I Became a Shogi Saint in Japan

First, regarding the quality of Japanese people The overall quality of Japanese people is indeed quite good nowadays, simply because Japan is a developed country and has a high rate of higher education. There's no need to overhype the Japanese people's manners.

Specific disadvantages The author overdoes it, relying primarily on face-slapping stunts to drive the plot. Around chapter 40, the author might want to take a look at similar novels. From my personal perspective, there are only two types of writers who write about Japan. One goal, the process is the scenery along the way plus other trivial daily details, such as absolute first place.

Since the author has mentioned the cycle of three kalpas, we must mention the most famous three kalpas scenario in history, played by Luo Xihe. Today, I'll provide a brief explanation. This is the decisive game in Luo Xihe's Samsung Cup semi-final against South Korean player "Choi Cheol-han" ("Choi Poison").

Does the author understand the Japanese tournament system? All seven title matches are held over two years. The C and B rounds of qualifiers are in the first year, while the A round qualifiers and the main tournament are in the second year. As a new 1-dan player, only by participating in various qualifiers in the first year can one have a chance to compete for the title in the second year.

The author could have brought the Korean wave to the forefront earlier, and then had the protagonist enter the ranks and participate in international competitions to decisively defeat it. The Korean style of opening and playing strategy is almost considered unorthodox in Japan. In the early days of Japanese Go, when Japan was at its peak, large-scale expansionary strategies were very popular.

I just want to ask why so many Go novels are set in Japan? Does writing about Go get you a 404 error on QD (a Chinese search engine)?

What's the point of having these "Hikaru no Go" points? Tens of thousands of points can't upgrade skills, improve thinking, unlock new moves, or increase your power. Some people are hopeless if they're not a national champion by 20. You're already 16 or 17, still stuck in the amateur circle, with no impressive performances. And you're just going to drift along like this?

First, although this book uses Go as its main theme, it interweaves a lot of everyday life that is related to or unrelated to Go, so it is essentially still a story. Secondly, I only paid attention to Go when AlphaGo played against Lee Sedol back then. I have a basic understanding of the rules, but I have not studied it systematically.

... I've always felt that we shouldn't activate our peak calculation skills for the first few moves, at least the first two. If someone takes a long time to think, are we just going to wait and wait?

Those who enjoy reading this book are probably people interested in Go in real life. At least I am a Go enthusiast.