Gon(manga)
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(April 2020) |
Gon | |
![]() Cover of early English translation, featuring Gon. | |
ゴン | |
---|---|
Manga | |
Written by | Masashi Tanaka |
Published by | Kodansha |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Weekly Morning |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | 1991–2002 |
Volumes | 7 |
Video game | |
Gon | |
Developer | Tose |
Publisher | Bandai |
Genre | Platformer |
Platform | Super Famicom |
Released |
|
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Kim Gil-Tae(Chief Director) |
Produced by | Ahn Hyun-Dong Ham Wook-Ho Osamu Yoshiba |
Written by | Isao Murayama |
Music by | Kim Tae-hoon |
Studio | Daewon Media |
Original network | TXN(TV Tokyo) |
English network | |
Original run | April 2, 2012–September 26, 2015 |
Episodes | 76 (120)[1][2] |
Video game | |
Gon: Baku Baku Baku Baku Adventure | |
Developer | Namco Bandai Games |
Publisher | Bandai |
Genre | Platformer |
Platform | Nintendo 3DS |
Released |
|
Gon(Japanese:ゴン)is a Japanesemangaseries created byMasashi Tanaka,about the (wordless) adventures of a dinosaur and the title character.
Gon was most notable outside Japan for his appearance in thePlayStationversion ofTekken 3.An animated TV series began airing in Japan on April 2, 2012. The manga received an Excellence Prize at theJapan Media Arts Festivaland won anEisner Award,1[] GonMagno ")
Characteristics
[edit]Gon is a carnivorous species ofCarnosaurianbut he vaguely looks more like atyrannosauridthan a carnosaur, due to hisT-rexlike-head. Gon is an omnivore with an enormous appetite, preying onhadrosaurs,pterosaursandceratopsians,and also hunts downStegosauruses,Apatosaurusesand evenWoolly Mammoths.He possesses enormous power and endurance for his or any size, his feats of strength including supporting his own weight with his jaws, to being able to lift a fully grown sauropod (Brontosaurus,BrachiosaurusandDiplodocus). His scaly hide is almost impenetrable, being able to shrug off the bites of larger predators.
Gon's intelligence seems to fluctuate in each adventure, ranging from total cluelessness (such as failing to notice a bird nest on his head for weeks), to strategic cunning (using anAllosaurusas a beast of burden to capture prey).
InTekken 3,Gon is fireproof, has the ability to spit fireballs and use toxicfarts.He vocalizes in chirps and shrieks, reminiscent ofraccoonsandparrots.
Media
[edit]Manga
[edit]Masashi Tanaka(Gon's creator) has said: "This work contains nodialogoronomatopoeticwords. People always ask me why I have done this. From the beginning, I didn't think it was necessary. Manga should be withoutgrammar.I also think that it is strange to give animals human language and make them talk. What I set out to do withGonwas to draw something that was more interesting than anything you could say in words. Manga still has great potential that does not exist in other media. I plan to continue developing the art of expression ".[citation needed]
Gon's adventures are usually comedic with environmental connotations. There is very little continuity within the series, with Gon appearing in different countries and interacting with their respective fauna in almost every issue. He is often portrayed as being a short-tempered yet good-hearted creature, offering his help to the various animal friends he encounters in each issue.
The first English editions of the manga were published by Mandarin Publishing (UK, 1994) andParadox Press(USA, 1996–2000). The single Mandarin volume contains the eight stories that were in the first two Japanese Gon collections. The eight Paradox Press volumes contain all the published Gon stories: six eight-page full-color stories in the Gon Color Spectacular, and twenty-one black-and-white stories, of varying length, in the other seven volumes.
Mandarin Publishing
Paradox Press
- Gon(1996):ISBN1-56389-296-0
- Gon Again!(1996):ISBN1-56389-297-9
- Here Today, Gon Tomorrow!(1996):ISBN1-56389-298-7
- Going, Going...Gon(1996):ISBN1-56389-299-5
- Gon Swimmin′(1997):ISBN1-56389-380-0
- Gon Color Spectacular!(1998):ISBN1-56389-381-9
- Gon Underground(1999):ISBN1-56389-591-9
- Gon on Safari(2000):ISBN1-56389-669-9
The first two Paradox Press books (GonandGon Again) were later reissued in an omnibus volume:
- Gon: Introducing the Dinosaur That Time Will Never Forget!(2001):ISBN1-56389-749-0
The third and fourth Paradox Press books (Here Today, Gon TomorrowandGoing, Going...Gon) were also reissued in an omnibus volume:
- Gon Wild!(1998):ISBN1-56389-474-2
From 2007 to 2009 CMX, a subset of DC Comics, reissued the black-and-white Gon stories in a seven-volume series. These did not have volume titles, but were simply numbered. Unlike the Paradox Press versions which were reversed for western readers, these stories are printed in the original sequence, and in their original right-to-left format. CMX had closed their doors in early 2010. Kodansha Comics reprinted the seven-volume series in 2011 and 2012.
Video games
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8c/Gon_jin.jpg/220px-Gon_jin.jpg)
Gon made his first video game appearance in theSNESplatform gameof thesame name.The game was developed byToseand released in Japan byBandaion November 11, 1994. A new platformer,Gon: Baku Baku Baku Baku Adventure,was developed for theNintendo 3DSand released in Japan on June 14, 2012 and later inSouth KoreabyNamco Bandai Games.[3]
Gon is a licensed guest character appearing inTekken 3,originally released for PlayStation consoles in April 1998, following the game's arcade debut on March 20, 1997. He is unlockable by defeating him in theTekken Ballmode or by achieving a high score in Survival mode and inputting the name "Gon".
Theatrical movie release
[edit]Sprite Animation Studiosannounced that Moto Sakakibara, co-director ofFinal Fantasy: The Spirits Within,will direct a theatricalCG Animationbased on the Gon manga. The film was due for release in 2009 but has yet to materialize.
Anime
[edit]A CG animated television series co-produced byKodanshaand Korean publisherDaewon Mediaaired in Japan from April 2, 2012 to March 25, 2013. It featuredMotoko Kumaias the voice of Gon.[4]
Reception
[edit]Gonwon an Excellence Award in the Manga division at the secondJapan Media Arts Festivalin 1998.[5]It won theEisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Materialand Best Humor Publication at the Eisner Awards in 1998.
See also
[edit]- Age of Reptiles(comics)− another silent comic featuring dinosaurs
References
[edit]- ^"Gon, The TV Series".Daewon Media.Archivedfrom the original on June 15, 2016.RetrievedMay 31,2016.
- ^Zahed, Ramin (19 June 2013)."Second Season of Daewon's 'GON' Is a Go!".Animation Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on 24 June 2016.RetrievedMay 31,2016.
- ^"Gon Manga/TV Show Inspires 3DS Action Game".Archivedfrom the original on 2012-07-04.Retrieved2012-09-09.
- ^"Motoko Kumai, Kenyuu Horiuchi, Yuji Mitsuya Cast in Gon Anime (Updated)".Archivedfrom the original on 2012-11-07.Retrieved2012-09-09.
- ^Japan Media Arts Festival."Excellence Award - Gon | Award | Manga Division | 1998 [2nd]".Japan Media Arts Festival.Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2022.RetrievedMarch 14,2022.
External links
[edit]- Sprite Animation Studios Press Release
- Gon(manga) atAnime News Network's encyclopedia