The Show:
The fourth volume of Salaryman Kintaro is another excellent
entry in the series. Still moving at a fast pace, these four episodes
reveal a lot about Kintaro's past including the fate of his parents and
how he came to join a motorcycle gang in the first place. New characters
are introduced, and the young headstrong salaryman finds himself transferred,
again, to another branch of the company. This series is becoming
infectious, the more I watch the more I want to see. Artsmagic has
done well to pick this pleasing series as their first anime release.
Series recap:
Yajima Kintaro was the leader of a motorcycle gang 10,000 strong.
A couple of years ago he gave that up and moved away to settle down with
his new wife. Unfortunately she died in childbirth, and now Yajima
and his infant son Ryu are moving back to the city. The ex-gang
leader is hired by a large firm, Yamato Construction, to work as
a salaryman, a white collar office employee, and though the job isn't a
good one Yajima approaches it 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
are foreign to this top heavy corporation, and he may just shake up the
way business is done if they don't fire him first.
On addition to the office politics, Kintaro has a romantic prospect
too. He has started to date Misuzu, the lovely owner of a high class
bar. She used to be the mistress of a high ranking government official,
and since he died she hasn't taken a lover. When she sets her eyes
on Kintaro though, things change. She's a good judge of character
and can tell that he's an honorable man. She falls madly in love
with him, but so does her 14 year old daughter. It's not clear how
Kintaro feels about either of them, but it looks like sparks will fly before
too long.
This volume:
This is a very good volume that moves the story forward and also has
some interesting developments. As the disc starts, it's the tenth
anniversary of the passing of Kintaro's mother, so he takes his son Ryu
to visit her grave along with is aunt and uncle. While there he's
surprise to discover his father is also there, paying his respects.
Kintaro hasn't seen his father in decades, ever since he was arrested and
found guilty of murder.
A few new characters are introduced in the following episodes that promise
to both help and hinder Kintaro's career. Takatsukasa Seiji, a former
official with the department of International Trade and Industry, joins
Yamato Construction and has plans to shake things up. He doesn't
want the company to continue doing business as usual, he thinks the best
way for the company to thrive in the coming lean years is by expanding
into the Asian market. He makes some good points and seems to win
over many of the executives, but he also notices Kintaro. Seiji pegs
the young salaryman as his leading rival in his climb to the top and vows
to take him out.
Kintaro also meets an interesting old lady while in a pachinko parlor.
After giving her $10 to gamble with, she invites him to her house for some
tea. The lady lives in an old run-down cottage on a lot of
prime land in the middle of the city. She's a multi-millionaire but
likes playing a poor old lady to see who'll be nice to her. Kintaro
has passed her test with flying colors, but he's in for another shock when
a group of yakuza arrive at her home. It turns out that she's been
laundering money for the mob for years, and has made a very good living
at it too.
Kintaro also gets transferred in this volume to Yamato's north eastern
branch in the city of Kahoku. The president of Yamato wants him to
have experience with all aspects of the company, and has sent him to trouble
spots in the past. This post is no different. Kintaro's boss,
Mr. Igo, has pretty much given up trying to earn jobs from the corrupt
system that is in place in Kahoku. Kintaro's not about to sit down
and let a corrupt system harm his company though, even if he makes a lot
of waves.
This a very good series that is different from other anime shows that
have been released in region 1. The office drama is surprisingly
engrossing, and Kintaro's magnetic personality is both believable and fun.
A lot of the show revolves around Kintaro doing what he feels is right,
even though it's not socially acceptable, and the ramifications of these
acts. The show is also an interesting look at Japanese society and
culture.
The only real complaint I have involving this show is that the animation
is a little jerky. The show has a low frame rate which is evident
in the scenes with a lot of movement, and they do cut corners in places,
using still images when they can. This isn't nearly as bad as some
of the worst offenders, and it's not too obvious since they tend to use
this technique in quiet office scenes, but the show would be better if
they had spent a little bit more on the animation.
The DVD:
This volume contains the next four episodes of the series. It
comes in a clear keepcase with a two sided cover. There is no insert.
The one slightly irritating thing about this disc is that there isn't a
chapter stop after the opening credits, so you have to fast forward past
them rather then just skipping them all together.
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.
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, though some background line do shimmer
somewhat. A solid looking disc.
Extras:
This disc, like the earlier volumes, also includes an interview with
director Tomohuro Katsumata as well as one with producer Turo Nakano.
Final Thoughts:
This show hasn't been getting a lot of buzz, and that's too bad.
It really has a lot of charm and is a lot of fun. It's a nice change
from the mecha, comedy, and fighting shows that makes up much of the anime
that gets released in the US. Well worth checking out, especially
if you want to see something of the ordinary man's life in Japan.
Highly Recommended.
Buy: