Salary Man Kintaro
Salary Man Kintaro 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, Shin Salaryman Kintaro, and Salary Man Kintaro: 50-sai,
The manga follows Kintaro Yajima, a former gang leader who, as a promise to his late wife, has become a salaryman.
A live-action film adaptation premiered in 1999. A television drama adaptation aired for four seasons; the first one in 1999, the second in 2000, the third in 2002, and the fourth in 2004. Another drama adaptation aired for two seasons; the first one in 2008 and the second in 2010. A 20-episode anime television series aired in 2001. Two live-action films are set to premiere in 2025.
The manga has had over 35 million copies in circulation.
Characters
;Kintaro Yajima;Misuzu Yajima
;Ryuta Yajima
;Mimi Suenaga
;Akemi Yajima
;Morinosuke Yamato
Media
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, 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, started in Weekly Young Jump on January 15, 2009; an additional series, titled Shin Salary Man Kintaro Junfudō, 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, 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. It was added to the Crunchyroll Manga service in January 2026.
Live-action
Films
A live-action film adaptation premiered on November 13, 1999.In September 2024, it was announced that two live-action films, directed by, with scripts by, and starring Nobuyuki Suzuki as Kintaro Yajima, would premiere in Japan; the first film, Salaryman Kintaro Akatsuki-hen, premiered on January 10, 2025, and Salaryman Kintaro Sakigake-hen premiered on February 7 of the same year.
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 as Kintaro, 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", was performed by Yumi Matsuzawa, while the ending theme, "Heaven: Boku no Naka no Tengoku" was performed by Norishige Takahashi.In North America, the series was licensed by Arts Magic. It was released on five DVDs from May 31, 2005, to March 28, 2006.