Golden Kamuy

There are tons of action anime out there, but not many good ones with a historical theme. Only Kimetsu no Yaiba, Gintama, and Vinland Saga that come to mind when talking about historical themed anime, especially those combined with action genre. While browser anime on Bilibili, I found Golden Kamuy. I had heard about it before, but since it wasn't really popular, I underestimated it. Because I wanted to watch anime, and other choices didn't seem interesting, then I start dig deeper into Golden Kamuy. It had a stable MyAnimeList rating, around 8.1/10, only the first season got around 7.8/10. It also has historical theme with action, I hoped it would be fun to watch it. At first, everything was fine. It wasn't boring at all, but it felt overwhelming. Many characters were introduced, each with their own goals and motives. The historical and culture parts was also confusing at first—I needed to check Wikipedia many times whenever a new historical reference or character was mentioned, just to understand more context. But this wasn't a bad thing; it was the best part of historical anime: giving you something to learn. From the first until the fourth season, we saw nothing but plot twists. We can never expect wether a party or character involved with Sugimoto or Asirpa would be a friend or an enemy. Even enemies didn't always stay enemies, they could become allies, and then turn back into enemies again. The same thing goes on with friends or allies. That's pretty normal in Golden Kamuy. Golden Kamuy isn't finished yet. The last season will comes out Winter 2026. I can't review its ending based on the current seasons— it's not complet, and I've chosen not to read the manga, since there's still a lot of material left. I think it will be a better experience to wait for the final season. It's a good anime overall. A solid 8/10, not as good as the top historical anime I mentioned earlier, but at least can gives you the same feeling. Just try it—you won't be disappointed!

Golden Kamuy tells an action-packed treasure hunting story, it deftly weaves in an unflinching portrayal of Ainu culture. The in-depth detail that the culture is shown in is likely thanks to the Ainu consultant on the production staff, ensuring the greatest accuracy possible. Moreover, this series never shies away from discussing the ugly way Japan treated the Ainu in the past either, in turn making the story more realistic and believable. The story follows Saichi “The Immortal” Sugimoto, a gruff survivor of the Russo-Japanese war. Famous for violently slaughtering his foes to escape from dozens of life-threatening combat situations; as we see in many thrilling action sequences he’ll never be content with death, motivated by his unfinished business. Panning for gold during winter in Hokkaido’s wilderness is how he spends his time nowadays, desperate for money to keep a promise he made to his friend who died during the war. Lucky for him, he hears of a wild tale about a man who murdered a group of Ainu men, stole hundreds of pounds of gold, hid it in Hokkaido before his arrest, then tattooed a treasure map onto the bodies of his fellow prisoners. In the opening episode, Sugimoto fights for a prisoner’s tattooed body with a bear who wants to make them both its next meal. Through a lucky encounter, he’s saved by a skilled Ainu hunter, a young girl named Asirpa. He confides the tale of hidden treasure in Asirpa, and together they begin their journey in search of it. As the story progresses it takes on a ‘prisoner of the week’ structure, but through constantly adding new characters the series avoids feeling formulaic. The prisoners have their own weird dispositions and stories of their own, gradually forming the greater narrative of what this treasure is all about. Despite its premise, Golden Kamuy’s plot structure flows in a surprisingly natural way. Sometimes an episode may revolve around the duo escaping authorities who are after the treasure as well. A handful of sadistic villains add a constant sense of danger even when they’re not locked in combat with a prisoner. Then there’s the prisoner Shiraishi, a foolhardy escape artist, who joins the lead duo on their journey. This liberated form of writing makes every episode feel like you're getting something new, despite it occasionally causing the pacing to meander on certain parts rather than consistently developing the story. At first, Sugimoto and Asirpa’s relationship is an uneasy alliance, he needs her help to find the gold and she needs his help to find the man who murdered her father. Despite this beginning, they become friends and genuinely care about one another. Sugimoto sees firsthand how awfully people treat Ainu people by being around Asirpa, and he stands up for when he can because she accepts it being used to the racism. Fantastic commentary and discussion on the Ainu culture are deftly woven into their satisfying character arcs, never sounding preachy and somehow always excitingly presenting historical facts. Seeing them hunt with one another using Asirpa’s Ainu techniques is awesome; she teaches Sugimoto them as well and it brings plenty of chemistry but also strengthens their bond. The hunting methods she uses are always quite clever and lend themselves excellently to action scenes. Like Asirpa may teach Sugimoto and the viewer how to make squirrel traps to foreshadow its use later during a higher stakes combat scene. This is how you write an action scene! We’re presented with clever ideas then they return later on to be used in creative ways, a satisfying outcome for any viewer keeping track of the Ainu lessons. Rewarding payoffs like this make Golden Kamuy such an enjoyable experience. The show well to avoid framing Sugimoto as better than Asirpa’s at the Ainu techniques that she taught him. Many stories land in this pitfall while trying to portray indigenous tribes, having the foreigner beat them at their own game not realizing how condescending that framing could be seen by the natives. Thankfully this does not happen in Golden Kamuy because it is intelligently and respectfully written. Weighing down Golden Kamuy's adaptation the most is the mediocre visuals that fail to elevate the strong writing beyond the manga. It's clear the newly opened Geno Studio tried their best, but picking an action series to work on may have been out of their full capabilities. Backgrounds are messy and flat, character animation is passable but oversimplifies the manga’s great designs, and that hideous CGI bear looks like something out of a PS1 game. However, the opening "Winding Road" by Man With a Mission is fantastic, well-edited, and intensely performed, it's well suited to a survival series like this one. The ending theme "Hibana" is also one of the best of the season, a great alternative rock that showcases detailed art from the manga. Even with all of the high points Golden Kamuy has, I would consider the pitch-perfect tone to be its biggest strength. The show blends comedy with the gritty premise, the tone is balanced amazingly. Noboru Takagi, the guy who adapted Baccano also adapted this series’ already great source material, which is likely why the dialogue is so snappy and never feels slow or lacking. And this writing is only elevated by the fantastic voice acting; Asirpa’s seriousness played to comedic effect, Shiraishi’s goofy disregard for danger, Sugimoto’s fierceness in action sequences, it’s all excellent. The banter between Asirpa and Sugimoto is wonderfully lighthearted too, some of their expressions are hilariously exaggerated too. The action scenes are typically over-the-top with gore because of the wild personalities of all the characters, there is a scene with Sugimoto punching a bear! None of the violence feels like it's there for shock value either; they are in a survival situation, after all. Their lives are constantly in danger from enemies and their hunting for food is shown in visceral but realistic detail. The tone is further balanced by the wonderful detail put into describing the food the group eats, using Ainu’s strangely delicious-looking recipes to showcase their culture. While there’s a fair share of dramatic scenes, the show always maintains its wry charm thanks to the characters. Regardless of how absurdly dangerous their survival situation might be. Regardless of Golden Kamuy’s production flaws, its writing is way too good to not recommend. I would also recommend seeking out the manga as well if you want to see the series art at a higher quality. With a second season coming in the Fall Season, we can only hope it is produced by someone other than Geno Studio. Nevertheless, Golden Kamuy is an insightful and worthwhile adventure that manages to thrill with compelling action and endear with its fantastic characters in equal parts.

(SPOILER-FREE Review for Golden Kamuy Seasons 1-3) Golden Kamuy is one of those shows that gets better and better by each season. The tagline in the manga describes it as "Yaminabe Western," referring to a type of hot pot dish where all the ingredients are added by different people with the lights off, so nobody knows exactly what's going to pop up in the dish. It is one of the best Historical shows in the sense that it makes full use of the era it is in and how it affects the individuals in it. You'd notice that it also has one of the most unique of settings. It takes place after the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905) in the snowy regions of Hokkaido. A rare pre-WWI show. Also Seinen. Logically speaking such a general review should be written towards the end of S3. However if you've seen that far then there's no use of me convincing you that this show is pretty good. Story (8/10) : Long story short ; There is tons of gold hidden somewhere and and several individuals try to seek it for their own desires. The clues for this are hidden in code on the backs of prisioners scattered all around Hokkaido. Sugimoto Saichi (The MC) wants to seek this gold to help his dead friend's widow. On his way he gets attacked by a bear. Later gets rescued by an Ainu girl who has a connection to the lost gold. Both of them go on a journey to find the gold. It sounds simple on paper and follows a "Multiple people seeking the same thing" formula (like a Fate/zero) but done extremely well. A fun adventure with a lots of twist and turns through out keeping it exciting. A cycle of trust, alliance and betrayal ensues as everyone is psychopathic in one way or another. Its Historically accurate for the most part. It showcases the the way of life of The Ainu (a nomadic group) i.e how they hunt, what they eat, their rituals, traditions and their culture. In that sense it counts as Edutainment. S1 is the weakest season IMO as its a bit more casual. It is more introductory on the characters and the parties that will take part in the golden expedition. Not to say there weren't threats and roadblocks on the way. S2 is the best season as it expands its world and the story. Big revelations are made. It delves into some of the best character backstories you'll ever see and gives them more depth. Truly the Golden season. S3 continues the journey, specifically traces the past of a couple of key characters. S3 is good too but not as great as s2, although it has the best animation so far. Characters (10/10) : This is the best part of this show. All the characters in this show are awesome, written very well and have much depth to them. ''The Immortal" Sugimoto Saichi called so because of his willpower to NOT die. He's more of an anti hero than a hero. Asiripa, an Ainu girl of the new generation adapting the modern lifestyle with Ainu traditions. A fierce yet innocent one. Ogata, a chaotic guy you would hate and love at the same time due to his wits, combat skills and unpredictability. Lt. Tsurumi, A charismatic bastard who is a schemer and a manipulator who leads a special infantry division called the 7th division. He is also extremely smart. Hijikata Toshiro, a former leader of the Shinsengumi who still has the fire in him to start a revolution. Ogata and Tsurumi are my favourites as they give the show a unique flavor and they change the course of the show simply by their presence. These are only some of the characters and as there are wide range of them. The fact that everyone is still relevant by the end is just brilliant. Visuals (8/10) : A random person once said "Golden Kamuy is greatness hidden behind a CG bear." That's true as people could be turned off by a funny looking CG bear that makes early appearance. But the fact is the bear makes a total appearance for just a couple of eps or so adding upto just a min through the show! That shouldn't make anyone not watch the show. The animation in general is aight. Geno Studio was small new studio. S1 was decent but after that they improved on the animation quite a lot. They used the animation and budget right. Not to mention they have complex character designs. They usually wear winter attire and the soldiers of the 7th division including Sugimoto always wear their uniforms. The Animation is used very well even though its made at a low budget. The Fight Choreography is insane! The combat looks similar to how soldiers fight using their own form of martial arts and tactics. Music (9/10) : OSTs sound more western than Japanese. But that was the idea. Some of the EDs and OPs are just incredible. The ED starts playing just before the ep ends which gives an awesome vibe and also hype for the next ep. Akin to FMAB. Everything by the band "The Sixth Lie" is great. The right music is played at the right time. Especially during backstories. Enjoyment (8.5/10) : I really enjoyed the ride. They made a simple story of "who wants the gold" really worth watching. The characters alone and their dynamics with one another make it worth a watch. The Humor....ehh is a hit or a miss. Sometimes its good sometimes it resorts to toilet humor. The comedic timing is also often misplaced. The pacing is also up and down at times. Overall (8 - 8.5/10) : I didn't expect much after a casual S1 but I was wrong as it got better and better. Its akin to old western cowboy movies about the gold rush but with a distinct Japanese twist. A Good Historical Seinen adventure anime which is unpredictable mostly because of the characters and twists. S4 is on the horizon at the time of this review. S2 - 9/10 (Gold) > S3 8.5/10 (Silver) > S1 8/10 (Bronze)

I first saw this anime and did not think much of it. I was very mistaken, immediately after beginning I became drawn in to the story and the culture and time period. All three seasons so far were made very enjoyable by the various interesting characters and the overall plot. I very much recommend you watch this. P.S the intros and outros slap as well. For example , the Ainu culture explored was done extremely well and I felt like i was learning while enjoying the show, also the pacing was very stable and i did not feel at any point did it feel rushed.

This review was made from google translate. In Hokkaido, the far north of Japan, Sugimoto survived the Russo-Japanese War of the Meiji Era. Nicknamed But now he seeks the promise of gold from the gold rush in hopes of saving the widow of his now-deceased comrade. During the hunt for gold, he discovers that gold is hidden, with a map of gold buried from tattooed prisoners escaping from prison. It is gold from the Ainu 7 tribe, burned together, there are 20, the gold collector is "faceless ghost", he brutally killed the Ainu people and buried all the gold. Sugimoto then cooperated with Ainu girl. Who met by chance They have to go on a survival adventure to compete with other groups that have also heard about gold. What I don't really like about the Golden Kamuy anime is the jokes. And what about the ridiculous jokes that go with anime that should be serious? Actually, the joke of this story, I am not really happy with everything. It's true that being a manga, it might work. But it doesn't mean that it's an anime, is it going to be animated, right? Let me give you a very simple example of the Vinland saga, where in the manga, the joke, I say, is nothing different from the Golden Kamuy, but what happened to the Vinland saga's anime is seriousness. The Vinland saga in the manga is almost completely gone. Many of the jokes that were once well done in the manga have been cut almost completely. It made the tone of the story a lot more serious. Actually, it wasn't completely cut off. There are still some Vinland jokes, but when they play them It didn't make me laugh. It made me even more stressed about it, cutting back to Golden Kamuy, many of the jokes that were still incompatible with the situation and were quite annoying at many points. Well, there are actually many jokes that are well done. I think the thing that spoils those jokes is the tone. Like, sometimes it is very frustrating. Is like being serious and playing jokes and then being serious. I don't really like it And one thing for the first part of this anime that I don't like is that it It spends a lot of time on things that do not seem to be necessary too much. Regardless of the Ainu lifestyle, beliefs, or the daily life of the people of Hokkaido. Not that bad But all of these things make this a very slow down story, like in the first season of this story, we can get things like this very often to the most. It's one of those things that I didn't really like in this first installment. It's not that telling the Ainu lifestyle or whatever, it's bad. It's not bad, on the contrary, it's doing well. But with this matter, it will not try to present them. What is the way of life or belief What this story tries to convey is the chase and the race for survival. To find that gold. Main story This is the reason why I still didn't like the first part of this story much. Regardless of the story, the story should be intense, but it presents a lot of things that are rarely necessary. As a result, this story is quite sluggish. But it's not that I don't like anything in Golden Kamuy. There are things that I like and dislike at the same time: The story at the beginning is quite open-ended. Anyone who has finished watching it will probably know what kind of story in the first part of the anime is. It is a walk of the story like that Several characters will appear with problems or clues. Some of which are doing quite well But some are not necessary at all, you can say And another part of the story that is well done is What about the period between Sakimoto and Asripa and the development of their relationship? This point is what I think can do very well recently. Whether it's putting jokes into It was during this time that I looked at it as a funny joke that was done quite well. It was a show of the things that happened in their relationship that I was fairly in. I think that this part of the first part is the best. Because, as I said, the first part of the anime is pretty slow. And the story is still not very dark and hairy in the first part Another part that I will be watching about the first part is the action scene. True, this may not have action scenes with brutal productions. But what really makes me want to be true about this is the smart use of action scenes. I don't know how to explain it. But with the experience of Geno Studio, the new anime strudel has chosen Golden Kamuy, an action manga manga that can be considered a new test of this strudios. And the matter was not done bad at all The production team realizes that they cannot create beautiful action scenes. But what they have built is smart work. I don't know how to go out in writing. But this action scene makes me quite enjoy it, although it may not be able to create like other stories. But it is considered to be at a relatively good level.

Golden Kamuy is a good show. There is some action scenes here but that's not the entire focus of the show. A lot of it is about a Soldier and a Ainu girl getting to know each other through arduous tasks on their journey to reclaim the gold for Ainu people. This season is basically set up for the next season. It does not really have anything that would be a typical season final. Instead this season sets up the different key players and factions involved in the race for the hidden Ainu Gold. It does a very good job of setting up a solid foundation for what is hopefully solid future installments.

I'll be posting a similar review for the second season because in my mind, they should be regarded as one. All of the characters, storylines and the feel for the show remains the same and the devision is unnecessary. This was such a weird anime. In a good way though. I've never seen such a diverse mix of different genres put together while creating a coheseve and enjoyable story. With that being said, the story often takes a back seat to documentary style observations. If I'm being completely honest, the show is 30% outdoor cooking tutorial, 20% David Attenborough documentary about nordic wildlife and the culture of the Ainu peoples and the rest remains for story, worldbuilding, characters and surprising amount of comedy. And I'm not complaining, the show is as much enjoyable as educational and even if you're unsure about the comedy bits, it will grow on you and yo'll learn to love it. I found myself saying "hinna" and "chitatap" a little too much. The setting is unique - historical but not "in your face historical" - exploring an interesting era in japanese history which has not yet been covered in anime (as far as I know) and it does a good job of sprinkling historical trivia here and there eventhough sometimes it doesn't get it right (Lenin was not it Russia until the end of 1917). The character design is amazing and characters themselves are strong. They each have uique quircks and the bonds they create are believable. They do have some serious plot armor so the tension is not quite there during action scenes. Which however DO deserve praise - some of the best and most realisticaly brutal fight scenes (one-on-one scenes mostly) ever seen in anime. To whomever did the choreography, I want to see more of your work. The story is great in concept, but too often derives into ofshoot side stories and you are left wandering "what were we doing again?". It creates a roadtrip-style story which sometimes introduces new characters, sometimes new enviroments but remains mostly the same. One thing I would like to point out is how the show portrays soldiers of the 7th (the bad guys). It doesn't fall into the trap of "zombie mentality pawns" so many other anime shows and treats them as individuals rather then pure cannon fodder (they are the elite of the elite after all). The fact that you know their names, recognize their faces and with some of them becoming the main characters, whenever they appear on screen, they are formidable and pose a challenge. Now for the negatives: The show does have some serious pacing problems. towards the middle I found myself zoning out and not looking forward to following episodes. The plot armor will start to bug you after some time, the comedy is hit or miss and individual story sub-plots can be a little annoying at times. All in all, a recommendation from me for the setting and characters alone. Or if you just want something which feels new and different.

When i first read about this show i was very hesitant as it didn't sound very unique from the normal every day shounen and apparently it is not that popular but oh boy i did not see this coming a classic free for all war where alliances are formed and broken just like that between some of the most crazy weird sick well written sociopaths you will ever see in an anime and not not just that everyone needs to survive the most threatening enemy of them all which is the unforgiving nature of japan in the word like the forests and bears and snow storms things like that which adds more spice to the show . whats very good about this anime and makes it so unique is it knows exactly what it is and what it wants and doesn't try to fool you for being anything other than what it is this a classic WTF anime that try to combine being entertaining with realism a combination which only leads some of the most funny mind blowing scenes i have ever seen yet its not only fun and comedy as tragedies and sadness engulfs the story and its events , its a difficult combination that was here done nearly to perfection . if i was asked to describe the story of this anime without spoiling anything i'd say it's like being in roller coaster ride you can see the course , the flips and twists yet this knowledge doesn't take even one bit of the experience but you even get more surprised when actually experiencing it the story is mostly straight forward but what makes this anime special is not the story (which is good) but it's the well written characters oh god all characters are well written main characters or not even the characters that are not related to the story feel significant it's been long since i have seen so damn good bold writing i don't think i have said this about an anime before . the art style here is not that much different from typical anime but and some times stands out and also it plays a big role in the comedy there is something to mention cgi is used here in the bear scenes and it's really horrific the music also not that impressive . this is not a hidden gem this is Ali papa's treasure right there and very little number of people know about it this a must watch tell your friends about it .

This review is for Golden Kamuy as a whole. In short, it has a bit of everything. The story is intriguing and misterious and makes you to follow the protagonists in their search for "El Dorado". Also the setting is interesting because most of the animes that take place in Japan are either in the distant past like the Sengoku era or Edo era or in modern day Japan so choosing the late XIX century is pretty cool. It has a lot of action, adventure, nice fighting scenes, the animation is done right so nothing to complain. The soundtrack is very good, the openings and endings fit the anime very well, especially the openings which are very energic and catchy. The characters are very interesting and very diverse. Everyone has their own reasons for wanting the gold and there isnt really a villain in the tipical way, they are just normal men with their desires. The main character is a total badass, an ex soldier that you dont want to piss off but he is more than just that and after watching him and the other main cast in their journey you will see another part of him, carring and kind. Overall is a very good anime and worth every second of it.

This is some of the best start to a season I have ever witnessed. The characters, setting, world building and the story was phenomenal. Sugimoto and Asirpa's dynamic was refreshing. What made me laugh was watching these serious characters end up in goofy situations. The humor is perfectly blended in the drama and thrill of the series. The Hokkaido setting was honestly new for me. I learned a lot of Ainu and their culture. This is guaranteed to be a great watch. I started the manga after this season ended and was still entertained. This has a really good replay watch.

That was pretty okay! Golden Kamuy is a fun romp through an era and setting I haven't really seen before in an anime. 1903 Hokkaido is a fascinating place to set a story in, and the anime overall met my expectations. I love the flat colors and background design of this anime. Like I said earlier, I really love exploring the setting of 1903 Hokkaido, and witnessing all the historical details. I also really love the character designs; the Ainu characters in particular are favorites, especially how some characters' hair looks like paper strips. I think that character design element just looks so cool. Everyone has a unique silhoutte, which is also fun. And, yes, the mangaka just loves men, so I appreciate the more "masculine" character designs in a sea of bishies. Also, big fan of how the female characters wear normal clothes. There are definitely moments where the anime doesn't look that great, but the drop in quality didn't hinder my enjoyment all that much.Yes, the CGI bears look dumb and super out of place, but TBH, it is not that bad. After witnessing WANDANCE's CGI this season, there's not a whole lot that can really phase me. The soundtrack is pretty good. Golden Kamuy's strongest suit is most definitely this setting. Especially since I don't know much about this era of Japanese history, (or any at all, TBH 😅) it's really fun to learn everything. I didn't expect their to be so much focus on food a well; usually I'm pretty impartial to depictions of food in anime, but the education spin to the different types of Ainu cuisine were so cool to learn about. The plot and characters are okay. The mystery gold search is an interesting enough angle, and I like all of the different factions; though none of them, save for Sugimoto and Aspira's group. The characters themselves are fine; funny, interesting to watch, but nothing stand out. I really like Aspira as a lead---she's confident and capable. While these two traits of course are't enough to carry a female character, I at least appreciate that she's competent in the mostly-male cast. I found her and Sugimoto to be appropriately layered protaganists, and while I wasn't exactly searching for more from them, I wasn't looking for less either. I'm hoping season 2 continues to flesh these characters out, beyond what we've seen in season 1. Overall, Golden Kamuy is a strong recommendation for anyone interested in historical anime and fresh character designs.

Historical series, whether anime or movies, are for me always lackluster, because of their innermost effort to feel realistic and as much accurate to the historical events as possible. This doesn’t apply to Golden Kamuy. This series is not a boring history lesson from your boring teacher in boring school. It is actually fictional story focused on treasure hunting with a cultural insight to Ainu ethnic minority living in Hokkaido; northern island of Japanese archipelago. After the introduction of the historical background – Russo-Japanese war, first decade of 20th century – it starts to focus on its main plot line. Well-written characters are abundant, as well as their own background, motivations and reasons for why they are acting as they are. This guarantees conflicts and therefore, as a peak, occasional action scenes. Very good character design makes the characters very memorable. The only aspect that can make the show feel boring is its slow pacing, which is actually needed to develop background and/or side characters. On the other hand, pacing can also lose momentum with its slice of life-like events. For example, herb gathering, cooking, shelter building etc. Yes, it is good to see as an aspect to survival, but just once is enough, not every single episode. And the jokes are not really funny. Recommended for really anyone. Give it a few episodes, see if you like it or not. Just don’t get discouraged by all those CGI animals. Pros: + separation of pure history and fiction + character design + character motivations Cons: - easily gets out of track - poor attempts of comedy relief Double-edged: +/- slow-burner 7/10 (GOOD)

Golden Kamuy, an unexpected banger! My intro to this anime was through a clip that made me double check whether this anime's title was Golden Kamuy or Golden Shower. After a few more such questionable and thought-provoking clips, a certain image solidified in my mind about this anime. The reality, though? It was quite different! Went in expecting absurd comedy, which it indeed delivered but I was also provided with such a great cast of characters with a lot of depth and layers to them. Another aspect which I had no idea this anime had, but found really delightful, was the coverage of certain ethnic groups, majorly The Ainu. The author did a lot of research for this and gives a beautiful dive into these ethnic group's cultures, practices, food, clothing, and various other traditions, which doesn't hit like some boring info dump. Although filled with absurd comedy, this anime has an overarching serious plot and even better characters. This anime is set in the 1900s Japan and delivers a journey of various factions searching for something, motivated by various reasons stemming from what they wish to do with it. As these various factions go on their intense journey, we get to see a lot of cultures, betrayals, bonding, fights, plus the absurd comedy, while also understanding how convoluted things really are. Personally speaking, the comedy never really ruins the seriousness of what this anime can deliver when it wants to. Somehow, all of it blends together perfectly for me. As for other aspects, the animation is good enough not some top tier production, but it gets the job done satisfactorily well. The OSTs are decent as well, especially Season 3's ED.

This anime is everything I wanted from a story. It manages to have well-written protagonists and antagonists, is nicely animated (except for the very few times there is a little bit of CGI, which happens very rarely), and the story is incredibly written. The world of this anime feels really real because of the immaculate writing; you feel tension at every moment because you know the characters can die. I can't put into words how thrilling this anime is to watch without spoiling it. The first season is kinda slow (for a good reason — lots of setup), but after that, this anime has one of the most breathtaking stories I've seen in a while.

The opening season does a good job at showing what we can expect from further seasons It starts as a very serious no nonsense show (it is) involving war, survival, mystery and treasure hunt elements but then as the show progresses the main characters' dynamic started growing on me, there is more to this show than its serious plot, light hearted humor, adorable and silly antics from Asirpa, her cool wolf, being concerned over Asirpa's pacifist actions which could potentially bring harm to her and the ones she care I was already enjoying the show from the 2nd ep, the plot and other characters only turned out to be huge bonus! each episode also features hunting a new animal, and describing how the Ainu cook it , how it tastes and also facts from Ainu's culture.. I was not particularly interested in them , but then they didn't bother me much, just happy to watch Asirpa yap ^^ one of the strong points of this show is that side characters are depicted well, they are not bland and each of them have something going on.. tho in the 1st season we cant expect much from them oh and this show can get freaky at times

Golden Kamuy has been sitting on my watchlist for years, pretty much since its release in 2018. It seemed like the kind of grand adventure that I'd have a good time sitting down with and experiencing over a few days. They started teasing the "final season" several years ago, and when they finally released it in March of 2026 I decided it was time. Well, they got me. Somebody needs to communicate to these studios exactly what the word "final" means. In any case, I do believe my mind is made up, and while I will watch it regardless, whatever happens in the next arc is unlikely to change how I feel about it. In short, I have a complicated opinion of Golden Kamuy. On the one hand, it delivered what I came for, that being high-octane action and a fascinating, granular lesson about Japanese history and Ainu culture, but on the other hand, it ends up struggling with a ton of issues I didn't even think were going to come up. For anyone who wants a word right up-front about what to expect, Golden Kamuy is something like a mix of JoJo's and One Piece, with all the good and the bad that such a weird blend might entail. There is much to discuss, so I'm just going to jump right into it here. Beginning with the story, it has the makings of something great. A buried treasure, the map for which is tattooed piecemeal on a series of escaped prisoners, which lays the groundwork for an exciting, high-stakes adventure throughout the untamed wilds of Japan's northernmost frontier. The adventure and its related mysteries and puzzles are complex and engaging as well. It nails the atmosphere of this adventure, and the human aspect of many of the characters we end up going on that adventure with. The writing reveals the emotional depth of everybody from long-time adventuring companions to even the most psychotic villains. It does a lot of work with establishing backstories and multifaceted personalities, so along the way there are a lot of characters you end up caring about. It's always exciting to encounter new tattooed prisoners along the way, and what their particular set of skills are as well. Furthermore, the fights are absolutely badass, and choreographed with impact, skill, and savagery down to the last detail. It even has room in the plot for comedy, some of which is actually quite funny. There are, however, a lot of problems which really get in the way of the overall enjoyment. First, I was expecting this show to be a little more serious in tone. I was expecting some comedy, sure, but it seems to swing wildly from deep, emotional registers all the way to goofy, surreal comedy that makes it impossible to take seriously. At one moment, you have a character wrestling with the death of his wife and infant child, and the next, you have a character who's making jokes about their balls and farting. Speaking of which, there is a fair bit of male fanservice in this show, which, while it is played for laughs, is nonetheless jarring, frivolous, and incongruous with the tone of the anime, often contributing to the tone problem I just mentioned, and part of why I compare it to JoJo's. Contributing to this tone problem, the suspension of disbelief goes totally out the window at a certain point. At the beginning you have gritty and straightforward fighters who are really strong or really good shots, but by the end you have guys who can hold their breath for 35 minutes and control their hair like tentacles, and this is part of why I compare this show to One Piece. The worst problem by far, however, is that, while I do care for many of the characters, I couldn't care less about the main conflict. Like, there are many characters who I'm rooting for individually, but I'm not psyched with the results of whoever wins. Put simply, I'm perfectly fine with how real life history played out in the Meiji Era. I'm happy Hokkaido is part of Japan, and I'm happy that the Imperial Family sits on the Chrysanthemum throne. Of the groups that form to hunt for the gold, one of them wants to create a Shogunate-style 2nd Ezo Republic and import a bunch of foreigners to develop coal mining, another one wants to overthrow the government and install their leader as a military dictator, and a third group wants to "do what's best for the Ainu", which is vaguely defined but likely represents a deviation from what happened in actual history. Going by some of the third group's allies, this third option might be a revolutionary breakaway state for Ainu and Ainu-related peoples. The thing is, I think all of these options suck. I don't want any of them to happen. Even then, the military dictatorship guy, who is a total lunatic, I think would actually do the least damage overall with the plan he lays out, which is actually very rationally explained in Season 5, Episode 6, before he goes back to being a lunatic. This, of course, poses a big problem for my enjoyment of the show. Sure, I can root for individual characters, enjoy the fights, learn about history, and even laugh at some of the jokes, but given the options on the table, no matter how it ends I'm probably not going to be satisfied. This, bar-none, is the biggest problem I have with Golden Kamuy. I could forgive all of its other flaws if it weren't for this, and I might have even recommended it, but alas. As it stands, this is what we're working with. The art is solid, and much less of a complex issue. It boasts a really striking and unique art style, and handles combat really well. The pronounced linework, hyper-expressive faces, strong color palate, and sense of weight all help to enhance the enjoyment of this piece as a visual work. Even if many characters shouldn't realistically survive many of the injuries they sustain, it's still very cool to see them fight. If there's one thing this anime understands over all other things, it's hype. They hype up fights across seasons, they hype up conflicts that develop in the span of a moment, they hype up the moment a blow connects, on and on. Hearing "I'm Immortal Sugimoto!!!" right before some dudes get positively eviscerated never gets old. The art lacks a bit during mundane scenes, saving its animation in particular for more important moments of combat, some of the faces take some getting used to, and there is occasionally some absolutely dogwater CG, but overall the art still works well for the piece as a whole. The sound is fantastic throughout, with extremely emotive voicework and an awesome soundtrack. I liked how hard it was working moment-to-moment, not reusing any particular track too often, saving certain songs only for when they're most appropriate, and unleashing their most impactful tracks during moments of the most potent hype. The voicework is also about as expressive as the faces, and the range expressed by each VA really is quite admirable. The characters are the strongest aspect of this anime by far, which is not something I went into this expecting. This show does such a good job at characterization, with whole flashback episodes into their backstories given only after you've spent significant time with each of them. They feel so authentic (most of the time), and, as a result, are very easy to get invested in. Sugimoto, as this gristled veteran of the Russo-Japanese war, is a fantastic protagonist, and his dynamic with Asirpa is both heartwarming and compelling. The villains they encounter, who can sometimes phase between allies and enemies, are broadly quite compelling. Liutenant Tsurumi as an ominous mastermind willing to do anything is an incredible big bad for the whole series, Ogata as a stone-cold psychopath with a thirst for blood is one hell of a recurring figure, Ushiyama as this force of nature whenever he appears always completely changes the nature of whatever scene he's fighting in, Inkarmat is this mysterious and foxlike woman who's impossible to truly understand, and on and on. The way they psychoanalyze nearly everybody, especially what caused the insanity of the bad gu…

In short: If you want an anime that has some gore, seinen themes, and some nonsense action, this is for you! If you want a deep-thinking battle shonen, maybe you should look for another anime. Intro: Golden Kamuy is a fun anime, where you get involved in a plot that is a little bit strange, but also really fun. The story is set in Hokkaido, and the studio even hired an Ainu (an ancient tribe that lives in Hokkaido) language expert for the parts where the language is spoken. This brought an immersive aspect to the anime. Animation: 7 It is well animated. The style looks a bit like Jojo's (Araki's art style) but at the same time, it's not as exaggerated as Jojo is. It feels nice, but nothing too beautiful. Sound: 6 It has some parts that are fun, and nothing feels off. It's average. Character: 8/10 Maybe this is the best part of the anime. All the characters are really fun and engaging. As the first season, it didn't have any deep character development, but I think the writer didn't actually care too much about that. All the characters just have their own personalities and are really fun to watch. Looking forward to the next seasons to see if they get better. Story: 7/10 To be honest, the story is fun. For a first season, the world is rich and feels like it will get more development later. The mystery behind it is really interesting, and the good old "war never changes" feeling is good, too. Enjoyment: 8/10 It's really fast-paced, fun, and sometimes really exciting. You want to watch more of it. The only downside is some "filler" that has nothing to do with the story and feels like, "Oh c'mon, you didn't need to add this." Or some parts that are fun, like learning about the Ainu Tribe, etc... But sometimes just dragged the story out a little too much. Overall: 7/10 It's a good anime, above average. If you ignore some of the bullshit in the anime, you will have fun and it will be worth your time.

Man, never would have thought that I would enjoy this anime. This is an absolute hidden gem that I missed when it was aired. I remember I was curious about this anime because, from the sounds of the synopsis, I thought it would be done in 2 seasons. But to my surprise, now that we are in 2025, they have announced the 4th season. I can't even believe it at first but upon watching the first season, now I get it. Without further ado let's start the review. Starting with the OST, man, I'm in love with the OP and ED. My first impression (on the year it came out) of the OP, specifically, was that it didn't feel like a 1900s song at all, especially with how much English is used in the lyrics. After hearing it more and more, especially in late 2024, I don't know how, and I don't know why, but I felt nostalgic, for some reason, like it actually felt like it was the 1900s music. Then there is the ED. I actually did like the ED more than the OP, it felt really calming in the beginning but they hit it with the chorus. Like my goodness, it's so good. Other than the OP/ED, I give all of my thumbs to the OST in the anime itself. Now, we'll be talking about the story. I'm not going to spoil it, but man, I never even considered thinking about it. Of course, the prisoners with tattoos are going to be scattered around Japan. Why would they be only in one place? And my god, the amount of factor of people in this anime is insane, but the story made it very easy to understand. Like, who's with who, why this person behaves like this, and why the gold was so valuable. These plot points are put well together to make the story smooth from start to finish. Man, can't wait to continue my journey of this anime. But before that, I would like to watch other anime first and also finish this review, so let's continue on. Animation. THIS! This has to be one of, if not, the best, and beautiful animation that I have seen, at least in comparison to animes that came out in the year this anime came out. Not forgetting the random moment in the anime where some of the characters just change their face, like bro they nailed it to make me laugh hard. For an anime studio that specializes in Golden Kamuy, you guys nailed it to the core. I also just saw your guys' projects in the past besides Golden Kamuy, I can't say it's not really great to see but most of them look mediocre. I hope y'all can be more than just a Golden Kamuy's animation studio because when y'all are done with this series... I just had a feeling... bad one. But of course, I wish y'all the best, Geno Studio. Now let's move on to Character. Asirpa, Sugimoto, and Shiraishi are the best trio, fight me bro! I can't believe I can say this but it will be hard to beat these three because I haven't seen a lot of anime have a trio this good. They are connected like magnets and when they are on a "mission" that magnet would lead each other to their destination. Although, yes, Shiraishi is like one of the stupidest people in the anime but come on man, he did it not for himself, he did it to benefit all of the gang. LOL. But anyway, aside from the trio, even the side characters and "villains" in this anime are very interesting. You could say that it really moves the plot forward, they are the most valuable characters that drive the big story forward. It's so fascinating to see how all of the characters in this anime race their ass to get the tattoos and get the gold first. Last, we're going to be talking about the VA. I actually feel this is one is the weakest points of this review. I don't really hear the best performance but that doesn't mean it's the worst. I might be harsh to the VA but I just enjoy all of their acting equally. Overall this is a must-watch ACSOL (Action Slice of Life) anime, I give it 9.6/10. It is that good.

The year is 1905, the time of the Russo-Japanese war. The Japanese and the Russian forces are waging a massive war that would decimate armies on both sides. The former has a platoon stationed within a trench in the Hokkaido region of their own country. One of the soldiers spots a battalion of opposing forces on the other side, with some machine gunners in their squad for defensive measures. One of the men, a high-ranking officer, gives his men a signal. The platoon charge ahead, screaming and hurling battle cries as they set their sights on the enemy. But its futile. One by one, they drop dead in an instant, their bodies peppered with machine gun bullets. Except for one man… His rage-inducing roar echoes throughout the battlefield as he charges head-on into the enemy’s trenches. He shrugs off the bullet wound; pain after all only seems to make him stronger. His adversaries are pulverized, stabbed, impaled, and mutilated beyond belief as the lone soldier weaves through the squad with amazing dexterity. The camera then pans on him as he shrieks, blurting out his name before executing one unlucky bastard in front of him. And this man is… Japan’s answer to Hugh Glass from ‘The Revenant’ hahahahaha! What? That’s not funny? Oh, ok then… This is how Golden Kamuy starts out. From the very start of the episode, it makes it clear that this is a full-blown action series, and perfectly establishes our main hero, Sugimoto, as a man who could shrug off more bullets than any human can. Adapted from the hit manga by Sataru Noda, the story of Kamuy is as if somebody took the plot of an Indiana Jones movie, and spliced it with some references to 20th Century Japanese history. Its an action series, a blood pumping adventure flick, a wacky comedy, a mystery, a cooking program, a creepy romance, and a historical documentation on a certain indigenous culture, all wrapped into one tight, little package. With 12 episodes and a second season on the horizon, Golden Kamuy tells the story of Sugimoto as he runs into Aspira, an Ainu girl. The two strike a close friendship between one another and begin the search for a hidden stash of gold. However, conflicts soon arise as it turns out, they’re not the only ones after it. I was super stoked for this adaptation seeing as the manga is one of my favourites. But alas, you can’t expect too much from animators, writers and directors these days. Point is, Golden Kamuy had a rough start. Geno Studio’s attempt to adapt the popular seinen manga (which was serialized in the same magazine as ‘Tokyo Ghoul’ mind you), initially urked many watchers with its low budget animation, awkward off model shots and the presence of an out-of-place CGI bear. Animation wise, Geno Studio weren’t the best type of guys to handle this sort of project. If it were up to me, I’d entrust a studio like Bones to handle it due to their proficiency of animating wildlife, and in showing jaw-droppingly gorgeous landscape shots. I mean look at Wolf’s Rain for instance. This only prompts me to ask: “What the hell happened?” How did they fuck up this badly? Geno Studio may not be that good of a studio to begin with (they were brought into existence from the remnants of Manglobe after they went bankrupt), but their prior works: ‘Genocidal Organ’ and ‘Kokkoku,’ were animated on a decent level despite a few pitfalls here and there. Kamuy is a strange case, because whereas most anime nowadays (even long running shonen like ‘Naruto’ and ‘Fairy Tail’) would have a few moments where the animation would be kicked up a notch, this isn’t the case with this title. There were 0 sakuga moments and coming from a studio that has shown themselves to be competent on that side of things makes it such an astonishment. The animation in Kamuy ranges from poor to subpar at best. Sure, it’s not ‘Berserk 2016’ levels of horrifuckus, but it’s disappointing in comparison to the manga, which is known for having a very crisp and detailed artstyle, with certain panels showcasing action setpieces that seem to move in motion upon reading them. Because of this, action scenes tend to suffer immensely, with character models moving ludicrously stiff, as if they’re mere animatronics. Also, I gotta talk about that bear. Like wtf? That is quite possibly one of the worse decisions I’ve ever bared witness to. There’s not even any fur sticking to the damn thing. It looks like it’s made entirely out of wood and timber. The bloody thing looks like someone just photoshopped a real bear and stuck it into an anime. It looks so out of place against the 2D background. Apparently one of the animators came out stating that his team chose to depict the creature in CGI to make it seem more otherworldly compared to the humans fighting it. Sure, this technique would have worked in a show like ‘Madoka Magica,’ where the witches are portrayed using Claymation and deranged animation to contemplate the uncanniness of the labyrinths, effectively distinguishing them from the real world. But in Kamuy, it just flat out doesn’t. I mean IT’S A FUCKING BEAR!!! It’s not supposed to be this unearthly, fantastical creature of any kind, its literally just a bear! The other thing the animator noted, was that it was challenging for them to animate a bear in 2D. Well, that didn’t stop shows like ‘Kuma Miko’ and ‘Terraformers’ from having well animated 2D bears. There were other poor choices regarding the us of computer generated imagery, such as inconsistent shots featuring Retar and certain campfire scenes. But alas, I will give it this. At least the bear doesn’t move at 12 fps unlike most anime with CG models (I’m looking at you Polygon Pictures). So, I guess there’s that for a compliment… Despite that, I still appreciate the adaptation for sticking rather closely to the source material. Take for instance the over the top faces that were used for comedic purposes. They are often well presented in the adaptation, although it was clear that animators sort of struggled to perfectly imitate their look from the manga panels in earlier episodes. However, even the adaptation has taken some shortcuts here and there. There was one important part in chapter 15 that was flat out removed for some odd reason. I don’t get it, why remove a pivotal and emotional moment? The whole episode could have benefitted from that one key event. I’m not going to tell you what it is, because this is a spoiler free review after all. The adaptation also just feels dry and unsoiled at times. The manga has a lot of brutal, gore filled moments, and while its understandable that studios would tone them down due to broadcast restrictions for tv anime, it just kinda lessens the impact. At the very least there’s no obnoxious censoring (like black bars, white beams of light etc) to obscure any of the more gruesome moments, but I would have preferred at least a little bit of it, so I can watch all the uncensored scenes in their full glory when the blu rays get released. Do it like they did with ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.’ But alas, it is a decent adaptation after all. The two most essential components to the series are its setting and characters, and the show does a dang good job with them. Aesthetics wise, the setting looks phenomenally gorgeous with white blankets of snow coating the ground, clusters of beautifully rendered trees towering over the landscape, and populated settlements lined with detailed and artistically pleasing Meiji era structures. The wildlife, aside from the bear and certain shots of Retar, move at a breakneck pace from shot to shot, their 2D designs intentionally used to evoke a sense of cuteness and beauty into the average viewer. The Ainu camps are meticulous well crafted by the designers, with extra care and attention put towards the shape of their huts and the vivid colours of their furs. Character wise, Noda has done an excellent of ensuring that each one is well fleshed out and disguisable from the other. Sugimoto’s brash and headstrong atti…

From obscure curiosity to my number 2 favorite anime of all time. This show is an absolute surprise of a lifetime. Where I am situated in, there was certainly no buzz around Golden Kamuy. No one talks about it, no one seems to care about it, hell, no one seems to KNOW about it at all. It is a crime. This is the true definition of 'underrated', a term I hate to use as its meaning has been lost this time and age. Golden Kamuy does not deserve obscurity. It is nothing but excellence that fires in all front and shame I am alone in loving it where I am. To start it off, I was just looking for a show to pounce on after I finished JoJo Golden Wind. That show started so strong that it was a bummer how it ended in such a whimper. JoJo has not been my favorite series though it's appeal is universal I suppose and I was just browsing for artworks when I noticed the poster of Golden Kamuy among the images. "Ha. That guy in the hat seemed similar to Jotaro", I thought. I gave it a chance. It was a simple dip on a single episode supposedly, a mere taste to wash out that goddamn awful JoJo resolution. Bow wow did I not expect something like this. I searched for copper and found gold; and this gold is a kamuy. Golden Kamuy is not a JoJo rip-off by any means. Sure, some of its action sequences may be inspired by it, story-wise and worldbuilding was far more grounded albeit sometimes in a wackier extent. Golden Kamuy is a show about lovable psychopathic buffoons working together and against each other trying to strip people of their skins to get to a trove of gold. It seemed edgy on paper, but Golden Kamuy is far more classy than that. There's far things it has going for it more beyond the already intriguing synopsis. Golden Kamuy is everything I could have wanted in a show: action, great cast, worldbuilding, plot development, memorability and humor. Yes, the internet is right. Golden Kamuy is a historical, educational, cooking show with the most badass synopsis and by God was it an absolute treat, extending my claims beyond this first season. The show progresses pretty fast with its pacing though season one appears to be the least efficient in its pacing compared to the other two. Second season was just pacing perfected. When violence comes to play, it is gory, when humor comes in like an anvil, it was hysterical, and when the education comes in, I was there like a moth to a symbolic flame. Throughout the show, lots of information is being told through the way the characters hunt or travel. They kill animals, tell things like a knowledge nugget, and partake together. The villages are alive with wonderful details and the sense of immersion was just profound. One of the main characters was a member of a real-world tribe called Ainu and was one of the most lovable child characters in a show, similar to Suika from Dr. Stone. From the changing seasons, to the cities explored, I love the world of Golden Kamuy. To avoid spoilers, let's just say that while the animation ain't the greatest here, they did made sure the art was decent. Well, except when they do 3D, that is. There's plenty of intense gunplay, hand on hand combat, and environmental-based tactics. Whilst JoJo delves into outwitting and outsmarting opponents using their magical ghosts and complicated systems, Golden Kamuy is practical, using weapons, their wits and skills to overcome odds. With death always imminent whenever characters engage in battle, there was this sense of urgency and dread and people die in the show sometimes in a very horrific manner. No jawdropping sakuga here but it does its job as long as no bear is around. Even when there are just cooking and preparing food I was captivated. The food featured were not probably appetizing, but I was sure morbidly curious if their description was accurate. The amount of hunt and cook moments were just the right amount. As the characters would put it whenever something is delicious, these moments are "Hinna Hinna". Now to tell you why I absolutely adore the show: The characters and humor. The writer of the show just make the characters pop out and they are just so entertaining to latch on to because of how the dynamic they have with each other. Sure, here on the first season it may not be apparent but there's already hints of it here. Sugimoto, the Jotaro look-a-like is such a badass dork and Asirpa, the crazy-prepared young huntress with delectable face reactions were just the perfect leads, carrying lots of weight in their interactions with both the antagonists and side characters they get around with. Hell, even antagonists are just as wonderful as the leads. Despicable as some of their actions are, everyone were just given enough depth that it feels musky when they bite the dust. Yes, this is a show with mortality rate and while not as severe as some of the edgelord arsenal, this and the fact that the show actively avoids cliches gives the show a sense of unpredictability. The show just took me by surprise on how funny it is. It even trumps other anime that prides themselves in branding themselves comedy. The slow has slapstick that just works. Nothing is forced nor cringy as the humor was just organically woven to the narrative. One scene in mind was how one of the characters, who was not a city folk, believe that miso is literal shit and when she sees one eat said miso with rice, I was just howling at how bizarre her expressions are. Despite how dark things can turn, its humor shines like a day when called for. Moodwhiplash may be a detriment for some show, but somehow Golden Kamuy never suffered from it. In fact, it thrives so strongly in it that I forgot this was a show about dudes ripping off skins of other people for the mullah. OP and ED were fine in this season. The ost within the show however were the ones I would give props to. There's whimsical tone when needed and action-laden set-pieces are accompanied by matching intense tracks. There are instruments native to Japan that were used, giving life to the story beats as well as in its National Geographic moments. To sum it up, it is hard to describe Golden Kamuy to avoid spoilers. Yes, it is what it says on its plot description but the execution was far more splendid than it has the right to be. I love everything about it except for its CGI bears and whatnot, though season 1 was still nothing to compared to what followed. Bear with the first season folks as it was just a warmup to its followup seasons that not only improved this recipe established here but mixed more into its cauldron and somehow made Golden Kamuy even more polished. It is the most badass, hilarious, lovable and exciting cooking show/crime thriller/action adventure/horror/history anime ever conceived. Please, let people know Golden Kamuy exists. This one deserves more recognition. Watch it binged. Get the other seasons immediately. Watch with buddies, watch with your partner. Watch with your dog. Watch it with everyone but your little kids because it can get shlocky.