| abstract
| - 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).
* A Boy and His One-Thousand Years Old Go Master Ghost
* 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.
* 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.
* Always with You: Sai.
* 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.
* Badass Adorable
* Bad Liar: Lampshaded:
* Berserk Button: If you suggest to him that Shusaku's style is obsolete, he'll be out for blood.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
* Book Dumb: The better he becomes at Go, the less well 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.
* 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.
* Dream Sequence: Dreams about Sai, after he's gone.
* Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: After Sai disappears. Just look at him.
* Epiphany Therapy: Snaps out of his depression after playing a game with Isumi and realizing that Sai is still with him when he plays.
* Gender Blender Name
* Genius Ditz: Acts like an idiot frequently, not to mention his never-ending tongue slips, but eventually becomes a strong Go player.
* Green Eyes
* 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.
* 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.
* Naive 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 later.
* Oblivious to Love: Never seems to notice Akari's feelings for him.
* Ordinary Elementary School Student
* 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.
* 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 and Master Team: With Sai.
* Tears of Joy: After discovering that Sai is still with him when he plays.
* The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Is unhappy when Akira loses his first dan match.
* 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 dosen'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 dosen'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 dosen'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.
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