Is the Japanese anime "Chess Soul" a divine work?
The question and selection of anime "Shenzuo" seems to have never stopped, in the Internet era of free speech, people basically will no longer avoid some sensitive and controversial topics, so each anime work will "leave no room" for the evaluation, so the label of "Shenzuo" is grandly debuted. However, it is precisely because of too much evaluation that the phenomenon of "divine work" has become universal, and everyone has a ruler in their hearts, and as long as they reach a certain scale, they may be able to enter the classification of "divine work". But do all such classifications live up to their name? On that point, all I can say is that at least Chess Soul deserves it.
So, what is the true criterion for God's evaluation?
The traditional definition of Divine Works refers to "works that have a great impact on contemporary society", depending on whether the works have deep human depictions, profound ideological connotations, in-depth historical humanities and far-reaching social influences. If it is not a product evaluation based on this yardstick, it will be difficult to stand firm in the later stage, after all, the test of time is like a hot sun, and there will be yellowing without real materials.
<h1>God is one of the yardsticks: man and humanity
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The portrayal of human nature in "Chess Soul" is based on Go, eager for victory, desire for status, desire for companionship, and desire for progress. Sociologically defines human nature as the result of "evolution", while philosophy denies the existence of a universal abstract "human nature", so what exactly is human nature? Here, it should be understood as "the direction of the heart".
Whatever the heart desires, the past is what it used to be.
The things that the heart really yearns for, even if they are walking on thin ice, will also move forward.
Each character in "Chess Soul" is adhering to their own pursuit of unswerving, because of this makes each character full of unique charm, let me say that I remember Kaga Tetsuo, Kaga of the Shogi Club can be said to be suffering on the road of Go because of his father's excessive expectations, although he was eventually forced to choose to abandon the path of Go, and he refused to admit his deep love for Go, but at the end of the story, he still found the way forward for Go, that is, sustenance. Kaga pins his hidden love for Go on the body of the protagonist Mito Hikaru, and for Xiaoguang, Kaga's sustenance has naturally become his guide on the road of Go. The other characters are basically the same, and those who do not continue to adhere to the path of Go will transform their love of Go into sustenance, which is probably the deepest and true portrayal of human nature.
<h1>God is the second yardstick: the connotation of thought</h1>
As one of the oldest board games, Go itself is a game with a high degree of complexity based on ideological connotations, so "Chess Soul" already contains "connotation" in the selection of materials, and in addition, from the storyline of "Chess Soul", it is not difficult to see the Go ideas expressed by the original Yumi Tata and Ken Koihi who drew the manga.
What is Go? What is the true meaning of Go? What was the inspiration for Go? These questions can be answered perfectly through the advancement of the story of "Chess Soul".
In addition, "Chess Soul" also describes friendship, competition and persistence and other ideas and emotions to the fullest, I think, the unforgettable plot that makes everyone unforgettable must be the disappearance of Zuowei, perhaps many people feel that Zuowei disappeared too suddenly, his pursuit of "one hand of God" that lingered in the world for thousands of years has not yet been achieved, and before leaving, he and the closest Xiaoguang are in an awkward fight, whether all this is not in line with conventional reason, that is, the wish has not been able to say goodbye to Xiaoguang.
But, from another perspective, isn't this a portrayal of real life? In real life, how many things can be fulfilled, how many partings have been fully prepared, and the sudden and unpredictable life is real.
<h1>God is the third yardstick: history and humanities</h1>
The historical figure mentioned in "Chess Soul" is also a celebrity in history, and is considered by many to be the greatest chess player in the golden age of Go (mid-19th century), and the legend attached to such a character is cited as one of the key elements of the story, which makes the whole storyline more fascinating, after all, stories containing "real cases" are always more deeply rooted in people's hearts.
"Chess Soul" is very in-depth for the study of Xiu Ce, a historical figure, from his life to the process of becoming a chess player to his death are properly described, neither noisy nor arbitrary fiction, the only mythological color is to take the spirit of Zuo Wei as the middle hub of the story, so that Xiu Ce becomes the most low-key main line in the plot.
<h1>God is the fourth yardstick: social impact</h1>
The main reason why "Chess Soul" can be said to be a successful work is that it has made a huge contribution to the development of the Go industry, during the "Chess Soul" series, Japanese Go enthusiasts increased from 3.9 million to 4.8 million, and the vast majority of the people who increased by nearly one million are teenagers, which shows the deep influence of "Chess Soul" on the Go world. Yumi Horita's wonderful story and Ken Obata's delicate paintings have made many people who do not understand Go at all see the blood boiling, it is not easy to make the theme of Go because of the silence, not to mention that the Go boom led by "Chess Soul" continues to this day, whenever I think back to this classic anime, the impulse to learn Go is still unabated.
Finally, let's take a look at the awards of "Chess Soul", although compared to the many awards in the current manga industry, "Chess Soul" has only won two awards, the "Elementary School Manga Award" and the "Tezuka Osamu Culture Award", but the number of awards does not mean that the works are not good enough, because these two are a category of Awards for Japanese manga.
Therefore, for the question of whether "Chess Soul" is a god's work, I think that everyone has the answer in their hearts.