As Masako helps Ushiro get payback, hilarity ensues, and Gogogogo-Go-Ghost! 1 keeps the laughs churning as horrid people meet their comeuppance in the form of spiritual retribution.
Gogogogo-Go-Ghost! 1 is a morbid comedy filled with mishaps. Reminiscent of the angel who’s terrible at their job, Ushiro Akechi now has a guardian spirit, Masako, looking over her shoulder. But after all the misfortune and heartache Ushiro suffered, it cannot get any worse. As Masako helps Ushiro get payback, hilarity ensues, and Gogogogo-Go-Ghost! 1 keeps the laughs churning as horrid people meet their comeuppance in the form of spiritual retribution.
Created by Miyako Hiruzuka, translated by Minna Lin, and lettered by Alexis Eckerman, the volume starts with a drunken Ushiro passing out after taking several pills. Mind you, she is not trying to end her life but to stifle the severe stomachaches. Of course, mixing medicine with alcohol is never the right move, even in a Yen Press manga. She feels warm arms embracing her and assumes it’s heaven. Instead, she gets Masako, a ghost, crying as she fights for Ushiro to live. But given Ushiro’s love life and work life, she’s not ready to return to her body and the hardships of life. So, Masako promises payback. And so it begins.
Gogogogo-Go-Ghost! 1 Goes Cavender Is Coming
Even before Ushiro learns of Masako’s existence, Masako makes a mess of helping her. The series is more funny than scary, with even the artwork hamming up the “ooh beware of me” humor. It feels like The Twilight Zone episode where a guardian angel seeks to help his charge. However, he does more harm than good. But here, both parties are on the same vengeance-seeking page. It’s the execution that winds up hilariously problematic. Success is more a happy accident than a skill. But Ushiro is a sympathetic, funny character leaning into her rage after suffering too much.
A Lead That Is Not Perfect
In Gogogogo-Go-Ghost! 1, the characters are not perfect or have unyielding senses of right and wrong. After all, Ushiro’s love life is in shambles because she had an affair with a married boss. But she believed him when he claimed he’d divorce his wife. Not only did she lose her job, but she had to pay them, and office workers gossiped about her. Still, even if you can’t picture yourself in that same position, many of us have dated or loved people undeserving—someone who lied, cheated, etc.
Happy Grudge Avenged
The mishaps still lead to payback, starting with Ushiro’s new boss. While the job promised a staff position after a probationary period, he uses sly bullying and threats to keep her as a contractor. When interviewed on a show, Masako tries to scare him. Unfortunately, he does not see the spirit, but the cameras pick up something odd. Still, it works out in Ushiro’s favor when Masako ratchets up the haunting, and the boss lets slip on live television how he retaliates against employees who cross him. Gogogogo-Go-Ghost! 1 plays with that and anime/film, like when they show Ushiro’s dead body from different cameras.
Gogogogo-Go-Ghost! 1 keeps it humorous as the spirit tries to help Ushiro exact revenge. Plus, the series also teases future dangers or huge misunderstandings about Masako’s intentions. While guardian angels are well and good, having one that helps exact vengeance on the horrid people around us sounds deliciously tempting and downright hilarious. Ushiro and Masako are the glue in Gogogogo-Go-Ghost! 1, ensuring the laughter keeps flowing.
