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Die Jagd nach dem Ainu-Gold hat begonnen …

Wir schreiben das frühe 20. Jahrhundert, kurz nach dem russisch-japanischen Krieg. Hoch im verschneiten Norden Japans schlägt sich ein einzelner Mann durch die Wildnis. Sein Name: Sugimoto, der Unsterbliche. Geplagt von den Erinnerungen an den Krieg versucht er, sein mageres Einkommen durch Goldschürferei aufzubessern – ohne Erfolg.

Aber dann erfährt er von einem riesigen Goldschatz, der einst den Ainu gestohlen wurde. Der einzige Hinweis: eine Schatzkarte, eintätowiert auf die Rücken zahlreicher Gefängnisinsassen, die sich nun auf der Flucht befinden. Gemeinsam mit dem Ainu-Mädchen Asirpa bricht Sugimoto auf die tödlichste Schatzsuche der Geschichte auf. Denn wer dieses Gold jagt, ist bereit, über Leichen zu gehen …

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2015

112 people are currently reading
2353 people want to read

About the author

Satoru Noda

61 books88 followers
Satoru Noda (野田サトル, Noda Satoru) is a japanese mangaka.

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5 stars
1,505 (45%)
4 stars
1,331 (40%)
3 stars
392 (11%)
2 stars
49 (1%)
1 star
15 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 383 reviews
Profile Image for The Artisan Geek.
445 reviews7,297 followers
Read
October 27, 2020
6/10/20
Having read so many first volumes of manga series in recent times, I have come to notice how rare it is to find one that pops off from the start and Golden Kamuy certainly does! The storyline really has me intrigued, the unfamiliar setting and the action absolutely thrills me and I can't wait to read more of this series!! :)

5/10/20
I surprisingly hadn't heard of this title until twee weeks ago. Looking forward to dive in and watch a bit of the anime as well :)

You can find me on
Youtube | Instagram | Twitch | Twitter | Tumblr | Website | The Storygraph
Profile Image for Jokoloyo.
455 reviews304 followers
October 24, 2017
Some excellent manga works have strong research background and present setting with rich details in setting, and sometimes the details influence the plot too. Golden Kamuy is one of those manga works.

The setting is one of the most exotic that I have found in this manga. The time is in early 20th century after Russo-Japanese War, the place is in Hokkaido Island, especially in wilderness of the island. The plot's background involves Ainu people, and one of the main characters is an Ainu girl. I can't praise enough for the details of many aspect of the story: The Ainu-style survival skills in wilderness, and Japanese military related details, to name a few of the gems.

A strong start for a historical thriller manga. I really wish the quality of the manga could be maintained until the end. I have high expectation after reading this first volume.

Just be warned: the violence scenes are graphic enough. No nude scene so far.

Profile Image for Shannon.
3,111 reviews2,564 followers
December 9, 2017
Surprisingly enjoyable for a historical tale about the gold rush in Hokkaido at the end of the Meiji era.

Updated below

So I'm up to volume 4 right now and I'm probably not going to review any other books in this series just because honestly, they're all about the same quality, which is good. I really want to point out something though, that if you've read/liked A Bride's Story this would be a perfect series to also check out. Wonderful art, special care made for historical details, and great characters who quickly grow on you. Both take place in about the same time period as well.

I highly recommend this and that series as well.
Profile Image for Subham.
3,072 reviews102 followers
September 1, 2021
This was surprisingly good and is set during the gold rush in Hokkaido near the early 20th century.

Its about a man named Saichi Sugimoto who after learning that there is a gold rush and the location of it after learning from a prisoner makes it his mission to find it and meets an Ainu woman named Asirpa and its fascinating seeing their adventures together as they fight bears and other wild animals and more and cooking and catching criminals and having weird adventures. They learn of the 71st division also after the gold and its fascinating seeing these two groups battle and more. Until Sugimoto meets another prisoner and learns more about this quest.

Its a good volume and like has so much thing of quest and gold rush and the main character is fascinating and his attitude is quite cavalier and interesting. Plus the girl sidekick is good too and I love knowing more about the Ainu culture. Plus the art is so good and I love how the author is also making it a cooking sort of manga. And I like the exploration of the early 20th century attitudes and more.
Profile Image for Nicolo.
3,464 reviews204 followers
December 22, 2020
Golden Kamuy is a series about a Russo-Japanese War veteran searching for a secret hoard of Ainu gold in the harshly beautiful Hokkaido wilderness with an Ainu girl for a guide. This treasure hunting story has the feel of a Western (since this is set in Hokkaido, an eastern northern?), frontier life, renegade soldiers, escaped convicts, indigenous survivalist, and lost gold. The story is briskly paced, one chapter in, and the duo are already looking for pieces of the map to the hoard.

The characters are also well developed. Asirpa the Ainu is a skilled hunter, that a former soldier named Sugimoto the Immortal looks up to her in awe, and with a name like that, he's no pushover himself. The first time they meet, she ends up saving him from a massive bear looking to snack on his tender entrails.

The story itself has a veneer of realism that can only be achieved by extensive background research, and the author supports this with a list of references as an appendix and even cites an Ainu language consultant. This is important because one of the charms of this series is the detailed depiction of Ainu hunting culture and the flora and fauna of the region.

This is truly an excellent first volume because now I want to know if our intrepid treasure hunters will even behold the gold in the end.
Profile Image for Knigoqdec.
1,183 reviews188 followers
January 2, 2021
Слагам началото на годината с тази страхотна манга, чиято аниме адаптация е част от класацията ми "аниме на годината - 2020" (просто го открих в последния месец).
Прекрасен арт и много добре разказана история. Авторът определено ти позволява да му вярваш, изглежда идеално запознат с времето, в което се развива разказът му - Руско-японската война от 1904-та година. Действието се развива в Хоккайдо, с намесата на айну (допълнителна силна мотивация за мен, тъй като винаги съм се интересувала от темата, но информацията е катастрофално оскъдна). В основата на всичко лежи "треската за злато", но в доста по-необичаен вид. Всеки от участниците в търсенето на златото на айну си има своя причина да бъде тук, в "Златният Камуй". И всички са развити поравно, което допълнително печели читателя за каузата да разбере какво ще стане с тях.
Авторът не пести в никаква степен отвратителните страни на "войната", била тя за злато или друго. И макар отвреме-навреме в "Камуй" да правят най-отвратителните комични простащини, нищо не е игра. Всичко е до болка реалистично. Невероятна история! Както понякога ми се случва да повторя това - историческата ми душа е в тотален възторг!
Profile Image for Juho Pohjalainen.
Author 5 books348 followers
August 23, 2020
There's something gruesome and off-putting about using your standard cutesy wide-eyed anime style to portray realistic blood and gore. Golden Kamuy has this contrast down strong, and I don't think I'll ever be able to quite look past it.

But besides that, it's pretty good. The characters are compelling, the plot tense and thrilling, the action fast and visceral, and there's a lot coming up ahead. This is only the beginning.
Profile Image for Andrea.
436 reviews169 followers
April 27, 2016
Read April 27, 2016

Really cool historical graphic novel set in northern Japan after the end of Russo-Japanese war. A veteran soldier called Sugimoto the Immortal and an Ainu girl team up to find escaped prisoners whose bodies are covered with tattoos that hold the key to the secret gold stash. Each of them is on this journey for reasons of their own.

I really enjoyed this volume, especially since I spent some time in Hokkaido and certain places are familiar to me. It was fun to learn that Otaru used to have so many brothels disguised as udon restaurants that it was actually very difficult to find a place to eat. The best part about this series in learning about Ainu culture. The author did quite a bit of research and actually has his own language consultant. It's hard to find manga set in the northern wilderness of Hokkaido, so I'm super excited to continue on.
Profile Image for MAILA.
481 reviews121 followers
October 6, 2017
MAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN

saya tau manga ini karena follow salah satu orang yang gemar membaca manga di twitter. kalau ditanya ''saya mau baca komik jepang nih, enaknya mulai darimana ya?'' maka jawaban orang itu akan memberikan 5 judul komik dan ini salah satunya. saya penasaran baca karena ada beberapa orang yang sudah mulai mencoba baca dan katanya suka.

naaaah, pas saya mulai baca vol 1 nya ternyata memang BAGUS BANGEET

pertama dari gambar detail. cakep.
dari segi cerita juga lumayan walaupun masih gak jelas akan dibawa kemana. saya gatau ini based true story atau gak, tapi ini bahas tentang sejarah jepang setelah perang dunia dan ditambah mitologi2 jepang.

baru vol 1 udah nagih banget. padahal genrenya bukan saya banget karena di buku ini ada beberapa distrubing pic kayak tembak2an dan keluar darah gitu (mungkin menurut beberapa orang itu gak serem2 banget).

seru!
dan saya cukup setuju kalau serial komik ini wajib dibaca buat siapapun yang mau kenal sama komik2 jepang hehe.


suka!
Profile Image for Melissa.
2,760 reviews177 followers
July 27, 2017
I had to emergency read this (the usual Manga Book Club bookseller had something come up). It's pretty intriguing - although very graphically violent. I like the two main characters Saichi and Asirpa (and all the cultural bits about the Ainu people) and their hunt for the hidden gold so I may actually read more of this series.
Profile Image for Hal Incandenza.
612 reviews
February 19, 2023
3,5/5. Un buon inizio, disegni stupendi e molto puliti, narrazione chiara e accattivante e un sacco di storia giapponese ben romanzata.
Profile Image for Loay Mohammed.
167 reviews8 followers
February 22, 2022
Golden Kamuy is Everything I Wanted in A Manga. Great Drawing, Interesting Cast of Characters and Complex Story With a Brilliant Storytelling Which is Filled With History, Mystery, Comedy, Action and Drama…Might Say How Could a Story Combine Those Genres Together Well Golden Kamuy Did That.

The Story Take Place After The Russian-Japanese War and it Follows Sugimoto Saichi or as he’s called (Immortal Sugimoto) Who Comes Back From The War and Started Searching For Gold, Where He Stumbles across a Story about a fortune in hidden Ainu gold.

What I Like The Most About Golden Kamuy is That it Takes Different Genres and Mix Them Together Brilliantly. It Give Us History About The Ainu (Indigenous people of Japan), Their History, Traditions, Food and Hunting Style. While Building For The Gold Hunt and The Various Clashes Between Different Characters.

Golden Kamuy is Surely One of The Best Manga Currently Published and I’m Positive That It’ll Be a Considered One of The Classics Within The Manga Industry After it Finishes.
Profile Image for Victor The Reader.
1,849 reviews25 followers
October 10, 2023
Golden Kamuy, Vol. 1 (My Kindle Review)

Taking place during the early 1900s after the Russo-Japanese war, we follow young war veteran Saichi Sugimoto who has supreme soldier and survivor skills. He is currently on a life threatening quest in the middle of a postwar gold rush involving a long-hidden fortune of gold and is determined to find it. When he gets caught in a bear attack, he gets help from an Ainu girl named Asirpa with strong huntress skills. As the two survive their attack, they will find themselves with some very powerful hunters who may have info about the fortune.

It’s been ages since I found a good action-packed manga and “GK” is just so powerful and suspenseful. From start to finish, its war-themed survival lore and scenes of action definitely give off a thrilling postwar story of gold and survival. It is really all worth it to find this fortune of gold?, I’ll see. A (100%/Outstanding)
Profile Image for Kim Nguyen.
39 reviews
August 25, 2021
An action packed historical manga set during the gold rush at the end of the Meiji era.

Artwork is very captivating, characters are memorable, and I throughly enjoyed how much detail was noted in this story-It shows a lot of the writing was based on solid research done on this time period.

Highly recommend
Profile Image for Ana Pau Carbonell.
246 reviews6 followers
March 14, 2024
Sí, sí voy a poner todo el manga que lea aquí. Ni mode.

This one is so good tho im enjoying it sm.
33 reviews3 followers
August 28, 2017
Dear Noda sensei,

I love Sugimoto.
I love Asirpa.
I love Retar.
I love Obata eh Ogata.
I love Shiraishi.
I a half love Tsurumi (kan baru nongol dikit-dikit yak, berupa bayang-bayang)
I love Hijikata.

I LOVE ALL OF THEM.
Thanks for bringing them to my life.

Best Regards,
Rini Dolok.
Profile Image for Derek Royal.
Author 16 books74 followers
July 4, 2017
I love the historical and realistic emphasis of this narrative. I'll definitely continue on with the series.
Profile Image for Nelson.
369 reviews18 followers
January 1, 2019
A well researched historical fiction manga with a great mix of tension and humor. I especially loved all the hunting and survivalist themes, and learning about Ainu culture.

Score: a tentative 9/10
Profile Image for Kesa.
580 reviews62 followers
March 16, 2022
We're in the early 1900s in Hokkaidō Japan. A legend on the battlefield, soldier veteran of the Russo-Japan war Saichi "Immortal" Sugimoto finds out about a tale of a stolen gold rush from indigenous Ainu miners. Sugimoto needs to find the gold to help his childhood friend's and former comrade's widow and child. Clues of its hidden location are tattoed in sets onto escaped prisoners of the Ashiri prison, the same prison the person who stole the gold was locked up in.
A local young Ainu girl by the name of Asirpa saves Sugimoto from being eaten/killed by a brown bear with a poisoned arrow. She decides to help Sugimoto get the treasure as revenge for her father who was one of the Ainu people that got killed while guarding the gold five years ago.

A brutal and graphic story full with cultural and historical facts set in a gorgeous scenery.
A well-written story that deserves your attention.
Satoru Noda is an ethnic Japanese living in Hokkaidō and you can tell he researched a lot on the Ainu people. Scholars who study the Ainu history and culture give Noda their advice. He incorporates a lot of their myths, values and practices in Golden Kamuy. There's even a bibliography at the end of the book.
In fact, his great-grandfather's name was Saichi Sugimoto, just with a different Kanji character for "-moto". You can read more on it here:
https://yunhokick.tumblr.com/post/164...
Profile Image for Seth.
47 reviews
May 24, 2025
Finished reading like, the whole series in the past few weeks because I couldn’t put it down. what a treat. it’s a great balance of serious and humorous tone, i love the art style, the character work is fantastic. a surprising amount of historical knowledge packed in here, and it’s clear that a lot of research and care was put into writing about the Ainu people. also the author really loves to draw buff dudes naked.
Profile Image for Gavin.
Author 3 books618 followers
May 29, 2021
The art is an effective unnerving mix of pointy whitespace manga elegance and spinal columns n gore. Both clean and grotesque. A lot of hunting and zoology facts involved: Someone cared. Also Sugimoto chamber-punches a bear.
Profile Image for RG.
3,084 reviews
May 1, 2019
This is some amazing art but I seem to be so so on tbe historical story.
Profile Image for Liam Bédard.
13 reviews
March 25, 2025
Insane research, great characters and amazing story. Wow…
Displaying 1 - 30 of 383 reviews

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