Hunters, criminals, soldiers, Ainu, and ex-soldiers all collide in an effort to find the lost gold of the Ainu people!
Creative Staff
Story & Art: Satoru Noda
Translation: Eiji Yasuda
What They Say
A tale of high adventure and survival!
In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi Sugimoto searches the wilderness of Hokkaido for a hoard of hidden gold. With only a cryptic map and a native Ainu girl to help him, Saichi must also deal with every murderous cutthroat, bandit and rogue who knows about the treasure!
Tetsuzo Nihei, the legendary Bear Killer, is determined to become the hunter who kills Retar, the last remaining Ezo wolf. Asirpa will never allow this, and she and Immortal Sugimoto race to stop his bloodthirsty quest. Meanwhile, in the port city of Otaru, Hijikata, the relentless head of the reborn Shinsengumi, leads a band of death row inmates against Lt. Tsurumi and his 7th Division. In this clash of iron resolve, only the strongest will survive.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This volume has so much happening all at once. Picked up from the last volume, the 7th Division of the Army searching for the Ainu gold butts’ heads with the criminal gang led by one of the former leaders of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata. While Sugimoto, Asirpa, and Sugimoto play out a deadly game of cat and mouse against Tetsuzo Nihei the bear killer and the former soldier Tanigaki.
That dynamic alone is worth an entire volume. Nihei is one of the tattooed criminals with a piece of the map to find the Ainu gold. Tanigaki should be trying to get Nihei’s skin, but has instead seemingly abandoned his part in the 7th Division to hunt the last wolf, Retar. That relationship could turn into a bonfire at any moment. Then add the fact that Sugimoto and his companions want Nihei’s skin and are starting to regret not killing Tanigaki when they had the chance. Toss in a dog and wild animals, and there will be fewer humans that exit this forest than entered.
Back in town, Hijikata makes a bizarre and brazen move to attack the bank. He’s after an old katana and his minions are just after some sex in the local red-light district. Of course, Shiraishi manages to land himself in the middle of it all! Quick thinking and equally quick moves of the Escape King Shiraishi might keep him out of trouble. Or he might come up short and find himself spilling his guts about Sugimoto to either the 7th Division or Hijikata!
In Summary:
Getting officially licensed versions of both the manga and anime for Golden Kamuy has been a real treat. Where the anime takes advantage of the many action scenes in this series, the original manga series has more meat to the story. There are scenes in the manga that were dropped from the anime to save time and the narration of the manga has much that is lost in the anime. The mangaka has detailed notes about the nature and wild animals, along with the culture of both the Japanese of the period and more interestingly the Ainu. As a fan of Japanese history and media for almost three decades, the exploration of Ainu culture from this period has proven to be a real treat and well worth the investment.
If you have enjoyed the Golden Kamuy anime, do yourself a favor and pick up the original content in this manga series!
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Mature
Released By: Viz
Release Date: March 20, 2018
MSRP: $12.99
