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Go Spotting: Vagabond Manga; The Uncommon Series

Vagabond Manga: "A favorite coffee barista of mine suggested I read the manga Vagabond, a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue," writes Devin Fraze. "It portrays a fictionalized account of the life of Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, based on Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi. In Volume 6, go is being played by the hero's love interest. Unfortunately more of the game play is not shown as her opponent "accidentally" knocks over the board. 

The Uncommon Series: One of the protagonists in The Uncommon Series is an avid go player. "The thriller trilogy follows a pair of entrepreneurs that drop out of college to found a new tech startup and get caught up in an international conspiracy along the way," author Eliot Peper tells the E-Journal. "James Chen is the protagonist who's a go enthusiast. He's Chief Technology Officer of the startup in the book and the brains behind the whole operation. He develops a complex algorithm that identifies fraud in large financial datasets, allow law enforcement to take down money laundering rings, etc. He loves go because it's all about pattern recognition and is the perfect analog for the breakthrough software he's developing. He even uses online go players to train the software's artificial intelligence routines. As the startup in the book skyrockets from garage to IPO, they have to use his technology and their own wits to take down a major cartel that's in bed with the big banks and government regulators."Spotted go somewhere? Let us know by emailing us at journal@usgo.org!