Gorillaman

Gorillaman
First tankōbon volume cover
ゴリラーマン(Gorirāman)
GenreComedy[1]
Manga
Written byHarold Sakuishi
Published byKodansha
MagazineWeekly Young Magazine
Original run1988 – 1993
Volumes19
Original video animation
Directed by
Written byJou Hirose
StudioJ.C.Staff
Released June 25, 1992 – December 24, 1993
Runtime46 minutes (each)
Episodes2
Manga
  • Gorillaman 40
  • Gorillaman 40: Family Arc
Written byHarold Sakuishi
Published byKodansha
MagazineWeekly Young Magazine
Original runOctober 12, 2020 – May 13, 2024
Volumes4

Gorillaman (Japanese: ゴリラーマン, Hepburn: Gorirāman) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Harold Sakuishi. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine from 1988 to 1993, with its chapters collected in 19 tankōbon volumes. It was adapted into a two-episode original video animation (OVA) animated by J.C.Staff in 1992. A sequel, titled Gorillaman 40, was serialized in Weekly Young Magazine from 2020 to 2022. A spin-off, titled Gorillaman 40: Family Arc, was serialized in the same magazine from 2023 to 2024.

Gorillaman won the 14th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category, and has sold 12 million copies.

Production

19-year-old Harold Sakuishi created his debut work Gorillaman from thinking about what would happen if someone like Golgo 13 lived in a school.[2] He had previously spent a lot of time drawing and inking a manga while following the instructions of his editor, but it was still rejected. Annoyed, he spent months playing Bases Loaded before deciding to believe in himself and draw the manga that he wanted to draw, and said that, if Gorillaman did not work out, he would give up on being a manga artist.[2]

The title character's gorilla-like appearance was inspired by a real-life classmate of Sakuishi.[2] He initially planned for the character to just be quiet, but during a meeting, his editor suggested having him not say anything at all and the artist found it interesting. When Sakuishi initially proposed having Gorillaman speak in the final chapter, his editor opposed the idea. But after conducting a survey of the editorial staff, the majority thought it would be more interesting if he spoke, so they went with it.[2]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Harold Sakuishi, Gorillaman was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine from 1988 to 1993.[3] Kodansha collected its chapters in nineteen tankōbon volumes, released from April 6, 1989,[4] to October 6, 1993.[5]

For the magazine's 40th anniversary, Sakuishi launched a two-chapter story in Weekly Young Magazine, under the title Gorillaman 40, on October 12 and 17, 2020;[6] it was later serialized in the same magazine from March 28 to August 22, 2022.[1][7] A spin-off manga, titled Gorillaman 40: Family Arc (ゴリラーマン40 ファミリー編, Gorirāman 40 Famirī-hen), was first published as a one-shot in Weekly Young Magazine on October 3, 2022,[8][9] and was later serialized in the same magazine from December 25, 2023,[10] to May 13, 2024.[11]

Kodansha collected the Gorillaman 40 chapters in three tankōbon volumes, released from April 6 to September 6, 2022;[12][13] a fourth volume, including the first six chapters of Gorillaman 40: Family Arc, was released on April 5, 2024,[14][11] and the fifth volume is set to be released in July of the same year.[11]

Original video animation

The series was adapted into a two-episode original video animation (OVA) animated by J.C.Staff, released on June 25, 1992, and December 24, 1993.[15][16]

Video game

A video game, titled The Gorilla Man, was released on April 28, 1993, for the Nintendo Famicom by Yonezawa PR21, a publishing label for Yonezawa Toys.[17] The game is one of only a handful of titles to support Yonezawa's Partytap peripheral, a special controller that allows up to six players to play at once.

Reception

In 1990, alongside The Silent Service, Gorillaman won the 14th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category.[18] By 2022, it had sold about 12 million copies.[2]

References

  1. ^ abHodgkins, Crystalyn (March 13, 2022). "Beck's Harold Sakuishi Launches Gorillaman 40 Manga on March 28". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  2. ^ abcde『ゴリラーマン』がダメだったらマンガ家は諦めようと思った…マンガ家ガチアンケート・ハロルド作石編｜川島・山内のマンガ沼web. Fany Magazine (in Japanese). May 27, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  3. ^ゴリラーマン：29年ぶり連載復活 「ゴリラーマン40」で40歳に 第1話に「ストッパー毒島」アスレチックス火野も. Mantan Web (in Japanese). March 28, 2022. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  4. ^ゴリラーマン（１） (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on September 27, 2004. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  5. ^ゴリラーマン（１９） (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on September 27, 2004. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  6. ^ゴリラーマンが帰ってきた！特別読切「ゴリラーマン40」がヤンマガに2号連続掲載. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 12, 2020. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  7. ^Pineda, Rafael (August 15, 2022). "Harold Sakuishi's Gorillaman 40 Manga Ends on August 22". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  8. ^Pineda, Rafael (September 10, 2022). "Gorillaman 40 Manga Gets 'Family Arc' Spinoff". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  9. ^ゴリラーマン40：特別読み切り「ファミリー編」 主人公はゴリラーマンのめい イマドキ女子. Mantan Web (in Japanese). October 2, 2022. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  10. ^ゴリラーマン40：新連載「ファミリー編」が「ヤンマガ」に ゴリラーマン一族の知られざる現代暮らし. Mantan Web (in Japanese). December 24, 2023. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  11. ^ abcHazra, Adriana (May 12, 2024). "Gorillaman 40 Family Arc Spinoff Manga Ends". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  12. ^40歳になり多忙な日々を送るゴリラーマンの活躍を描く「ゴリラーマン40」1巻. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 6, 2022. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  13. ^【9月6日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 6, 2022. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  14. ^【4月5日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 5, 2024. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  15. ^ゴリラーマン (in Japanese). J.C.Staff. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  16. ^ごりらーまん ２. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). National Center for Art Research. Archived from the original on May 9, 2025. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  17. ^ゴリラーマン. Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  18. ^Joel Hahn. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
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