Ogata, Seiji

緒方精次

A 9-dan Go professional and student of Touya Kouyo. He first noticed Hikaru when the latter explained a Go move during a children's tournament that even professional players would take time to see (which was actually Sai's doing) and later, as the rivalry between Hikaru and Akira emerged, catalyzed its development on several occasions, such as helping Hikaru get accepted into the Insei test and occasionally reporting Hikaru's progress to an uninterested and disillusioned Akira. After the online game between Touya Kouyo and Sai, Ogata also became obsessed with playing Sai and constantly nagged Hikaru. Unbeknownst to him, his request was finally granted just before Sai disappeared, during a game with Hikaru when he was too drunk to notice Sai was playing.
Ogata is one of Japan's best young Go pros, having been the challenger for many titles throughout the series and finally winning the Gosei and Judan titles when Touya Kouyo retires. He is frequently after the Honinbo title Kuwabara currently holds, and this sparks a rivalry between them. His birthday is January 17th.