First time reviewing a manga/anime I would value any feedback a lot

I decided to give this series a try in my attempt to complete Shounen Jump's Manga Reading Challenge. This manga is made as a collaboration. The story is written from Yumi Hotta, and the art is drawn from Takeshi Obata, who later also did the art for Death Note, Bakuman and Platinium End. This manga is very good and it surpased my expectations.

Plot:This manga is about Hikaru, a kid who finds a goban(a board used to play go). When he touches the goban, the ghost of a go player(Sai), enters Hikaru. He starts playing go to satisfy Sai, but quickly gets into the great world of go himself.
What makes this stand out from the loads of battle shounen/sports manga, is the fact that the skill ceiling is set in the start and is not broken to help make the MC or side characters stronger. Throughout the manga we see Hikaru become stronger by working hard to improve, but we also see him lose to stronger characters. This gives an unpredictability to the fights and creates tension, because the game may go either way. Also no character grows too rapidly or because of some asspull. Even in the end of the series, while Hikaru has improved a lot, he is no go god by any means. The nature of the games makes the story unpredictable and interesting for the reader.But is has a weak point. The ending. While it is not bad, it doesn't end anything, it just ends.

Spoiler, click to view

To be clear, I didn't want Sai to return. What I had problem with was the fact that the hand of god is not achieved and the ending seems a little rushed. I thought this series was cancelled or something, but when I searched online and found out it wasn't the case I was surpased.

Also the theme of the manga the relation between the past and the present/future is excpanded to great heights by the conflicts between the characters. The world of go is built in a way that makes you interested in it, even if you don't play go. You are shown the hierarcy from the beginners playing in go salons or school clubs, to inseis trying to become pros, to the heavyweights of the sport fighting each other to prove who is the best in the world.

Characters:This series has a lot of characters and it manages to keep them all interesting.There are a lot of interesting dynamics, like Hikaru and Sai, Hikaru and Akira, Hikaru and the other inseis, Akira and his father,Kuwubara and Ogata and I could go on way to long. The character conflicts with each other enhance the theme of the past,present and future to great lengths, and it helps that the characters are very interesting and you want to know more about them.

Art:Drawn from the artist who later went on to draw manga like Death Note and Bakuman, the art is good. While nothing to leave you amazed at the art, the go games are drawn in a way which makes a go game exciting and intense, and coupled with the unpredictable story manages to make you hyped for a go game, even if you are not a fan of go yourself.

Enjoyment:Hikaru no Go is a very enjoyable series. It has a very interesting story, the go games are very interesting even for people who are not fan of go, and it is very interesting to follow the big cast of characters, each in their own personal journey.

If you want a great sports or (non-battle)battle shounen, you have come to a great place. You will enjoy the world that the author builts, which coupled with a great cast of characters, makes the already great story even better.

Spoiler, click to view

While the ending leaves a lot to be desired.

I can not score this manga something lower than 5/5.