Golden Kamuy is a historical action-adventure manga that is the brainchild of Satoru Noda, and as of writing this review, it has just published the 314th and final chapter in this epic journey. And oh, what a journey it was. This is one of those manga for which I have no flaws I can think of that I would associate with it, and I'll be trying to express why I love this manga so much and hopefully convince you to check it out for yourself. So let's just get right into it and put ourselves into the time period where this manga takes place.

GOLD, GUTS & GELASTIC GAGS

It has not been long since the end of the Russo-Japanese war, a fierce war waged between the Russian and Japanese forces over Manchuria and some territories in Korea. Japan has won the war with the Battle at Tsushima, but not without casualties. The Japanese army has suffered many losses and had been demobilized not very long ago, and the soldiers are still returning to their hometowns. Amongst these soldiers is one Sugimoto Saichi, given the nickname "Sugimoto the Immortal" because of how he kept fighting without letting up despite his severe injuries at any given moment. He returns to his hometown of Kanto to return his best friend's remains to his widow, and strives to raise money for her eye treatment. Soon enough, he catches wind of a rumor about gold, which goes along the lines of "A prisoner by the name of Noppera-bo killed many Ainu tribesmen and buried their gold in an unknown place, and the treasure map to the gold was tattooed on the skins of his fellow prisoners", and he finds and kills one of these prisoners as well. Immediately after, he meets an Ainu girl named Asirpa, who wishes to find the gold as one of the people who apparently died in this scuffle was her father. They embark on a journey to find the gold together, and well, it's not going to be easy.

Many, many, many more characters are introduced who have their own reasons to find the gold, and all of them come into conflict very often. It is ironic that when the Russo-Japanese war ended, another war began, with the entire country of Japan as the battlefield. The story of Golden Kamuy chronicles this gold rush where the characters do anything in order to get their hands to get their hands on the tattooed skins. They leave no stone unturned, and break alliances just as easy as they make them. As the story goes on, we get more information regarding the historical background and how it is relevant to what is happening currently in the manga, and as new characters are introduced, we get important revelations and are given a different perspective on the Russo-Japanese war and the circumstances surrounding it, such as the revolutions in Russia. It's a journey filled with double-crosses, intense fights, & a lot of wacky and weird shit.

JUVENILE BUT GENIUS JOKES

Contrary to what you may believe, this manga is not entirely a dead serious tale of adventure, deception and fights. The wackiness is integral to this manga and is one of the aspects which sets it apart from most other works in the medium. Golden Kamuy is hilarious, to the point where I'd even say that it's one of the funniest manga that I have read. Whenever it's trying to be funny, it succeeds. Some of the humor is quite juvenile, such as the shit jokes. It would usually be unfunny, but Noda MAKES IT WORK. Mainly because it's either completely and utterly absurd that you can't help but laugh, or it's just played off as one-and-done banter. For example, a very heartfelt moment is going on in a frozen region where Sugimoto & Asirpa reunite after a long time. They're hugging, as people tend to do, but then Asirpa's eyelid gets stuck on Sugimoto's coat button because of the climate. And then, uhhhh... You know what, I'm not going to deprive this of it's glory by explaining it. Just see for yourself.

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Truly an emotionally powerful scene. I was crying before, and I'm crying now, just for two entirely different reasons.

Now, if this is a turn off for you, then fear not, because this is only one aspect of the comedy. Okay, maybe fear it a little bit, because this is one of the major aspects of the comedy. But it's done well!

Another major aspect to the comedy is the facial expressions, which are drawn in a comedic fashion. Just characters making dumb, weird faces and it's funny. Golden Kamuy is also, well, not at all ashamed in showing off the male physique. There's a lot of jokes spared at the expense of the guys just, well, looking very, very attractive. At first, I was sad for about 10 seconds when I saw the first instance, because I was jealous that these men looked better than I would ever look in my life. However immediately after that I just burst out laughing.

There are also some great running gags, banter between the main cast which feels organic and is naturally funny, and also some great setup for jokes. There are some moments which are built up over the course of several chapters and they all come into these perfectly comedic climaxes, it's brilliantly done. I'm not going to be talking about any of these here because well, those are to be experienced for yourself.

When I talked about scenes being insanely absurd, I was talking about going from a serious moment and transitioning into a funny one. But now, I just mean whenever an scene like that is presented as completely serious. For example, there is a point in time when one of the several groups we are following has to apprehend a killer. And one of the members of this group has the bright idea to triangulate the killers position by masturbating, as his idea is that the killer is a necrophile. And well... it works. Both of them walk into each other in the middle of their act, and they have a duel. Think of your standard one-on-one gunfight, except that here the bullets are replaced with semen.

So, yeah, the series is very, very funny and it's style of comedy is very unique when I compare it to the other stories I have come across where comedy is a factor. And most of the time, the jokes are funny because of the characters who are the focal points of these jokes, because their actions and reactions feel natural even in a comedic light.

PRISONERS, POLICE, AND PEOPLE

Golden Kamuy has one of the best casts in anime & manga. Every single character is incredibly well-written, fleshed out, given time to shine. Not even a single character is wasted. Even the one-and-done characters serve their purpose to the fullest of their abilities. The main cast consisting of Sugimoto, Asirpa and the "Escape King" Shiraishi (a notorious thief who escapes every single prison he enters) are all great characters. They share a great dynamic with each other, and they work well both together and apart. Sugimoto and Asirpa both have great motivations and everything they do and think feels like something an actual person with those same beliefs and in those same situations would do, as does literally every other character in this manga. Shiraishi is played off as a comedic character most of the time, even his backstory is basically a build-up to a punchline, but in the latter stages of the manga, he gets some great development and moments that let the readers see him in a more serious light. It's also really cool to see how Sugimoto ties into the backstories of most of the cast in one way or the other without it feeling contrived.

The supporting cast is also phenomenal. As I mentioned before, no character is wasted. Every character is relevant, and if they are not relevant at a specific time, they don't feel like wasted potential as they were used well before and they will be used well after. We follow many groups throughout our journey, and the members frequently interchange. Apart from a few bonds set-in-stone, the character relationships constantly change in this manga. 2 characters can go from friends to enemies to friends again to enemies again to a neutral stance, and then continue this random back-and-forth of switching allegiances. Every single character is in this for their own specific reasons and will join whichever group which is the most useful to them in achieving their goals. They are not just these calculating people though. The characters all feel like genuine people (okay, maybe not on the physicality side of things and all that, but I'm talking about their essence), and it's just great to see a cast where every single character is given time to shine and is relevant in the grand scheme of things.

A standout character I have to mention is Tsurumi, the First Lieutenant of the 7th Division of the Army, and the main antagonist of the series. He's portrayed in a very interesting manner. He's a lieutenant who got part of his brain blown off during the war, and because of this, he's a bit insane. His antics are pretty funny whenever that's the intent of the scene. However, he is also incredibly smart and calculating, with schemes and plans to get what he wants, and he will not stop at any end to get it. He sincerely cares for his comrades, though, and isn't just a villain who uses everyone close to him and doesn't have any attachment towards them. He also genuinely cares for his country, and the motivation we are presented with for his character in the beginning of the series is that he wants to use the gold to create a country for the soldiers who were betrayed by the Government, but there is much more to his goals. We are given hints to what his actual motivations are, and in the latter half of the manga, when we finally get his actual reason for doing everything he is doing, it is incredible. Tsurumi is definitely one of my favorite antagonists of all time, & my favorite character in the entire series.

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ACCURACY

One among the many things to give Noda credit for is how historically accurate this manga is. The post-war Japan is very much fleshed out and we get information on important locations, and the important occurrences in those locations. Exposition is delivered very well in Golden Kamuy, and there never comes a moment when it can be thought of as sheer info-dumping. Even the artwork reflects the historical inspirations of this manga, as even the smallest background details such as the infrastructure and landmarks, the advertisements plastered on the shops and walls of the cities, the innovations used by the characters, and even the brand of something as insignificant as a matchbox we see for a panel reflect the historical background, and all of these are drawn from real life. It is very well-known that Noda consulted historians, Ainu and many other experts in the field to write this manga, and it shows.

The results of these consultations can also be seen in how the Ainu are portrayed in this manga. We get a very in-depth look at the Ainu culture, which includes their rituals, their beliefs, their methods, and even the differences between the different branches of Ainu. All of the details are very fleshed-out and explained, and by the time you complete this manga, you will have at least a rudimentary understanding of Ainu and their culture.

Golden Kamuy can also help you to brush up on your history, as we get a clear glimpse at both Japan and Russia in the states of pre-War, War and post-War. We are given an unbiased look into the ideologies of the people on both sides of the war, and are also given summaries of important events that took place in this time, such as the Battle of Hakodate & the Siege of Port Arthur. Noda has not even left a small corner of the world he crafted unattended, as every single detail is fleshed out, but not to the point of being too much to take in, as these briefers are skillfully interwoven into the story.

Oh yeah, also, amazing art. Not really going to go in detail over that other than the fact that the character designs are all distinct and memorable, the backgrounds are well detailed, and the fights are dynamic and convey the sense of movement very well.

CONCLUSION

Golden Kamuy is an adventure, from start to finish. It intrigues you with it's premise and keeps you hooked with not a single dull moment throughout, introducing you to dozens of characters and making you feel attached in some way to every single one of them. It will make you laugh, get you emotional, and make you feel many different emotions throughout the course of the series. It's further helped by having excellent & dynamic artwork. Golden Kamuy is one of the most unique manga I have ever read, and I'm not going to forget it anytime soon.