Gon: Volumen 4

ゴン [Gon] #4

by Masashi Tanaka

Following in the footsteps of the popular, Japanese series Gon, the last living dinosaur is off on new adventures. Each story finds the two-foot-tall Gon in a different part of the modern-day wilderness, making friends and battling any who threaten his newfound companions. In Gon Becomes a Turtle, the diminutive dino slips on an empty turtle shell and joins a horde of hatchlings. In Gon and His Posse, finds the fierce (but lovable) dinosaur on the savannas of Africa, where he befriends a group of wild, orphan lions. Join the tiny terror as he wanders the globe.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Comics Manga, Seinen, Collections, Humor

164 pages, Paperback

First published August 23, 1996

About the author

Masashi Tanaka (田中政志) is a Japanese manga artist best known for Gon, his silent manga starring a miniature dinosaur. He began publishing Gon in 1991. He later worked on the game Street Fighter EX.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the October 1997 edition with a theme of "Tough Critters":

FROM THE BACKLIST

GON #1-4 (DC Comics: Paradox Press)

Godzilla is the largest, butt-kicking dinosaur on the planet, right? So, how about the smallest? After all -- as the cliche goes -- size doesn't matter. Well, I'm certainly not going to nominate Godzilla's little buddy, Godzookey. Or the Flintstones' Dino. Usagi Yojimbo's pet, Spot, might have had a chance, but he got himself killed. No, the title definitely goes to Gon, a foot-tall dinosaur of the butt-kicking order.

Like Godzilla, Gon is a Japanese import. The brainchild of writer/artist Masashi Tanaka, Gon is one of the more unique manga I've seen in a while. The high-level concept: Gon wanders around the world beating up much larger predators. There seem to be no other dinosaurs on the planet. Also, there are no humans and no dialogue. It's just Gon and the very realistically depicted world of nature.

Basically, Gon is a bully -- a very fickle bully. His ways might be mistaken as noble at first, as he seems to hate any predator which preys on smaller or defenseless animals. Indeed, he goes out of his way to humiliate lions and tigers and bears. (Oh, my!) He also picks on dingoes, sharks, and snakes. Despite his size, Gon's indestructibility, intractable tenacity, and monstrous bite make him the runaway winner in any of these predator confrontations. Yet, he'll occasionally befriend predators like wolves or eagles. And he's also as likely to focus his temper on smaller animals. However, if he decides to hassle a chipmunk or a tick which has annoyed him, his fearsome abilities turn into so much slapstick. In the end, I guess he's forced to bully predators because of his inability to tackle anything smaller. And I guess some predators are better than others. And, mostly . . . there doesn't seem to be any rationale behind Gon.

This is a series carried entirely by the art. Gon's antics are tolerable simply because he's so darn cute. The lack of dialogue is not noticed because the narrative flow of the pictures is easy to follow. The depiction of the other animals in Gon's world is breathtakingly realistic. If you put your thumb over Gon in any given panel, you might think you were browsing a comic book nature documentary with very expressive animals. I might buy a book like that. While I'm sure Gon's presence makes this book commercially viable to the rest of the world, I found myself quickly resenting him after the third story. The most beautiful artwork in the world couldn't make Gon any less a jerk.

So my limit for Gon is about one book. Of the four books released, I'd recommend #2, GON AGAIN. It features wolves, penguins, and beavers -- three of my favorite animals. GON #1 has one pretty good story about a noble dingo who won't give in to Gon's bullying and keeps a shred of dignity in face of utter humiliation. I really like the way Tanaka draws. Too bad Gon had to wear his welcome out so quickly.

GON (#1) - Grade: C+
GON AGAIN (#2) - Grade: B+
HERE TODAY, GON TOMORROW (#3) - Grade: C
GOING, GOING GON (#4) - Grade: C

Overall Grade: C+

[Jolly Ann Paciencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gon is very cute in this book and funny.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
Tyrannosaurier Gon begibt sich auf die Reise durch die Welt der Tiere. Im Schildkrötenpanzer geht er mit seinen "Artgenossen" auf Tauchstation und spürt die riesigen Monster der Tiefsee auf. Geht mit Gon auf Safari in wunderschönen und atemberaubenden Bildern! Und das ganz ohne Text!

Cover:

Das Cover passt wieder sehr gut zur Geschichte und verrät uns schnell, dass wir wieder in die Meereswelt abtauchen, denn Gon ist bewaffnet mit einem Schildkrötenpanzer unter Wasser unterwegs, gefolgt von einigen Fischen. Schön idyllisch.



Eigner Eindruck:

In seinem neusten Abenteuer erlebt der kleine Tyrannosaurier Gon die Welt des Meeres. Zu Beginn findet er einen Schildkrötenpanzer dessen Bewohner schon längst verstorben ist. So beschließt der kleine Dino sich diesen Panzer zu Eigen zu machen und wird prompt für eine Schildkröte gehalten. Nicht nur, dass man ihn gern verspeisen möchte, seine neuen Artgenossen stehen auch auf der Speisekarte. Seien es die Eier oder frisch geschlüpften kleinen Schildkröten. Gon macht sich mit ihnen auf die Reise und erlebt, wie das Leben einer Schildkröte ist - ein Kampf ums Überleben im rauen Meer. In den weiteren Geschichten geht Gon auf Safari, wo er mit seinen kleinen katzenartigen Freunden ein Leopardenjunges beeindruckt, denn die Steppe zittert vor der Gang und das gefällt dem Kleinen ganz gut, schließlich hat er erst seine Mutter verloren und die Gang lässt sich von den anderen Tieren so gar nichts gefallen - sie sind der Boss, so viel ist klar! In der dritten Geschichte aus diesem Band werden Gon und ein paar Savannenbewohner durch einen Wirbelsturm in die Wüste katapultiert, wo sie bei sengender Hitze um ihr Leben kämpfen müssen - wer wird als erstes aufgeben und wer wird schließlich alle retten?

Auch in diesem vierten Band kann der Leser in die detaillierte Tierwelt abtauchen und sie mit Gon zusammen entdecken. Es gibt spannende und traurige Momente. Der Mangaka hat sich sehr viel Mühe mit seinen Zeichnungen gegebene, sodass jedem Fan von Anime- und Mangazeichnungen regelrecht das Wasser im Mund zusammen läuft. Jedes Panel ist einfach ein Erlebnis! Ganz ohne Worte erzählt der Mangaka die Geschichte, indem er mit seinen imposanten Bildern arbeitet. Es ist einfach ein Fest für die Augen und wird nicht langweilig. Wirklich super gemacht.

5 von 5 Sternen hierfür.


Taschenbuch: 176 Seiten
Verlag: Kodansha Comics; Auflage: 01 (14. Februar 2012)
Sprache: Englisch
ISBN-10: 1935429426
ISBN-13: 978-1935429425
Vom Hersteller empfohlenes Alter: Ab 10 Jahren
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 12,7 x 1,3 x 19 cm

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

13 Gon Becomes a Turtle
Gon looks so cute in the turtle shell, but man was this chapter brutal :(
I'm glad I'm not a baby turtle.

14 Gon Journeys into the Desert
Loved it! It was just so entertaining all around.

15 Gon and His Posse
I loved this one! The cats are so stinking cute and it was also kind of badass.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

15×21+DJ[|₀₈|] ¦ "1996_8_23_" ¦ 530/515¥ = ¹print(noted)
+4.5cm↕ tissue bandeau / ←covered and reads Eastern←

The only words are the three chapter titles (chapters 13-15 from "Morning Magazine" 1994-5) and scattered animal names- all in Japanese and English.

Visual: *****
Dazzling and shocking in effort!

Narrative: ***

[Lightwhisper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mais um brilhante trabalho de Tanaka. Talvez com uma das suas maiores histórias de Gon =)

[Kristine Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again the artwork is impeccable. My favorite story in this one is “gon and his posse” so badass lol

[Shin Donghae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jilid brilian lainnya dari Tanaka sensei. Begitu menghibur dan mengundang senyum

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork. Funny yet sad. Educational, specifically life cycles and food webs.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nemu buku versi jepangnya, tp gamasalah soalnya komik ini sama sekali ga ada percakapannya. Dan justru karena minus percakapan, ekspresi wajah dan detail gambar jadi benar-benar kaya. Saya aja bisa ngakak guling-guling karena kelucuan ekspresinya Gon. Kayaknya hidupnya bahagia banget meskipun kisah-kisah yang dilaluinya rada lumayan bikin deg-degan. Dan sebagai satu-satunya dinosaur yang tersisa di bumi, he seems to not really care about that and live him self to the fullest instead. Love it!

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[Josephine (biblioseph) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gon is a dinosaur who can do anything. That's all you need to know.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Gon's confidence. He just marches around doing what he needs to do to survive and helping out when he can.

[Janika Puolitaival · Rating 3 out of 5]

My hero! ;-)

[Halina Hetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Гон відбирає панцир в черепахи і продовжує свої пригоди в її обличчя тільки щоб наприкінці повернутися до свого правдивого стану: машину для руйнування, яку не можна не любити.

[Loqueleemama · Rating 4 out of 5]

tiene la misma tónica que los anteriores.Un manga para pasar un buen rato

[BRENDA LOPEZ]

This is imitation