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]

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

Tsukishima, Hajime Supporting

Takemoto, Eiji Japanese

Hijikata, Toshizou Supporting

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Ushiyama, Tatsuma Supporting

Nomura, Kenji Japanese

Inkarmat Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Fujiyama, Naokado Producer

Suzuki, Toshihiro Producer

Hasegawa, Shunsuke Producer

Reviews

Dec 14, 2024

joemaamah

Recommended

For me, the best anime always have a exceptional story as the foundation of everything that goes on. That is very much what happens with Golden Kamuy. I've been watching anime for 55 years, and this is one of the best stories I have ever seen animated.

Set in tumultuous times, it examines contrasting cultural differences between an aboriginal and a colonial culture. But that is just the one level. It's a mystery. It's a treasure hunt. It's a crime show. It's an action anime. It can be comedic, but there is more in the way of drama. There are so many writing layers, and ... they are all executed with perfection. The writers deserve kudos. If you want a great story, without a doubt we have one here.

Great stories require great characters. Our MCs are quite the odd duck pair, but as time passes, we see their relationship is not just one of convenience. This series has a ton of side characters too, with both allies and villians getting some interesting personality traits. There's almost too many characters to keep track of, but ultimately they all become essential to the saga. One nicely done piece of writing is that these characters are not all good, and they are not all bad. They have complex personalities and motivations. There's double crosses, triple crosses and quadruple crosses. They seem real in that regard.

My only knock against the first season is the animation. There are truly some terrible 3D renderings plopped in the middle of the production. Luckily, they only are a scourge of the first season. But the rest of the artwork is above average, with some beautiful background work. The 2D animation is professionally rendered and was commendable.

The VA work for the MCs is splendid. The banter between them is so well done. The secondary characters are mostly well done too, although a couple of the villians are a touch overacted. Not sure if that was a directorial thing, but considering how well put together everything else in the series is, I can't beat him too severely. I don't often mention it, but the director also uses the soundtrack to great effect. Whether it's to heighten tension or to balance that with lighthearted moments, it's always enhancing a scene, and never distracting.

This first season, while not perfect in every way, still does so much, so much better, than the usual puke the studios mass produce any more. If I were grading this season, it would get a 91/100, a very nice A-. But this is just the beginning of the tale. It gets better and better as more seasons are added, that are worthy of full-blown 10 rankings. Look, it might not be any skin off my back, but I'd suggest ingesting as many seasons of this title as you can get your hands on.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 3, 2021

Timbbs

Mixed Feelings

The story of golden kamuy is enjoyable, at least in the first season. It first appealed to me with its history, wilderness themes, and treasure hunt themes. I All of those themes greatly interest me. However, where golden kamuy falls short is its attempt to combine all of those, and many more themes (cooking, ainu culture, political drama, slice of life, etc...) into one. Each episode feels like unimportant to the overall story and as if it was just put there because the author said "Hmm wouldn't it be cool if we did blank". I don't dislike any of these themes on there own, but ... together they don't seem to mesh well. I would also like to note that it's not inherently bad to put these together, but it doesn't lead to a higher score. The animation speaks for itself, its not remarkable and its not atrocious, I'm willing to overlook the cgi bears, but the first time I saw one I paused the show thought about how that might have been the worst production descion I have seen so far. The sound also speaks for itself, I'm in the minority here but I enjoyed the OP ngl. Characters are a redeeming aspect of the show, they all have very distinct personalities and quirks. Moments of the show made me genuinely laugh from time to time, and these moments distract from the incoherent parts of the show. Some of the characters seem to like emotion and drive, but I'm willing to overlook that because I don't think the show is that serious. Overall the show in enjoyable and worth a watch if nothing else is piquing your interest at the moment. The themes of the show clash quite harshly, which can detract from the experience. Just a fun show to put on if your bored, but don't expect too much. 6/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 3, 2023

Resting_Bonfire

Not Recommended

Funny

Golden Kamui

I've heard a lot about this anime on YouTube, especially that it's supposed to be relatively funny. And to my surprise it is, it has a similar and qualitative humor as Gintama. And it even has a rather interesting main plot, which is actually in the spotlight and not just secondary.
Unfortunately... these positive words only apply from season 2 onwards. The first season is so bad that I considered quitting the anime at episode 7. The pacing was disastrous, the animation mediocre, the dialogue dull, and no tension at all. There was a joke 2-3 times per episode, the leftover was even more ... boring than watching any Penguin documentaries. Sorry, but penguin documentaries are boring.

It's only thanks to my iron willpower that I made it through the first season. Who on earth is going to convince someone with a start like that? There was nothing about the anime that could even begin to hold the viewer's interest. But surviving the first 10 episodes was worth it. After that, the anime actually gets interesting and even good.

The main plot is very simple and generally gives me a certain Jojo vibe. Which is all the more noticeable in the later seasons. Especially with the constant gay humor among the main characters. It begins with the protagonist accidentally meeting the Loli protagonist. Through various happenings, they decide to collect "skins" of prison escapees that have something to do with the One Piece. Only by putting the skins together can the true map of the treasure be revealed. The enemies they fight are either some madmen or future antagonists.

Unfortunately said, practically nothing happens in the first season until episode 10, and due to the very weak pacing, the episodes are all the more difficult to watch.

[Conclusion 4]

This is one of the few anime that gets better as time passes. And I'm really glad I survived the first season, it was worth it. If you like series like Gintama and Jojo, you will definitely get your money's worth here. All 3 series have a lot of similarities in style, humor, and structure.

[Enjoyment 3]

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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