Given how mankind has been both awed and horrified from nature’s power it was easy to attribute various traits such as being motherly, wicked and outside God’s domain, cruel or kind, evil or good.

But those remain subjective human attributions, for nature simply is. How Gon is connected to this? Quite honestly it might not be, and I may just be babbling nonsense. I can’t help but remember it though, for it reminded me of how subjective our perception is. Skip [2.] if you just want to know what to expect from the manga.

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[1. On story...] There’s no need to say much, but either way: the story is episodic adventures that are purely based on visual storytelling. Those are centered on the reoccurring dinosaur named Gon appearing in various ecosystems and interacting with local fauna, to either save the day or fill his stomach. Chapters tend to be comedic, with some dramatic ones at times, sometimes centered on cute critters being helped by Gon, and sometimes he is living alongside other animals, or as one of them. In many he empathizes with the weaker animals and fights against predators. And in some cases, he’s being totally self-serving.

Outside being constantly hungry and violent, Gon is a highly inconsistent character, sometimes being less or more cunning/intelligent than in other chapters, and him being altruistic can be inconsistent as well.

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[2. A small rant you may sidestep, nothing to be taken at face value...] Depending on who reads, I guess this character inconsistency can be baffling, not affecting them at all, or lead them to dismiss the work overall as childish. I find something endearing with this though: to me he feels like an unusual self-insert character. His inconsistent personality feels just like an average human’s, and other traits turn him into an almighty interventionist who discriminates what he considers wrong from right, and acts accordingly.

In way I’m reminded of something I notice in people watching documentaries: almost all of them end up feeling bad over certain animals falling prey to a starving predator, such as a wolf or a crocodile, yet quite many take it a step further, outright labeling the predator as “bad”. The truth is, most animals do not kill out of malice, just to cover a need. And unlike humans and some other social animals, most animals don’t even have concepts of empathy or foundations for morality.

Perhaps I’m just occasioned by a children’s manga with adventures led by a cool dinosaur, and overthought pointlessly. But in a way, I feel this is much like a superhero fantasy at natural settings, and a parallel of the discriminatory projection of moral traits by humans, depending on if something is small, big, cute or not, a carnivore, a herbivore, beneficial or harmful, you name you get it.

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[3. Briefly on artwork...]

Its artwork is realistic, richly detailed and well-shaded, many depictions of fauna being almost photorealistic, barring expressions showing more anthropomorphic characteristics at times. The mangaka’s attention to detail and aesthetics also expands to natural landscapes.

Given how there is no dialogue, the manga is entirely carried by its rich visuals and paneling. No matter the impression one forms over Gon, or even if they don’t care at all, I’d more than recommend taking a peek at this manga simply because of how good it looks.

Just a closing point: I'm not going to say Gon is something more than what it is: a nature-themed adventure manga with detailed artwork. Just like nature, it's what it is and no interpretation, or how much I amuse myself writing this review is going to change that.

And in a way, my rant above is just another sample of how human perception can add color or meaning where there might be none, but this might also be one of the spices of life.

Hope you enjoyed my review!