In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi Sugimoto searches the wilderness of Hokkaido for a hoard of hidden gold. With only a cryptic map and a native Ainu girl to help him, Saichi must also deal with every murderous cutthroat, bandit and rogue who knows about the treasure!
Asirpa and Sugimoto are faced with a shocking truth—Noppera-bo, the criminal mastermind behind the stolen gold horde…is Asirpa’s father! To confirm this they decide to go to the impregnable Abashiri prison to attempt to meet him. Along the way they find more clues to the location of the gold, and make a stop in a hellish hotel. Meanwhile, Toshizo Hijikata and his band of death row outlaws expand their reach…
I loved it? Is anybody surprised at this point? Certainly not me.
I love the Murder House arc and the Hijikata Vs Ogata chapters were lots of fun and intensity and graphic brutal violence. I am concerned about the portrayal of a sole lgbtqiap+ character in the series so far - Ienaga, she is a trans woman and she is a serial killer obsessed with eating body parts to make herself perfect. I heard that trans readers were not fans of this representation. I am in no position to judge as I am a cis woman.
All of the characters, but Asirpa, are morally grey to say midly, so Ienaga fits nicely into this bunch of horrible people horribly working together. And we desperately need more women to the core cast.
In any case, I am beyond excited to keep on reading this manga.
This volume felt quite unfocused, and while still having some fun elements, (i quite enjoyed the latter half) it leaned a little to heavily into the surreal at points. It also had some very problematic stuff going on with gender representation in the first half that made it quite an uncomfortable read for me unfortunately.
This may be the first misstep in this otherwise entertaining series. The front half of the book features the main group in a bizarre slapstick encounter with a cross-dressing serial killer in a hotel full of secret passages. The back half of the book features a bunch of boring secondary characters involving themselves in a boring gang war in a separate city in order to secure a clue to hidden treasure.
Podría haber disfrutado mucho de este tomo, en el que la primera parte parece un abierto guiño al hotel de H. H. Holmes, pero el humor de este autor no casa conmigo.
Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto is a veteran of the Russo-Japanese war who is scrapping out a meagre existence. There is also a postwar gold rush on the wild frontier of Hokkaido. Sugimoto stumbles upon the first “piece” of a map leading to a fortune in hidden gold belonging to the Ainu (an indigenous people of Japan and Russia). However, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers are also hunting for the gold in the harsh northern wilderness. It will take all Sugimoto's talents and the help of an immensely-skilled Ainu girl named Asirpa to survive, let alone find the gold.
As Golden Kamuy, Vol. 6 (Chapters 49 to 59) opens, Sugimoto, Asirpa, and their ally, Yoshitake Shiraishi (“the Escape King”), take on a new ally, Kiroranke. He has some surprising information about Asirpa's father and his connection to the stolen Ainu gold. Now, the quartet has to survive Tatsuma Ushiyama and the murder hotel. Meanwhile, Toshizo Hijikata lays down his own brand of justice in the lawless town of Barato.
Golden Kamuy remains a great read. It is so consistently exceptional as a comic book that it is almost unnatural, but its track record of excellence remains unbroken.
Golden Kamuy Graphic Novel Volume 6 contains two excellent stories. The first involves our heroes and a maze-like hotel of torture, cannibalism, and murder in which characters other than Sugimoto and Asirpa get to shine. The second story features the wonderful swordsman Toshizo Hijikata and his partner, Shinpachi Nagakura, also an exceptional swordsman. It reads like a blend of the samurai drama (“chambara”) and the American Western (or “cowboy movie”) with the result being a beautiful, bloody gem.
Golden Kamuy is a high-quality series, featuring impeccable research done by creator Satoru Noda, and a memorable and sterling cast of characters. highyl recommended.
Kiroranke joins Sugimoto's group and they decide to reach the Abashiri prison to meet Noppera-Bo. On the way they stop at Sapporo to spend the night in a strange hotel where Sugimoto saves Asirpa from Ienaga's evil schemes. Meanwhile, In the city of Barato, Hijikata and Nagakura delve into the world of gangster, while Ogata also makes his appearance in the city. Hijikata and Nagakura sides with Hidoro. On the other hand Ogata joins Kusuda Umakichi. The battle in Barato ends with Ogata offering himself as bodyguard to Hijikata.
Omg, this volume included 2 Arcs: Murder Hotel Arc and Battle in Barato Arc! I enjoyed the fight between Sugimoto and Ushiyama so much. I loved the gang war between Hidoro and Umakichi. Even though Hidoro's side had the upper hand from the get go, the Battle of Barato was beautifully orchestrated. I think it would be best for Ogata to join Hijikata. Can't wait to find out if Hijikata would accept his offer or not!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Downright exciting! We pack a lot into one volume, as the first half is both horror and hijinks, as we get a Scooby Doo like murder hotel, as our main group must outwit its proprietor and judo obsessed guest. The back half dealing with a town gang skirmish over a piece of the map was also thrilling, badass old guys trying to outmaneuver one another. Great stuff
Unsurprising that I dropped this after reading the Murder Hotel arc. Ienaga is just a walking harmful trope. She's still comically evil (Kazuo Henmi, my beloved), but I did not much care for the narrative's treatment of her.
It has been revealed to us, the audience, that Ienaga is a trans woman (some flavour of trans imo, anyway). The way the following scenes are framed, we're supposed to be participating in the dramatic irony in a "haha, look at these dudes! They're attracted to this 'woman'. If only they knew, they'd be so disgusted!" way. It put me in a very bad mood, reading this, and it felt like purely slogging through to reach beyond it.
I'll need to do further research as to what words Noda himself used to describe her following the reveal. Everyday Heroes Scans uses he/him for added unpleasantness. If I had to guess, the original doesn't refer to Ienaga with pronouns at all, but keeps terms like "old man (ジジイ)".
I was hoping that Ushiyama would gain One Major Redeemable Trait in my eyes, and that was remaining attracted to Ienaga. But alas, still dislike the guy. Though, his existence prompted Asirpa to start using "Professor Penis" for him, so at least there's that.
Battle in Barato arc was good. Need to watch Yojimbo to appreciate the references fully. Made me like Shinpachi and Hijikata more. Also Ogata was there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This volume is incredible! The new characters are such a great addition, and the story has this perfect blend of intensity and humor that makes it a fun read. I lost count of how many panels had me genuinely laughing out loud—some moments were just too hilarious. I’m especially curious to see what unfolds now that Ogata, the sniper, has joined Hijikata’s crew.
While I generally love this series, this volume was a miss for me. Heavy on the violence with some questionable gender stuff. I hope next vol is better.
Este tomo estuvo muy divertido. Por un lado tenemos al equipo de Sugimoto en un tétrico hotel liderado por una misteriosa mujer. La primera mitad me hizo reír mucho. Las cosas no salen muy bien para el equipo de Sugimoto y aparece mucho Shiraishi que sigue siendo mi personaje favorito. La segunda mitad nos trae al Hijikata y su equipo del shinsengumi, aumentando un conflicto entre dos mafias para poder obtener una piel con tatuajes. Podemos ver a los miembros de Shinsengumi mostrando sus habilidades y el final tiene un giro interesante para la trama. Yo quería saber más sobre el hombre de la cara quemada que puede ser el papá de Ashirpa pero esa trama se vio interrumpida aquí, parece que les tomara unos cuántos volúmenes más llegar hasta la prisión y ejecutar el plan de Shiraishi. Aunque este tomo no me encantó, la serie en general me sigue gustando mucho y me causa muchas risas.
I really like the way we bounced around in this volume, getting a full picture of what everyone is up to now. The small hotel plot was really comedic and Ushiyama is hilarious with how crass he is. And I always love seeing the moments where Sugimoto comes to Asirpa’s defense!! Their little group has expanded by one and the antics they get into are an enjoyable time.
This volume also revealed that Ogata seems to be just as unhinged as the rest of our eclectic cast. His motivations are still so unknown and same with his background yet his skills speak for themselves. I would not want to cross this man.
Best volume of this manga so far, and it’s not close. Spending time away from our core group and mostly following Hijikata’s violent and intimidating exploits really gave the action in this series a shot in the arm. Plenty of comedy and goofiness from side characters keeps it from feeling like a different manga, but I really dug finally getting to see this guy kick some ass. Also really made the fight to acquire the tattooed skins finally feel like it had some real stakes and urgency. Keep this kind of shit coming I say.
There are two distinct parts to this volume that each offer there own set of shenanigans and unique situations. I found that both of them were very exciting and showed the authors skill at toeing the line of grotesque and comical. The first half was somewhat like a mystery/thriller and the second was a mob story. Even though this volume lacked in the Ainu culture department, the fun of the story really shown through in the scenarios that took place.
There’s so much action in this one that it flies by! From a murder hotel to a cross town shootout, it was all action all the time. The chibi map opening chapter 58 was hilarious! One of the better art issues (especially and including the backgrounds—thank goodness for no ocean scenes). There was a lot more graphic violence in this one, so if you have been put off by the hunting and murdering so far, you’re prolly tapping out of the series here if not already. This one was really, really good!
This volume perfectly moved from high stress moments to slap-stick humorous moments. That is something I have rarely seen. The art is of course great as is the story. I felt this volume slightly elevated above volumes 4 and 5 but this story and flow is hard to deny. It is not for younger audiences, but it is a quality series that deserves some serious attention. I found myself laughing hard at a few situations in this volume particularly and just overall enjoyed it from front to back.