festival, where they expose a local merchant selling counterfeit Go merchandise and meet Atsushi Kurata, a friendly, but overconfident pro who delights at giving by signing fans for his most devoted fans...52Hikaru vs. Akira2002-10-0925 minAll dressed up to receive his 1-dan certificate, Hikaru learns about the Oteai, a series of games that determine a player’s ranking as well as who his first opponent will be…53The Acknowledgement of Sai2002-10-1625 minToya Meijin falls victim to a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital. Hikaru goes to visit him and discovers that he’s supplementing his recuperation by playing Go on the internet…54The Excited Mounts2002-10-2325 minNow that Toya Meijin is playing Internet Go, the world is abuzz with excitements, watching a professional champion play online…55Sai vs. Koyo Toya2002-10-3025 minThe wait is over! Sai and Toya Meijin face off in a match that has the entire world glued to their computer screens. Who will triumph and discover the Divine Move?56After a Millennium Comes the Answer2002-11-0625 minWith the Sai finally facing Toya Meijin, the entire world of Go sit on the edge of their seat. Who will triumph in this battle of epic proportions?57Let Me Play Sai!2002-11-1325 minNow that the match has ended, Hikaru tries to talk Toya Meijin out of his fateful decision…58One-Color Go2002-11-2025 minAfter running into Kurata 6-Dan at Ramen Shop, Hikaru challenges him to game of Go…59Koyo Toya Retires!2002-11-2725 minFulfilling his promise to Hikaru, Koyo Toya resigns from playing Go professionally, sending shockwaves throughout the world.60Farewell Hikaru2002-12-0425 minHikaru gets invited to a Go seminar and gets an unavoidable request from Ogata to play Sai, who senses that his time with Hikaru is rapidly coming to an end.61Is Sai Really Gone?2002-12-1125 minThe time has come for Sai to leave has come, leaving Hikaru angry and frustrated.62Hiroshima’s Strongest Player2002-12-1825 minWhile in Innoshima, Mr. Kawai stumbles into a Go Salon where, as a result of a misunderstanding, he finds himself owing a lot of money to Shuhei, a formidable Go player who is enormous both in size and talent.63I Won’t Ever Play Again!2002-12-2525 minHikaru goes through old game records to find past matches with the great Hon’inbo Shusaku…64●Keichou Flower Bowlsfiller2003-01-0825 minIn this bonus flashback episode, Hikaru and Sai encounter an antiques dealer who sells counterfeit heirlooms he claims are from the distant past…65●Isumi no Gomixed2003-01-1525 minIn order to rediscover his game, Isumi goes to China where he meets a young, impulsive player who bares a striking resemblance to a friend and fellow former insei.66●Fateful Encounterfiller2003-01-2225 minBack before Hikaru Shindo met Akira Toya, a young Children’s Go champion pays Akira a visit to the Go Salon in order to challenge him.67●Isumi’s Testmixed2003-01-2925 minStill in China, Isumi decides to stay and to improve his game and boost his confidence. With the help of his new friend Yang Hai, he challenges the bratty Le Ping to a rematch…68Losing by Default2003-02-0525 minWith Hikaru giving up on Go, everyone is worried, including his mother, who vents her concerns to his teacher.69A Determined Visitor2003-02-1225 minIsumi returns to Japan a stronger and more focused player. He soons discovers what everyone else already knows: Hikaru Shindo is losing his games by default…70Sai Was Here...2003-02-1925 minIsumi finally tracks down Hikaru and pleads with him to play one game with him. Hikaru, fearful that if he plays Sai will not return, reluctantly agrees…71Making a Comeback2003-02-2625 minHikaru’s back to his old self and ready to move up the rankings of professional Go. First up is Murakami, a pro who previously defeated Hikaru in the Young Lions Tournament.72The Race Is On2003-03-0525 minNow that Hikaru’s playing again, he’s drawn the attention of Go Players throughout Tokyo, as well as the readers and writers of Go Weekly.73Shindo vs. Toya2003-03-1225 minThe match-ups for the Meijin Qualifiers is out and it’s Hikaru vs. Akira in the first round.74The Power Within2003-03-1925 minThe match everyone has been waiting for has finally begun! With every move, the game builds with a fevered intensity.75A Nostalgic Smile2003-03-2625 minAs they break for lunch, Akira confronts Hikaru on the fact that he has discovered that Sai is within him. After the game, Hikaru goes home and goes to sleep…
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