View source for Go! Go! Ackman

{{Short description|Japanese manga series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox animanga/Header
| name            = 
| image           = AkiraToriyamaMangaTheater3.jpg
| caption         = Cover of ''[[Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater Vol. 3]]'', featuring Ackman and Gordon
| ja_kanji        = ゴーゴーアックマン
| ja_romaji       = Gō Gō Akkuman
| genre           = <!-- Note: Use and cite reliable sources to identify genre/s, not personal interpretation. Please don't include more than three genres (per [[MOS:A&M]]). -->
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
| type            = manga
| author          = [[Akira Toriyama]]
| publisher       = [[Shueisha]]
| publisher_en    = {{English manga publisher|NA=[[Viz Media]]}}
| demographic     = ''[[Shōnen manga|Shōnen]]''
| magazine        = [[V Jump]]
| first           = July 7, 1993
| last            = October 1994
| volumes         = 
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Video
| type            = film
| director        = Takahiro Imamura
| producer        = Kozo Morishita
| writer          = [[Takao Koyama]]
| music           = 
| studio          = [[Toei Animation]]
| licensee        = 
| released        = July 28, 1994
| runtime         = 15 minutes
}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin}}
{{Infobox animanga/Game
| developer       = [[Banpresto]]
| publisher       = [[Banpresto]]
| genre           = [[Action game|Action]]
| platforms       = [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]]
| released        = December 23, 1994
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Game
| title           = Go Go Ackman 2
| developer       = [[Banpresto]]
| publisher       = Banpresto
| genre           = [[Action game|Action]]
| platforms       = [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]]
| released        = July 21, 1995
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Game
| title           = Go Go Ackman 3
| developer       = [[Banpresto]]
| publisher       =Banpresto
| genre           = [[Action game|Action]]
| platforms       = [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]]
| released        = December 15, 1995
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Game
| developer       = [[Banpresto]]
| publisher       = Banpresto
| genre           = [[Action game|Action]]
| platforms       = [[Game Boy]]
| released        = August 25, 1995
}}
{{collapsed infobox section end}}
{{Infobox animanga/Footer}}
{{nihongo|'''''Go! Go! Ackman'''''|ゴーゴーアックマン|Gō Gō Akkuman|lead=yes}} is a Japanese [[manga]] series written and illustrated by [[Akira Toriyama]]. It was published irregularly in ''[[V Jump]]'' for 11 chapters from July 1993 to October 1994. ''Go! Go! Ackman'' is a humorous series about a demon child named Ackman who harvests souls for the Great Demon King. It was adapted into an [[anime|animated]] short film and several video games. [[Viz Media]] released the manga in North America on December 7, 2021 as part of ''[[Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater]]''.

==Plot summary==
Ackman, a short demonic child, wakes up after a 50-year nap. Since he is now 200 years old, his parents explain that it is time he starts killing humans and selling their souls to the Great Demon King. Gung-ho about killing, Ackman ends up spending most of his time wandering around looking for goodhearted young women to kill as their pure souls are worth more, only to be embarrassed after finding out that they are actually immodest.

Ackman's nemesis Tenshi-kun, a [[Cherub]]-like angel who thought he was dead, is shocked to find Ackman has started killing. Tenshi-kun repeatedly tries to kill Ackman throughout the series but fails miserably. One example is him trying to hit Ackman with a missile, but missing and killing a school bus full of school children. Upon learning of Ackman's weakness to bawdiness, Tenshi-kun hires a stripper, which works, until the stripper is revealed to have a penis.

Ackman bumps into the female demon {{nihongo|Witchney|マージョ|Mājo}} when selling souls to the Great Demon King, and after learning of the extraordinary amount she earned, he proposes marriage. More than twice his age and already in a relationship, Witchney tells the annoying Ackman she will accept if he defeats her boyfriend. When he does so easily, it is Witchney's turn to be infatuated. The series ends with Ackman running from his wife that same night after she tried to initiate romance in the bedroom.

==Characters==
;{{nihongo|Ackman|アックマン|Akkuman}}
{{Voiced by|[[Megumi Urawa]]}}
:A 200-year-old demon child without a nose, who has just awoken from a 50-year nap. He gets embarrassed around immodest women.
;{{nihongo|Gordon|ゴードン|Gōdon}}
{{Voiced by|[[Bin Shimada]]}}
:A talking bat-winged creature that accompanies Ackman. His main purpose is to gather the souls of the people Ackman kills in a jar.
;{{nihongo|Tenshi-kun|天使くん}}
{{Voiced by|[[Yōko Teppōzuka]]}}
:Ackman's angel rival. He constantly tries to kill Ackman and stop him from killing humans, but often causes their deaths himself instead.

==Publication==
Published irregularly between July 1993 to October 1994, ''Go! Go! Ackman'' is written and illustrated by [[Akira Toriyama]]. The manga is eleven chapters long, with each chapter being five pages long. Toriyama said the story was fun to draw, and because it is short, he was able to finish ''Go! Go! Ackman'' before getting sick of it.<ref>{{cite book |last=Toriyama |first=Akira |title=鳥山明○作劇場「改」 其之参 |year=2004 |publisher=[[Shueisha]] |language=Japanese |id={{ASIN|4081066922|country=jp}} |page=78}}</ref> When printed in [[Shueisha]]'s ''[[V Jump]]'' magazine, all of the pages were in color. When collected in ''[[Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater Vol. 3]]'' on August 4, 1997, they were [[greyscale]]d.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-872053-9&mode=1| title=鳥山明○作劇場 3| publisher=[[Shueisha]] | language=ja| access-date=2021-12-24}}</ref> The series would receive another reprint in ''[[Akira Toriyama Mankanzenseki 1]]'' on August 8, 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.shueisha.co.jp/items/contents.html?isbn=978-4-08-618772-5 |title=鳥山明 満漢全席 1 |publisher=[[Shueisha]] |language=Japanese |access-date=2021-12-24}}</ref> ''Go! Go! Ackman'' was released in English by [[Viz Media]] on December 7, 2021 as part of their single volume ''Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater |url=https://www.viz.com/read/manga/akira-toriyama-s-manga-theater/product/6886 |website=[[Viz Media]] |accessdate=2021-12-06}}</ref>

==Adaptations==

===Anime adaptation===
In 1994, the series was adapted into a fifteen-minute [[anime|animated]] film shown at V Jump Festa. The film managed to retell the first few chapters involving Ackman's bouts with Tenshi-kun and the first two hired thugs. A few frames from the later chapters were used during the closing credits.

===Video game adaptations===
The manga has been adapted into a series of three console based [[Platform game|platform]] [[video game]]s for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]]. The first of these was more closely based on the comics. The second pitted Ackman against an angelic rock group called the Metal Angels. The last saw Ackman face a flamboyant police officer, and teaming up with his longtime rival Tenshi-kun. Both characters were playable and could be switched between. These games were action platformers, with gameplay vaguely similar to ''[[Mega Man]]''. All three Super Famicom games have received English fan translations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yarwood |first1=Jack |title=Go Go Ackman 2 For Super Famicom Gets Improved English Fan Translation |url=https://www.timeextension.com/news/2023/04/go-go-ackman-2-for-super-famicom-gets-improved-english-fan-translation |website=Time Extension |publisher=Hookshot Media |access-date=11 April 2023 |date=11 April 2023}}</ref> There was also a handheld game for the [[Game Boy]] that was a [[List of maze video games|maze chase game]] like ''[[Pac-Man]]''.

==Reception==
Reviewing ''Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater'' for [[Anime News Network]], Christopher Farris singled out ''Go! Go! Ackman'' for being "very entertaining and funny all the way through."<ref>{{cite web |title=Akira Toriyama's Manga Theater - The Winter 2021 Manga Guide |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2021-12-06/the-winter-2021-manga-guide/akira-toriyama-manga-theater/.179879 |website=[[Anime News Network]] |date=2021-12-06 |accessdate=2021-12-06}}</ref> The Game Boy video game received a rating of 26/40 by ''[[Famitsu|Famicom Tsūshin]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=|magazine=[[Famitsu|Famicom Tsūshin]] |issue=350 |language=ja |publisher=[[Kadokawa Corporation]] |date=September 1, 1995 |page=32}}</ref>

[[Bill Ackman]], an American hedge fund manager with white hair since childhood, believes the main character was modeled after him. He told [[Intelligencer (website)|''Intelligencer'']] that during a trip to Japan in an unspecified year in the early 1990s, he stayed with the family of someone in the [[Video games in Japan|Japanese video game industry]]. "I think that's me ... I never got [[royalties]]."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wiedeman |first=Reeves |date=February 12, 2024 |title=Bill Ackman's fight against Harvard has made him the public face of a billionaire class anxious it no longer rules the world. |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/bill-ackman-war-harvard-mit-dei-claudine-gay.html |access-date=February 14, 2024 |magazine=[[Intelligencer (website)|Intelligencer]]}}</ref>

==Appearances in other media==
Ackman is briefly seen in several Toriyama-related works. He is seen in ''[[The Brief Return of Dr. Slump]]'', in the background of an episode of ''[[Dragon Ball Z]]'', in ''[[Dragon Ball SD]]'' and in the fourth chapter of ''[[Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission]]''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{ann|manga|4430}}
* [http://www.lupinencyclopedia.com/avrc/series/29.php Page at the Anime Video Game Resource Center]

{{Akira Toriyama}}
{{Series in V Jump}}
{{Toei Animation films 1990s}}

[[Category:Akira Toriyama]]
[[Category:Banpresto games]]
[[Category:Demons in anime and manga]]
[[Category:Shueisha manga]]
[[Category:Shueisha franchises]]
[[Category:Shōnen manga]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Japan]]
[[Category:Viz Media manga]]
[[Category:1994 films]]
[[Category:Manga by Akira Toriyama]]