Golden Kamuy

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 came and said "The action wasn't the point of the show, but the point was to show the Ainu culture". Well, I can say for sure that the trailer made it look a lot better than it is in reality. If they showed the "Ainu culture" mostly in the trailer instead of the action and thrill, I doubt it would've attracted as many people. So, what exactly is shown that I found tedious and boring? For the first half of the show (and even a bit later), ~7 minutes every episode were about the Ainu Cooking. Take Shokugeki no Souma, remove the Ecchi, remove the competition, remove the Shounen aspects. We're left with 7 minutes out of ~20 every week of "Oh this broth is so good, the squirrel meat isn't heavy and the chopped bones make it crunchy" etc. etc. etc. Then also don't forget to put "Hinna Hinna" afterwards. Then, the hunting, and of course explanation how everything works. "This trap is a barrel with a few nails in it. The foxes come to lick the bottom of the barrel and then get stuck. We hit them with a stick to finish them off" "It is said that fox pelt is bad luck, [...] you can sell fox pelt for 1 yen, and these animals' pelts for 1 yen too, and this for 3 yen..." Sorry, but it was just not interesting. The real plot of the gold rush, along with a few groups all trying to get the big gold prize is.... pretty damn good. It features a few groups, some are military veterans from the Russo-Japanese war, some are even older but all of them... are interesting. And are voiced by great voice actors. It's a shame that the real plot kicks in only around episode 10, and even then it still has the "filler" stuff like before. For example all of episode 12 was about horse racing, and how the Ainu use fortune telling. We got only 3 minutes maximum of continuation for the clash between the groups after the gold. The art didn't do justice as well. The controversial "CGI Bears" as well as the "CGI fire" and other CGI stuff just didn't fit well. I understand the staff wanted to make it look special (If I remember correctly, what's what they said why they made CGI bears) but it just doesn't look good. If I wanted to commend to Golden Kamuy, it would've been the OP/ED. MAN WITH A MISSION and THE SIXTH SENSE did absolutely an amazing job. Overall, was Golden Kamuy good? So-so, it depends what you're expecting and what you want to watch. And also, a second season was announced so there's a chance it'll cover the failures or at least continue the story in S1, and not show us almost a full episode about kids playing with a stick. 6/10

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.

At the time of this review, the series has been greenlit for Season 2 this Fall, and I could not be more than happy for a continuation of the series! But what all the hoopla, what is this series actually about? Golden Kamuy (in Ainu language: Golden Gods) is more than just the typical action-adventure anime like so many others out there. It's fun, great and enjoyable for many reasons, to the point where it’s proof that we want at least a 2nd (to 3rd if possible) season to continue the series (if possible). The story goes of the 20th century Russo-Japanese war, centered in the city of harsh-northern-filled-wilderness Hokkaido, where we got to know and learn the most fearsome yet determinant of the series: the male MC Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto, a veteran soldier who has fought in the war and miraculously survived after the deadly ordeal. It was there that he is promised to upkeep with his now-dead comrade (Toraji) from a dubious story of a large chunk of hidden Ainu gold (that’s worth about 800 mil yen), and the main goal to steal it and finance his widow (Umeko) for years to come. The problem? It was stolen by a man called Nopperabo during transportation, and knowing his near-arrival death, so once captured and imprisoned, he carved out a map on 24 of the fellow imprisoned inmates on the location of the gold. And now, with that info, Immortal Sugimoto is set on the journey to find the gold. Alas, not everything is well as there are other groups and individuals who are eyeing on the same gold as Sugimoto does: The Imperial Japanese Army’s 7th Division, led by Lieutenant Tsurumi for use on military dictatorship to run an independent Hokkaido that’s separated from Japan; a group formed by former samurai Toshizou Hijikata, who escaped alongside the tattooed 24 inmates to steal the gold to fund Hokkaido and its loss from the Russo-Japanese war, and some others who are just stealing for themselves. In the wilderness, Sugimoto comes across the wild bears of the wilderness, and seeing that survival is in the eyes of the beholder, it looks as if he will be taken down by the bear. And so, enter Asirpa, an Ainu girl who knows the way of the Hokkaido wilderness, and her ulterior motive: to avenge her father’s death, because of his involvement of the transportation of Ainu gold that Nopperabo had successfully stolen in the first place (but not the main culprit who murdered her father). With that, with the intentions of Sugimoto and Asirpa, both set their journeys into a common place with different goals in mind. Fun fact: Lo and behold, as much as a native Ainu she is, she does have a Japanese name (Asuko Kochoube) that reveals the plot even further, and one step closer to knowing the real murderer and her roots. Will this be explained, let's hope for Season 2 to explain what's left! As much as the story setting and its storytelling is pretty much a perfect 1-to-1 adaptation from the manga source, I personally think that everything here is consistent, matches what the manga sprinkles on its historical context, and the icing on the cake is the native Ainu dialect (that’s exclusive to Hokkaido), supervised by the same guy who did the manga translation (Hiroshi Nakagawa), and it’s a great job learning and watching the show in its entirety. The characters here are also what made the series more enjoyable to tackle and journey with. On the good side, we have Immortal Sugimoto, the courageous yet unstoppable man of valor, Asirpa the lone Ainu girl, but is just as fearless and is able to interpret her surroundings well, the Escape King Yoshitake Shiraishi, who's able to escape from just about any level of danger, which forms the good team to get the gold for justice. However, the enemies are just as brutal, from the relentless Lieutenant Tsurumi, whom by his half-android-like face shows no qualms of authority, and his motto is to snatch the opportunity in whatever ways possible. Hijikata Toshizou is no brute either, whilst looking for the Ainu gold, he is manipulating behind the scenes in some forms and ways that like Tsurumi, is firm and no questions asked. The art and animation by Geno Studio is once again, great, inspirational and a visual treat. Their previous work (Kokkoku) is a testament to this anime, and the once-founded studio to take over the defunct Manglobe is now becoming a reality to look out for quality content. With that said, it wouldn't be true if the series was all good. The elephant in the series is with the CGI-laden wild bears, and it's quite apparent that it didn’t mesh well with the background visuals, not to mention that it's outrageously visible. Everything else on the side is truly well done, a big shout out to the people handling the facial expressions of the characters (during the characters’ meal times, shouting “hinna hinna!”), it's just so uncanny and comical, it always gives off much laughter each and every time. The music is phenomenal, and one of the best OSTs you could have this season. All reputable music artists in play with their new songs (MWAM’s “Winding Road” for the OP and THE SIXTH LIE’s “Hibana” for the ED), I still stand by my testimony from my prelim and say that in terms of musicality, it's one that’s worthy of listening to on it's own and evokes the emotions of the characters, and is the best representation of the series as a whole. In the end, you might be wondering, is the anime better or as well adapted as its acclaimed manga counterpart? From an overall standpoint, the anime adaptation replicates as much from the manga as possible, but due to it being a 1-cour, the historical context is downplayed significantly, and not to mention that the anime adaptation sometimes doesn’t give off the same vibes as how well the manga did. Had this been a 2-cour (24-26 episodes), we would have appreciated much more, but I'll give props for what was presented here generally, and I would say that both are even as much as manga adaptation goes. With that said, Golden Kamuy is definitely one of the better and premier shows of this season and it's comes recommended if you want a slice of history that’s not too heavy, and more so on the diversity of the culture behind it all.

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]

Apart from the 3D CGI animals this anime is pretty well done they follow the manga and the facial expressions was pretty well done and the colours in this show was outstanding, I also have to give credit to the opening and ending but mainly the ending because the visuals during the ending was brilliant and the ending track was awesome as well 👌 I gotta say among the shows that was airing at the same time this seires was the most enjoyable to watch every week I did feel a bit sorry for the animals that they killed and ate tho R I.P but besides that this series was awesome I can't wait for season 2, the Japanese voice actors for this series was good especially hijikata loved him everytime he spoke

I can't recommend this anime. Yes the setting is something different but you will have the feeling that you're watching an Anime about cooking and ...of course killing animals. Look i get it they want to show how life was back then - it was rough. But in every epsiode they kill or hurt animals. Then they explain how they make food out of it - or they just eat them raw. That's just too much. By the time they went wale hunting i said "ok that's it". I tried to give it a chance but i just don't want to see animals getting hurt in EVERY episode - and the focus of the show is just that. The main plot feels secondary...or at least it gets treated that way in my opinion. Also the animation style is not really good - it lacks a lot of detail and sometimes feels drawn for a very young audience.

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.

Story: 10 The main story looks so promising for me. They were using the historical value as their basic to expand the adventurous vibes in a nice way. That was some brilliant moves, and i just love this kind of decision, and so far. The studio did a very nice way to keep the pacing intacted in the right direction, and i believed they were did a very well done adaptation so far. So, yeah, its more point for the show! The setting was simply amazing. I just can't believed this series had a nice setup on the past timeline. Its looked incredible and more importantly, the historical value that much happening in the Hokkaido past, especially with Ainu tribe that still exist on that era, just so nice to be watched. Its great, i just love how its explained more of Ainu tribe's culture, their language, their habit, and such, a nice additional score went by to that point. What a great lesson i had by watching this series. The story telling on these episode had me to highlight it too. Its just interesting, and the narrator did a great job explaining some line that really help building the vibe for the current arc. Its really help me a lot. The plot just another my favourite. Its so fluent with everything that happened. First, it might looks like an after war problem. But its ended up with a hunting theme, by taking a little adventurous. However its turned around again by learning a new knowledge for me, yes its Ainu tribe, by announcing the girl. And then, finally i got a big picture about what was goin on. Its not just your usual adventure and a normal hunting time. Its just more than that, with an eccentric characters as a great addition, and multiple variable of its plot to advancing. A lot od complexity, made me realized that these series just way bigger than i could anticipated. Its very appreciated. 10 points for this Introduction. Art, Animation in general: 8 I might be not so good to reviewing this kind of aspects. But i must be honest that the art and animation sometimes, were not so appealing. Sometimes its missed to be united in a good animation, while the others had a static animation. The crappy art style sometimes emerge to the surface created a big questions to me, while the direction at the end somehow used some weird cut. But its fine to me, otherwise, the transition over their ending theme song just well matched up. So, i should take it easy knewing the storyline was just so amazing. So, at general, its not so problem for me. Sometime its surely not went smoothly. I just take it as a comedy aspect for the show to advancing more eccentrism that began to be this series strength. Its real, how weird Asirpa looks when she comically referred miso as shit, but its turned to be a funny thing, and almost happening while Shiraishi or Sugimoto did a derp face for the sake of humour. Its suited well for me, and i can't take it as their mistake. Its just a designated art, and animation. Its just their style to posessed a relatable expression while its needed. So, i take it at as my personal satisfaction. So, no joke, its 8 for me. Sounds effect, soundtrack, OP ED theme sections: 9 The sounds effect felt nice, especially with the nature and animal sounds, its fine by me. The battle cry ambience of effect was their best, especially with their battle or action involved sounds, its greatThe VA did a great job too, while voicing all of that amazing character pretty fluent. I just love their OP and ED quite well done, and its so catchy on my hearing too. Overall, i just not taking such a long phrase on these one. Its great for me. So thats it all. Characterization: 10 I may be sounds too biased. Bcause its just my personal compliment. So, here i am took this section as short as possible. While sometimes Sugimoto might looks like your typical shounen MC show with its determination could get rid everything with his shouts only. The moment to built up his characters just amazing. Its started with something in generic, obviously. A war, that place him to be an immortal people. However, its not stopped into like that. Since his coincidence meeting with a chibi girl from Ainu tribe, his way of life suddenly changed. This is the beauty of his characterization, the relations between them held some good moments, and its just so soothing to be watched. At the end, its just served into a nice little connections that brought back more curiosity to see how they were finished the beautiful relations. Its not ended up with those two. The side character had so many perfect characterization. I even thought that the series span the side character more than the main twos. Lol. However, its just felt nice as the result. The main twos were not losing their shines, and its connected well with the plot story. How could i said a big complain when all of them just looks so great? From the hunter, the King of Escape, the leader of a military forces, the individual soldier of him, the old samurai man, the citizen, the villager of Ainu tribe, the prisoner, they had all the perfect characterization needed to be added on the long duration series. Golden Kamuy already showed to me how well it could handle such a thing. A great characterization with their own eccentricsm. Its lived, its made the series felt interesting and so entertaining. Enjoyment, plus my overall scores: 10. This is my personal enjoyment as an anime watcher only. 12 episodes were not enough to fully capacitating my own satisfaction. So, a 10 for this Introduction for the long series of their adventure felt so logic with their eccentricsm, a unique story, and so diversed characters with their rich in many personalities. Thats it for me.

Golden Kamuy is an anime from just last year. It's based off a Noda Satoru manga that's been going since 2014 and the anime was handled by Geno studio. No relation to a certain marionette with a gun arm. So, I don't know anything about either the writer or studio. Let's dive right into the series. We'll just be looking at series one today. I might look at the second another time.  Story: The story is set shortly after the Russo-Japanese war. Our hero, "Immortal" Sugimoto fought in the war as a soldier and always managed to survive in spite of being put into many deadly situations. Since the war ended, he's panning for gold to try to help an old friend's widow. He's listening to a drunken idiot who tells him the story of a bunch of escaped convicts with tattoos leading to a great treasure. At first, he doesn't believe it but then the drunkard sobers up enough to really regret telling the story and Sugimoto discovers that he is, in fact, one of the tattooed convicts. Sugimoto quickly ends up pairing with a young Ainu hunter named Asirpa in order to find the treasure before the other groups hunting for it do.  The only glaring narrative problem with this series is that it can be overly slow at times. There are a lot of scenes with Asirpa just explaining hunting techniques or outdoors survival information to Sugimoto and they don't do much for the major narrative. They're just kind of dragged out, boring segments. You could cut out the bulk of these scenes and really lose nothing. It's like Noda did a lot of research into the Ainu, how they lived and hunted and really wanted everyone to know.  To the series' credit, the concept is a strong one. Having two major groups and a small one all looking for the same treasure with their own motivations to do so makes for a good, dynamic conflict. And even if the hunting scenes do go on too long, I do appreciate the details about Ainu life and culture. They give the series a strong grounding. The series also does a decent job of balancing the more serious aspects of the story with some more comedic elements. Although the joke of Asirpa thinking that miso is faeces does get old pretty quickly. The series also does end at a good point. There's enough intrigue to get you interested in the second series and enough content that you don't feel cheated.  Characters: The series does a good job of developing its major characters, Sugimoto & Asirpa. It also does a good job with certain side characters, most notably Tanigaki. I'll also credit it with fleshing out the differing motivations for wanting the treasure pretty clearly. That being said, a lot of the convicts they encounter are pretty much nothing characters and there are some other side characters who don't really have anything to them.  Art:  The artwork is nicely done. It's got some good details. The backgrounds are well done. The various animals we see are drawn nicely. The action sequences are great. The only real issue I have with it is that it does suffer at times from "shounen design." Basically, having characters who are supposed to look interesting and unique but look kind of stupid. The big examples are Tsurumi & Ushiyama. I know we're supposed to find them both somewhat intimidating, but it's hard to view them that way since they both look goofy.  Sound: Kobayashi Chikahiro, Shiraishi Haruka & Nakata Jouji deserve a lot of praise for their performances in this. While all the performances are pretty good, those three are fantastic in their roles. Suehiro Kenichiro's soundtrack is nicely composed as well.  Ho-yay: There's a bit where a couple guys fall for a cross dressing man, but that's about it. And when they find out he is a man one of them really freaks out and the other isn't too happy when he comes to his senses.  Areas of Improvement: Skip the vast majority of the hunting scenes. We really don't need to see a long explanation for how to hunt bear or a fox or a rabbit. If we wanted to know that, we'd be watching Huntin' and Killin' with Jimbo & Ned. If you need to put in some filler to stall for time, at least have the characters talk about something interesting or use the time to develop some characters. Long explanations about hunting techniques aren't either.  Let Asirpa realise that Sugimoto is not, in fact, practising coprophagia. The joke works at first but after a while it just gets old and you want it to end.  Rework the designs for Tsurumi & Ushiyama. The idea behind Tsurumi's design might work if you had his scalp torn open and his skull clearly visible in a more disturbing way rather than making it look like he's wearing a white plate strapped to his forehead, but Ushiyama's flashy square in his forehead will never not look stupid.  Final Thoughts: In the end, Golden Kamuy is a pretty solid series. There might be some things that don't work very well, but at its core the series has a compelling concept, well written major characters, strong artwork and animation and good performances. Is it among the best anime ever made? No. Is it a good, entertaining series? Yes. My final rating is going to stand at a 7/10.

Well, this watching experiance was... unexpected To be fair, the story and characters were filled with potential to be extreamly interesting, the execution not so much... This anime has absolutely no freaking idea what it wants to be The tone shifts so erratically, jumping from a gourmet slice of life, to all out comedy, to the most gruesome gore fest I get how the gore fits the story, but the way it was presented, going from gore, to happy comedy, back to blood splatters, and then we're all happy again, in the matter of minutes, it had me questioning wheather the soul purpose of the anime was to traumatize it's audience What reinforced this thought? Out of all the gruesomeness in this, you see animals get gutted and skinned, you see people get skinned and mutilated, and the one thing in this whole anime they decide to pixelate is... wolf poop... WTF??! On the more technical side Thank fuck this anime was not full CGI, 'cause the CG in this was some of the worst i'd ever seen The rest of the animation, also not great, various inconsistencies, proportions and facial fetures changing from scene to scene This is also the first anime in which i did not like the performance of a japanese VA The voice of Asirpa... let's sum up Asirpa's range: serious voice, flat as hell, it is not an exageration when i say every word that came out of her mouth sounded exactly the same, and comedic voice, exageratedly expressive, which works for some scenes, but gets very repetitive when overused, comedic voice is also used for other emotions such as sadness, anger, and fear, and is also the exact same comedic voice she used in Umaru-chan The one and only redeming factor of this anime is the adorable white fluffy hokkaido wolf Retar, he's cuteness personified <3

I'm not going to review each season individually just because MAL insists on listing them on different pages. This review will be on the series as a whole, not just season 1. I also won't make this review too long because I hate absurdly long, convoluted reviews. Story: 10/10 This story was masterfully crafted. Not only is the premise quite note worthy for being intriguing and even somewhat mysterious (with the identity of Noppera-bou being a mystery and a huge portion of the driving of the plot is based on that fact), the adventure Sugimoto and Asirpa embark on together is one with exctiting action, engaging side characters/antagonists, audacious humour, compelling backstories and a nice amount of Ainu culture exposure along with Japanese and Russian history. These reasons alone should tell anyone who might be on the fence about watching this anime that they have certainly stumbled upon one that is worth watching. Art:8/10 The art is very good. I like the colour scheme and the care in details. Sound: 8/10 The soundtrack is great! I love it! Character: 10/10 These characters are some of the most unique and interesting characters I have ever seen in an anime. Some of my favourites being Lt. Tsurumi, Toshizou, Ogata and Tanigaki. And the best part about this is that instead of trying too hard to make the characters out to be more than they are, the story allows them to shine in the best way possible. (I hope you can understand what I mean) Enjoyment: 10/10 This anime is in my Top 10. I freaking LOVE it! The story is so captivating that I find myself not wanting to turn it off even to sleep or do something else. It's so much fun to watch!

Could have been Vinland Saga 2.0, instead became a gay cooking show. Had really high hopes for this one, with it's complex characters and intriguing premise. Instead the 3rd and 4th season just showed that the writer doesn't know where they're going with the show at all. The MC doesn't evolve in any way (at least as far as I watched), the author choosing instead to focus a lot of the runtime on characters who are already dead, either that or giving hundreds of flashbacks to already established characters. Not to mention the fucking cooking scenes, although fine at first, quickly became the author's favorite way of killing the pacing. The amount of gayness that occurs in the later seasons is really weird, like... At some point enough is enough. Makes you think what kind of show the creator really wanted to make instead. Very disappointing, especially considering the amazing antagonists the series has. Might still do a come from behind (heh) in later seasons. I no longer care, cause I sure as shit won't be reading to find out.

If netflix or a major anime viewing platform like Adult Swim or Toonami ever picked this up it would BLOW UP!!! Fans of shows like Rurouni Kenshin or Full Metal Alchemist will totally love this show. The protagonist bring back old classic hero tropes in a unique feeling. They are powerful and you know, the leads of the show, but they also feel very defeat able. No godlike powers just strong performances and strong wills to survive what the story throws at them. Animal lovers beware though this show is not shy about hunting. It's the main way they survive and "the brains are usually tasty with a little salt" and they dont let the eyeballs go to waste either. Plays out superbly and each of the characters have their own unique feel in a show that could have made them very bland. Voice acting is great too. I recommend you watch it dubbed if you can. If your looking for a show without magic powers and realistic feel this is the anime for you.

HINNA HINNA i feel like i should just write that a hundred times for my review... but someone might read this so i'll try to do a legit (ish) review. Basically, this story is inspiring to me. not because of the effort that the two main characters (Asirpa and Sugimoto) put forth, in spite of all their hardships. not because of the trust these two characters gave to each other. not because of the artwork or musical score. not because of anything other than the peek into Ainu life. only because of "hinna, hinna" if you will. i had never considered that there might be native Japanese people like there are native American people. i had even studied up a bit on Japanese history (because i so thoroughly enjoy anime). before Asirpa i was blind. i was missing a part of the Japanese "story." Golden Kamuy tipped me into what i thought to be a puddle of culture that turned out to be a much larger body of metaphorical water. lul i have not spent a great deal of time studying them, but i can confirm; i would love to meet someone with a significant portion of Ainu blood and culture in their life. their spiritual beliefs, their social customs. i want to learn! if this review somehow interests you (waow, many surprise) then i suggest you give this show a shot. you might love it! thanks for reading this far, (or skipping to the end!! cheaters... もう) -Jordan

This Cabela's Hunting simulation game was amazing. 10/10 would definitely buy this game again. This is a wonderful anime about hunting. You follow our heroes as they hunt foxes, whales, fish, bears, squirrels and other game. It will teach you how to survive in the wilderness when the crap hits the fan. Need to know how to gut a deer and warm yourself with its innards? Golden Kamuy has got you. Need to know how to burn poop in order to antagonize a wolf? Golden Kamuy has got you. Need to know how to skin a squirrel? Golden Kamuy has got you. Need to know how to skin a human? Yes, even then, Golden Kamuy has got you. This anime was brought to you buy a team of psychopaths who will simultaneously teach you how to track and hunt people, and laugh while doing it. You'll wonder if you're losing a part of your soul as you laugh as people are gutted and attacked by wild orcas. Death has never been so hilarious. In all seriousness, this is a good anime. It's pretty insane, but not the most insane thing I've seen today, since I also watched a the first few episodes of Zombie Land Saga, but it's pretty close. Basically, a war hero who survives every attempt to kill him and an ethnic hunter girl, team up to track down and skin inmates who have a map to a mountain of gold that was stolen from her people. As word spreads about the maps, former military elites, and remnants of the Shinsengumi start hunting for the gold, too. Which leads to lots of chaos and death and gore and...laughs? That's probably the most surprising thing about this anime, is that it's really funny. Animes like this are usually very serious, but Golden Kamuy manages to mix in tons of humor while war veterans and convicts pretty much massacre each other in very gory ways. Outside of that, the characters are likable, the story is interesting, and while the animation could be better, it's not bad. I really have no complaints about the anime. It's pretty good. Although, the ending of the season was kind of flat as it was just a bridge for the second season. Fortunately, I'm watching this late, so I don't have to wait for a second season after finishing this. Story: 9 Art: 7 Sound: 10 Character: 10 Enjoyment: 10 Overall: 9

In case someone just wants the quick review right away, my verdict is that if you have even a bit of curiosity in the manga series or manga in general, then read this over watching it. Story: The source material for this manga is absolutely great. A comedy adventure Seinen which is a dream come true for my interests. The world is fairly fleshed in the anime, although the manga does moreso through the introduction of historical context and small tirades about local wildlife and food. The characters themselves become very interesting, more get introduced with their distinct personalities and reactions. One thing about adventure manga and anime that is fantastic is that eventually, you come to know how a character should react, because you become in tune with their personalities. Golden Kamuy does a good job at introducing these kind of characters. One BIG fault in the anime i saw is that my personal favorite arc, (focusing on an old samurai, his comrade, and a sniper wandering into a lawless town. It was explicitly Kurosawa thing to do, the author wrote a love letter to the samurai films of old.) That was completely cut out. Now it's a nitpick maybe to some,at 12 episodes things have to be skipped and streamlined. But even then, the final episode landed on an arbitrary note. It could have easily ended on the samurai arc. Again personal nitpick that highlights that the manga is filled with more information. 7/10 Art: CGI bears everywhere. Good lord i hope they make them look better because there is an arc with 3 bears constantly in frame as a foe. Besides that though, the artstyle is adequate. People are identifiable, movement is sometimes a little choppy but it works, the comical facial expressions translate well. 6/10 Sound: nice opening theme and ending theme, but i can't say i remember much of the music within the actual episodes. In fact, at times i felt the show was too quiet, although that kinda adds to the natural aspect of it. 6/10 Characters: I have already stated above that the characters are amazing. Interesting dynamics arise as you follow 3 groups that have their own goals, getting even more interesting when they bleed into each other as members start using various groups for their own gain. I can't get too into detail because i feel it is much more effective to watch it. 9/10 Overall: Good introduction, but the manga is much closer to the authors vision so if it interests you please go read it. If not and you enjoy the manga, rejoice because you get a second season this same years.

This was such a fantastic show. Not only is is setting and time period very unique for an anime. But just about everything else here was very well done. The only major thing I can think if that holds it back, along with the seemingly cookie cutter set up, is the art and animation. So yes, while the manga does it better in that regard. This is still a very faithful and excellent adaptation of an already amazing story. The characters are all very distinguishable and cool, the story once it gets going is very captivating and easy to follow, and even the comedy is really good. It's a real good time. Story: the story is very straight forward to start. Simple treasure hunt set up. But with an interesting twist, the map to the treasure is tattooed on the bodies of a number of escaped convicts, adding some life and death stakes to an already harrowing situation. Not only finding the stash of gold, but first having to hunt down and maybe kill all the convicts to get their skins. Once it sets the board so to speak, it gets really vibrant and sprawling. There's a lot of moving parts by the time this initial season is over. Numerous players in this game working for numerous sides to their own ends. All chasing this legendary amount of Ainu gold. It's essentially a Japanese Western. Which leads to some really in a sense typical plot points. But the characters and the way this handled are amazing. 9. Art: from CG bears, wolves, and later horses, the art and animation is definitely the shows weakest point and about the only thing holding it back. While it does leave a lot to be desired in many shots and scenes. It is by no means show breaking. Comparatively it pales to the manga. But it gets the job done. Plus at least once, or more depending on things, we get some really good shots in there too. 7. Sound: there's not too much to speak about on the sound I think. It was good. Snow sounded like snow, the animals sounded like animals, everything fit with sound effects and such. Speaking on the voice acting. Watched both the sub and the dub. Both are all really good, can't go wrong either way really. Both have a few minor drawbacks, but are still solid. 8. Characters: the absolute best part of this show, and this world really, the characters shine so brightly it's nuts. Sugimoto himself our lead is while not looking it really, a very compelling guy and a great lead for our story. His brash devil may care attitude from being a war veteran, something rare as hell in anime and kinda cool, gives his nickname of Immortal Sugimoto some real credence. That side of him is only rivaled by his very caring and kind nature when he's around Asirpa. She is great too. Serving as our co lead and lead female character, Asirpa is a great gateway into the Ainu culture which itself is very fascinating. She's a very strong willed girl with a lot of spunk and a ton of personality to boot. Asirpa does also add a lot of comedy to the story at certain points. All which hit really well. Along with our Escape King Shirashi, the comedy is very well done and genuinely funny. All the side characters and "villains" are all very good characters and all stand on their own as unique personalities. From Ushiyama, to Hijitaka, to Tanigaki, to Ogata, to Tsurumi, to even Kiroranke at the end, they all make themselves a valuable part of the story and help move it along. 10. Enjoyment: save to say I really enjoyed this show. It has such a cool feel to it and everything clicks. I loved every single episode and all the story beats clicked so well. It was a fun time and enjoyed every minute. 10. Overall: as made evident by this already lengthy review, loved it all. Being a manga reader I pretty much knew what to expect going in, but is was still captivated all over again. This story is so very unique one in a sense, but always very familiar too. It fits a very specific niche I suppose. But I do also think it applies to a wide audience and can be enjoyed by just about anyone. With the announcement of a Season 2 (!!!!!!) in October, my excitement and joy cannot be measured. Fantastic series. 9/10.

Golden Kamuy kicks off with a rather weak introduction. It doesn't give an impression that this "Golden Kamuy" is worth chasing, because they just boast the pile of golden chunks with simplicity and dullness even though it's obvious that a lot of people would think of it as an intriguing theme. Then it proceeds with an endless cycle between hunting game and "hinna hinna" utopia where the main characters can slack off a little bit with nice traditional custom and feast. The visuals are quite detaching, as the background feels too pencil-sketchy sometimes, the characters lack consistency in face and body proportions, and also some annoying 3D CGIs of bears and wolves. Facial expressions are somewhat comic and hit at the right spots when needed because otherwise, this anime would be so boring and shallow.

When trying to tell someone why they should watch this show it's hard to figure out where to begin. Golden Kamuy is really it's own thing. If I had to compare it, It's got the bizarreness of JoJo, the humor of Gintama and the action of Rurouni Kenshin. This isn't a realistic anime, so if that's what you want out of it your not going to find it. It's about Eccentric people after gold and butting heads in the bizarre ways. The pacing of this show isn't for everybody. If you want action all the time it's not that show. It places a large emphasis on survival and character interaction. I love this stray from the norm, however it might not be for everyone. If you're a fan of slice of life then this is a welcome addition. A fair bit of the show is spent gathering food and eating while by the campfire. Don't let the other reviews fool you, there's a ton of action. And the fights in particular get intense. If you don't like blood or brutal fighting. Then this show probably isn't for you because it's loaded with it. The story itself hasn't gotten me too engaged personally but the characters make the show. The world feels very lived in and the characters aren't just there as tools for the story to progress. They feel like they have there own lives. A lot of characters in anime feel like soulless NPC's I don't really get that from this show.

Golden Kamuy (meaning Golden Gods in the Ainu Language) is one of the better Original Anime that came out this Spring 2018 season. Even before it aired it had a lot of Hype behind it since the manga already had a big folowing. So, Did it live up to it's hype? Let's Find Out. Story: 7/10 The Story Follows Sugimoto "The Inmortal", A soldier that survived the Russo-Japanese war of the Meiji era that Wants to help his deceased Comrade's wife, along with Asirpa, an Ainu girl that saves Sugimoto from the harsh, cold Climates of Hokkaido, in their Quest to find a stash of gold hidden by some criminals. In order to find that treasure they need to find several escaped prisioners, each with a diferent tatoo that when put together give away the location of the treasure. In my opinion the story was pretty good. The stakes are always rising And I never felt that someting happened just to keep the stoy moving. The story flowed naturally and didn't really feel too forced. Art: 6/10 The Art in this Anime can be clasiffied in 2 Parts, Traditional Animation and CGI. The traditionally animated parts were pretty good. The characters felt expressive and the animation was all around Smooth and Beutiful. On the Other Hand, the CGI Was atrocious. Most CGI Used (Mostly the bears) felt forced and not really needed. I think they could've used traditional animation to do the bears and other Animals but Whatever. If you don't mind the use the use of CGI in anime then you will really like this Anime's style. the good thing is that the CGI was only used in the early episodes so no need to worry. Sound: 7/10 The OST Ws really good. Most Background music was nice and not to distracting. The OP is done by Man with a Mission, One of my Favorite Japanese bands. Even if the anime itself doesn't catch your interest I recommend you go watch the Opening. the ED was also good, just not as memorable. Character: 8/10 All Characters are very Charismatic and play off each other perfectly. Just not to spoil some interactions, I'm Gonna mention one of the earlier ones. One of the Times Asirpa and Sugimoto are eating, Sugimoto decides to add Miso to what they were eating (I don't remember the details). Asirpa thenmakes a Disguted face and starts calling Miso "osoma" (meaning Sh*t in Ainu basically). This becomes one of the recurring jokes of the show and it never gets old. Enjoyment: 9/10 This Anime is really enjoyable. The Action Moments are Epic AF and the Funny moments are really funny. its a roller coster from start to finish. not really a lot to say. Overall: 7/10 The Show is really good. It is a Nice Historical Comedy action anime and its definately worth a Watch. Its only 12 episodes so its not that much of a compromise. Even if you don't like the historical premise I recommend you watch it. You may be pleasently surprised by its really good humor. With this I Sign off. Until the next review. bye -Afloo