Golden Boy (manga)

Golden Boy is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Egawa. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Super Jump from 1992 to 1997, with its chapters later collected in ten bound volumes. The series follows Kintaro Oe, a 25 year old freeter and university dropout who roams Japan working various odd jobs. During his travels, Kintaro meets several women whose lives he dramatically changes, despite his invariably poor first impressions.

The series was adapted into a six-episode original video animation (OVA) produced by Shueisha and KSS that was released in 1995. A sequel to the manga, Golden Boy II, was serialized in Business Jump from September 2010 to May 2011.

Plot

Kintaro is a freeter, and has done various jobs as he quests around Japan in pursuit of knowledge. His ventures include computer programming, housekeeping, teaching, the culinary arts, and most of all, studying. Kintaro is also often seen demonstrating the skills he has learned in previous chapters to overcome challenges faced in the current one. He is also adept in martial arts, but does not fight unless he is angered, and ordinarily just takes a beating. Much of the humor derives from situational elements, such as encounters between Kintaro and the women gone awry, and interactions between Kintaro's libido and imagination. Recurring gags include Kintaro's fetish for toilets (especially those recently used by beautiful women), his exaggerated facial expressions, and comical entries in his notebook. The notebook entries include explicit drawings of the women he encounters and bits of wisdom such as "'C' base is not sex", and "The human head cannot turn 360 degrees." Regarding the series, Tatsuya Egawa writes: "Before leaving kindergarten, I wrote these words in my notebook: 'I really like to study.' Often I wonder when it was that our schools forgot the true meaning of 'study', something which is now so often misunderstood by teachers and parents. Learning ought to be both stimulating and entertaining".

Characters

• Kintaro Oe (大江 錦太郎)
• Madame President (女社長)
• Naoko Katsuda (勝田 奈緒子)
• Noriko (紀子)
• Ayuko Hayami (速水 鮎子)
• Reiko Terayama (寺山 麗子)
• Chie (知絵)

Media

Reception

The Golden Boy OVA was generally well received by English-language reviewers. It is widely known for its mature content: while the OVA is not strictly a hentai animation, it does feature instances of partial female nudity, orgasms, and female masturbation. In contrast, the manga becomes almost pornographic starting in the second volume.[27] Jeff Ulmer of DigitallyObsessed calls it "hilarious",[28] and Luis Cruz of AnimeOnDVD says it is "surprisingly well-written for an erotic comedy,"[29] and that it "easily deserves the 'Essential' moniker bestowed upon it" by ADV. Cruz goes on to say that the series' jokes "feel like a natural extension of both the characters and the plot...".[29] Mike Toole of AnimeJump says "the mixture of realistic storytelling with Kintaro's deranged personality is always a hoot to watch."[30] Of Kintaro himself, Toole says he "has a simple everyman appeal",[30] and Cruz contends that Kintaro's "charming character"[29] is what makes the anime coherent. Toole says that Golden Boy "is worthwhile for the final episode alone",[30] and Ulmer feels that it "took the cake".[31] Golden Boy popularized anime in Russia after being a huge success on its MTV Russia.[32]

External links