Saru Lock
Cover of the first manga volume
猿ロック (Saru Rokku)
Genre	Action, Comedy
Manga
Written by	Naoki Serizawa
Published by	Kodansha
Magazine	Weekly Young Magazine
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	2003 – 2009
Volumes	22
Television drama
Directed by	Maeda Tetsu, Tsukamoto Renpei
Produced by	Amago Daisuke
Written by	Fukuda Yuichi
Music by	Yoshioka Shoji
Original network	Yomiuri TV
Original run	July 23, 2009 – October 15, 2009
Episodes	13
Live-action film
Directed by	Tetsu Maeda
Released	February 27, 2010 (2010-02-27)
Manga
Saru Lock Reboot
Written by	Naoki Serizawa
Published by	Shōnen Gahōsha
Magazine	Young King Bull
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	October 4, 2018 – present
Manga
Saitō - Heaven's Crow Fūun Risshi
Written by	Naoki Serizawa
Published by	Shōnen Gahōsha
Magazine	Young King Bull
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	November 4, 2020 – June 4, 2021

Saru Lock (Japanese: 猿ロック, Hepburn: Saru Rokku, trans. Monkey Lock) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Serizawa. It was adapted into a television drama in 2009 and a live action film in 2010.^[1]

A reboot series titled Saru Lock Reboot began serialization in Shonen Gahosha's Young King Bull magazine in October 2018. A spin-off manga series titled Saitō - Heaven's Crow Fūun Risshi was serialized in the same magazine from November 2020 to June 2021.^[2][3][4]

Plot

Yataro Sarumaru, nicknamed "Saru", is an average high school boy who daydreams about idols but otherwise has no luck with girls. While working with his father, a locksmith in Asakusa, Tokyo, he has gained exceptional skills to pick just about any lock. Using his exceptional skills, Yataro then finds himself solving various mysterious cases, while also trying his luck with the girls.

Adaptations

Television drama

Cast

• Hayato Ichihara - Yataro Sarumaru (Saru)
• Sousuke Takaoka - Yamada Jiro
• Sei Ashina - Mizuhara Ritsuko
• Watabe Gota - Yamamoto Kenji

Live-action film

Plot

Mayumi (Manami Higa) enlists the help of Yataro Sarumaru (Hayato Ichihara) to open a bank safe deposit box. This results in Yataro fleeing from the police who are in hot pursuit.

Cast

• Hayato Ichihara - Yataro Sarumaru (Saru) - is a “genius” locksmith who may have cool hands, but is in a perpetual lather, particularly about the opposite sex.^[5]
• Manami Higa - Mayumi Shinozaki
• Sousuke Takaoka - Yamada Jiro
• Sei Ashina - Mizuhara Ritsuko
• Watabe Gota - Yamamoto Kenji
• Manami Konishi - Eiko Mizuki

Reception

By March 14, 2010, the film had made US$3,101,844 at the box office.^[6]