"How can we fight in pitch darkness?! And with it all hanging out?"
SATORU NADA DID IT.
Fight between naked men with all junks hanging out vs blind bandits. Saturo Nada censored (?) them so good (?) there was so little left to imagination lawl. And I just laughed. Laughed. Why this war era survival manga is so absurd, I li
A little background for Inkarmat, Tsurumi and Hijikata.
...and I just realized this Hijikita was 70 year old samurai/cowboy.
The moment I've been waiting for is finally here. The infiltration of Abashiri Prison to meet Noppera-Bo was a complete failure and now the 7th division too has joined the fray. This volume was so fucking perfect. I enjoyed every minute of it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Asirpa makes it to Noppera-Bo... Or does she?? This was a pretty good volume, with more action and all headed towards getting more information about the gold. Overall, this is a pretty good series for sure.
Woah! The contrast between how this volume begins and how it ends is something else. We begin at the climax of the naked dual in the mountains Sugimoto and his allies try to survive until the daylight can give them some advantage over the blind bandits led by Anji Toni. It was a little disconcerting that outside of the leader, the bandits were treated as Trek redshirts. Apparently Anji Toni is pivotal to the intrusion of Abashiri prison. While the middle chapters seem to get confusing with some chronology shifting and setting switching, the harrowing comedy of the opening (Asirpa’s identification technique for finding Sugimoto in pitch dark was milk-from-nose hilarious) and the high tension of the closing chapter mark this as one of the best volumes of an amazing series. If you are a manga fan, and you’re not reading this, then you are missing out. And, if you are not a manga fan, this series may surprise you! Give it a try.
This volume opens where we left off as our very vulnerable and naked heroes are attacked at a hot spring at night. It’s a tense sequence with many of the characters dodging bullets and avoiding death. Series creator Satoru Noda keeps your interest up by weaving in a bit of comedic relief thanks to the nude men while also making it a scary experience for a few of the characters. This scene pays off for a fatalistic character later in the volume, playing well with a twist in the ending.
The meat of this story is all about a prison break to find Asirpa’s father. There is a lot of build up to the actual attempt which gives the book a nice heist feel. Thrown in are a few surprises, including a close call at getting caught before they even infiltrate and a shocking (and terrifying) realization that Asirpa’s father is a very scary dude. This is intercut with scenes featuring Lieutenant Tsurumi, who continues to be quite insane with an intense underling who seems to be in love with him. The character has always been quite outrageous, though the big ending to this volume certainly uses Tsurumi with high effect.
There is of course plenty of cooking and other nature tips thrown into the narrative here and there. The characters make a citatap using salmon that allows the characters to bond a bit between the dramatic action sequences. There is also a neat little side exploration of making shoes out of salmon skin.
Unfortunately, this volume feels a little thin on plot and character work. Much of the narrative spends its time getting characters out of and then back into trouble. There isn’t much meaningful bonding going on beyond Inkarmat’s new lease on life. I also ponder how the manga uses nudity for humor but also subtle sexual undertones between characters. The men are naked to start the volume and there’s a reason for it, but it’s played up in ways that’s awkward and quite strange. Considering the somewhat cartoony nature of how characters act in this volume, it comes off as childish.
This is a good volume, but one that seems to matter less than most. The survival facts and cooking scenes continue to be good, though they are quite thin here. The prison break is well done, but with the opening nude escape sequence, it ends up not being a central focus and is sped over.
Finally! We’re getting some major plot progression, and it’s about time—I’ve been waiting for this over the past few volumes, and I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint. While some scenes felt a bit random, and the frequent sexual nuances occasionally pulled me out of the story, overall, this was a really entertaining volume. The unpredictability of who’s an ally and who’s not keeps you on your toes—everyone’s got their own hidden agenda. I also appreciated the addition of ‘The Story So Far’ section; it’s such a helpful refresher for keeping track of everything that happened in earlier volumes.
Time to add "all time great heist goes wrong story" to the list of distinct genre achievements present in Golden Kamuy. This series is such an incredible chameleon, capable of telling any kind of story Satoru Noda feels like telling - all held together by a solid pulp adventure backbone, the historical and regional setting, the respectful integration of Ainu culture, and the absolutely wonderful, deranged, and loveable cast of murderers, lowlives, psychopaths, and sweethearts that populates these stories.
The comedy is excellent in this volume and I’m really enjoying how the characters are interacting. Things are finally moving and I’m looking forward to how it unfolds in the next volume.
The beginning of this volume was wildly different from the end, Satoru Noda has range. I’m so tense as we reach the point of this journey, and I fear for these characters I have grown to love!!
Wieder mal ein sehr guter Band. Der Arc mit Toni Anji ist spannend. Tanigaki und Inkarmat. 🤍 Wir erfahren mehr über Hijikatas Vergangenheit und kommen beim Abashiri-Gefängnis an. Tsurumi glänzt mit genialem Wahnsinn.
Abashiri prison break is a disaster on top of the bigger disaster, also I've almost reached the point where anime adaptation ended and I'm scared. Get me back to horny fun and delicious foods.
It's all kicking off lads!! It's getting exciting!! Also to that one character I was routing for you and you did me dirty like that, you better redeem yourself or imma be mad af!