GoGo Monster

The first work created without going through serialization in Japanese magazines, as is usually the case in the homeland. "GoGo Monster" was the sensei’s first attempt to create a one-volume work (1998-2000). Deprived of the feedback from readers that would normally come with a serialized publication, the author found himself writing this work with a completely different approach he was not used to. The story is about Yuki Tachibana, a very peculiar child with a sensitivity to reality different from that of other children. It could be said to be more developed, as he often finds himself in situations where he cannot distinguish between the two worlds,confusing what is and what is not. This peculiarity makes him an outcast at his school because the other children are either frightened by the unsettling things he says or simply consider him strange and tease him. Not everything is bad, though. The school janitor spends a lot of time with him, keeping him company and acting as a point of reference. He also makes friends with a new student, Makoto, who transferred from another school, and with IQ, an older student who constantly goes around covered by a box. There are 5 chapters in total, divided into seasons. In this story, Matsumoto does not intend to tell us precisely what is real and what is imaginary. He leaves it up to the reader to interpret the meaning of Yuki's words. Indeed, there will be many occasions where you will wonder if what he says is true or if the child has a form of autism that causes him to have visions and say certain things. However, the story does not only dwell on Yuki's vision of the world but also addresses how scary and cruel elementary school children can be, despite their age. We are shown how they can bring adults to their knees with their cruelty and how younger children are easily influenced by their seniors. Moreover, we also see the indifference of adults towards children and their inability to understand them, often making superficial judgments about their behavior. Of course, not all adults are painted with the same brush, as there will be teachers who, despite the difficulties, make the effort to understand their behavior, even if they ultimately fail to do so. What makes all this frightening is how accurately it represents reality, with situations that happen daily in schools. Artistically speaking, compared to the first work I read by Matsumoto, "Sunny," it has a very nervous style that I find in line with the overall atmosphere within Yuki's school walls. Strong contrasts and some pages that are almost entirely black. I would not recommend this manga as a first approach to Taiyo Matsumoto's work. It is deliberately a work that leaves interpretation open, at times forcing the reader to question what they are reading without ever having a clear answer. A very dreamlike and at times unsettling read, not as the joyful and innocent cover of the manga might suggest. Personally, it was not a read that conveyed much to me, but I appreciated that it managed to stimulate in me the desire to understand what lies beyond the real world, as Yuki says, and what it means to him to rot, even though I associated it with becoming an adult and losing the innocence of childhood.

The loneliness of being a misunderstood child is unfathomable. I've only read a bit of “Sunny”, and watched “Ping-Pong: The Animation” from the same author. They're some of the greatest pieces of “Life” stories I've ever seen put to ink and brought to audiovisual art-form. It's strange to see a person who can depict, and really depict what a person, a kid, a teenager, or an adult, even an old man, are going through. Every age group, and person has a certain level of wisdom or knowledge we don't, or feel like we lost to time. “Gogo Monster” is about that which we might have, wemight believe in, we can still be in touch with. A kid, Yuki, is that black sheep of the classroom. The kid nobody wants to deal with, the weird one, strange, incomprehensible. We actually watch the story from his, and a transfer student's, Makoto's, perspective and how their friendship blossoms with the true hardships of trying to understand people at such a young age. To preface, the story is plenty abstract, but not impossible to understand. Filled with symbolism that ultimately is about Makoto trying to understand Yuki. At the beginning, he stays around him because he knows how to tolerate that which he can't get. Curiosity, interest, or comfort, he finds Yuki to be someone who's not all that odd if you think about it. Nobody is odd, nobody is normal to begin with. Life is filled with diverse personalities, and some kids actually are themselves, and only gravitate towards people who like a person being themselves. They're open to sadness, though. Yuki is that embodiment of putting your true feelings in front of you out of rebellion. Conforming to the world is so complicated to some people who can't understand others. In that sense, the story isn't just about being misunderstood, but about not wanting to understand, or be understood in a cycle of sadness. All Yuki needed wasn't someone who could literally get everything he's going through clinically. IQ, a kid with a box on his head, breaks Yuki's personality open like a book being opened through the spine. You won't be able to read its contents, you just lay bare the interior with no order, or magnitude. You require someone who's willing to look at your cover and take you in from the synopsis. A love which can only be given by trust, and knowledge of what you might be, not what you are. We go into Yuki's literal psyche, and how Makoto explores it in a vast, comforting, yet, brutal way. Friendship is about trust, and equally, about opening yourself to be hurt. Why must pain be involved? Because we care, we're hedgehogs seeking warmth, thorns and all. Things will hurt, specially as kids, isn't that truly sad, yet, beautiful? To find friendship in the utmost core of humanity, to find that a kid, regardless of circumstances, is good, and he found another good, albeit, very different kid. The art captures the abstract, the surreal, the wholesome, but its drawings stay with you. The nice old man who you keep remembering, the kid you used to be friends with, and the others you grew out of. Taiyou Matsumoto can create real life people, in the strangest of places, and understand what makes them tick. What makes them happy, and be able to demonstrate it without them saying it. A face, a panel, you know they're holding it in, and they don't say it, but you know it, they know it, and the other person knows it. A masterpiece of emotional, human writing coming from a simple, even if layered, story about kids and how hard it is to reach out and perhaps be accepted. 9.4/10. I believe the beginning was a bit confusing, but man. This thing is just so good.

If you want an easy-to-understand, fast-paced plot; look elsewhere. Gogo Monster follows elementary schooler Tachibana as he is ostracized from his class due to acting out over creatures that only he can see. The readers are shown his delusions and there are many panels which focus on the ambiance, which adds to the surrealist tone. There are only a few characters, but they're pretty well fleshed-out, and you can understand the way they think very well by the end. The artstyle is a little rough, but surprisingly detailed. It really matches up well with the main character's doodles of what he sees. There's only a few chapters,but each chapter is very long, in the order of 90 pages. It took me about 2 hours to read in total.

This is an incredibly intense and thought-provoking manga that especially shines through its countless metaphors. Because of that, it’s definitely a work you can read multiple times to dive deeper into its hidden ideas and subtle hints. The story deals with growing up, isolation from others, and how children cope with such experiences. It is particularly valuable for educators, as it offers insight into how children handle loneliness, bullying, and what it feels like to suddenly gain friends and navigate the dynamics that come with that. I had to get used to the unique art and narrative style at first. However, the creator manages to bring thecharacters and the overall atmosphere of the work to life in a strange yet fascinating way through his distinctive artistic approach. Unfortunately, I never fully immersed myself in the story. At times, the artwork and storytelling pulled me out of the flow, and I had to refocus or reread certain passages. Still, it remains a truly intriguing work that I would like to revisit after some time.