I want to say so much about this series but it would be hard to type all of that down. First thing that I want to say is that the series was absolutely amazing! The character and story was just so great and I love the art. I love how the author used runs of references to other things in this series. He would reference things like books, movie, anime, music, video games, magazines, and so much more. There was a really funny he reference that he had made about the book/movie it in the series and The Iron Giant reference that was made during one part of the series was also really funny! I love how the main character has evolved throughout the series and has grown to love and care about the people around him (especially Asirpa) and he would do anything to protect those people. The fight sense that we’re in the series we’re just mesmerizing to watch and so detailed it was so great and crazy to see Sugimoto go full out crazy in some sense while fighting the enemy. The comedy and the craziness that had happened throughout the series was one of the most enjoyable parts. I really loved the scene where Sugimoto is pretending to be Ogata’s brother for a marriage interview when he was younger. I feel that all the flashbacks that you get to see of the main character's past are really interning to see. Something in that part that I just loved was when Ogata was going to see “his brother” for the first time but ended up seeing Sugimoto when he was younger going on a rampage. You could see that Ogata was pleasantly surprised and thrilled that his brother had turned out this way even though he had two loving parents but then he was disappointed that Sugimoto was not actually his brother. I’m not sure if Ogata even realized that the person back then was actually Sugimoto that he has seen recently. Something that I like to see is when Sugimoto appears in different characters' pasts but they don’t know that the person is Sugimoto. A example would be in Tanigaki’s past and how he had given Sugimoto some food on the battlefield to eat because he was hungry or with Tsukishima he might have died if Sugimoto had not taken his friend that was gravely injured off where he would have gotten medical treatment Then Tsukishima may not have survived. Sugimoto has had a lot of impact on some of the characters in the story without them knowing about it. So much goofiness was in the golden kamuy series that most of it had me laughing so hard that I could barely breathe. There were also moments in the book that have left me shocked or speechless at what had just happened and other moments that got me so emotional that I had started crying. Leading up to the last couple of chapters there is something that I had wished would happen in the series so of those things would be to see Vasily again! You only got to see Ogata shoot at him and then his bloody gun had fallen from the tree he was in and then he wasn’t see again but in the last chapter it had said that a painting that he had made was hung in a museum after he died called “ death of the wildcat” I believe and that is of course referencing Ogata’s death so he must have survived being shot at but I would still like to know exactly what happened to him. I don’t think that his name was even mentioned in the book until it was written at the bottom of the painting that he had created which is kinda sad. There was not nearly enough of Vasily in the series then I wanted there to be. Something that happens a lot in the series would be that there would be some characters that just wouldn’t show up for a very long time in the book and I would just be like “what are they even doing right now?” I am especially mentioning the two snipers Ogata and Vasily. That may have been part of how the author Noda was being rushed at the end of the series and there was a limit to the amount of pages that could be included in the magazine that the chapters were being released in so he had to cut a lot of panels out the physical copies might have more of those two and updates on them for what they are up to later in the series which I would like to see. Maybe a little more info on what the other characters are doing after the battle for the gold is over would also be really nice and something I would have liked to see. Also in the last chapter it was pretty funny how Noda ( the author) just had to fit another bear in at the very end of the series which was kinda funny and crazy to see happen. I really loved in the series at the end where Hijikata had cot sliced in the head by Koito which was terribly sad but he was still alive for the moment the slice to the head had caused brain famed to his head and caused him to act like his old companion did that was called the manslaughter when he had some brain damage and that had caused him to believe that he was back in the past when he was young fighting. It was very interesting to see the effect of a glitch that was switching the character from present time into the past. I think that was great for his last moments when he was alive. Seeing the other characters die was such an emotional moment like Ushiyama and how he died to help save asirpa from a explosion and the death of Toni in the book was emotional in the middle of battle with the sound of gunfire and explosions all around it has suddenly gotten quite and Toni was then at peace. Something that I had seen another person say before about this series would be that Shiraishi in the book deserved more than he had got. He had stayed with the two main characters since the very beginning of the series fighting alongside them and sitting by their side up until the very end because he didn’t really get anything for it. At the very end of the last chapter you had gotten to see that Shiraishi had sent Sugimoto and Asirpa an envelope and the only thing that was inside was a coin that had shown that he had become the king of an island. He was able to accomplish the dream that botarou had in the book for him after his death which is something really amazing that he was able to accomplish on his own. Shiraishi definitely was one of the best characters in the book and he deserved so much love and much more than what he had gotten at the end of the series. I also really wish that Sugimoto would have been able to see Kikuta before he was killed by Tsurumi because it would have been nice to see them talk with each other after such a long time because Kikuta was the reason the Sugimoto had joined the army in the first place because Sugimoto just wanted to be able to eat some tasty food! A really emotional moment for me in the series was when Asirpa had decided to shot Ogata at the end of the series with a poison arrow knowing that it would kill him and that she would get to hell by doing so. Sugimoto had tried so hard at the start of the series to prevent Asirpa from going to the same place that he would be going in the future when he died. This is shown when Asirapa accidentally shots Ogata in the eye in another part in the series and it is shown how Sugimoto desperately tries to save him so that she wouldn’t have killed him. But know Sugimoto at the end of the series thinks about the discussion that he had with Asirpa before about how she is fully prepared to plunge into hell along with Sugimoto so when Asirpa shoots Ogata at the end of the series he doesn’t try to save him this time he is just shown making a smile her way which shows that he respects the decision that she has decided to make and how it is within there partnership together that they should trust and respect each other. Overall this series was amazing and I can’t wait to see if Noda will do anything else with the series in the future. I can’t wait for the next season of the anime to be released and also the live action that is going to be coming out soon! :)
Golden Kamui