Read this. Manga has a great plot, with characters to match. The action is short but sweet and well-choreographed. There's pretty damn good comedy to lighten the mood. Also contains a lot of information on native Ainu culture.
Story: 10/10
This manga kept me on the edge of my seat constantly. The story is complex with multiple converging plot threads that . Several separate groups vying for the gold, coming into conflict, but alliances constantly shift so the status quo is never held for long. The author does a good job changing the balance of power so no one group is ever clearly in the lead (not for long anyway). New information is constantly coming to light, recontextualising what we already knew and revealing things we didn't, shaking up the whole story and how the puzzle pieces fit together. This manga is a well-crafted puzzle and the author masterfully weaves the pieces together throughout the course of the manga. You will never know what will happen next and I mean that in the best of ways.
Art: 9/10
Amazing art, from the gritty cities to panorama panels of forests. From the nutty convicts to the animals the characters hunt, the artist excels in illustrating all of them. Distinct character design (impressive seeing as many characters wear identical military uniforms). The artist makes great use of art to create a tense atmosphere and sell the drama or to make silly reaction faces for comedic effect. Everyone has a unique face, rare considering it feels most artists make faces from a template.
Character: 9/10
There's a pretty big cast of characters, each with their own motivations for hunting the gold or who they owe their allegiance to. All characters, no matter how important, have their own personalities, goals and quirks. Everyone plays a part, pretty much any named character gets a chance to shine at some point. No one here is static, either growing as a character as the manga progresses or having new information revealed to the reader changing how we view them.
While there is one clear main antagonist (though their motivations are somewhat sympathetic). Also, even the antagonists henchmen get "screen time" and growth. These are some of the best written villains I've read in a while.
Overall: 10/10
Well written manga, with good comedy and better action.
As of writing this, this manga finished very recently but, mark my words, in a few years this will be seen as one of the greats! Seriously, this is my favourite manga so far and I think it's a real hidden gem. It’s a shame that it's so unknown but this is seriously worth the read so I hope I've convinced you to read this.
Good
• This manga was clearly well planned out, the writing is excellent
• The action is kept short but sweet, no dragging it out over 10 chapters
• This manga is really funny, better than some comedy manga I've read
• The comedy leads into the action and vice-versa perfectly, I never felt like something was out of place or any tonal dissonance from switching between the two
• We get to learn a lot about Ainu (minority ethnic group native to japan) culture, traditional food, medicines and all sorts of other things
• No ecchi! A young female main character, this manga could have gotten creepy but it didn't, yay!
• Great historical setting
Bad
• Sometimes the comedy can undermine the threat of the antagonists
Extra subjective
• Boy, there sure is some homoeroticism going on, sometimes it feels like the author has a thing for his characters. It's portrayed humorously however.
• The humour might not resonate with everyone
