Golden Kamuy, Vol. 21

ゴールデンカムイ [Golden Kamui] #21

by Satoru Noda

Sugimoto and Asirpa (and Shiraishi too) have been reunited and head south across Karafuto with the goal of returning to Hokkaido. But after so much time apart and all that has happened, Asirpa’s feelings about the Ainu struggle have changed. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Tsurumi begins trying to decipher the code in the tattooed skins and sends a double agent into Hijikata’s group. But Hijikata is no fool, and he engages in a battle of wits with Tsurumi. Regardless of who comes out on top, it is clear that only Asirpa holds the key to finding the Ainu gold.

Genres: Manga, Seinen, Historical Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels, Historical, Graphic Novels Manga

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2020

About the author

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

Reviews

[Juho Pohjalainen]

What a great end! Simultaneously heartwarming, awesome, and hilarious.

[Aleksandra]

chapters 201-210

I can't wrap my mind around what happened in those chapters, it had sweet moments, heart-breaking moments, the intrigues and mashinations are so fun, Tsurumi and Hijikata are fun characters!
Asirpa and Sugimoto's bond is so strong, I love them.

[Samuel]

4.7/5.

“I won’t be here to help you… so use it when you can stand on your own.”
“Stand on my own? Do you mean like… an erection?”
🔥🔥🔥✍️✍️

Unironically a banger volume tho. And although the quote sounds goofy it’s actually pretty heartwarming if you know the story so far.

The peak continues😮‍💨

[Pavel Ocampo]

Un tomo que sucede un arco tremendo. Las cosas se tuercen otro poco de manera interesante, planteando el siguiente escenario.

[Eressea]

20231205 3rd read
--
20220205 2nd read
--
20210528 1st read
ㄎㄧㄤ了這麼多集也習慣了
可以感覺的出作者努力推廣北海道風俗
劇情對我來說反而沒那麼重要了

[Zibbi]

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if Noda is just trolling us readers. I mean, I genuinely wish some scenes would stay 100% serious, but nope—he just can’t resist throwing in his signature brand of unhinged absurdity. It’s a mix of hilarity and frustration because, on one hand, it keeps things unpredictable, but on the other, it sometimes undercuts the tension. I still enjoyed most of what happened in this volume (minus the bizarre bits that left me scratching my head).

I’ve grown so fond of Tanigaki and Cikapasi’s dynamic, and seeing them go their separate ways was bittersweet. Their bond has been built up so well throughout the series, and I know I’m going to miss their banter.

The part that didn’t sit right with me was Shiraishi's sudden aggression toward Sugimoto. It felt out of character for him, especially with how close they’ve become. Perhaps because he’s drunk? I don’t know, it felt out of character for him to blurt those words out.

On a brighter note, one of the absolute highlights of this volume was Asirpa finally taking control of her own choices. Watching her assert her agency was incredibly satisfying. She’s always been brave and clever, but seeing her take such decisive action felt like another turning point for her character. Girl’s got guts—plain and simple.

[Sanny]

SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

Me ha encantado como en este tomo se ha destacado la idea de independencia de los personajes:

Chikapasi, sin dejar de apreciar y respetar a Tanigaki, tomó la decisión de separar sus caminos.

Koito y Tsukishima, a pesar de darse cuenta de que habían sido manipulados, se deleitan por la maestría en la que lo fueron, por lo que deciden quedarse. (En principio).

Asirpa, con toda su asertividad y carácter, le deja claro a Sugimoto que de ahora en adelante ella tomaría sus propias decisiones, y establece una relación de iguales. En esta línea, me ha sorprendido como ella ha sido la primera que le ha plantado cara a Tsurumi y le ha hecho perder los estribos.

De este modo creo que Noda ha sabido plasmar muy bien una evolución que también se encuentra en las relaciones humanas: el paso de la dependencia y la protección a la igualdad de condiciones.

Qué maravilla de manga. QUÉ MARAVILLA DE SERIE. Gracias por tanto, maestro. 😩🙏

[Mauri]

I liked how Sugimoto and Asirpa worked through the looming issue before them without too much drama (whee, communication!) and the result of Cikapasi and Tanigaki's relationship was super heart-warming, ugh.

It really says a lot that this series has both 1) a lot of gore and violence and 2) a 12-year-old main character (plus 1-2 other important child characters) and yet manages not to use 'traumatizing children' as a plot point at all.

I was a little disappointed about how Tsukishima and Koito dealt with the 'Tsurumi is even more manipulative than one might have guessed' fallout. Like, I downgraded Tsukishima from favored character status and Koito lost all the progress he made in my eyes. Oh well. There's time to see how this shakes out.

[Kash]

I love the interpersonal drama at play here. The stakes are high and the characters are growing!!!


We get to see Asirpa's mom, have a highly emotional moment with Tanigaki and Cikapasi, have reveals about the 7th division and Tsurumi, see a new double agent and Hijikata's new bold move. Seeing the development in Sugimoto and Asirpa's relationship is very good but I'm particularly surprised by seeing Siraishi's development and growth led him to confront other characters directly. Can't wait to see what will happen next

[J]

Of course Shiraishi has to take an arrow from a random volley to the head! The ass and dick humor is more than a little played out. It’s silly and somewhat ironic that a mangaka and their editors would think that in order to maintain their seinen cred, it requires throwing in the basest middle school humor. Still, this is a series that consistently entertains despite its proclivity for potty humor and inexplicable character reactions.

[Rach]

Where one sniper disappears, another takes his place to be mysterious and interesting. The way he and Sugimoto talked was hilarious.

I am very nervous about the weird entanglements of the groups, and how Asirpa might still be used. Sugimoto is truly relentless when it comes to protecting her, so I can at least trust that. But I feel that we’re still building to even more reveals and explosive high points in this story!

[Otto]

Still riding the high of them being together again.
Theres something really amazing about seeing how wonderfully the portrayal of manipulation is done in the 7th division, all of them even with their devotion to tsurumi know they were manipulated by him, how they've been groomed into believing this is all they can do now. Accepting the fate of always being at war even while the real war is over. Its crazy to see how they all still follow Tsurumi.

[Vanessa Marzog]

Emotionaler und spannender Band. Asirpa als Regisseurin ist immer wieder ein Highlight für mich. Mehr über ihre Vergangenheit zu erfahren, bewegt mich sehr. Die weitere Entwicklung der Dynamik zwischen ihr und Sugimoto war in diesem Band fantastisch und Shiraishis Wutausbruch hat mir aus dem Herzen gesprochen.

[Cristina Toledo]

Lloré con la despedida de Cikapasi y Tanigaki, de verdad son una familia :’)

Y bueno, TOTALMENTE poggers que Sugimoto superó su etapa de nobio tosico con Asirpa para dejarla ser una revolucionaria de tomo y lomo (y que ella le dijera que quiere no le prohíba nada y su ayuda para buscar el oro es simplemente todo lo que está bien en este mundo)

[William Moses Jr.]

I really like how Noda doesn't shy away from conflict. Not the easy conflict like "they're bad, we're good, we need to beat them" but the hard conflict like "they're good, I'm good, but we want different things that conflict at an identity level". And the answers he comes up with stay true to the characters that inhabit his world. Impressive.

[Kulwinder Singh]

"𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚."

After finally meeting Lieutenant Tsurumi, Asirpa took matters into her own hands and fled with Sugimoto from right under the noses of the Seventh Division. Haha, it was a little dramatic, yet an epic scene!

[tori]

i'm finally catching up with golden kamuy and i can't wait to see how it goes from now on!!

[Loz]

A great volume of hijinks and plot!

[mayday]

Hijikata's back! And Tanigaki is back on the cover, lol. And yes there is also Tsurumi and I can't wait vol. 22 to arrive *jumps*

[Paige]

I just love this series so much, Tanigaki and Cikapasi had me bawling and the ending we love to see it!

[Pinky]

Asirpa and Sugimoto escape Tsurumi for now.

[Alex Johnston]

It's Golden Kamuy folks - what more could anyone ever ask for?

[Becky]

鶴見終於和阿席莉帕見到面，然後就跑了，腦漿可以這樣流還不會死嗎！

[Ailbhe]

Made me cry

[Facundo Mosquera]

Me encantaron todas las interacciones y conversaciones en este tomo. También me cagué en las patas con Tsurumi.

[⋆ ࣪˖ ִֶָ sel ་༘࿐]

WAAAA I'm not sure what to say and point our here because that was such a ride! I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT VOLUMES!

[Erika]

UKにいたせいで、21-22巻の予約を受け取れずに読む順番が前後してしまい、23巻を先に読んだので、余計に混乱してしまってる（というか、もはや誰がどういう目的で動いてるのかすっかり忘れてる...）けれど、杉元と白石とアシリパ（そして床に寝そべってお絵かきしあってるロシア兵と杉元）が可愛いので良しとする。

[Alistair]

阿席莉帕進化完成。

[🧸♡뀨♡🐣]

對每個角色都有各自蠻多想法的，但大家清一色都是心靈已殘破不堪的人了⋯⋯所以這才是杉元原本一直很想要保護阿席莉帕的原因吧，他可能也是希望當時能有個人保護他不要往那條路邁進，但已經來不及了，所以只能加注期望在其他人身上⋯⋯

[Joar]

I just love Asirpa so much okkkkkk