GoGo Monster (GOGOモンスタ) is a slice of life psychological manga by Matsumoto Taiyo. It as originally published in 2000 as a single tankoubon.
Tachibana Yuki is an eccentric 3rd grader. There are beings who inhabit another realm which he can see and interact with. He see's them at school in the hidden places but no one else can. His classmates shun him, the teachers ignore his rants and the only person on the campus he feels comfortable around is the elderly groundskeeper known as Ganz. Ganz sympathizes with Yuki and offers him kindly advice. Yuki isn't alone in his seclusion though, a classmate known as IQ, shuns normal participation and contact with everyone, choosing to spend his time in the schools rabbit hutch, wearing a large cardboard box over his head and torso.
A transfer student named Suzuki Makoto befriends Yuki, who warns him that the creatures are gathering in number. Makoto doesn't exactly believe Yuki but wants to be friends with him, sensing his deep isolation and loneliness. Yuki struggles to understand the messages left around him and how they relate to the danger he senses building in the school.
This is an excellent tale of childhood isolation and loneliness. It is up to the reader to determine if the creatures Yuki see's are real or not. It is quite possible that he has borderline schizophrenia and the condition is exacerbated by his increased social exclusion. If you look at the supernatural aspects of the show as childhood manifestations of mental disorders then this is an excellent story about mental health. If it is a legitimate super natural tale then it is also well done and worth reading.
As with everything else Matsumoto has done this is in his unique style, a style unlike anyone else, which might also put some people off. I'm a big fan of his style, it has a 70's pulp quality to it. His imagination is large and he does well to translate that in the artwork, building an incredibly expansive world in the school grounds.
The manga was released by Viz and is available in a beautiful hardcover edition...I love hardcover manga.
Tachibana Yuki is an eccentric 3rd grader. There are beings who inhabit another realm which he can see and interact with. He see's them at school in the hidden places but no one else can. His classmates shun him, the teachers ignore his rants and the only person on the campus he feels comfortable around is the elderly groundskeeper known as Ganz. Ganz sympathizes with Yuki and offers him kindly advice. Yuki isn't alone in his seclusion though, a classmate known as IQ, shuns normal participation and contact with everyone, choosing to spend his time in the schools rabbit hutch, wearing a large cardboard box over his head and torso.
A transfer student named Suzuki Makoto befriends Yuki, who warns him that the creatures are gathering in number. Makoto doesn't exactly believe Yuki but wants to be friends with him, sensing his deep isolation and loneliness. Yuki struggles to understand the messages left around him and how they relate to the danger he senses building in the school.
This is an excellent tale of childhood isolation and loneliness. It is up to the reader to determine if the creatures Yuki see's are real or not. It is quite possible that he has borderline schizophrenia and the condition is exacerbated by his increased social exclusion. If you look at the supernatural aspects of the show as childhood manifestations of mental disorders then this is an excellent story about mental health. If it is a legitimate super natural tale then it is also well done and worth reading.
As with everything else Matsumoto has done this is in his unique style, a style unlike anyone else, which might also put some people off. I'm a big fan of his style, it has a 70's pulp quality to it. His imagination is large and he does well to translate that in the artwork, building an incredibly expansive world in the school grounds.
The manga was released by Viz and is available in a beautiful hardcover edition...I love hardcover manga.
No comments:
Post a Comment