Gogo Monster

Much like the rest of his work that I've consumed thus far, Go Go Monster continues to deal with the lives of boys as they grow up. But not in any sort of macho or overly sentimental way, Matsumoto always seems to be able to place himself into the very serious world of childhood without rendering it too tright or tragic.
Originally published in 2000 by Shogakukan it was interesting to look at the overall timeline of Matsumoto's work from Blue Spring and Tekkonkinkreet, written 7 years before, and Sunny, written 10 to 15 years in the future. There's still quite a bit that has yet to be translated for me to read, but it does seem to point to a sporty guy who has worked hard to develop a sense of compassion for himself and other men. Someone emotionally intelligent beyond what I expect of the average and not someone afraid to go into some weird corners.
Like the rest of Matsumoto's comics, the art of Go Go Monster is much more raged and expressive than most other manga I read. Reading through some more write-ups on the life and influences of Matsumoto it wasn't too surprising to see a visit to France and a liking for European comics often referenced as being a strong pull in his development as an artist.
The only other manga that really comes all that close to Matsumoto's style is the anthology Ax, which was made up of a collection of indie mangaka who obviously don't cow toe to market demands. There were a couple of writing issues I recall taking with that collection but I also feel like Matsumoto shows his skill, in comparison, by maintaining such creative style without becoming hard to read. Not a quality universally important, but as a pretty hardcore pragmatist, something I always keep in mind.
Digging into the story and writing elements of this book, however, I did need to step out in faith and wait to be caught as it were. Not that this is a bad thing, but I could see why some people not already sold on Matsumoto's style might be unwilling to go out on such a limb - even for such a short book.
The decision to break down the book into the seasons, while not terribly original, does signal very hard to the fact that time is going to play a very important role in the story. And while it did feel sometimes like the story may not be getting very much of anywhere, being so cognitive of the time kept me turning pages with baited breath.
Perhaps due to this focus on the passage of time, or the existence of an overarching plot, but I would not describe this book as slice of life. Which I guess isn't totally unheard of, since Black and White wasn't totally slice of life either, but still strikes me as a bit unusual in my limited experience. There is still a lot of world-building that goes on, however, as well as some interesting uses of repetition that really built up the "feeling" of the book.
Writing this review out I am struck by how circular this story was overall. Because while the plot has a very definite beginning, middle, and end, Yuki's coming of age is apparently like many other comings of ages that the most important adult characters, the gardener, has witnessed over the years. Combined with the obvious circle of the seasons, and the repetition of dialog to give you the feeling of the repetitive nature of school days and now I'm visualizing wheels within wheels within wheels...
That said, there was another really interesting point that I wanted to bring up, and that is the fact that I don't feel like I've read all that many books about kids coming of age at nine-years-old. Perhaps Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn? It's been a while since I read those last. But it was interesting to see that sort of story arch so divorced from any sort of burgeoning sexuality and/or puberty.
It was interesting to read this in such close conjunction with Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again since mental health does play such a vital role in each plotline. Unlike in the Deadpool comic it was nice, however, to be reading about someone who is perhaps more than a little delusional (or really not) but who is not violent or a danger to anyone. As I mentioned in that video, I still have a few levels to go in developing my critique of how any comic deals with mental health, but despite the fact that this book is supposed to be unsettling (and dips in and out of mild horror) it didn't really strike me as punching down or exotifying or anything like that. Of course, agree or disagree, I am always interested in what other people have thought when reading this comic.