Golden Boy is one of those anime where its reputation precedes itself. Created by Tatsuya Egawa (who appears as himself in the last episode) and directed by rising prodigy Kitakubo Hiroyuki in the fierce world of 90s OVAs, the anime's legacy has grown in the three decades since its release. Anime fans who've been around for a while know of it; the smoking-hot babes, the legendary swimming scene, Doug Smith's hammy performance. It's all from this short, sweet six-episode ride.

The premise is simple: taking an anthological, episodic approach, our protagonist, Kintarou Oe, is a free-spirited college dropout. He rides his bicycle wherever the wind goes, landing whatever job possible to learn about the wonders of life. He is also a helpless pervert. Kintarou isn't just passively lecherous, but will rub his face over toilet seats. Nonetheless, all of the heroines fall for the good-natured guy, who'll leave just when their love blooms. Why is anyone's guess. The narrative never provides an answer for Kintarou's evasive nature, leaving it up to both the girls' and viewers' imaginations. Weirdly enough, I was more compelled by the individual heroines' arcs than Kentarou.

Perhaps that's my natural fondness for beautiful female characters talking, or their interesting characterization leaving me wanting more from them. The animation direction definitely helps as well, whether it's Kintarou's various punchable faces, Madam President's surreal Gainaxing, or Noriko's pensive attitude; the character acting is sublime across the board. Everyone here is memorable to one degree or another. The layouts and background art also give each job location Kintarou explored a rich presence, whether it's the organized computer desks in Episode 1 or the watercolor backdrop to the pool's warmth in Episode 4; no episode was ever boring to watch, because the visuals never let up. Kintarou's pervy attitude also never let up.

Kintarou is a weird protagonist. I find his gimmick a hit-or-miss. He's at his most compelling when his gimmick is offset by characters/workers other than the heroine, and give his studying methods actual purpose other than jotting down a women's breast size. Episodes 1 and 6 are great (perhaps coincidentally boarded and directed by Kitakubo himself), as the computer office and animation studio have characters other than Madam President or Chie interacting and guiding Kintarou through these different worlds, and putting his lessons to the test when they're in most need of help. Other episodes were not fortunate.

There is an undeniable charm to Kintarou, however. He bumbles almost every word he speaks as if his mouth is full. This is, in no part, thanks to Doug Smith, English VA of Kintarou, hamming it up to 100%. Doug Smith's performance might as well be one of dubbed anime's most iconic. Every famous clip of the show is because of him. There are too many hilarious moments to count, providing the corny dub a necessary edge. However, his bumbling can be excessive, creating tonal inconsistencies, his energy clashing with other actors or the visuals themselves. This created dissonance isn’t present in Mitsuo Iwata's performance, who, while not as exaggerated as Smith, knows when to tone down.

Quieter scenes are Iwata's specialty for his interpretation of Kintarou. Episode 3 is a good example of an episode not bogged down by Kintarou's horniness but undone by his inability to properly communicate. When Noriko, daughter of a ramen shop owner, is being toyed with by rich playboy Kogure, he tries to intervene multiple times, and attempts to subtly discourage Noriko from marrying him. Noriko is the most plain girl of the heroines, not getting any gratuitous or overt fanservice displays, but also not having any outstanding background like the others. For most of her episode, she's at the mercy of Kogure's womanizing, robbing her of agency that other heroines were afforded. However, it's possibly intentional in setting up the final scene. Their final scene together is subdued, arguably tragic. Noriko, after discovering Kogure's lie and Kintarou's efforts to stop him, genuinely falls in love.

Noriko's confession is the closest any heroine has come to getting Kintarou, but he evades by reminding her that they should be for another guy, not him. Calling back to their previous conversation on flowers earlier, Kintarou now feigns his obliviousness to her love as ignorance of flower types. The scene was trusted to Hideki Himasu, providing seiyuu Yuri Shiratori the platform to navigate solace and pain in Noriko's first true love, and heartbreak. By comparison, much of that nuance feels lost in the dub's more simplistic render, Doug Smith using the same dopey voice he'd use for any other scene. Kim Sevier's sincere efforts are not wholly wasted. Her vocal performance still clashes with Smith's usual goofiness that was unfit for the soft tone the scene carried.

While most actors give performances ranging from acceptable to great, others gave performances unfit for their character's arc. Mainly, Allison Keith's Naoko.

Naoko is Episode 2's heroine, a conniving teenage girl, luring men with her innocent figure into dangerous traps, all to cover for a father complex that Kintarou (somehow) deduces later in the episode. Interestingly enough, Naoko is also provided the most interiority second to Kintarou, with our MC sometimes becoming a backdrop for Naoko's manipulative tendencies. Yuko Minaguchi understands Naoko, behind her veneer, feels little attachment for sex, coldly describing Kintarou's lustful gazes. She's aware of being desired, but couldn't be less interested in desiring. Keith gives Naoko the voice of a cartoonish femme fatale, something akin to a seductive Yzma, when that couldn't be farther from Naoko's character. The best example is the scene where she puts on the swimsuit; sub vs dub. Minaguchi's narration is matter-of-factly, a soft melody alluding the childish, cutesy room. Episode 2 director and storyboarder Yasuhito Kikuchi captures Kintarou's lust, morphing it into a thing of fascination, a child's fascination with a toy. Keith, meanwhile, attempts to match Smith's energy, but it's wholly unsuitable for a softly seductive character like Naoko. She narrates her aroused fantasies in the same tone that Yzma would berate Kronk. Honestly, it makes me cringe with each rewatch. Robbing that characterization in favor of obnoxious arousal almost ruined my impression of her character, and made me glad I watched episodes subbed as well.

However, Naoko's interiority provides an interesting comparison to Kintarou's thoughts. Whereas Naoko's father complex is buried deep inside Naoko's character, never discovered until its explicitly told by the audience through her reading Kintarou's notebook, Kintarou's interior is never fully cracked. As mentioned beforehand, Kintarou's evasiveness to love, why he dropped out of college at the last second, his obsession for "learning", all of it remains mysterious to other characters and the audience alike. Despite spending hours with him, he never lets anyone in his inner world. Kintarou is often fired from his jobs for his horniness, but whether it's because he truly cannot keep himself together or acts like a goofball to feign ignorance is, again, a mystery.

Spoilers for final episode:
Episode 6, however, provides a nice change to the formula. Not only does it fix my problem of Kintarou's horniness being offset by office shenanigans, but has the animation studio become a character into itself. All the earnest animators, their distinctive designs and personas, synergizing with Kintarou's ability to naturally acclimate in any environment. His efforts to finish the anime project amidst hardship is where he peaks, both as a character and a person. His varied network he's built throughout pays off, using his new bonds to produce these last-minute miracles. It's a genuinely great pay-off, actively building a thesis to an anime that didn't need one. The miraculous production of an anime is one that'll never stop being miraculous, as fans and creators alike will wonder how staff pulled off various feats under hellish, crushing deadlines. And in the midst of Kentarou pulling off these miracles is Episode 6's heroine Chie. Her self-doubting plight halfway through moved me, compelling me to a girl embodying every other heroine's passion for their craft. All into this one hard-working animator who simply wants to believe her work is worth something. The ending, where she decides not to chase Kentarou like the other girls, is true development; in the others' decision to chase after a continuous voyager, she makes the tragic promise that she'll perhaps see him again someday. She looks towards the future, one only she can build if she wills it, not through a voyager, but through herself.

Is Golden Boy good? Yes. All of my critiques of the tonal or vocal inconsistencies matter little to most viewers. Everyone deserves to experience this loud and unapologetic OVA about a guy learning about the wonders of the world. The anime is an absolute riot, and it's worth your time.