Shàngbān Zújīn Tàiláng #25

Shàngbān Zújīn Tàiláng, known internationally as Salaryman Kintaro, was created by manga artist Hiroshi Motomiya and serialized in Weekly Young Jump starting in 1994. The series follows the life of Ryūtarō Kanzaki, a former motorcycle gang leader who transitions into the corporate world as a salaryman after the death of his wife. Issue 25 arrives during the height of the series' popularity in the late 1990s, a period when Motomiya’s grounded, character-driven storytelling resonated deeply with Japanese readers navigating the social and economic shifts of the post-bubble era.

The visual design of the series reflects Motomiya's signature gritty, realistic aesthetic, which emphasizes the tension between the protagonist's past as a delinquent and his new, buttoned-up life in a major construction firm. This issue continues the series' exploration of office politics and Kintaro's unconventional problem-solving methods. Upon its release, the series received widespread acclaim for its unique take on the salaryman genre, eventually leading to multiple live-action adaptations and an anime series that solidified its place in modern manga history.