Salaryman Kintarou

Salaryman Kintarou: An Underrated Gem of 90s/00s Anime

"Salaryman Kintarou," despite its dated animation style and occasionally hurried plot development, remains a remarkable and, dare I say, a masterpiece in its own right. This anime offers a gripping narrative filled with adult themes, an inspiring protagonist, and a beautiful soundtrack that collectively set it apart from its contemporaries.

One of the most striking aspects of "Salaryman Kintarou" is its bold approach to adult themes. The series dives deep into the gritty realities of violence, rape, biker gangs (Bōsōzoku), organized crime, and high-level corruption within politics and corporations. These elements paint a vivid picture of late 20th-century ... Japan, providing a stark backdrop against which the story unfolds. Despite these heavy themes, the anime manages to maintain a light-hearted tone through clever use of tongue-in-cheek humor, comedic interludes during fight scenes, and a generous sprinkling of fan service and romance. This balance makes the series both engaging and accessible, never allowing the darker elements to overwhelm the viewer.

Kintarou, the protagonist, embodies a refreshing non-cynical approach to life's challenges. Emerging from a past as a gang leader, Kintarou's transition to a white-collar employee and single father is marked by determination and resilience. Rather than succumbing to depressive defeatism or cynical escapism, he remains steadfastly focused on his goals. His actions and mindset showcase the importance of true leadership qualities, which, as the series aptly demonstrates, cannot be taught through theory and seminars alone but must be earned through real-life experiences. This message, rooted in a distinctly Japanese code of honor, commitment, and sacrifice, resonates deeply. Even with its supernatural fight scenes, the anime maintains a down-to-earth messaging, offering a refreshing outlook on overcoming life's hardships.

Adding to the series' charm is its beautiful soundtrack. The ending theme, "Heaven～僕の中の天国～" ("We're in Heaven") by Norishige Takahashi, evokes a strong sense of nostalgia, even after more than a decade since my first viewing. The piano interludes scattered throughout the episodes enhance the 90s Japan movie and anime vibe, providing an auditory experience that is too exquisite to ignore.

In conclusion, "Salaryman Kintarou" stands out not only for its compelling narrative and themes but also for its unique ability to blend humor and seriousness seamlessly. While the old-school animation and sometimes rushed plot development might be off-putting to some, the anime's core strengths make it a timeless classic worth revisiting. Its mature themes, inspiring protagonist, and memorable soundtrack collectively contribute to its status as an underrated gem in the world of anime.

Btw, harem should be included in the genre.

Even though it takes a very serious tone towards political and corporate corruption, it throws an over the top, too-farfetched-to-believe character. A number of cringeworthy scenes 'trying' to show how desirable the main character is, problems and solutions that fall into place all too perfectly well, and 'coincidental' and 'fateful' encounters that magically work in favor for our righteous hero slash salaryman.

Yes, Kintaro is destined for greatness, loved by the heavens above, inevitably admired and cherished by everyone, even his enemies ... and the anime tries to ham it in every chance it gets.

Even with ... all that, it is still interesting to watch. I did watch it all within two days, I'm just saying, it has some big flaws, but we try to watch even the most ridiculous stuff with an open mind ... a very open mind.

EDIT: And to the people that say "if you like GTO, you'll like this", I'd say yes and no. Though they both have main characters that are notorious bike gang leaders but with straightforward and righteous attitudes, the charm in both is different. I also did mention this anime plays out a lot like a harem and a cheesy one at that.

Salaryman Kintarou is legitimately one of the worst anime I have seen in my life

The premise is interesting enough as it showcases Kintarou who is a former gangster turned salaryman trying to survive with his son after losing his wife in an environment he isn't used to . His extremely honest personality initially rubs the higher ups and his colleagues in his work place the wrong way until they see the light and realize how their quality of life is bettered once they become more honest with themselves as well

That sounds kinda cool right? But guess what it isn't

Why? Because Kintarou is loved by EVERYONE ... . Every woman and I mean EVERY single one of them in the show wants to "date" him and his former rivals that turn to friends worship the ground he walks on and cry every time he does literally anything. He is portrayed as the realest , sexiest , toughest and luckiest human being walking gods green earth . Mind you that to an extend this would have been fine but he has the personality of a dishwasher and all of that admiration is never earned

To give you a basic understanding at one point Kintarou is sharpening pencils because he is incapable of doing anything else in the company and somehow everybody in the office applauds him for it saying that these are the best sharpened pencils ever! . Lmao who wrote this shit?

Continuing on with how terrible this character is , Kintarou initially disregards advances from women because he is still very much in love with his late wife and wants to focus on raising his son which is extremely admirable but of course they fuck this up as well

Eventually Kintarou meets a woman that everybody wants to bed because she is wildly considered to be one of the most beautiful women in all of Japan so what ends up happening is our poster boy takes a bet that he can indeed do it and without a shred of buildup he sleeps with this woman who also ends up worshiping the ground he walks on because of how awesome he was in bed despite "finishing" extremely quickly . Trust me if this sounds obnoxious it's even worse when you actually see it

Get this though! He sees his wife from heaven in a dream telling him to move on and that she's OK with this . So what does Kintarou do? He scratches his ass , yawns like a neanderthal and continues his day without a single comment about what transpired . This was the point where I stopped watching as I couldn't take it anymore

Salaryman Kintarou is the anime equivelant of Neil Breen and I was utterly flabbergasted that in the end we didn't get a mecha version of Kintarou that fought against alien invaders

I could touch upon some other things like the low budget stiff animation that constantly reuses scenes but I wouldn't have minded if the story was good . The verdict used for the 1/10 score perfectly encapsulates how I feel about this anime

Pathetic ...Thank you for reading :)