It’s Hokkaido, 1907. And a big, buff badass by the name of Sugimoto Saichi has made the discovery of a lifetime. There are 24 prisoners in this land waiting to be captured, and once you skin em’ all you’ll get generational wealth!!! So of course, he does what any strapping PTSD-marked young lad would do: go on a quest of killing and looting, all for the sake of that sweet, sweet gold that promises to fulfil his “wishes”. But oh wait, he’s not alone! Joining him is the Ainupedia™ herself Asirpa, a young Ainu girl who is now his mascot and guide in this journey to hell. On the way their will be deaths a plenty, skins will be skinned, men will get naked, and you’ll learn all that you need to know about bear anatomy. So, buckle your britches bitches, for this manga is wild.

Part of Golden Kamuy’s charm lies in its sheer chaotic brilliance. The author keeps you constantly on your toes, throwing in whatever random shit he feels like—and somehow, it all works. Old samurai men crossdress to beat up an alien-looking yakuza. Japanese Hulk becomes Frankenstein’s monster and follows a child around like a loyal minion. Even the main plot gets derailed so the cast can join a circus or shoot an indie film together. Hell, there’s even a sperm shootout between a military psycho and Jack the Ripper.

And that’s exactly why, when the story gets serious, it hits hard. The battle sequences are some of the best I’ve ever seen in manga, and the tranquil moments of brevity amidst all the insanity make the emotional scenes strike even deeper. It feels oddly lifelike in its unpredictability—with all the highs, lows, and bizarre colors of daily existence. Just like a Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku) game.

What accompanies this hodgepodge is a star-studded cast of absolute wackos, each bizarre in their own uniquely unhinged way. Every prisoner brings their own flavor of insanity—whether it's an extremely passionate bear-fucker or a murdersexual serial-killing Roblox character.

And if they’re not batshit, they’re wraiths of war—scarred physically, emotionally, or both. These men cling to their weapons, drawn in by the malicious kamuy of gold, desperate to quench their regrets and commit more sins in the name of something—anything.

For love. For peace. For death. For purpose. For malice. For revenge.

The party’s long over. All that’s left are straggler zombies, licking the dried remnants from an empty punch bowl.

On the flip side of all the bombastic insanity, Golden Kamuy is a genuine treasure trove of Ainu culture and representation. Most of the story takes place on their land, with the help of their people, and hinges on the search for gold that belonged to them. Honestly, this manga is like 95% Ainu cookbook and cultural primer.

A huge part of Asirpa’s journey is about protecting the Ainu way of life—fighting to preserve and pass it down, just like her father and uncle did before her. Thanks to this manga, I’ve learned about citatap, saying “hinna~ hinna~” over delicious meals, hunting seals, making sandals out of grapevine, and living alongside the kamuy—gods and manifestations of nature that guide and protect the Ainu people.

That said, it does sometimes slow the pace down and turns the story into a guidebook—like it’s cool that I know about the women season of Spring now, but did I really have to know about all the plants around you while you say that? It's fascinating, don’t get me wrong… but my eyes did glaze over whenever Asirpa launched into another Ainu-specific TED Talk.

Overall it is a solid work, and if you manage to survive the neck shattering tonal whiplash, and swallow a little bit of the weirdness, you get rewarded with an enjoyable reading experience. It’s perfectly made for weekend binging and I would definitely recommend this as an educational and fun experience.

I do have misgivings about a lot of unanswered questions, plus it did need time to grow on me completely and an extremely unsatisfying ending kind of soured the overall experience. I thought it would be house burning, but weirdly enough it was just a drop of bitterness. It really was more about the journey than it was about the destination for this one, and that shocked an ending Andy like me who places a lot of importance on finales.