The story was a bit weird and I don't know if I understood it all, but it was weird in a good way. I pretty much couldn't put it down. And the art was gorgeous. ( )

So hard to know what to make of this, if it's a fantasy adventure or a tale of mental illness. Either way, it's engrossing. ( )

Yuki is in third grade. He has no friends, other kids think he is bizarre and rarely talk to him. This is not surprising as he talks to “imaginary” beings like Superstar.

Superstar is a being who lives on the third floor of his school, off limits to students due to some unspoken danger. Occasionally he (or other beings) coming down to create havoc, steal things, and generally stir up trouble. the closer that Yuki gets to the world that Superstar rules, the hard it is for him to differentiate our reality from this other one.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It is presented fully translated, but in classic manga format ( read from right to left). It comes with a corrugated cardboard sleeve protecting the book itself. The art work is very European with multiple interpretations to the meanings of various panels. text is sparse throughout the story, relying on various obscure and dark story elements presented in the images.

The Graphic Novel is presented by VIZ Media, almost entirely in black and white, and totals 464 pages.

I do not know that this graphic novel is really geared to most readers. if you avoid art house films, dislike subtitles, and prefer a story that is hand fed to you, avoid this.

This is more for those who like dark introspective genres, multiple possible interpretations, beautiful artwork.

For anyone looking for a more technical review, just drop gogo monster in google and you will find a ton of info. I will leave the discussion of allegory and societal comparisons to those who are more fluent in manga. I am just a tourist in the genre…
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GoGo Monster is instantly my new favorite book. I've read a couple of titles from Taiyo Matsumoto previous to this one, and while they were both great, I was not prepared for just how incredible GoGo Monster turned out to be. This is an absolutely beautiful tale of a Japanese schoolboy caught between a "real world" in which he does not feel he belongs and an alternate world which is mysterious and foreboding, but nonetheless welcoming to the isolated boy. Matsumoto's chaotic but masterful black-and-white pen work is stunning, and the variety of visual techniques that he employs to pull this tale off is breath-taking. What could have been a mawkish, sentimental tale of troubled youth is rendered into genuine art in Matsumoto's hands, since the author refuses to settle for obvious narrative solutions. GoGo Monster is graphic story-telling of an unusually accomplished nature, and absolutely recommended on all fronts. ( )