"Although it is a go competitive animation, it embodies a true martial arts style."
The animation of "Go Boy" was born in 2005, directed by Ma Fengqing, written by Sun Xiaosong, and produced by CCTV Animation Co., Ltd. The subsequent sequel, Go Boy 2, aired in 2009.
More than a decade ago, "Go Boy", as an animation work that had been broadcast on television, had allowed many viewers to experience the beauty of competition contained in Go and the home and country feelings of chess players in that early era.
The plot of "Go Boy" is very concise and easy to understand - it is set in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, telling the growth path of the protagonist Jiang Liu'er, who has a talent for Go.
The story takes place in the coastal area of Jiangnan at the end of the Ming Dynasty when the Wokou were rampant. Jiang Liu'er's father, Jiang Lingyun, was a member of the imperial court who was secretly sent by the imperial court to take Jiang Liu'er to Jiangnan to secretly investigate the Tongwu incident. Jiang Liu'er was temporarily fostered by his father in Lingyun Temple, and once inadvertently won a big game with three young monks at the same time, which made the old monk Yuande deeply feel that Jiang Liu'er was a Go genius who had not been encountered in a hundred years.
His father, Jiang Ling, went to investigate the demon sword king who was said to be a tongkou, and this demon sword king was a well-known anti-Wu hero, and Jiang Liu'er also admired him. The father felt that this matter was very strange and was trying to uncover the truth, but he was killed by a dark arrow in the body during the investigation. Jiang Liu'er suddenly became an orphan.
In Jiang Liu'er's most sad moment, the teacher Fu Yuande and the monk inspired Jiang Liu'er and pointed out a path for him - to go to the outside world, learn the chess skills of various schools, and participate in the 20-year Go National Hand Competition.
In the process of continuous training, Jiang Liu'er gained close friends and love, and led Chinese Go step by step to a brighter future.
Admittedly, "Go Boy" itself is not a perfect work.
For example, as a Go-themed animation, "Go Boy" is not rigorous in the restoration of chess scores. Before the mainland Go industry genius national player "Big Devil" Ke Jie once criticized the "Go Boy" Go drop is not exquisite, unprofessional; and the production level of the work is not outstanding today.
However, in that year, "Go Boy" was able to impress and move many audiences, which also showed its unique charm -
First of all, "Go Boy" has its own world view, a microscopic martial arts world: the name Of Jiang Liu'er, which is obviously born out of "Journey to the West", the original name of the Tang monk is Jiang Liu'er, and his father is also a high official, who was also fostered in the temple. The screenwriter gave the protagonist of "Go Boy" in the name of Jiang Liu'er, and also gave the protagonist the same fantastic beginning of life.
Jiang Liu'er's Go story is placed in the entire Ming Dynasty, and like many martial arts novels, the growth of the protagonist must be accompanied by changes in the social environment: many animations with sports as the theme, the focus of its portrayal is on the movement itself, and the growth of the protagonist is often accompanied by a love for sports and a deepening understanding, but it rarely involves the overall change of the social environment.
If you look at "Go Boy" from this point of view, this is a big breakthrough.
As an animation with Go as the main line, the plot jumped out of the chessboard and became a microscopic martial arts world: there is a war crisis in this world; there are qingmei bamboo horses facing the pain of separation; there is a fierce competition between the four gates of Jiangnan Go to win the title of "chess saint" in the national hand competition; there is a dispute between nationalities....
In many twists and turns, the light of human nature is reflected and the complexity of society is reflected.
One of the most moving plots is the duel between Jiang Liu'er and Liu Nanru.
Jiang Liu'er's first teacher on the road to learning chess was Jin Weiyuan, the head of the Xijin Chess Academy, who took the genius teenager Jiang Liu'er under his door, but he used it as a tool to accumulate wealth. In the battle between Jiang Liu'er and the old national player Liu Nanru, Jiang Liu'er was seduced by him and dragged the elderly Liu Nanru to fight long chess. Liu Nan was as desperate as he was in love, and resolutely responded to the battle. In the day-long and night-long matchup, Fang waited for Jiang Liu'er's awakening, and finally his energy was exhausted, but he was also relieved to die.
This venerable old man used his life to teach Jiang Liu'er the truth of being a chess player and a person. And Jin Weiyuan, who had an unhealthy heart, eventually died at the hands of the great hero Demon Sword King.
In "Go Boy", there is more than one plot that shows the dark side of human nature such as complex greed, and another representative plot is the acquaintance of Jiang Liu'er and Lin Xincheng.
Before the national hand competition, Jiang Liu'er accidentally met a "crazy beggar", this role like Zhou Botong is indeed different, he is the "chess saint" Lin Xincheng twenty years ago, twenty years ago, the Japanese chess player Zhanghe and the Go style he studied with his painstaking research "Heavenly Devil Dahua" defeated the Chinese chess player, and at the moment of crisis, Lin Xincheng defeated Zhanghe with his self-created "Heaven and Earth Datong" and turned the tide.
After Zhanghe returned to China, he secretly vowed to train his disciples to kill them again, and ironically, Lin Xincheng, who saved the Chinese chess world, was jealous and besieged by conservatives because of his Go talent and innovative style, and "died" with hatred, hiding his name and pretending to be crazy in the rivers and lakes. Years passed, Lin Xincheng met Jiang Liu'er, and after teaching him the "Heaven and Earth Datong" that he had studied for many years, he closed his eyes safely.
Whether it is Jiang Liu'er being used by people with hearts, or Lin Xincheng being suppressed by vested interests, it not only reflects the darkness of the world outside the chessboard, but also shows the unremitting efforts of people who love Go deeply: even if they pay for their lives, they must maintain the purity of Go competition. With such a cut-in plot, it is no wonder that it is now vividly remembered.
If the huge pattern and the real sense of martial arts are the first major features of "Go Boy", then the second major feature must be the national style and the search for Go itself. This borderless pursuit of Go skills raises the meaning of "Go Boy" to a higher level.
Similar to the "routine" of martial arts novels, when the protagonist is discouraged and enters the bottleneck, he can always get a turnaround: Jiang Liu'er's favorite green plum bamboo horse Fang Baihua was promised to others by his father Fang Sheng, and Jiang Liu'er, who had nothing, also lost in the national hand competition, and when he was depressed, he met his lifelong best friend Kuroki.
This Kuroki was the closed disciple of the Japanese master Zhanghe who had lost to Lin Xincheng.
Kuroki, accompanied by the former Leader of the Wokou, Sasaki, went to China to challenge Chinese Go, and after watching the match of the Chinese National Hand Competition, he was very dismissive, and it was at this time that Jiang Liu'er appeared and played blind chess with him, and the results of the two young Go teenagers playing blind chess were exactly the same as the results of the chess game in the game.
Kuroki has since become a confidant with Eyu'er, and in the face of Sasaki's provocation in the name of national interests, this upright and talented teenager turned a deaf ear and resolutely maintained the fairness and justice of the game, and the interaction between Kuroki, who is honest and loyal, and the arrogant and upright River, immediately became the biggest attraction of this film (big mistake)
In the life-and-death game between Kuroki and Erigi, Erigi and Kuroki each inherit the master's mastery, and in the end, Erigi nearly defeated Kuroki with the advantage of half a son (in fact, according to the Japanese Go rules, the two should be tied). The two Go teenagers became close friends, and agreed to decide again after five years, achieving a good story of Go, and also making the intention of "Go Boy" far beyond the world of the chessboard.
Generations of life, infinitely selfless, you come and go, who will take the lead.
Life is like chess, black and white, good and evil have never come, and they are one and the same.
The love of Go beyond the times, the unremitting pursuit of stronger skills, and the dashing of walking in the world with a clean wind and a healthy body, although it is a Go competitive animation, it embodies the true martial arts style.
In other words, "Go Boy" is to use the chessboard as a beginning: a magnificent journey, the speculation of the human heart, the moving of true feelings, the indomitability of the will... It all started with a love of Go, but it wasn't limited to Go.
Under the controversy of nationality, dignity, human nature, etc., it finally reached the world of Datong, which has the lofty intention of the world, making the realm of Go teenagers much higher than that of ordinary sports competition juvenile animation, which can be called one of the most impressive domestic competitive animations so far.
- END | Animation Academic Boogie -
Author: Two Laws
Editor: Academic Editorial Department
This article is reprinted from Animation Academic Booir (ID: babblers) with permission, please contact the original author if you need to reprint.
Tencent Video Animation
WeChat public number: qqcartoon
Sina Weibo: @Tencent Video Animation