Golden Kamuy 2nd Season

In Hokkaido, it is rumored that there is a stash of hidden gold. This gold was supposedly stolen by a man who killed the original Ainu owners; and before being captured and imprisoned by the police, he hid it in a secret location. In order to relay the gold's location to his comrades on the outside, he tattooed the map on the bodies of his cellmates and promised them a share of the gold—provided they managed to escape and find it.

In Golden Kamuy 2nd Season, First Lieutenant Tokushirou Tsurumi plans to give the 7th Division an advantage in the war for the tattoos by getting a taxidermist to create skins that only he can distinguish as fake. Meanwhile, Saichi "The Immortal" Sugimoto, Asirpa, and their companions continue their hunt for the skins by following a strange rumor: a thief who broke into a home in Yubari found taxidermied human corpses, among which was a torso with strange tattoos.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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

Koito, Otonoshin Supporting

Konishi, Katsuyuki Japanese

Tsukishima, Hajime Supporting

Takemoto, Eiji Japanese

Hijikata, Toshizou Supporting

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Ushiyama, Tatsuma Supporting

Nomura, Kenji Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Fujiyama, Naokado Producer

Takahashi, Kazuaki Producer

Suzuki, Toshihiro Producer

Reviews

Dec 24, 2018

Stark700

Recommended

I should have probably ate something before reviewing Golden Kamuy. Even thinking about this show makes me hungry and it’s not what I had in mind. But hey, seeing this golden egg return again for a sequel is such a welcome delight.

Remember, this sequel continues from the first season and now indulges on the continued quest of Sugimoto and his ever daring adventures. It makes a memorable return with the first episode introducing Edogai Yasaku, a taxidermist. Right off from this season, he shows his true colors with his expertise related to human skin. While not being an actual killer or sadistic as Tsurumi, I ... dare say that he’s not someone to be underestimated. An early alliance also sparks between him and Tsurumi. Speaking of which, do you remember Tsurumi?

Serving as the lieutenant of the 7th division, Tsurumi is one of the key antagonists in this show. Many words can be used to describe him such as erratic and unstable. In the second season, he shows his ruthless behavior again although at the same time, I find his sarcastic tone and unpredictable personality to be most welcoming. It adds surprising elements that makes the plot much more fluid. But of course, who can forget about our Saichi Sugimoto and his companion, Asirpa. The pair became inseparable and their adventures continue with even more stakes on the line. Joining them is also Yoshitake Shirashi, the goofball butt monkey. While many see him as a comic relief with his carefree attitude, he does play valuable roles in this season. It’s easy to sugarcoat him as the middleman between the two main characters as well.

However, I believe the second season is both plot and character driven. Early in this season, Suigimoto’s group deals with Edogai but we also shouldn’t forget about the man known as Hijikata. His past with Shinpachi is important to recognize due to their similarities during their younger years. In addition, we also take a deeper dive into his past when he was once a prisoner at Kaboto. And I think it’s one of the many things that makes this show stand out. It makes the audience care about characters like Hijikata. Even though he isn’t a prominent figurehead like Sugimoto, his past made him evolve as a person to where he is today. I should probably warn you though. This show is not light on violence, whether physically or mentally. But by showcasing its content in such way, it makes this anime that more realistic.

Speaking of the plot, Shirashi gets caught that puts his life into jeopardy. While the audience may dismiss his capture as lesser importance, we should remember that he is in the hands of the 7th division. That’s the same group known for their sadistic tendencies thanks to their charismatic lieutenant, Tsurumi. The plot also brings in new characters like Kiyohiro Suzukawa, a deceptive man who is able to slip into the ranks of enemies. I should probably also mention that while Kiyohiro is more or less a con artist, his role brings in suspense to the plot. It makes me want to see them succeed in recusing Shirashi regardless what dangers await them. Eventually, the plot turns into a cat and mouse game. We get to see the main conflict escalate into fights for survival. Thankfully, Sugimoto still retains his military skills and we see them in action against the 7th division. On the other hand, the show also explores the character connection between Tanigaki and Kenkichi. I’ve mentioned before but this sequel is also very character driven that explores the past relationships between important characters. Kenkichi may seem like a minor character at first but the show reinforces the idea of how human lives can be so fragile. The second season establishes an important concept about how broken their world is and what characters can do to change it.

Now while I can say this season can get deep and emotional, there’s also a decent amount of lighthearted moments. If you remember from the first season, food is a part of the show that eclipses more than just a gimmick. That’s because food is essentially for survival and we get no shortage of those from this season. Asirpa brings in her knowledge of the Ainu culture with her as well those survival skills. We even get woodcock hunting as a showcase of one of her many talents. I should say that Aspira is a breakout character. She and Sugimoto has been through a lot together and despite some of their personality differences, they work together well as a pair. My impression of Aspira this season is no less different than the first season as she continues to educate viewers about Ainu culture. In later episodes, her eyes also play important role in a case that adds suspense to the story. But don’t let that fool you from the show’s motives. It has a great amount of balanced content between the light and dark. In other words, this season has an emotional and serious story but always has time to find moments to make fun of itself. If you don’t believe me, just check to see how much man service this season really became.

Thanks to what it has established, I say without a shadow of a doubt that Golden Kamuy Season 2 is more than just watchable. It’s a show that manages to capitalize on its variety of genres and bring in a exhilarating story. It has a larger-than-life character cast with important purposes. With each passing episode, I felt more compelled to watch more. And so should you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Dec 24, 2018

KANLen09

Recommended

The legendary series that is Golden Kamuy has had its shares of greatness, starting with Season 1 in Spring 2018, and now the sequel this season, which expands upon where Season 1 left off, but with more refined balance between the comedy and action. In more ways than one, Season 2 solidified everything that was lacking in Season 1, and made it tenfold better IMO.

We continue on with Immortal Sugimoto, Asirpa and Co. on their journey to find not just the gold, but the man responsible for the whole fiasco in the first place: Nopperabo, the big eyes Ainu of a traitor, which is also ... Asirpa's father in cold spirit and truth. In the context of having watched Season 1, Season 2 here is more grim, fast-paced, and the amount of violence and action doesn't hold the series back, with some of the greatest scenes designated at moments where predicted but last for as long as it should be, so long as the balance was held. So, with the new season, you're getting twice the action, twice the excitement and worries that are just chillax; the surface of the iceberg.

Golden Kamuy's characters are always the crew that we always find it intriguing, solely at first with people like Hijikata, Ogata, whom get their characterizations more heavily involved. And with how Season 2 ramps up the ante, along with the alliances of everyone working together for a common goal, the risk of betrayal is something that cannot be taken lightly. Quite possibly the biggest detractor is Lt. Tsurumi himself, looking through Season 2 lists quite a good range of capabilities of the 7th Division captain himself, from being the model for other calefares to being more relentless in the final stages of the cat and mouse chase to Sugimoto and Co. I'd say that with everything out of the bag this time, Lt. Tsurumi is the most fearsome character (even more than Season of 1), but everyone has upgraded their game into the series, and it's a firm foundation.

Once again, Geno Studio did an amazing production on Season 2 here, omitting the awful CGI bears in change for some great action and backgrounds. However, the drawback is that for the night scenes, the entire show goes into entirely black mode and it's barely discernable when put in comparison to Season 1. Maybe some lighting would have been fine, but for what it is, I'll take it any other day.

The music got a good upgrade and a better follow-up over Season 1, with Sayuri and MY FIRST STORY's collab for the OP, that not just sounds a whole lot bad-ass and better in every regard, but also aesthetically. With that said, the ED, featuring some loud-banging and bashing uncle that's on drugs, most would find this very noisy and distracting. Golden Kamuy is a series that just needs a good balance of substance, not some over-the-top values that cue the series. But on hindsight, it couldn't have been the perfect ED but hey, it's better than nothing.

What an amazing series from start to end. Definitely would recommend this series to historical action fans, but first, go watch Season 1 then come back for the sequel.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Apr 3, 2021

Abschweifung

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (3/12 eps)

"I'm immortal!" he screams as he tries to hype himself up and hopes that the audience is a 12 year old boy that is also getting hyped.

I will keep it short, just like my patience. So I will adress only the points that annoyed me the most that made me stop watching.

1) The humor wears thin. Same jokes over and over again. The same ones like in season 1. I guess it works well with memeculture.

2) Also I never liked the huge food-fetish of animes which goes over the top here. hinna hinna and whatever eating the same thing they did 3 episodes ago. ... At least show different dishes of the Ainu-culture. (On a side-note this feels sort of insulting to the ainus, with what japan did to them. However I shall not pass judgement since I only know a sliver what was going on there...)

3) The charakters are all some mentally ill wierdos without any lack of sense and only one catchphrase. They feel more like caricatures or more like the author had one post-it note for everyone and used the space for only the face.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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