The Anime Review

Golden Boy

Normally, I wouldn't write a review after watching just one episode of a six-episode OVA series. However, Golden Boy is an unusual exception, not only because ADV sells the OVAs one at a time, but also because the plots in Golden Boy do not necessarily relate to each other. There's actually another reason for the exception, and that is that Golden Boy, at least based on its first episode, is one of the funniest shows I have ever seen. It has generous amounts of fan service and a decent amount of lechery, and normally that signals a weaker show--but in this case, Golden Boy is so goofy, so likable, that I couldn't help but smile the whole way.

We're introduced to Kintaro, the hero of our show, as he rides his bike across town to head for his new job; almost immediately, he's nearly run over by a speeding Delorean. Out of the car steps a scantily-clad, attitude up to here, impossibly well-endowed woman who hands him $10,000 for any injuries, cleanup, etc. She then vanishes. Kintaro, amazed at his good fortune, gets his bike fixed and heads to the office for his first day...only to find that his new boss is the exact same lady! At first, the office girls believe he's worthless, and Kintaro finds himself cleaning toilets. Can Kintaro learn something from this office of gorgeous females and still remain sane?

Kintaro turns out to be an incredibly likable character, and his sense of fun permeates Golden Boy. Even when we may be utterly unimpressed by his gawking or his constant note-taking about women, we can't help but smile at him--he may be a dweeb, but he's a funny dweeb with a lot more going on in his brain than what he lets on. Thankfully, the show's creators have some incredibly fun dialogue (enhanced, no doubt, by ADV's tendency to exaggerate in their translations). It's well-written, and even though we've met half a billion lechers in the realm of anime, Kintaro is the rare one the audience can still relate to.

Nothing in Golden Boy in terms of animation, sound, or technique draws away from its story, and overall, it's nicely produced. If there is an issue for viewers--and it is normally for me, so it's not hard to mention--it's the fact that this show has plenty of shots of people half dressed, and it contains lots of sexual innuendo. Thus, it's really inappropriate for anyone under the late teens. However, there is (at least in the first episode) no real nudity or intimate contact. Those who are still offended by the concept should stay away, but this material is pretty tame in comparison to many other shows.

So my final word? I'm gonna track down the rest of this series, and hopefully it will make it to DVD soon, because this was just hilarious. Hopefully, I'm not disappointed, but if the start is any indication of what's to follow, I'm in.