Golden Boy

Golden Boy; Animated comedy series, Japan, 1997; D: Hiroyuki Kitakubo, S: Mitsuo Iwata, Hiromi Tsuru, Yuuko Minaguchi, Mika Kanai

Kintaro Oe (25) is an honest and nonchalant young lad with a law diploma who travels across Japan on a bicycle. All his part time jobs get him into trouble: when he gets employed in a computer company, he wants to seduce his female boss, but she throws him out. Only later on does she find out he improved her diskette and wants to apologize. Election campaign: Kintaro falls for Naoko, the daughter of a mobster, who just provokes him, but later on apologizes. Noodle restaurant: Kintaro prevents the evil tycoon from seducing the daughter of the owner. Pool: Kintaro volunteers for a swimming instructor to impress a girl, but is again misunderstood. Temple: Kintaro wins in a race with a motorcycle girl. Anime studio: all the girls get together to help Kintaro complete a fantasy anime, but he again leaves on his bike.

Bright and joyful anime comedy series "Golden Boy" is unusual and stands out with ease since most of the works from that genre are serious. The hero, voiced in original by Mitsuo Iwata, is deliciously chaotic whereas especially funny is his sudden change of animation design in extreme situations which goes from detailed-naturalistic into caricature-cartoonish in the same scene. Nothing less hilarious are his seduction attempts aimed at attractive women, which are, for an "erotic comedy", surprisingly harmless and not embarrassing at all, refreshingly joking at its own expense. However, only the two girls from the first two episodes are satirically exaggerated: his female boss with giants breasts that "bounce" even at the slightest movement and Naoko, the daughter of a mobster, who seduces him just because she is bored. Looking at the truth straight in the face, the remaining 4 episodes are not that funny and shrill anymore. They roll out inconsiderate. Though, even this result is quite fun in spoofing some male-female cliches, for those who can laugh at self-absorbed chauvinism-feminism exaggerations.

Grade:++