Golden Boy - Essential Anime Collection (Vols. 1 & 2)
Kintaro Oe, a 25-year-old dropout from Tokyo University Law School, bicycles around Japan "learning about life" like an AsianAlong Came Bronson. He takes various part-time jobs, surprising everyone by excelling at everything he does, despite his goofy demeanor. He's lucky he's a quick study, as he spends most of his time ogling pretty women, cleaning toilets, and getting beat up. In this six-part 1995 OAV, he writes code at a software company, helps a corrupt mayor get re-elected, and learns to make noodles by hand. The animation is often sloppy--Kintaro changes appearance frequently--and the artists clearly concentrated on the bouncing breasts and jiggling derrières. Kintaro is a good-hearted and generally agreeable goof, but the slight plots and leering humor of this series will quickly bore anyone but a lecherous adolescent. As Kintaro's enthusiasm is matched only by his libido, it's all very silly and often crass, with his visceral reactions digitally disguised. Rated 17 Up: nudity, violence, profanity, sexual and toilet humor.--Charles Solomon