The Show:
Arts Magic, a DVD producer that specializes in Japanese films, has started
to release its first anime series with this premier volume of Salaryman
Kintaro. This series is a bit different than the usual anime
fare that is released in the states and definitly worth checking out.
Yajima Kintaro was the leader of a motorcycle gang 10,000 strong, but
he gave that up and moved away to settle down with his wife a couple of
years ago. His wife died in childbirth though, and now Yajima and
his infant son are moving back to the city. The ex-gang leader
is hired by a large construction firm to work as a salaryman: a white collar
office employee. Yajima approaches this job with the same gusto,
and philosophy, that he used to run his gang: kick ass and take names.
His straight forward and pragmatic method of dealing with problems, and
his strong work ethic is foreign to this top heavy corporation, and he
may just shake up the way business is done if they don't fire him first.
Kintaro makes quite an impression on his first day on the job.
After saving a fellow co-worker (unbeknownst to either of them) from being
beaten by a group of thugs, Kintaro ends up spending the night in jail.
A friend on the police force gives him a ride to work in a patrol car,
only to find around a hundred of his old motorcycle gang waiting at the
office doors to wish him luck on his new job.
This doesn't go over well with his immediate boss who decides that they
want Yajima to quit. So they have him sharpen pencils with a knife
all day long. For a month. Kintaro doesn't complain though,
since it's his job.
While he doesn't complain, he doesn't take crap from anyone either.
When an executive arrives one morning, all of the employees get off the
elevator so that the exec can ride alone. Everyone except Kintaro
who points out that there is plenty of room, and no reason for everyone
to leave. He gets dressed down for his behavior, but it doesn't seem
to phase him.
In another episode, Kintaro and his co-workers get in a fight with some
Yakuzza in a bar. They are able to take out the drunk mobsters, but
the next day a large contingency of yakuzza show up at their office building
and demands to see the president. The president refuses to appear,
and after Kintaro settles things with the gangsters, he puts his foot on
the president's desk and demands to know why he was hiding while the company
was in trouble.
This action, of course, gets Kintaro fired, but not for long.
Before he can even leave the room, the chairman of the board enters and
lets it be known that he hired Kintaro personally, and that he'll be the
only one to fire him. This makes the president even more irate and
angry.
It's at this point that an overall plot for the series starts to develop.
The chairman started the company and built it to a respectable size, but
then they stagnated. He hired a new president, Oshima, seven years
ago, and this man was able to make the firm grow by leaps and bounds.
As the company expanded, the president brought in more and more executives
that were loyal to him, and the chairman found his power waning.
The president wants to try to take over the company and oust it's founder,
but he doesn't quite have the stock votes to do it, but he will soon.
Meanwhile the chairman can see what's going on, but it pretty helpless
to stop it. So how does Kintaro fit into all of this?
Salaryman manga and anime are very popular in Japan, and consequently
there are a good number of them. They haven't made it across the
Pacific to America before this series, to the best of my knowledge, and
this definitely has a different feel than most of the other anime that
gets released. For one thing, this series is grounded in reality.
None of the characters have abilities beyond a normal person, and even
Kintaro isn't a super-human fighter, though he's good. If you think
about it, very few anime series don't have some unrealistic aspects to
them, even if it's someone who can make robots out of spare parts like
in Love, Hina or Sister Princess. There isn't anything
like that in this show, at least not in the first volume, and that gives
this show a feel that is different from many other anime shows.
I've started to really like this show. The plot is interesting,
and there is enough action and humor to keep things entertaining between
plot developments. Kintaro's background, and that of the company
he's working for are being revealed at a good pace, and that gives the
show a good amount of depth. All around a solid show that has good
potential.
The DVD:
Audio:
This show comes with the original Japanese in both stereo and DD 5.1.
There is not an English dub included on this disc, though there are optional
subtitles. The audio quality is average for this type of release.
There aren't a lot of space battles or explosions that would really make
use of the LFE channel in the 5.1 mix, but the dialog is reproduced well
in both audio tracks. There isn't any hiss or other audio defects
present.
The subtitles on the other hand do have a few problems. The translations
are a little rough in a place or two and they used a lot of British terms
too. Referring to drunk people as "pissed" for example. There
are grammatical errors every now and then but this was fairly rare and
it wasn't distracting.
Video:
The widescreen anamorphic image looks good. The lines are tight
and the image is sharp. The colors look good as well. Digital
defects are practically nonexistent. A solid looking disc.
Extras:
This disc also includes a six minute interview with director Tomohuro
Katsumata. He talks about the state of anime today, and how he became a
director of anime. There is also a short seven minute interview with
the producer Turo Nakano who talks about how technology is changing anime.
Final Thoughts:
I was surprised, and a little dismayed to find
that there wasn't an English dub. Though I almost always prefer the
original soundtrack, I like the option of watching it in English, and I
know many fans prefer not having to read subtitles. Aside from that
this was a nice disc. The show has a good mixture of humor and action,
with a plot that is grounded in reality. It will be interesting to
see how this show develops. With a MSRP of $24.95, this is a pretty good deal too. Recommended.
Buy: