Golden Kamuy

In early 1900s Hokkaido after the Russo-Japanese war, Saichi Sugimoto tirelessly pans for gold. Nicknamed "Sugimoto the Immortal" for his death-defying acts in battle, the ex-soldier seeks fortune in order to fulfill a promise made to his best friend before he was killed in action: to support his family, especially his widow who needs treatment overseas for her deteriorating eyesight. One day, a drunken companion tells Sugimoto the tale of a man who murdered a group of Ainu and stole a fortune in gold. Before his arrest by the police, he hid the gold somewhere in Hokkaido. The only clue to its location is the coded map he tattooed on the bodies of his cellmates in exchange for a share of the treasure, should they manage to escape and find it.

Sugimoto does not think much of the tale until he discovers the drunken man's corpse bearing the same tattoos described in the story. But before he can collect his thoughts, a grizzly bear—the cause of the man's demise—approaches Sugimoto, intent on finishing her meal. He is saved by a young Ainu girl named Asirpa, whose father happened to be one of the murdered Ainu. With Asirpa's hunting skills and Sugimoto's survival instincts, the pair agree to join forces and find the hidden treasure—one to get back what was rightfully her people's, and the other to fulfill his friend's dying wish.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sugimoto, Saichi Main

Kobayashi, Chikahiro Japanese

Asirpa Main

Shiraishi, Haruka Japanese

Shiraishi, Yoshitake Main

Itou, Kentarou Japanese

Ogata, Hyakunosuke Supporting

Tsuda, Kenjirou Japanese

Tsurumi, Tokushirou Supporting

Ootsuka, Houchuu Japanese

Tanigaki, Genjirou Supporting

Hosoya, Yoshimasa Japanese

Tsukishima, Hajime Supporting

Takemoto, Eiji Japanese

Hijikata, Toshizou Supporting

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Ushiyama, Tatsuma Supporting

Nomura, Kenji Japanese

Inkarmat Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Fujiyama, Naokado Producer

Mori, Ryousuke Producer

Takahashi, Kazuaki Producer

Reviews

Feb 19, 2025

Supersonic_Pain

Recommended

Golden is rather fitting

This series has got good characters, funny moments (although I do think it leans too much on "ha ha, Asirpa thinks miso is poop"), great and tense battles, an engaging adventure, if you are looking for good anime and haven't seen this, you are sorely missing out.

The story follows our 2 protagonists, Sugimoto and Asirpa, and while I wouldn't say I cared all that much about their motivations specifically, I did like them, which made me want to see them succeed anyway. You get a good amount of time to see them bond and get a good look at who they are ... as people. Even without the crazy wacky gold rush going on in the background, just watching Sugimoto learn the ways of the Ainu and having him go hunting with Asirpa was pretty fun to watch, not to mention insightful. I didn't know much about the Ainu people going into this anime, nor the Russo-Japanese war, but it's not just entertaining, it's educational when it wants to be.

Speaking of the crazy wacky gold rush, some of the prisoners were really fun. The more big, brawny judo grapplers, the better, so Ushiyama was cool in my book. I liked the Nihei arc, Ienaga was a really fun episode, you're never too far off from another cool little battle.

It's not just "Sugimoto and friends kill prisoners to get gold", there are several factions vying for the gold, which makes the character interactions more intriguing since there are characters everywhere out to get each other. What does the fortune teller want? How is Ogata going to play into the future seasons?

One soldier even ends up befriending the Ainu and I wanna see him be able to embrace his humanity and forsake being a soldier, idk, he's just a chill dude.

There's a twist, like, Episode 10, and I think it was pretty cool that you could call it ahead of time thanks to something said earlier in the episode.

It goes from 0 to 100 really quick with some out of pocket, insane moments. You'll have the comic relief character walking into a brothel and by the end, there's a full blown gunfight going on. There's a cannibal trying to eat someone's eyeballs. There's multiple bears and maybe even a giant fish.

The animation... I'm a little mixed on. When it's 2D and focused on the humans? Looks good, no complaints, it's not like Trigger or anything but it looks very solid. The problem is... I mentioned bears, right? I don't know what on God's green earth they have done but the bears (and to a lesser extent, the wolves) look so weird and offputting.

It's set in Hokkaido so expect some beautiful winter backdrops.

The ED was good, I did not care for the OP tbh.

Feeling a decent 9 out of 10 for S1.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Mar 21, 2025

Venom_waz

Mixed Feelings

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 this.
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 as to why
the characters are the way they are. Not to mention the fucking cooking scenes, although fine at first,
quickly became the author's favorite way of killing ... the pacing. Also 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 great antagonists the series has. Might still come do a come from behind (heh)
in later seasons. But idk, cause I sure as shit won't be reading to find out.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Oct 3, 2023

Resting_Bonfire

Not Recommended

Funny

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]

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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