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After finishing the OVA three days ago, I decided to give the manga a spin and hoo boy this was a wiiiiild ride. So, you have the OG five episodes (episode six of the OVA is an anime exclusive) then after that it's all original (and very lewd!) escapades!

There is a recurring theme of NTR in the stories, they are episodic yes, but the lore and experiences of Kintaro definitely affect the story. I believe Madame President herself reappears in the final arc! Same with Naeko (the mayor's daughter from episode 2)!

The manga also dabbles in themes of what it means to truly ... "live" and the self censorship prevalent in society as a whole. The final arc forces Kintaro to think about what it means to actually be able to think for oneself and to avoid the groupthink that we as a society fall under. As some commenters have pointed out, there is a LOT of sex in the manga-- not quite hentai but pretty close. You definitely don't wanna see fem Kintaro giving the Golden Seed to a school girl at work. Despite that however, the use of sex is actually a very solid metaphor for how we repress ourselves in order to look cool and acceptable in the eyes of society. Matter of fact, the opening lines in chapter 68 of volume 8 sums up the series' stance on repression particularly well.


Speaking of fem Kintaro, during that portion of the manga, the manga makes an excellent point discussing how school curriculums typically are boring and do not reward actual studying, but rather following a template set by teachers. (Think of getting the exact same answer in math but getting docked points because you didn't use the same strat as the teacher). We are essentially taught from an early age to repress our true selves and follow whatever it is that society says is appropriate.


Regardless, despite the NTR aspects of the manga being a valid turn off for many readers, Golden Boy is definitely a good treat for those of us who enjoy comedic stories with feel-good themes whilst also giving one food for thought on certain topics. The series has helped me realize that being myself is one of the coolest things I could do in my life. It taught me that no matter what happens, our decisions are our own and we should appreciate that. All of this has cemented this series as one of my all-time favorites when it comes to the world of manga and I fervently advocate for those with an open mind to look past the NTR and enjoy the topics it discusses.

Barabanba, one of Go Nagai's lesser known erotic manga. I have no idea what I just read (and by read, I mean I just used the actual pics to "understand" the story, and let me tell you: This manga is WILD. From nude alien girls to chubby MC getting unconsensual CBT to even girls getting their tiddies slashed, this manga has it all.
Our main protagonist seems to be a total HORNDOG whose trying his *hardest* to get a crumb of coochie (and fails) but this isn't your typical shounen manga. No sirree, in this story, our protagonist gets play NONSTOP after the first rejections. ... So much as a matter of fact, that he has a witch shrink him down to hamster size to give her some out of this world cunnilingus. That's right, our boy eats the girl out from her literal insides. If that's not enough to arouse your curiosity, what if I told you this manga is one of the first instances of catgirls being in contemporary manga (or at least as I am aware of)? Granted it's in the second volume but its there! There's also dinosaurs and old men turning into monsters too.
The art is very good, especially for mid 80s, the babes are absolutely gorgeous and the censorship is minimum I daresay. I personally didn't get the urge to burp the worm if ya catch my drift but I can definitely see how this would be considered erotic back in the day. There's tons of panels where it is clearly humorous, but I mean, I don't speak Japanese homie, so I can't tell you if its actually funny. :)

Overall, I would say that Barabanba is a very fun read to get into and if you're into older works like me, I think you would find yourself very interested in seeing how the art of manga was back in the '80s. Of course, since its erotica, it may not sit well for those of us who aren't perverts which is totally fine. Just sayin' though, the first 15 pages were wild as hell and it hooked me with just how bizarre it was.
Thank you for reading, and have a great rest of your evening/day.

So, this is my first review. I may end up sounding amateurish, so don't take it too seriously.

Story wise? This anime has really made me think about how a vampire society would actually be structured. Would they live in a midieval-ish type society? Or perhaps would they be changing their lifestyles alongside with us humans? The anime also begs the question: Just what exactly is "too much" loyalty to one person is? Is there a point where sticking with someone you love is foolish? The story here does a really good job at that. Also, there are times where the story is spoken from a ... poetic perspective, so the midieval feel is very strong here. There is a bit of fanservice though, some of it strange when it features Princess Mina as well, she has the body of a child. See what I'm getting at?

Art? Well, I'm still pretty new to the anime biz honestly. So, although this show is quite old, I think its art style looks very modern and doesn't look outdated at all! The art direction really goes well with the "nightstalker" feel in my opinion.

Characters. The characters in this show really feel alive and admittedly, I enjoyed watching their interactions with one another. Take Princess Mina for example. She has a very tough exterior befitting of a vampire royal, yet on the inside, she's just as emotional as any of us. Although some of the human characters do get shoved aside for the vampire cast, I do feel like it helps the story move forward as the protagonist is essentially tied to Princess Mina and the vampire lineage.

Sound? Well, the sound effects and the soundtrack is great! I feel as if the timing of the music is never used inappropriately. A good example coming to mind is "Fuan" from the anime's soundtrack. Give it a listen! See if it sparks your fancy.

Overall Enjoyment? This anime really was a fun ride to be included in. It's a shame it only lasted 12 episodes, as the ending of the anime makes the viewer want to see even more adventures with Mina, Akira, and the rest of their crew. This anime is one of the first non-romance central I watched, and I will recommend it to any vampire lovers out there. It is not the best, but it is a great introduction to the vampire central anime out there.