| Zeni Geba | |
 Cover of the firstbunkoban volume | |
| 銭ゲバ | |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | George Akiyama |
| Published by | |
| Imprint | Shōnen Sunday Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Sunday |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | 1970 –1971 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Television drama | |
| Written by | Yoshikazu Okada |
| Original network | NNN |
| Original run | 17 January 2009 – 14 March 2009 |
| Episodes | 9 |
Zeni Geba (銭ゲバ) is a Japanesemanga series written and illustrated byGeorge Akiyama.
The series was originally serialized inShogakukan'sshōnen manga magazineWeekly Shōnen Sunday from 1970 to 1971, with its chapters collected into twotankōbon volumes.Shōnen Sunday was once specified as "harmful" in some prefectures when the series has started, because of its violent and drastic depiction.[1]
The story was about a boy named Fūtarō Gamagōri (蒲郡風太郎) who lived inextreme poverty, who gained affluence and influence through a series of murders.
Zeni means money in Japanese andGeba means die Gewalt (power) in German, so the title can be translated into "Moneypower".
A film ofZeni Geba was released in 1970, directed by Yoshinori Wada, starringJūrō Kara andMako Midori, and featuring an appearance by science fiction authorIzumi Suzuki.
The series was dramatized into aTV series in 2009, and was aired from January to March by theNNN TVs in Japan, starringKenichi Matsuyama. The original story was released shortly after whenStudent activism was on in Japan and thus reflected such historical backgrounds as represented in its use of the word ゲバ (geba) in the title. The background of the TV series, on the other hand, was adjusted to reflect the 2009 world, including positioning of the main character as a temp worker (派遣社員,haken shain) working at a factory.[2]