Salaryman Kintarō

Salaryman Kintaro (Japanese: サラリーマン金太郎, Hepburn: Sararīman Kintarō) is a Japanese manga series by Hiroshi Motomiya. It was serialized in Weekly Young Jump from 1994 to 2002, with many periods of inactivity during its run. Salaryman Kintaro had sold over 30 million copies in print.

Salaryman Kintaro
Cover of the first manga volume
サラリーマン金太郎
(Sarariiman Kintarō)
Manga
Written byHiroshi Motomiya
Published byShueisha
English publisher
Manga Planet
MagazineWeekly Young Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original run1994 – 2002
Volumes30
Live-action film
Directed byTakashi Miike
StudioToho
ReleasedNovember 13, 1999
Runtime110 minutes
Television drama
Original networkTBS
Original run 1999 – 2004
Episodes44 (+ 1 special)
Anime television series
Directed byTomoharu Katsumata
Produced byTetsuo Gensei
Hiroshi Shigekawa
Tōru Nakano
Satoshi Kubo
Kisei Takahashi
Written bySukehiro Tomita
Music byKenichi Kamio
StudioJCF
Original networkBS-i
Original run February 18, 2001 – March 18, 2001
Episodes20
Manga
Shin Salaryman Kintarō
Written byHiroshi Motomiya
Published byShueisha
MagazineWeekly Young Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original run2009 – 2011
Volumes7

The manga follows Kintarō Yajima, a former Bōsōzoku leader who, as a promise to his late wife, has become a salaryman. In 2005, Kintarō went from working as a salaryman to working for a foreign bank.

In 2005, Salaryman Kintaro began appearing as an online comic and eventually returned to Young Jump.

While the manga is not available in print in English, all 30 volumes and part of the sequel had been translated into English and were available through the Comic Friends Facebook app. However, in December 2018 Comic Friends announced that it would no longer be doing business in America.[1] In July 2020, manga subscription service Manga Planet had announced that they had licensed the manga.[2]

Characters
Kintarō Yajima (矢島金太郎, Yajima Kintarou)
The protagonist of the series, a high school dropout and former Bōsōzoku who retired to become a fisherman, but after he saved Morinosuke Yamato he was offered a job at Yamato Construction in the sales department.
Misuzu Yajima (矢島美鈴, Yajima Misuzu)
Née Suenaga (末永). A high class woman who once had an affair with the late politician Seishirō Kuroda (黒田征四郎,, Kuroda Seishirou). She still has strong political and financial connections and later becomes Kintarō's wife.
Ryuta Yajima (矢島竜太, Yajima Ryuta)
The son of Kintarō and his late wife Akemi.
Mimi Suenaga (末永美々, Suenaga Mimi)
The daughter of Misuzu from her affair with Kuroda.
Akemi Yajima (矢島明美, Yajima Akemi)
Kintarō's first wife, a kind blind woman who dies giving birth to Ryuta.
Morinosuke Yamato (大和守之助, Yamato Morinosuke)
One of the many men that Kintarō saves. Chairman of Yamato Construction. He believes in Kintarō all the way.
Genzō Ōshima (大島源造, Genzou Ooshima)
Yūsaku Kurokawa (黒川優作, Kurokawa Yuusaku)
Ryūzō Igō (伊郷龍蔵, Igou Ryuuzou)

Media

Live-action film
Main article: Salaryman Kintaro (film)

Live-action TV series
Seasons
  • January 10~March 21, 1999: Salaryman Kintarō (11 Episodes, Average Rating: 19.0%)((cn))
  • October 3, 1999: Salaryman Kintarō Special
  • April 9~July 2, 2000: Salaryman Kintarō 2 (12 Episodes, Average Rating: 16.3%)((cn))
  • January 6~March 17, 2002: Salaryman Kintarō 3 (11 Episodes, Average Rating: 15.5%)((cn))
  • January 15~March 18, 2004: Salaryman Kintarō 4 (10 Episodes, Average Rating: 11.2%)((cn))
Cast

The main cast from the film version returned for the television series.

Theme Songs
  • Season 1: Kibou no Kane ga Naru Asa ni (希望の鐘が鳴る朝に, The Bell of Hope is Ringing in the Morning) (The Alfee)
  • Season 2: Kizuna (キズナ, Bonds) (Tetsurō Oda)
  • Season 3: Atsuku Nare! (熱くなれ!, A Hot Time!) (Katsunori Takahashi)
  • Season 4: Kibou no Hashi (希望の橋, Bridge of Hope) (The Alfee)

Anime television series
Cast
Theme Songs
  • Opening Theme: Jikuu ~Toki no Sora~ (時空～ときのそら～, A Space of Time) (Yumi Matsuzawa)
  • Ending Theme: Heaven ~Boku no Naka no Tengoku~ (Heaven～僕の中の天国～, We're in Heaven) (Norishige Takahashi)

The anime is available subtitled on DVD through Arts Magic.

References
  1. "NTT Solmare's ComicFriends Online Manga Service Shuts Down". Anime News Network. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  2. Mateo, Alex (July 29, 2020). "Manga Planet Licenses Salary Man Kintaro, Charge!! Men's School, Peacock King More Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
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