MJ Review: Gon Vol 1

[Jason]

Title: Gon
Volume: 1
Mangaka: Masashi Tanaka
Serializes in: Weekly Morning (Kodansha)
Licensed by: CMX
Genre: Seinen, Action/Adventure
Price: $5.99

Whether it’s hunting for food, building a wooden house, riding shotgun on a lion or taking to the skies, Gon does it with style. Moreover, what a sense of style Gon has! However, let’s back up for a second here. Who or what is Gon?

To put it simply, “Gon” (a seemingly harmless baby dinosaur) is the star of Gon, a manga by Masashi Tanaka. What makes Gon so special is that the manga is completely silent, with not a single word uttered throughout the entirety of all its volumes. As if that isn’t a big enough challenge, Gon’s characters are all realistically-depicted animals. Well, except maybe Gon himself … although, for a baby dinosaur whose saurian species is never revealed, he looks pretty damn convincing.

The series is entirely about Gon, who has somehow managed to escape the gaping maw of extinction and landed up in the Paleolithic, where he is a self-proclaimed protector of animals of sorts. A Batman of the animal kingdom, if you will. Keeping in line with his badass image, Gon indulges in crazy activities like hunting prey on lionback (I swear to God, I cannot think of any other way to put that), flying with the eagles and napping on the stomach of a gigantic grizzly bear.

All this between his day-to-day “crime-fighting” activities, which involve laying waste to evil bobcats and hyenas, who threaten the peace and quiet in the forest. (Not that Gon doesn’t do that himself. Hypocritical bastard.)

Let’s get one thing out of the way. Gon’s artwork is gorgeous. The animals and backgrounds are extremely intricately detailed, and have an incredible look of realism about them that sometimes makes you stare at a page for minutes altogether, admiring the various panels. Gon himself looks frighteningly real, and Tanaka-san’s ability to make Gon’s persona shift from humorous to genuinely scary never ceases to amaze. Indeed, while on one page, Gon’s huge, yawning jaw might make you chuckle, on the next, his narrowed, intimidating eyes gazing upon his prey will make you wonder if you’re still looking at the same beast. The sheer variety of animals in this first volume alone will make you marvel at Tanaka’s ability.

The lack of any writing in this manga makes for a shorter review than usual. Suffice it to say that Gon, with its gorgeous art and excellent shading will be sure to entertain you during the time you spend with it. This is one series that is bound to stand out in your memory as an excellent example of a manga masterpiece. And it's just $5.99 to boot.



Ed: Gon was originally licensed and released by Paradox Press, a now defunct division of DC Comics that was, in many ways, the precursor to CMX.

Reviewer: Ishaan
Proofer: mjules
Editor: Firedog