Zeni Geba


Zeni Geba is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by George Akiyama.

Publication

The series was originally serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from 1970 to 1971, with its chapters collected into two tankōbon volumes. Shōnen Sunday was once specified as "harmful" in some prefectures when the series has started, because of its violent and drastic depiction.

Plot

The story was about a boy named Fūtarō Gamagōri who lived in extreme poverty, who gained affluence and influence through a series of murders.

Zeni means money in Japanese and Geba means die Gewalt in German, so the title can be translated into "Moneypower".

Characters

; Fūtarō Gamagōri
After his mother’s death, he killed a local young man who tried to stop him from stealing and fled to Tokyo. There, he deliberately collided with the car of the president of Taishō Trading Company, murdered the driver Shinboshi, and took his place as a live-in chauffeur. On the night of his wedding to Masami, the president’s younger daughter, he murdered the president and raped Mieko, setting fire to the mansion and seizing control of the company. He later drove Masami to suicide and committed numerous murders.
Encouraged by the politician Seikō Jin, he ran for governor and was elected. However, when asked to write an essay on “human happiness” by a newspaper, he began to write from his usual viewpoint—"money brings happiness"—but unconsciously envisioned a humble, loving family life money couldn’t buy. In this fantasy, he was happily married to Mieko with children. Realizing the truth he'd denied, he impulsively shot himself with a pistol hidden in his desk, ending the story on a bleak yet powerful note.
In the side story, Zenigeba no Musume Pūko, it's revealed that he survived the suicide attempt.
; Mieko
In Fūtarō’s fantasy, she was his wife, and they raised a happy family.
Corresponds to the character “Midori Mikuni” in the drama adaptation.

Adaptations

A film of Zeni Geba was released in 1970, directed by Yoshinori Wada, starring Jūrō Kara and Mako Midori, and featuring an appearance by science fiction author Izumi Suzuki.

Television Drama

The series was dramatized into a TV series in 2009, and was aired from January to March by the NNN TVs in Japan, starring Kenichi Matsuyama. The original story was released shortly after when Student activism was on in Japan and thus reflected such historical backgrounds as represented in its use of the word ゲバ in the title. The background of the TV series, on the other hand, was adjusted to reflect the 2009 world, including positioning of the main character as a temp worker working at a factory.

Overview

The drama follows the basic plot of George Akiyama's manga but adapts it to a contemporary 2009 setting, reflecting issues such as the post-Lehman economic crisis and employment instability.
Most characters are original to the drama, excluding Fūtarō and Kenzō.
Fūtarō’s scar is due to child abuse, unlike the congenital scar in the manga.
The final episode shows an alternate "happy" life, ending in a dramatic suicide by dynamite.
The line between dream, hallucination, and reality is left ambiguous.
Catchphrase: 「金のためなら何でもするずら」

Cast

; Fūtarō Gamagōri
; Young Fūtarō
; Midori Mikuni
; Yuka Mikuni
; Mika Mikuni
; Kenzō Mikuni
; Hoshino
; Sayaka
; Jun
; Kaoru
; Yoshiko Gamagōri
; Fūtarō’s Father
; Narrator

Staff