...so why isn't it? A lot of the reason is the comedy. This show really does play everything for laughs in the best way, making even the gratuitous nudity just part of the joke. Kintaro does become really good at a lot of odd jobs, but he starts from the bedrock and works his way up, which leads to some of the funniest scenes in the whole series, his first swim in particular being a stand-out. The situations he finds himself in, particularly with the women around him who expect him to behave a certain way because he's horny, also yield some comedic surprises and even a few heartfelt ones.
It's not so much that the show subverts these elements so much as that it leans into them at just the right angle, making the most out of elements other shows might lean on as a crutch. And yeah, sometimes it leads to Looney Tunes-esque road races where a dude on a bike rides on top of a power line and survives an impossible fall off a bridge. Sometimes it leads to ruining a business only to pull off a miracle of programming because he took copious notes. Sometimes it leads to giving a young girl a reason to value herself that she believed was lost to her.
Yes, they all end up chasing after him for sex, but that's kind of the beauty of it. This is a man who is incredibly adaptable, capable of picking up new skills in a span of time most wouldn't believe possible and performing physical feats the likes of which no one may ever see. He's often insightful and, though he comes off as naive, he does understand people better than he lets on. And he's dedicated... until he's not. When he leaves, he doesn't look back (except to ask the occasional favor) and has a big blind spot about how people see him. It means that this specimen of a man will probably always end up chasing the ladies until they start chasing him, only for him to be unable to recognize it and run away. It's kind of a male fantasy if said male never actually gets what he really wants, just picking up useful skills and being helpful wherever he is.
And so he rides off into the sunset, doomed to have a harem of women nipping at his heels as he goes to add more to the mix. It's kind of a brilliant way to handle it, and I definitely appreciated the work they put into this classic series.
