Golden Boy

Original Title: GOLDEN BOY - さすらいのお勉強野郎
Romanized: Golden Boy - Sasurai no Obenkyou-yarou
Literal: Wandering Study-punk

Plot Synopsis

Kintaro Oe is 25 years old, and had left Tokyo University after completing the curriculum. Now, he travels Japan and does part-time jobs.

Reader Review

Rating: 4.5 / 5
Reviewer: Lacker
Review Date: 2005-11-29

I had decided to go out on a limb with this one when I saw it at a dealer's booth at the local con', without much remembered information on it, and I bought it. All I knew was that this had plenty of hype around it, and that plenty of people had loved it. Well, the makers can add another fan to their list, this anime is a must-own.

No review can do service to how incredibly funny this anime truly is. Right from the start, the jokes are solid and satisfy. Kintaro's soliloquies make a great portion of the shows, and no matter how many times you hear him pondering a toilet, ramble about the current female protagonist, or scribble in his notebook, you can't help but laugh hysterically.

The animation in this show is superb. It always seems to match the mood the creators were going for, and never seems to have true flaws. It seamlessly switches between a more comical style of drawing for the characters and complete seriousness at the drop of a hat.

The voice actors for this show (Japanese and English) are both great. My only gripe is towards the actor in the dub who did Kintaro. At times, his voice seemed far too comical, and became quite annoying. Other than that, every character, minor or major, has a great actor/actress.

The character development is small and should be expected. Each episode flows mostly independent from the others, and since it's so short, the characters never change. But, through the duration of the episode, most of the time, more light is shone on the other characters' personality. Kintaro however, keeps the same general personality throughout the show.

And now, sadly, I have to mention the low points of the show. The plot is incredibly predictable. The endings are never surprising, and you always know what'll happen between Kintaro and the episode's female protagonist. Also, the show could easily offend many. It has large portions of fanservice throughout the show, and if you hate fanservice with a passion, trust me, you won't like Golden Boy.

Overall, I loved this show, and I have trouble not recommending it. Although it's predictable, and offends easily, those are just minor details and are outweighed by the positives of the show.

US DVD Review

The bilingual DVD includes the entire series on a single, budget priced disc. The English audio is also remastered in Dolby 5.1.

Content Guide

Rated 17-up by ADV.

Violence: 1 - Kintaro falls off a bike and gets beaten up.

Nudity: 3 - Plenty of fanservice.

Sex/Mature Themes: 2 - Lots of sex jokes in it.

Language: 2 - A few curses are said in the dub.

Notes and Trivia

Based on a 1993 comic by Tatsuya Egawa, not available in English as of this writing.

Availability

6 OAVs, available on a single "Essential Anime" DVD collection. Was originally available on six subtitled or dubbed VHS volumes or hybrid LaserDiscs, all out of print.

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