Golden Kamuy is a historical actionadventure 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 Ill be trying to express why I love this manga so much and hopefully convince you to check it out for yourself. So lets just get right into it and put ourselves into the time period where this manga takes place. GOLD GUTS GELASTIC GAGS 350https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/928208236287504415/970751206521700382/unknown.png It has not been long since the end of the RussoJapanese 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 friends 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 Nopperabo 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 its not going to be easy. 270https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/928208236287504415/970753245020569620/1651516004408.jpg 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 RussoJapanese 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 RussoJapanese war and the circumstances surrounding it such as the revolutions in Russia. Its a journey filled with doublecrosses 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 Id even say that its one of the funniest manga that I have read. Whenever its 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 its either completely and utterly absurd that you cant help but laugh or its just played off as oneanddone banter. For example a very heartfelt moment is going on in a frozen region where Sugimoto Asirpa reunite after a long time. Theyre hugging as people tend to do but then Asirpas eyelid gets stuck on Sugimotos coat button because of the climate. And then uhhhh... You know what Im not going to deprive this of its glory by explaining it. Just see for yourself. https://www..com/watch?v=CCTNgMq6sZY Truly an emotionally powerful scene. I was crying before and Im 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 its done well 350https://64.media.tumblr.com/dff607dbde9d528bf90d279848515264/tumblrozhkel8qv21tepepko2r11280.jpg Another major aspect to the comedy is the facial expressions which are drawn in a comedic fashion. Just characters making dumb weird faces and its funny. Golden Kamuy is also well not at all ashamed in showing off the male physique. Theres 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 its brilliantly done. Im 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 oneonone gunfight except that here the bullets are replaced with semen. 350https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/928208236287504415/970750406391115876/1651515307016.jpg So yeah the series is very very funny and its 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 270https://.mandarake.co.jp/webshop/01/01/598/0101479598/01014795980.jpg Golden Kamuy has one of the best casts in anime manga. Every single character is incredibly wellwritten fleshed out given time to shine. Not even a single character is wasted. Even the oneanddone 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 buildup 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. Its 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 dont 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 setinstone 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 backandforth 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 Im talking about their essence and its just great to see a cast where every single character is given time to shine and is relevant in the grand scheme of things. 270https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/928208236287504415/970756515571068978/1651516782339.jpg 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. Hes portrayed in a very interesting manner. Hes a lieutenant who got part of his brain blown off during the war and because of this hes a bit insane. His antics are pretty funny whenever thats 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 isnt just a villain who uses everyone close to him and doesnt 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 350https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/928208236287504415/970756762577809418/unknown.png One among the many things to give Noda credit for is how historically accurate this manga is. The postwar 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 infodumping. 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 wellknown 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 indepth 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 fleshedout and explained and by the time you complete this manga you will have at least a rudimentary understanding of Ainu and their culture. 350https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/928208236287504415/970757076500488212/unknown.png 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 preWar War and postWar. 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. 350https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/928208236287504415/970752659323756614/1651515864257.jpg CONCLUSION Golden Kamuy is an adventure from start to finish. It intrigues you with its 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. Its further helped by having excellent dynamic artwork. Golden Kamuy is one of the most unique manga I have ever read and Im not going to forget it anytime soon.