After the turning point of the last book, in volume 16, Hikaru has given up on go as a way of punishing himself. His former classmates and competition don’t want to let him leave, though, seeking him out to find out what’s going on, since he disappeared without giving anyone a reason. Meanwhile, Isumi is playing demonstration matches in China. Isumi previously left his go club after struggling and failing to pass the test to become a professional. His story […]

Sawako’s classmates are scared of her because she looks like a character from a horror movie, with her long black hair, heavy bangs, and pale skin. (Me, I thought she looked like a typical Japanese manga schoolgirl.) She copes by doing every good deed she can and volunteering for tasks at school, so that people will like her for being helpful. She’s making the best of her loneliness. If she can’t be liked, at least she can make herself useful. […]

From the first color page of this volume, I’ve never seen pink look so menacing. The big-nosed Professor Ochanomizu is trying to spend his day off from the Ministry of Science at a park, but his mandatory security detail robot interrupts the respite. The professor finds a discarded dog-bot and tries to repair it, but the parts are too old and can’t be found anymore. This first chapter is astounding in its achievement. The reader thinks they know what’s going […]