Un-Go is set in a dystopian future Japan. After an unnamed war and multiple terrorist attacks finally reach the mainland, the Japanese government decides to revoke Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and mobilizes their self-defense forces in retaliation. Some time later, the war-torn country eventually achieves a period of uneasy peace, and the Japanese government passes the "Information Privacy and Protection Act" in the name of stopping terrorism and further attacks against the country. The Act gives tech company executive Rinroku Kaishou control over a vast surveillance network that can acquire data through nearly any connected device in the country, which he supposedly uses to fight all sorts of crime.
The story of Un-Go revolves around an old-fashioned detective named Shinjūrō Yuki and his supernatural partner Inga. On the surface, Shinjūrō shows up to a crime scene at the wrong time and reaches the wrong conclusion, earning public mockery as "The Defeated Detective," in contrast to the heroic Rinroku. However, in truth, Shinjūrō is often called in by Rinroku or the Public Prosecutors Office when the subject of the case is too delicate for normal investigative procedure. With his deductive skills and Inga's special ability, Shinjūrō always digs deep to find the truth of the matter, even as Rinroku will spin his conclusion to fit a narrative that will comfort a public still recovering from the war.
