Gon (manga)

Gon (Japanese: ゴン) is a Japanese manga series created by Masashi Tanaka. The series follows the adventures of the titular dinosaur character. The manga has spawned multiple adaptations, including video games and an anime series.

Gon
Cover of early English translation, featuring Gon.
ゴン
Manga
Written by	Masashi Tanaka
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA: Kodansha Comics
Magazine	Weekly Morning
Original run	1991 – 2002
Volumes	7
Video game
Gon
Developer	Tose
Publisher	Bandai
Genre	Platformer
Platform	Super Famicom
Released	JP: November 11, 1994
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	AUS: Boomerang IN: Cartoon Network PH: Cartoon Network SEA: Cartoon Network SG: Okto
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	JP: June 14, 2012

Premise

Gon is about a small dinosaur, named Gon, and his adventures in the wilderness. The manga makes use of no dialogue or sound effects and follows an episodic format. Each episode typically follows Gon trying to find something he wants (usually food, sleep, or solitude) and becoming entangled in the lives of other creatures in the surrounding area, with his encounters ranging from friendly to violent. The manga has very little continuity between episodes.^[3]

Adaptations

Video games

The first video game adaptation of the manga was Gon, a platforming game on the Super Famicom.^[4] Another platformer, Gon: Baku Baku Baku Baku Adventure, was developed for the Nintendo 3DS and released in Japan on June 14, 2012, and later in South Korea by Namco Bandai Games.^[5] Gon is also a licensed playable character appearing in the 1997 fighting game Tekken 3.^[6][7]

Anime

An animated television series co-produced by Kodansha and Korean publisher Daewon Media aired in Japan from April 2, 2012, to March 25, 2013. It features Motoko Kumai as the voice of Gon.^[8] The anime was added to Netflix in 2016.^[9]

Reception

Gon won multiple awards in 1998, including the Excellence Award in the Manga division at the second Japan Media Arts Festival in 1998,^[10] the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material and Best Humor Publication at the Eisner Awards,^[11] and the award for Best French Edition of Foreign Material at the 1998 Manga Festival in France.^[12]

The manga has been praised for its lack of dialogue or onomatopoeic words, which allows it to be universally understood and appreciated regardless of the reader's background.^[3]

See also

• Age of Reptiles (comics) − another silent comic featuring dinosaurs