A sequel to the 2008 live-action television drama adaptation of Hiroshi Motomiya's Salaryman Kintaro workplace manga classic has been green-lit for a January 2010 premiere. In Salaryman Kintaro 2, 31-year-old Masaru Nagai will reprise the title role of Kintaro Yajima, a retired biker gang leader whose wife passed away during childbirth. Kintaro vows to become a corporate cog to ensure his baby boy's well-being, but discovers his abrasive, uncompromising ways work surprisingly well in the straitlaced Japanese workplace.
The manga has been running on and off in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump magazine since 1994. Motomiya restarted Salaryman Kintaro as a web manga in April of 2005, and then he launched a "Shin Salaryman Kintaro" spinoff in the Weekly Young Jump's July 2009 issue. Veteran actor Katsunori Takahashi played the role in a popular 1999 film directed by Takashi Miike, as well as in a four-season 1999-2004 television drama series. The manga was also adapted into a 2001 anime series that Arts Magic released in North America.
The October 2008 premiere episode of Nagai's first Salaryman Kintaro drama series earned a rating of 13.8%, the highest for a Friday night drama on TV Asahi's network. The ten episodes eventually earned an average rating of 11.8%. The sequel will run at 11:15 p.m. on Friday evenings.
The rock group B'z will contribute its "long time no see" song from the November 18 album Magic for the drama sequel's theme song.
Source: Sankei Sports, Sports Hochi, Barks
