Golden Kamuy

In early 1900s Hokkaido after the Russo-Japanese war, Saichi Sugimoto tirelessly pans for gold. Nicknamed "Sugimoto the Immortal" for his death-defying acts in battle, the ex-soldier seeks fortune in order to fulfill a promise made to his best friend before he was killed in action: to support his family, especially his widow who needs treatment overseas for her deteriorating eyesight. One day, a drunken companion tells Sugimoto the tale of a man who murdered a group of Ainu and stole a fortune in gold. Before his arrest by the police, he hid the gold somewhere in Hokkaido. The only clue to its location is the coded map he tattooed on the bodies of his cellmates in exchange for a share of the treasure, should they manage to escape and find it.

Sugimoto does not think much of the tale until he discovers the drunken man's corpse bearing the same tattoos described in the story. But before he can collect his thoughts, a grizzly bear—the cause of the man's demise—approaches Sugimoto, intent on finishing her meal. He is saved by a young Ainu girl named Asirpa, whose father happened to be one of the murdered Ainu. With Asirpa's hunting skills and Sugimoto's survival instincts, the pair agree to join forces and find the hidden treasure—one to get back what was rightfully her people's, and the other to fulfill his friend's dying wish.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Adaptation:	Golden Kamuy
Side story:	Golden Douga Gekijou, Golden Kamuy OVA
Sequel:	Golden Kamuy 2nd Season

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Characters & Voice Actors

Sugimoto, Saichi

Main

Kobayashi, Chikahiro
Japanese

Asirpa

Main

Shiraishi, Haruka
Japanese

Shiraishi, Yoshitake

Main

Itou, Kentarou
Japanese

Ogata, Hyakunosuke

Supporting

Tsuda, Kenjirou
Japanese

Tsurumi, Tokushirou

Supporting

Ootsuka, Houchuu
Japanese

Tanigaki, Genjirou

Supporting

Hosoya, Yoshimasa
Japanese

Hijikata, Toshizou

Supporting

Nakata, Jouji
Japanese

Tsukishima, Hajime

Supporting

Takemoto, Eiji
Japanese

Ushiyama, Tatsuma

Supporting

Nomura, Kenji
Japanese

Inkarmat

Supporting

Noto, Mamiko
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Fujiyama, Naokado

Producer

Takahashi, Kazuaki

Producer

Herek, Samantha

Assistant Producer

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Opening Theme

"Winding Road" by MAN WITH A MISSION

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Ending Theme

"Hibana" by THE SIXTH LIE

Reviews

Jun 25, 2018

Stark700

Recommended

Watching Golden Kamuy made me realize how amazing a series is when it’s anchored so firmly to the concepts of war and survival. Even though it has an archaic feel, this anime convinced me that there’s hope for more great historical fiction tales. I say this honestly as someone who isn’t a big fan of historical fiction. On my first viewing, it was incredibly easily to dive into the show as we meet Sugimoto, a survivor of the Russo-Japanese war. It shouldn’t take long for fans to realize what they’re in stored for and I’m talking about a story that is much deeper than war ... or survival itself.

Based on the adaptation of the same name, Golden Kamuy takes on shape from the creator’s mind to bring a war survivor adventure into anime medium. While the show takes place in the aftermath of a war, there’s still clear conflicts that are unsolved in their present world. The first episode indulges on how Sugimoto earned his nickname, Sugimoto the Immortal. His encounter with Asirpa, an Ainu girl who saves his life almost seems like fate. Despite their differences, it really shouldn’t take long for viewers to realize their eyecatchy character chemistry. Our main protagonists are on this adventure and their skills supplements each other. Sugimoto’s military skills as an ex-soldier is invaluable for fighting the enemies that they encounter. Meanwhile, Ainu is a survivalist and possesses many important skills such as hunting, cooking, and taming animals. The two become partners in search for treasure but many obstacles stand in their way. A show like this doesn’t need a complicated storyteller because how straightforward it can be.

Now you’re probably wondering if the series will feel more like a cat and mouse game with such a premise. The idea of hunters being hunted is a classic concept that have been used over and over. What Golden Kamuy does different is able to take great care of its characters. I’m actually flabbergasted at how much the show made me invest into learning more about Sugimoto and Asirpa. From a cultural standpoint, the show explores the Ainu people as an indigenous ethnic group. We learn about their lifestyle, family ancestry, traditions, language, and behavior. This translates to how well Asirpa's character can be accepted as we learn more about her. She preaches the lifestyle of Ainu and has great respect for nature. Through her experience, Asirpa has learned how to tame certain animals, hunt, and cook for herself and family. On the other hand, Sugimoto makes an oddball impression to me at first because how violent he seems. While he’s not a bloodthirsty man, Sugimoto can be very ruthless when confronting his enemies. War has really affected him and he became the present man as we know now. The brief PTSD moments that we witness in the series shows how guilty he feels about losing important people in his life. Thus, Sugimoto is always determined to survive and protect those he cares of. Thanks to his military experience as an ex-soldier, he does a damn good at job at that.

Led by Lieutenant Tsurumi, the 7th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army stands as a main obstacle of Sugimoto and Asirpa in their quest to find treasure. While not everyone in the division shares the same goal, they do treat the duo as a threat. It becomes a suspenseful plot as viewers will likely wonder how far they these characters go to accomplish their goals. Make no mistake. This anime doesn’t tease death and often portrays it in a realistic manner. Beyond just the PTSD moments we see from Sugimoto’s point of view, there are also times when characters question about killing others. A prominent example is how Tanigaki deals with the people he’s killed. Similar to Sugimoto, it’s clear that he feels guilty and that his sins will live with him forever. Like most war stories, death is a reality and what’s dead stays dead. War has broken characters and it’s not uncommon to realize how much people can change from the past to their present selves.

Even though everything I mentioned so far in the review suggests a moody show to get tissues for, it really isn’t. The series offers creative comedy mostly thanks to the character cast. If I’ve said it once, I’ve say it a hundred times. Never look away from Sugimoto and Asirpa when they interact with each other. The two often trades in small talk that blends between their different cultural beliefs. The jokes they throw at each other are hilarious and sells its comedic factors perfectly. Refreshing comedy isn’t easy to create but Golden Kamuy hits the right mark especially with the character reactions. I lost count how many times this show made me laugh positively to the character interactions and humorous dialogues. Characters such as Yoshitake Shirashi adds in even more comedy gags such as being a magnet head for animal bites. That is to say, Golden Kamuy is a serious show that deals with sensitive themes but also finds its way to have fun. To me, that’s important and valuable to sell itself.

I’m pretty sure most people aren’t familiar with Gene Studio. That’s because it’s a new studio that only recently began to produce projects such as Kokkoku and Gyakusatus Kikan. Early impressions of the show may have people pointing fingers at the atrocious CGI usage such as the poorly animated bear. Luckily, the visual quality manages to redeem itself as each episode begins to improve itself through its natural elegance. The landscapes of show looks gorgeous and larger than life. From snowy mountains to dense forests, it’s how nature should look like with its lush backgrounds. Even the food looks real that’s crafted right from the wilderness with survivalist skills. Character designs also offer distinctive features such as the military uniforms of the 7th Division. Sugimoto is a man that’s hard to overlook with his soldier uniform and masculinity. Asirpa may have a petite look but she’s noticeable for her blue and greenish eyes. Some characters even addresses this like a gem that’s hard to ignore. The Ainu coat she wears also shows her cultural style of clothing with the deerskin boats to protect her from the cold. She looks like a hunter that shouldn’t be underestimated. As a new studio, I would say that Gene Studio made an interesting impression. I’m not overwhelmed or disappointed by the production quality as it manages to capture the elements of the battle scenes and is faithful to the character designs. However, it does fall short occasionally on capturing the full vivid details of the manga.

The soundtrack and music overall creates the sensation of a survivalist show. The OP song contains electric beats and montages of characters in action. Meanwhile, the character voices really does sell their personalities. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at intimidating of a man Tsurumi really can be.

Golden Kamuy is a historical fiction that can be a bit deceptive once you really get a bite of the show. Director Hitoshi Nanba took the important concepts of the manga and gave this adaptation a breath of life. As someone who has read the manga, I definitely recommend giving it a try if you’re hungry for more. It previously won the 9th Manga Taishou award and rightfully earned so. As an anime series, Golden Kamuy is also a show that’s fortunate to receive a golden treatment.

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Jun 25, 2018

dadnaya

Mixed Feelings

Just because the setting isn't highschool doesn't make the anime automatically good.
Golden Kamuy is a combination of a National Geographic/History channel program about the Ainu and rush for gold.

Before the Spring2018 began, I had gone over the trailers of the shows to air this season.
Golden Kamuy presented a nice cast of voice actors I like, an era around 1900, guns, wolves and rush for gold.
Sounds like a pretty solid action anime.

Now, I can't deny that Golden Kamuy had some sweet action, but unfortunately, both the action and the story took a backseat to the "Ainu culture".
I don't know, after watching most of the show, people ...

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Jun 25, 2018

chuckpugs

Not Recommended

There are anime in this world that bring upon the community entertainment or a meaning in life beyond what our personal experiences could hope of comprehending before encountering such masterpieces. And then you get those series which exist to only advertise their source materials.

Story: 6/10
The story begins with a unique setting of the early 1900s after the Russo-Japanese War. It has a conflict that is already set up with a Japanese soldier, Sugimoto, and an Ainu hunter, Asirpa, who search for prisoners tattoos which connect to make a map leading to a treasure of Ainu gold. The conflict is set up and ... the viewers know what the end goal is so we sit back and enjoy the journey. Unfortunately, the execution is what corrupts the experience of those who enjoy adventure and action. I would blame this on Gene Studio, a new upcoming animation group, who just took on a project that was too great to be handled amateurishly and while they did the best they could, it led to a disappointing struggle. The story also does follow the cliche pattern of centering the focus on one villain every 2 episodes which made the experience monotonous and irritating. Their lack of experience made the story feel uninvesting, the atmosphere wasn't as movinig as the synopsis is read to be, and viewers are just left with the feeling like their could be something more.
I will give it props that it was able to maintain itself in the 1st half where it focused on Asirpa teaching Sugimoto about Ainu culture, which in my opinion was the most interesting part. The 2nd half was where it tried to get back on track with its plot but it was not exciting for me to feel connected to what was going on. And if anything the action was pretty gritty at a basic level, which gets a pass if you don't mind CGI bears and wolves.

Characters: 7/10
The characters have their own unique personality with Sugimoto being a ruthless killer in action or a laid-back man when he's just chilling. He has a believable goal and he is a fitting main character for this series. Asirpa is the heart of this series as her personality is strong, determined, cute, sarcastic, and expressive with the meme faces that she makes throughout the series. She also is introduced with a compelling reason to be a part of the story and immediately has you routing for her. They both share a good chemistry as fighting partners and their relationship feels very real and well-developed as they teach each other about their own cultures and fighting strategies.
The villains on the other hand are either too strange and took up more screen time than they deserved or they were menacing as hell but the series did not last long enough for them to fulfill their highest potential. We can fault the unfinished manga for that but the number of villains and how memorable they were are at a disappointing level and could not carry this anime the way Sugimoto and Asirpa were able to.

Art/Animation: 5/10
I'm someone who doesn't try to let art/animation derive my overall experience because I prefer to judge more on story and characters. The art is pretty average since some character facials become inconsisten every now and then and the animation can either be breathtaking to look at, very below average, or a CG bear or wolf. In this case, the animation was a major factor as to why this series had a lesser chance of standing out to shows that premiered during the same season or share the same genre as other anime before it.

Sound: 6/10
The soundtrack isn't anything worth mentioning but I have to admit the opening is unskippable. It is very badass and provides the atmosphere of a struggling adventure that this show needed more of.

Enjoyment: 4/10
I just could not find it in me to care after the 2nd half. And I was very disappointed considering that reviews for the manga of Golden Kamuy are stellar. If a studio such as Bones, Madhouse, or White Fox could take this on, this could have been bigger and would have appealed to me better personally. But it relied on the fanbase of its original source material to get the viewership it received. Let's hope that Gene Studio will improve with time.

Well, I've said enough. I've got a manga to catch up on.

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Why tf is the art style so ugly?? K7N6 - Mar 16	26 replies	by Uneducated_Weeb »» Sep 29, 7:52 AM
Poll: Golden Kamuy Episode 12 Discussion Stark700 - Aug 8, 2018	38 replies	by i-loathe-sasuke »» Sep 16, 3:55 AM
Poll: Golden Kamuy Episode 11 Discussion RafaelDeJongh - Aug 8, 2018	24 replies	by i-loathe-sasuke »» Sep 16, 2:58 AM
Poll: Golden Kamuy Episode 10 Discussion RafaelDeJongh - Aug 8, 2018	16 replies	by i-loathe-sasuke »» Sep 15, 5:51 PM
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Golden Kamuy

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Sugimoto, Saichi

Asirpa

Shiraishi, Yoshitake

Ogata, Hyakunosuke

Tsurumi, Tokushirou

Tanigaki, Genjirou

Hijikata, Toshizou

Tsukishima, Hajime

Ushiyama, Tatsuma

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Golden Kamuy

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Information

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Synopsis

Background

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Reviews

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