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{{trope}}
[[File:
The typical white-collar worker at the bottom of the ladder. In America, they'd be called "office drones" or "wage slaves"; in Japan, they call them salarymen (or "[[Japanese Ranguage|sarariiman]]").
The essential ingredients for the proper
Salarymen are usually portrayed in ways similar to [[White Collar Worker
Prevalent in [[Cyberpunk]], this class of character is referred to there as a "sararyman", playing off [[Japanese Ranguage|the difficulty some Japanese have pronouncing the English "L"]]. This was a reaction in the [[The Eighties|late 1980's]] to the notion that [[Japan Takes Over the World|the Japanese were apparently taking over the world financially]], and Westerners were suddenly encountering these mid-level types in daily life. Salarymen also have quite the niche market in [[Boys Love]] works.
As a protagonist, this is essentially the same character as the [[Ordinary High School Student]]
Compare to [[Office Lady]], the [[Distaff Counterpart]] (of sorts) to this trope. Contrast the Western equivalent, the [[Workaholic]], whose life is even bleaker and his compromise with his work is tighter.
{{examples}}
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* Raizo in ''[[Living Game]]'' starts out as a random salaryman. Eventually his company goes out of business and he has to work construction instead.
* The whole premise of the anime ''[[Dai-Guard]]'' is actually the phrase "office workers saving the world" (by means of the [[Power Trio|protagonists]] and their corporate-owned [[Real Robot|giant mecha]]). This status does nothing to help their paychecks, of course.
* Shin's father Hiro in ''[[
* "Kaishounachi" (not his real name, but an epithet roughly translating to "Useless Bum"), boyfriend of Ebichu's owner the O.L., in ''Oruchuban Ebichu (Ebichu Minds the House)''.
* In ''REC'', Matsumaru is an ordinary salaryman (he's an up-and-rising copyrighter who pitched a couple of successful advertising campaigns for a snack-food maker, and was made to work ''even harder'' for that) who falls in love with an aspiring voice actress.
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** Only in the anime, though. Manga is much more [[Creator Provincialism|cosmopolitan]] and doesn't center on the corporate antics that closely.
* In ''[[Angel Densetsu]]'', the hero's father is a salaryman, and like his son, is a nice but [[Face of a Thug|scary looking]] guy. In Dad's case, he wears [[Cool Shades|sun glasses]] because he's light sensitive/in an attempt to look less scary, and coupled with the mandatory shirt and tie, the end result is that everyone assumes he's a [[Yakuza]] member.
* ''[[Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan|Bludgeoning Angel Dokurochan]]'' features Binkan Salaryman. He comes with his own series, movie, and [[Immodest Orgasm|brand of sausage.]]
* ''[[Virgin Love]]'' and its sequels/prequels are chock full of [[Work Hard, Play Hard]] salarymen, revolving mainly around the Todou group but branching outwards through [[Crossover]] characters.
* There is actually an anime named Salaryman, a [[Sentai]]-like short story with 5 coloured masked fighters defending the peace. Puns with things like Superman, Ultraman.
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* The main characters of ''[[Japan Inc]]''.
* Makoto, the main character of ''[[Nicoichi]]''.
* Ooya in ''[[Kirameki Project]]'', except that he's traded his briefcase for a [[Humongous Mecha|giant robot]]. He still has to worry about budget cutbacks and the displeasure of his superiors, though.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'': Hiro Nakamura and his friend Ando are typical salarymen living in Tokyo until Hiro discovers his superpowers. However, the trope is subverted when we discover that {{spoiler|1=Hiro's father is actually the CEO of the company he works for. Hiro is only working a menial job in the hope that he will overcome his [[The Ditz|scatterbrained]] personality and become a fitting heir to the company}}.
* In ''[[Kamen Rider Blade]]'', BOARD was effectively destroyed in episode one and all the Riders are fighting for themselves. In the Blade World shown in ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'', BOARD is still up and running and all the Riders are employees of BOARD. Tsukasa, the titular character, calls it "Kamen Rider... Salaryman!"
* In all the ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' continuities Usagi's father "Kenji-papa" works in journalism, in the manga and anime he's a magazine editor and seems to have enough spare time to see his family on a daily basis. However in ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'' he barely appears, being a newspaper photographer with a very salaryman like lifestyle. The only time he's seen on screen is in the direct to DVD special act when he manages to make it to his daughter's wedding.
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== Video Games ==
* In the first ''[[
** There's also the guy applying for a job interview in the sequel, ''Moero Nekketsu Rhythm''. While he's technically not (yet) a salaryman, his stereotypical suit + glasses outfit is a giveaway.
* The Japanese Engineers of ''[[Command
* The original backstory for Skullomania from ''[[Street Fighter]] EX'' said that he was a
* In the game ''[[Karoshi]]'' and its numerous sequels, you are a googly-eyed little 8-bit salaryman trying desperately to kill himself. The point in each level is to die in [[Ludicrous Gibs]] fashion at the hands of one of the conservatively placed deathtraps littering the vaguely office-themed and less-than-vaguely threatening environment. It's [[Better Than It Sounds]] (all the more considering how, in a hilarious inversion from [[Everything Trying to Kill You]], the world is trying to ''keep you alive for its own malicious amusement'').
* ''[[Kichiku Megane (visual novel)|Kichiku Megane]]'' stars a very put-upon Salaryman... who happened to be given a magical [[Stoic Glasses|pair of glasses]] that made him a lot more aggressive [[Yaoi Guys|in all]] [[Seme|aspects]] of his life.
* The protagonist of the [[Wii Ware]] game ''Tomena Sanner''. With [[Le Parkour]] aspects.
* One of the zombies in ''[[Plants vs. Zombies]]'' has this appearance, using an open newspaper as a shield. Once the newspaper is destroyed by your plants' attacks, he gets angry (the game's bestiary says he was working intently on a Sudoku puzzle) and runs toward your house at a faster movement speed than the one at which he was running pre-paper shred. However, when the paper's gone, he has about the same health as your standard zombie and will go down quickly before your plants.
* The Unassuming Local Guy and Annoying Reveler enemies from ''[[
* The Businessman and Office Lady trainer classes in ''[[Pokémon]] Black and White'' are based on this.
* ''Salary Man Champ'' is based upon salarymen trying get as high in career ladder as they can.
* Grant from ''[[Harvest Moon]]'' ''[[Harvest Moon:
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[[Category:Stock Japanese Characters]]
[[Category:Useful Notes/Japan]]
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[[Category:All the Tropes Superhero Team]]
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