Salary Man Kintaro

Salary Man Kintaro (サラリーマン金太郎) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroshi Motomiya. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Young Jump from 1994 to 2002, with its chapters collected in 30  volumes. It was followed by three series; Salary Man Kintaro: Money Wars-hen (2005–2006), Shin Salaryman Kintaro (2009–2011), and Salary Man Kintaro: 50-sai (2015–2016),

The manga follows Kintaro Yajima, a former leader who, as a promise to his late wife, has become a salaryman. In 2005, Kintaro went from working as a salaryman to working for a foreign bank.

The manga has had over 35 million copies in circulation.

Characters

 * Kintaro Yajima (矢島金太郎)
 * A high school dropout and former who retired to become a fisherman, but after he saved Morinosuke Yamato he was offered a job at Yamato Construction in the sales department.
 * A high school dropout and former who retired to become a fisherman, but after he saved Morinosuke Yamato he was offered a job at Yamato Construction in the sales department.


 * Misuzu Yajima (矢島美鈴)
 * Née Suenaga (末永). A high class woman who once had an affair with the late politician Seishirō Kuroda (黒田征四郎). She still has strong political and financial connections and later becomes Kintaro's wife.


 * Ryuta Yajima (矢島竜太)
 * The son of Kintaro and his late wife Akemi.


 * Mimi Suenaga (末永美々)
 * The daughter of Misuzu from her affair with Kuroda.


 * Akemi Yajima (矢島明美)
 * Kintaro's first wife, a kind blind woman who dies giving birth to Ryuta.


 * Morinosuke Yamato (大和守之助)
 * One of the many men that Kintaro saves. Chairman of Yamato Construction. He believes in Kintaro all the way.


 * Genzō Ōshima (大島源造)
 * Yūsaku Kurokawa (黒川優作)
 * Ryūzō Igō (伊郷龍蔵)
 * Ryūzō Igō (伊郷龍蔵)
 * Ryūzō Igō (伊郷龍蔵)

Manga
Written and illustrated by Hiroshi Motomiya, Salary Man Kintaro was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump from 1994 to 2002. Shueisha collected its chapters in 30 volumes, released from December 8, 1994, to March 19, 2002.

In April 2005, the series started appearing as an online comic, and a sequel, titled Salary Man Kintaro: Money Wars-hen (サラリーマン金太郎 マネーウォーズ編), was serialized in Weekly Young Jump from November 11, 2005, to August 10, 2006. Shueisha collected its chapters in four volumes, released from April 19 to December 19, 2006.

A third series, titled Shin Salaryman Kintaro (新サラリーマン金太郎), started in Weekly Young Jump on January 15, 2009; an additional series, titled Shin Salary Man Kintaro In no Particular Order (新サラリーマン金太郎 順不同), started on April 1, 2010. Shueisha collected its chapters in seven volumes, released from August 19, 2009, to March 18, 2011.

A fourth series, titled Salary Man Kintaro: 50-sai (サラリーマン金太郎 五十歳), was serialized in Weekly Young Jump from April 16, 2015, to February 10, 2016. Shueisha collected its chapters in four volumes, released from July 17, 2015, to April 19, 2016.

The manga was digitally available in English on the NTT Solmare's ComicFriends Facebook app in 2012; the service closed in that same year. Manga Planet added the series to its digital service on August 3, 2020.

Film
A live-action film adaptation premiered on November 13, 1999.

Drama
A television drama adaptation, starring Katsunori Takahashi as Kintaro Yajima, was broadcast on TBS. The first season was broadcast for 11 episodes from January 10 to March 21, 1999. A second 12-episode season was broadcast from April 9 to July 2, 2000. A third 11-episode season was broadcast from January 6 to March 17, 2002. A fourth 10-episode season was broadcast from January 15 to March 18, 2004.

Another drama series, starring Masaru Nagai as Kintaro Yajima, was broadcast on TV Asahi. The first season was broadcast for 10 episodes from October 10 to December 12, 2008. A second 10-episode season was broadcasr from January 8 to March 12, 2010.

Anime
A 20-episode anime television series adaptation, animated by JCF, was broadcast on BS-i from February 18 to March 18, 2001. The opening theme, "Jikū: Toki no Sora" (時空～ときのそら～), was performed by Yumi Matsuzawa, while the ending theme, "Heaven: Boku no Naka no Tengoku" (Heaven～僕の中の天国～) was performed by Norishige Takahashi.

In North America, the series was licensed by Arts Magic. The series was licensed on five DVDs from May 31, 2005, to March 28, 2006.

Reception
The manga has had over 35 million copies in circulation.