23 Years Later, Legendary Shonen Jump Series Returns With New Release From Creator

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A famous artist known for a popular Shonen Jump series has returned to the franchise after 23 years with a special treat for fans. While Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is currently focused on launching new series, it’s also been honoring its past successes. Many beloved franchises have recently celebrated major anniversaries, and now another one by renowned artist Takeshi Obata is joining the festivities.

Originally published in 1998 in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata, Hikaru no Go sparked a widespread interest in the game of Go. While it didn’t achieve the same global popularity as Obata’s later series like Death Note and Bakuman, it remains a beloved classic. Now, 23 years after the manga concluded, Obata has created new artwork to celebrate a special exhibition being held this summer in Japan. You can find the new art below.

Hikaru no Go Artist Returns With Special Art After 23 Years

A special art exhibition honoring the popular series Hikaru no Go will open in Japan this July, celebrating its lasting impact alongside other titles from Shonen Jump. The series felt innovative for its time and influenced many action-packed stories that followed. While centered around the strategic board game Go, Hikaru no Go captured an exciting, shonen-style energy that made every chapter feel full of action and suspense.

This series pioneered a popular formula seen in many other successful Shonen Jump titles. You can see its influence in works like Death Note and Bakuman by Obata, as well as more recent hits like Akane-banashi. It takes an unexpected premise and builds intrigue through elements like competitions and supernatural abilities. That’s why it remains so beloved even today.

What Happened to Hikaru No Go?

While Hikaru no Go was moderately successful in Japan, it didn’t gain much traction in the United States. Despite initial excitement when announced as a future Toonami release, it never aired on television. The series, which consisted of 80 episodes, was only available through streaming on the now-defunct Toonami Jetstream. As a result, the last episodes were never officially released in the U.S. after the platform shut down.

I remember watching Hikaru no Go and thinking it was a really special series, but it never quite broke into the mainstream. I think its limited availability and the fact that it centered around the complex game of Go kept it from reaching a wider audience. While the artist, Obata, later became incredibly famous for other works, I suspect a lot of his fans don’t even realize he created Hikaru no Go in the first place – it feels like a hidden gem.

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2026-05-23 19:10