After finishing the OVA three days ago, I decided to give the manga a spin and hoo boy this was a wiiiiild ride. So, you have the OG five episodes (episode six of the OVA is an anime exclusive) then after that it's all original (and very lewd!) escapades! There is a recurring theme of NTR in the stories, they are episodic yes, but the lore and experiences of Kintaro definitely affect the story. I believe Madame President herself reappears in the final arc! Same with Naeko (the mayor's daughter from episode 2)! The manga also dabbles in themes of what it means to truly"live" and the self censorship prevalent in society as a whole. The final arc forces Kintaro to think about what it means to actually be able to think for oneself and to avoid the groupthink that we as a society fall under. As some commenters have pointed out, there is a LOT of sex in the manga-- not quite hentai but pretty close. You definitely don't wanna see fem Kintaro giving the Golden Seed to a school girl at work. Despite that however, the use of sex is actually a very solid metaphor for how we repress ourselves in order to look cool and acceptable in the eyes of society. Matter of fact, the opening lines in chapter 68 of volume 8 sums up the series' stance on repression particularly well.

Speaking of fem Kintaro, during that portion of the manga, the manga makes an excellent point discussing how school curriculums typically are boring and do not reward actual studying, but rather following a template set by teachers. (Think of getting the exact same answer in math but getting docked points because you didn't use the same strat as the teacher). We are essentially taught from an early age to repress our true selves and follow whatever it is that society says is appropriate.

Regardless, despite the NTR aspects of the manga being a valid turn off for many readers, Golden Boy is definitely a good treat for those of us who enjoy comedic stories with feel-good themes whilst also giving one food for thought on certain topics. The series has helped me realize that being myself is one of the coolest things I could do in my life. It taught me that no matter what happens, our decisions are our own and we should appreciate that. All of this has cemented this series as one of my all-time favorites when it comes to the world of manga and I fervently advocate for those with an open mind to look past the NTR and enjoy the topics it discusses.