DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

ANIME ActionGolden Kamuy
ANIME ActionGolden Kamuy 2nd Season
OVA ActionGolden Kamuy OVA
MANGA ActionSilver Kamuy
ONA AdventureGolden Kamuy: Golden Douga Gekijou
ANIME ActionGolden Kamuy 3rd Season
OVA ActionGolden Kamuy 2nd Season OVA
ANIME ActionGolden Kamuy 4th Season
ANIME ActionGolden Kamuy: Saishuushou
SPECIAL AdventureGolden Kamuy: Golden Douga Gekijou Specials

REVIEWS

• 

  fastlane

  100/100
  The Weirdest Gold Rush in History

  Golden Kamuy is a historical action-adventure manga that is the brainchild of Satoru Noda, and as of writing this review, it has just published the 314th and final chapter in this epic journey. And oh, what a journey it was. This is one of those manga for which I have no flaws I can think of that I would associate with it, and I'll be trying to express why I love this manga so much and hopefully convince you to check it out for yourself. So let's just get right into it and put ourselves into the time period where this manga takes place.

  GOLD, GUTS & GELASTIC GAGS

  

  It has not been long since the end of the Russo-Japanese war, a fierce war waged between the Russian and Japanese forces over Manchuria and some territories in Korea. Japan has won the war with the Battle at Tsushima, but not without casualties. The Japanese army has suffered many losses and had been demobilized not very long ago, and the soldiers are still returning to their hometowns. Amongst these soldiers is one Sugimoto Saichi, given the nickname "Sugimoto the Immortal" because of how he kept fighting without letting up despite his severe injuries at any given moment. He returns to his hometown of Kanto to return his best friend's remains to his widow, and strives to raise money for her eye treatment. Soon enough, he catches wind of a rumor about gold, which goes along the lines of "A prisoner by the name of Noppera-bo killed many Ainu tribesmen and buried their gold in an unknown place, and the treasure map to the gold was tattooed on the skins of his fellow prisoners", and he finds and kills one of these prisoners as well. Immediately after, he meets an Ainu girl named Asirpa, who wishes to find the gold as one of the people who apparently died in this scuffle was her father. They embark on a journey to find the gold together, and well, it's not going to be easy.

  

  Many, many, many more characters are introduced who have their own reasons to find the gold, and all of them come into conflict very often. It is ironic that when the Russo-Japanese war ended, another war began, with the entire country of Japan as the battlefield. The story of Golden Kamuy chronicles this gold rush where the characters do anything in order to get their hands to get their hands on the tattooed skins. They leave no stone unturned, and break alliances just as easy as they make them. As the story goes on, we get more information regarding the historical background and how it is relevant to what is happening currently in the manga, and as new characters are introduced, we get important revelations and are given a different perspective on the Russo-Japanese war and the circumstances surrounding it, such as the revolutions in Russia. It's a journey filled with double-crosses, intense fights, & a lot of wacky and weird shit.

  JUVENILE BUT GENIUS JOKES

  Contrary to what you may believe, this manga is not entirely a dead serious tale of adventure, deception and fights. The wackiness is integral to this manga and is one of the aspects which sets it apart from most other works in the medium. Golden Kamuy is hilarious, to the point where I'd even say that it's one of the funniest manga that I have read. Whenever it's trying to be funny, it succeeds. Some of the humor is quite juvenile, such as the shit jokes. It would usually be unfunny, but Noda MAKES IT WORK. Mainly because it's either completely and utterly absurd that you can't help but laugh, or it's just played off as one-and-done banter. For example, a very heartfelt moment is going on in a frozen region where Sugimoto & Asirpa reunite after a long time. They're hugging, as people tend to do, but then Asirpa's eyelid gets stuck on Sugimoto's coat button because of the climate. And then, uhhhh... You know what, I'm not going to deprive this of it's glory by explaining it. Just see for yourself.

  Truly an emotionally powerful scene. I was crying before, and I'm crying now, just for two entirely different reasons.

  Now, if this is a turn off for you, then fear not, because this is only one aspect of the comedy. Okay, maybe fear it a little bit, because this is one of the major aspects of the comedy. But it's done well!

  

  Another major aspect to the comedy is the facial expressions, which are drawn in a comedic fashion. Just characters making dumb, weird faces and it's funny. Golden Kamuy is also, well, not at all ashamed in showing off the male physique. There's a lot of jokes spared at the expense of the guys just, well, looking very, very attractive. At first, I was sad for about 10 seconds when I saw the first instance, because I was jealous that these men looked better than I would ever look in my life. However immediately after that I just burst out laughing.

  There are also some great running gags, banter between the main cast which feels organic and is naturally funny, and also some great setup for jokes. There are some moments which are built up over the course of several chapters and they all come into these perfectly comedic climaxes, it's brilliantly done. I'm not going to be talking about any of these here because well, those are to be experienced for yourself.

  When I talked about scenes being insanely absurd, I was talking about going from a serious moment and transitioning into a funny one. But now, I just mean whenever an scene like that is presented as completely serious. For example, there is a point in time when one of the several groups we are following has to apprehend a killer. And one of the members of this group has the bright idea to triangulate the killers position by masturbating, as his idea is that the killer is a necrophile. And well... it works. Both of them walk into each other in the middle of their act, and they have a duel. Think of your standard one-on-one gunfight, except that here the bullets are replaced with semen.

  

  So, yeah, the series is very, very funny and it's style of comedy is very unique when I compare it to the other stories I have come across where comedy is a factor. And most of the time, the jokes are funny because of the characters who are the focal points of these jokes, because their actions and reactions feel natural even in a comedic light.

  PRISONERS, POLICE, AND PEOPLE

  

  Golden Kamuy has one of the best casts in anime & manga. Every single character is incredibly well-written, fleshed out, given time to shine. Not even a single character is wasted. Even the one-and-done characters serve their purpose to the fullest of their abilities. The main cast consisting of Sugimoto, Asirpa and the "Escape King" Shiraishi (a notorious thief who escapes every single prison he enters) are all great characters. They share a great dynamic with each other, and they work well both together and apart. Sugimoto and Asirpa both have great motivations and everything they do and think feels like something an actual person with those same beliefs and in those same situations would do, as does literally every other character in this manga. Shiraishi is played off as a comedic character most of the time, even his backstory is basically a build-up to a punchline, but in the latter stages of the manga, he gets some great development and moments that let the readers see him in a more serious light. It's also really cool to see how Sugimoto ties into the backstories of most of the cast in one way or the other without it feeling contrived.

  The supporting cast is also phenomenal. As I mentioned before, no character is wasted. Every character is relevant, and if they are not relevant at a specific time, they don't feel like wasted potential as they were used well before and they will be used well after. We follow many groups throughout our journey, and the members frequently interchange. Apart from a few bonds set-in-stone, the character relationships constantly change in this manga. 2 characters can go from friends to enemies to friends again to enemies again to a neutral stance, and then continue this random back-and-forth of switching allegiances. Every single character is in this for their own specific reasons and will join whichever group which is the most useful to them in achieving their goals. They are not just these calculating people though. The characters all feel like genuine people (okay, maybe not on the physicality side of things and all that, but I'm talking about their essence), and it's just great to see a cast where every single character is given time to shine and is relevant in the grand scheme of things.

  

  A standout character I have to mention is Tsurumi, the First Lieutenant of the 7th Division of the Army, and the main antagonist of the series. He's portrayed in a very interesting manner. He's a lieutenant who got part of his brain blown off during the war, and because of this, he's a bit insane. His antics are pretty funny whenever that's the intent of the scene. However, he is also incredibly smart and calculating, with schemes and plans to get what he wants, and he will not stop at any end to get it. He sincerely cares for his comrades, though, and isn't just a villain who uses everyone close to him and doesn't have any attachment towards them. He also genuinely cares for his country, and the motivation we are presented with for his character in the beginning of the series is that he wants to use the gold to create a country for the soldiers who were betrayed by the Government, but there is much more to his goals. We are given hints to what his actual motivations are, and in the latter half of the manga, when we finally get his actual reason for doing everything he is doing, it is incredible. Tsurumi is definitely one of my favorite antagonists of all time, & my favorite character in the entire series.

  CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ACCURACY

  

  One among the many things to give Noda credit for is how historically accurate this manga is. The post-war Japan is very much fleshed out and we get information on important locations, and the important occurrences in those locations. Exposition is delivered very well in Golden Kamuy, and there never comes a moment when it can be thought of as sheer info-dumping. Even the artwork reflects the historical inspirations of this manga, as even the smallest background details such as the infrastructure and landmarks, the advertisements plastered on the shops and walls of the cities, the innovations used by the characters, and even the brand of something as insignificant as a matchbox we see for a panel reflect the historical background, and all of these are drawn from real life. It is very well-known that Noda consulted historians, Ainu and many other experts in the field to write this manga, and it shows.

  The results of these consultations can also be seen in how the Ainu are portrayed in this manga. We get a very in-depth look at the Ainu culture, which includes their rituals, their beliefs, their methods, and even the differences between the different branches of Ainu. All of the details are very fleshed-out and explained, and by the time you complete this manga, you will have at least a rudimentary understanding of Ainu and their culture.

  Golden Kamuy can also help you to brush up on your history, as we get a clear glimpse at both Japan and Russia in the states of pre-War, War and post-War. We are given an unbiased look into the ideologies of the people on both sides of the war, and are also given summaries of important events that took place in this time, such as the Battle of Hakodate & the Siege of Port Arthur. Noda has not even left a small corner of the world he crafted unattended, as every single detail is fleshed out, but not to the point of being too much to take in, as these briefers are skillfully interwoven into the story. Oh yeah, also, amazing art. Not really going to go in detail over that other than the fact that the character designs are all distinct and memorable, the backgrounds are well detailed, and the fights are dynamic and convey the sense of movement very well. ~~~ #__CONCLUSION__ Golden Kamuy is an adventure, from start to finish. It intrigues you with it's premise and keeps you hooked with not a single dull moment throughout, introducing you to dozens of characters and making you feel attached in some way to every single one of them. It will make you laugh, get you emotional, and make you feel many different emotions throughout the course of the series. It's further helped by having excellent & dynamic artwork. Golden Kamuy is one of the most unique manga I have ever read, and I'm not going to forget it anytime soon.
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• 

  mynki

  97/100
  a series that shines like gold

  Golden Kamuy is a truly special series for me, and after finally completing it and thinking about the whole experience for a while, i think it's finally time to write about my opinion on the series as a whole. **This review won't contain major spoilers, because i'd love to see more people experiencing Golden Kamuy** GK is a fictional story based around real events happening on a post Russo-Japanese War Japan, centered around a gold rush developed by a prisoner named Nopperabou. Despite using the gold rush as it's main plot point, in my honest opinion, GK's main theme is how war affects us as people, and since most of the cast are war veterans, it's such an interesting take on the cold-reality we live in, and it's even more scary to think that people like Sugimoto, who literally was given the title of someone Immortal from all of his achievements during the war ended up being totally ignored by the government after their duty ended. All of the characters were changed by the war in some way or another, affecting their personality traits and lifes as a whole because of a war for territory, and seeing this events being replicated again and again by power-hungry politicians is truly heart-breaking. Another really important part about GK is the Ainu culture and how it was portrayed, its so cool to see how much care and thought Noda put on how to present the struggles and needs of the Ainu people during the whole manga without being too forced, and seeing Asirpa slowly realize how to take care of her people was so awesome as a reader! Asirpa as a whole was such an awesome character, she matured so much during the manga, but she didn't just become a totally serious and bland shell of her previous character, it was a slow build-up that felt like a natural progression for her character. Speaking of characters, they're certainly the best part of Golden Kamuy, unironically my favorite cast out of any work of fiction i've read/watched, every single character has such a cute and fun personality, and seeing them interact is always funny as hell, but the characters can be actually serious when they need to, and it never felt forced when the tone shifted. The major highlights for me were Ogata, Tsukishima and Tsurumi, all of them were characters who ended up becoming broken (mentally and/or physically) for different reasons, and seeing their characters develop from simple villains to people who i actually sympathized a lot with was a nice change of pace from most mangas Basically, Golden Kamuy is a wacky and really fun series full of comedy and fun moments, but this doesn't take away from their serious bits, since the cultural and historical part of the story was also really interesting to see unfold, definitely one of the best manga that were releasing nowadays, and it ended up becoming one of my favorite works of fiction. Thank you Noda!
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• 

  myvelouria

  100/100
  "Nothing comes from heaven without purpose." - Ainu proverb

  This review is spoiler free.

  

  The world of manga is a huge place. The options that lay before us are almost endless, so many stories just waiting to be read. Considering the scope and scale of manga as a medium it can be difficult to discover something that stands out amongst the crowd as a thoroughly unique work. What we have here in Satoru Noda’s “Golden Kamuy” is not only one of the most distinct manga of the last decade; it is one that occupies a very curious position in the broader world of manga. If asked to describe another manga that feels like an equal to it in style or content I’m not sure if I could. The one manga I think is most similar to it in terms of writing technique is “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” and even then there are still many quirks to Hirohiko Araki’s writing that keep it from feeling like an equivalent experience. And due to the nature of “Golden Kamuy” I find that fans all seem to take away different things from it. It simultaneously stands as a story of adventure, vengeance, self-improvement, love, betrayal, culture, greed, and a whole slew of other topics. It ran from 2014 through April of 2022 in Shueisha’s seinen magazine Weekly Young Jump and received many accolades including the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize in 2018. To many in the west their first exposure to the series was the first season of the anime, which had an infamous beginning due to the CGI rendered bear in episode one. That was my first look at anything “Golden Kamuy” related and in spite of that I decided to pick the manga up and was quickly lured in by its brilliance. Following its conclusion I read it again and it exceeded my expectations again. It leaves me with so much to discuss that I almost don’t know where to begin.

  

  “Golden Kamuy” is the story of Sugimoto Saichi. A veteran of the Russo-Japanese War struggling to fulfil a promise made to his deceased best friend, Toraji. He swore that he would pay for a surgery to preserve the eyesight of Toraji’s widow, and the woman he loves, Ume. While panning for gold in Hokkaido he encounters an old man with a peculiar story about a hoard of hidden Ainu gold and a secret code that has been tattooed onto escaped convicts from Abashiri prison by the mysterious inmate Noppera-bo. Initially skeptical he soon discovers that the man is one of those prisoners and is motivated to find the gold to fund Ume’s surgery. Shortly thereafter we meet our deuteroganist, an Ainu girl named Asirpa whose connections to the gold run deeper than either of them are aware of. She bears no interest in the treasure itself, but is instead motivated by personal matters as she says her father and his group were betrayed and killed by Noppera-bo for their gold. Through their journey in the wilderness they encounter the 7th Division of the Japanese Imperial army, led by the unstable First Lieutenant Tsurumi, and even the presumed dead Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizou, and countless others. Where is the gold? Does it actually exist? What was Noppera-bo really planning to do with it? All this and more remains to be discovered in the deep wilderness of Hokkaido.

  

  One of the biggest selling points of “Golden Kamuy” is the cast of characters. A manga with a large cast, such as this, isn’t uncommon. However, the way Noda manages them all is truly incredible. Everybody is written as though they are the protagonist in their own story. Many characters actually became far more significant than I initially anticipated them to and the direction of their arcs surpassed all expectations. Sugimoto, Asirpa, and Shiraishi Yoshitake the escape king, make for a fantastic and well balanced main trio. Asirpa between the three of them has the most insight and understanding of the wilderness they travel through, without her wisdom and hunting prowess it’s difficult to say how they would have fared. Sugimoto is nicknamed “Sugimoto the Immortal” due to his ability to survive through injuries that would have killed a lesser man and yet I never got the impression he could just shake off any obstacle in his path. Noda writes his manga in such a way that death truly feels like it looms all around them. With Shiraishi he’s a character I came close to giving up on during my first read. I hit a point where it started to feel as if he was someone who would just create more problems than he helps solve. But then he actually grows and, in spite of his presumed slow wittedness, becomes an essential ally to Sugimoto and Asirpa. There are periods within the manga where Noda breaks this group apart and we really get to see how they shine without the dynamic they previously relied on. None of them feel static; they each undergo their own personal journey that enables them to become stronger versions of themselves. While most other manga tend to have your primary characters be wholly virtuous what makes these three, and the rest of the cast, work so well is they can prove themselves to be emotionally challenging. Sugimoto and Shiraishi are not perfect people, a huge weight on Sugimoto’s shoulders is Toraji’s death in the war and that he will never be the person he used to be. He’s haunted by this throughout his arc and there are times where his struggles boil over and the reader starts to believe him when he says he’s got a ticket to hell. Shiraishi meanwhile, being one of the escaped convicts, is someone who’s been living a life of crime and is a victim of his own desires. Very often he fumbles into bad situations, but more regrettably his issues have an effect on those around him. It’s once we see him placed in tense situations where we really get to the root of who he is and discover he will put Sugimoto and Asirpa’s needs above his own. Asirpa is the one among them who comes closest to being pure, though not in an archaic sense as she considers herself an Ainu woman for a new age. Regardless, her inherent good nature is constantly threatened by the situation she’s placed herself in. It’s convincing because we’ve seen the way other people have been consumed along the path to the gold and there is no reason not to expect Asirpa to make difficult decisions. Noda’s writing for them is a gift that keeps on giving. And this is only three of our characters.

  

  Tsurumi Tokushiro is one of my favorite antagonists of all time. He manages to be equal parts sinister and hilarious. Too often when it comes to villains people seem to only choose one of those two extremes, but Noda found that sweet spot that allows Tsurumi to be both while also being more than he lets on. The deeper you go with Tsurumi the more you begin to realize you’re looking at a complete person whose experiences color every decision he makes throughout the story. The men he surrounds himself with like the dependable yet exasperated Tsukishima Hajime, or the spoiled sycophant Koito Otonoshin also prove themselves to be dynamic characters in their own right. Koito experiences some of the best development within the manga, and it’s the type of development that doesn’t come from outside forces backing him into a corner. Meanwhile, Tsukishima serves as an interesting look at a person that has resigned himself to this lifestyle because he doesn’t believe he deserves more. Former members of the 7th Division are also among the best in the story. Tanigaki Genjirou and Ogata Hyakunosuke are men who break away from Tsurumi’s control, but for very different reasons, and they each walk a distinct path within the narrative. Tanigaki was a Matagi, a group of hunters within northern Japan with their own distinct customs and practices, and he seeks a new purpose in life believing to have lost his way. The new lease he finds on life comes in the form of bringing Asirpa back home to uphold a promise he made to her grandmother for healing his wounds. Ogata meanwhile is driven by a force that remains mysterious throughout the manga, but once everything crystallizes and we see just who exactly we’ve been dealing with its nothing short of breathtaking. That intrigue with Ogata is what makes him such a gripping character, you want to get the clear picture of who he is, you must know. And when the information is finally presented to you it makes you realize how poignant his journey is. Characters like Hijikata, and former Shinsengumi captain Nagakura Shinpachi, meanwhile sit outside of this group with their own aspirations for the gold. Hijikata was someone I expected to die prematurely in the earlier parts of the story as some sign to the reader that danger is around them, but that’s the fool’s way of writing and Noda makes full use of this character. On my second read he became one of my favorites to follow because Hijikata was someone who lived a life so long yet he believed he still had more to accomplish. There are periods where the manga focuses solely on his group and it wouldn’t surprise me if some readers wished for his success even if at the expense of Sugimoto. I could also bring up characters like Kikuta, Kadokura, Inkarmat, Wilk, Kiroranke, Vasily, Sophia, Ushiyama, really the cast in this manga is massive and we’ll be here all day if I try to cover all my bases.

  

  Some of the most identifying elements to the manga are in its setting and the cultures it explores. While the story takes the characters through different locales including Tokyo and the far border between Russia and Japan, much of it takes place throughout Hokkaido. Now there are anime and manga that show Hokkaido, but usually for brief periods as opposed to making it the primary setting. So being able to see it to the degree that we do in “Golden Kamuy” does set it apart from other manga. The forests and cold landscapes look beautiful and the regional animals have a role to play as well. Hokkaido is one of several parts of Japanese territory where the Ainu people reside so basing the manga there allows us to explore their way of life. Noda didn’t settle for merely putting Ainu characters in his manga, he wanted to show their beliefs and practices in depth. Really think about this for a moment. How many anime or manga have you seen where the Ainu are involved? Now I want you to think of how many of those stories explore their culture in a substantial or meaningful way. Personally, I can only name “Samurai Champloo” and “Shaman King” and neither of them goes to the length that Noda does. He read many books on the subject, which are cited at the end of every manga volume, and sought out assistance from various scholars on the Ainu, other indigenous Japanese people, and the Russian language. Noda once said that he wanted to capture the Ainu culture as accurately as he could or else he felt it would humiliate the people that assisted him behind the scenes. And he certainly succeeded at being informative. The reader is exposed to their language, their animist beliefs, their clothing, weaponry, food, hunting, naming practices, how the history between Russia and Japan effected their land, even mundane objects found in an Ainu home are allowed a moment of explanation from the narrator. Perhaps my most favorite display of the Ainu culture informing the manga is within its title. At face value “Golden Kamuy” is another way of saying “golden god”, but it goes beyond that. We learn about how Japanese people panning for gold in Ainu rivers has had negative consequences for them and that historically the Ainu did not place a lot of importance on gold, it was foreigners and Yamato Japanese people who did. However, due to the way the gold drives the story we see the characters refer to it as a kamuy. Tsurumi, in one of my favorite scenes, asks Asirpa if this golden kamuy was benevolent or nefarious due to the amount of lives it’s stolen. It’s so clever how he tied all of this together.

  

  One of the other notable aspects of the manga comes through its exploration of masculinity. Specifically, Noda’s employment of homoeroticism throughout the manga. This is something that has taken on a level of infamy among fans due to its explicitness and Noda’s unapologetic approach to it. Once he was asked what he wanted the major takeaway of the manga to be and his response was the following: “The beautiful nudity of men. I want to keep drawing the naked bodies of men, be they pot-bellied or with thick chest hair.” Indeed one of the most striking aspects of “Golden Kamuy” are the male designs and the amount of variation within them. Noda doesn’t appear to be interested in the bishonen archetypes and that’s led to him giving his characters some rather unconventional design choices. But that doesn’t hold him back from treating these features as alluring, if anything it enables him to do the opposite. The men are attractive and beautiful in varying ways due to the “imperfections” he has granted them. I think because the average anime and manga consumer doesn’t usually see male characters of this nature in an erotic context its led to some assuming it’s a joke. But I really do believe Noda when he says he wanted this to be an important staple of his work. In addition to the various scenes of nudity there are several characters exhibiting attraction to other men. Many of the men who work for Tsurumi do so out of an underlying affection they feel towards him, often presenting itself as sexually charged. This isn’t a cheap gag or window dressing; it happens so frequently through the manga that it becomes difficult to imagine it without these elements.

  

  It would also be remiss of me if I didn’t acknowledge that “Golden Kamuy” is an expertly constructed manga. Noda is a mangaka with an excellent paneling style. Much like Akira Toriyama he is able to simulate movement and action expertly and make it into something that the eye can comfortably follow. Noda exclusively draws digitally which gives his lines a very clean look. And the realistic approach to drawing animals contrasted with his stylized humans still makes for a cohesive aesthetic. I understand there are those who prefer to get into a story through its anime adaptation, but this is a case where I strongly encourage reading it instead. The anime is good, but comes with several flaws, and it just cannot really adapt certain moments where Noda is taking advantage of the manga format he’s working in.

  

  When it comes to Noda’s influences he cites “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure”, “Kinnikuman”, and “Keiji”. Like I mentioned earlier I do see some points of comparison between his style and Araki’s. And I don’t just mean visually speaking, but in terms of how he feeds the reader information. Both men seem to like having the reader be fed lengthy explanations for things through either spoken dialogue or narration. These dumps of information feel like a hallmark to both manga, but especially “Golden Kamuy” where the narrator will chime in with a whole manner of knowledge. I also see similarities in their liberal use of sexually charged imagery, pop culture references, and lack of concern towards anachronism. In spite of Noda’s commitment to cultural accuracy he has said he isn’t above inserting historically inaccurate details for the sake of creating the scene he wants. In addition to that a common element of Noda’s writing is reincorporation. Certain dialogue and scenes are referred back to frequently; a notable example would be the first conversation between Sugimoto and Tsurumi. He also refers back to specific details in a character’s past, such as Tanigaki’s kane mochi with walnuts or Ogata’s anglerfish hot pot. The manga can also be equally poignant and humorous. Characters are able to be taken seriously or empathized with while also making you laugh at the absurdity of their behavior. For instance, Ogata manages to be a bathed in mystique and the best nekomimi I’ve ever seen. This dichotomy is a perfect encapsulation of the eccentric manga we see before us.

  

  “Golden Kamuy” is a manga that is difficult to put into words sometimes. In a way I think it’s best to experience it because on paper it almost doesn’t sound real. A historical fiction treasure hunting manga about skinning escaped prisoners while having heavy homoeroticism and brain eating. To a lot of people that is exactly what “Golden Kamuy” is, however it feels incredibly unfair to leave it at just that. While it is in many respects a ridiculous manga, it is also one with a lot of substance beyond its bloody surface. That one scene of Sugimoto and Asirpa talking about the dried persimmons he used to eat was enough to bring me to tears. Simple character driven moments like that are scattered through the manga amidst all of its maximalist elements. And to Noda’s credit I admire this “more is more” approach to writing that he displays. A story doesn’t need to be quiet or overly realistic to be effective. I love my big action filled manga with over the top situations and characters. “Golden Kamuy” manages to be exactly that and more and it never feels compromised. There is something so invigorating about a manga that knows exactly what it wants to be regardless if it’s too weird for most readers. It is all at once a beautiful story about appreciating culture and coming to terms with your personal demons and a story where an escaped serial killer is literally aroused by the idea of Sugimoto violently murdering him. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

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