For those hoping to see a conclusion to the Hikaru no Go story, your prayers have been answered... more or less. Hikaru no Go: Journey to the Hokuto Cup takes place right where the television series left off and, as the title says, tells the story of Hikaru's Journey to the Hokuto (North Star) Cup in about 90 minutes.

This special has just about everything that made Hikaru no Go so much fun to watch. Though I still don't understand most of what is happening in the Go matches, I'm having just as much fun watching them as I always have. The special also introduces a few new concepts such as the "tengen" move, which is demonstrated to us by the ever photogenic Yukari-sensei (no relation to Yukari-sensei in Azumanga Daioh).

The animation and music are pretty much the same as the television series, so I have no complaints with those. Much like the series, the music manages to expertly capture the emotion of the matches and fills the viewer with excitement, almost as if he/she were actually there. The Go matches are pretty well animated too, though how well a Go match is animated isn't really of too much import.

What I really liked about this special was how the creators somehow managed to pull off even more character development. We continue to see Hikaru grow in the special, both mentally and his skill in the game of Go. As the tournament comes closer and closer, Hikaru changes more and more as he continues to cope with his emotional losses and grow as a Go player. It's not just Hikaru, though. All of the characters, such as Waya and Ochi, receive development as the momentum builds higher and higher.

Unfortunately, that was probably the one thing I didn't like about this special. So much momentum is created only for the special to stop *just* before they reach the Hokuto Cup tournament. I was really hoping to see what would happen without having to read the manga, but my hopes were unfulfilled. It also felt like it stopped just as the new character from Kansai, Yashiro, came into the anime. More development on him would have really been nice. Well, here's hoping for another Hikaru no Go special that can finish up where this one left off.