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Anime Spotlight - Golden Kamuy 2

by ANN Staff,
Premieres October 8, 2018

Introduction

In the mighty Northern field of Hokkaido, the survival battle for a hidden treasure stolen from the Ainu people continues!!

Hero of the Russo-Japanese War Sugimoto, also known as "Immortal Sugimoto," and the Ainu girl Asirpa continue their search for her peoples' buried treasure. However, the two make a discovery when hunting down the 24 escaped prisoners with parts of the treasure map tattooed on them... They find out that the person called "Noppera-bo" who supposedly killed Asirpa's father and stole the Ainu treasure was in fact her father himself. In order to confirm the truth, they decide they have to go visit her father, who is locked away in a prison for inmates who attempted to escape. With new comrades like the "escaped felon king" Yoshitake Shiraishi and Kiroranke at their side, they move from Otaru to Sapporo to Yubari. At the same time, Lieutenant Tsurumi of the 7th Division who is instigating the war for the buried treasure and Toshizo Hijikata of The Shinsen-gumi take the next steps to make their dreams a reality... The Gold Rush survival battle gets even more intense in the mighty Northern field of Hokkaido during the late years of the Meiji Era!

The anime is based on the best-selling manga serializing in Weekly Young Jump, penned by Satoru Noda. The currently-published fourteen compiled volumes have over eight million copies in print, and the series has been honored with the prestigious Manga Award in 2016 and the 22nd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. This work is currently one of the hottest out there! Not only will Geno Studio from the first season return to animate, the director Hitoshi Nanba and the other skilled staff have also reunited to bring you more of this exciting tale filled with action and suspense, but also hunting, cooking, and history that will please all five of your senses. This top-class entertainment is returning to your screen in October 2018!

Character Names & Descriptions

Saichi Sugimoto

Voice: Chikahiro Kobayashi

A former soldier in the 1st Division of the Japanese Imperial Army. Due to his heroic deeds and demon-like fighting style during the Russo-Japanese war, he was nicknamed "Immortal Sugimoto." What makes him immortal is his ability to show amazing courage and his fast rate of recovery. In order to fulfill the promise he made with his comrade who died during the conflict, Sugimoto heads to Hokkaido to participate in the Gold Rush. He learns of the stolen Ainu buried treasure, and gets involved in battles for the gold with the extremely powerful 7th Division and diabolical escaped felons.

Asirpa

Voice: Haruka Shiraishi

A girl from the Ainu tribe Sugimoto encounters who is from the northern land. Not only is she able to understand the language of the people outside of her village, she is also has knowledge needed to live in the mountains and hunt. She is called the "Ainu girl of the new age" because of her name that means "new years" and "future," and she has thoughts not bound by old traditions. She begins a journey to avenge her father who was killed by someone who stole the Ainu treasure, and decides to travel with Sugimoto, whom she has discerned as a skilled warrior. The Hokkaido Wolf Retar will come to her rescue, wherever she may be.

Yoshitake Shiraishi

Voice: Kentarō Itō

A genius escaped felon also called "The Escape King." Because he has repeatedly escaped, the number of years added on to his sentence surpasses the amount of time from his original sentence. He has the ability to freely separate his joints, and has needles and nails hidden in various parts of his body in case he needs to escape. He's one of the 24 prisoners with the map printed on his body, but decided that teaming up with Sugimoto would be the best option in his situation.

Lieutenant Tsurumi

Voice: Houchu Ohtsuka

The lieutenant of the 7th Division of the Japanese Imperial Army. He is an intelligence officer extremely skilled at information collection and analysis. In order to avenge his fallen soldiers due to miscalculations from the higher-ups at the pincer attack of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War, he schemes to take of the 7th Division entirely. He is filled with madness and greed, wishing to use the Ainu gold to allow him to obtain dominance over his own unit. The metal protector on his forehead is there to protect the large wound he got when he lost at the Battle of Mukden.

Toshizo Hijikata

Voice: Jōji Nakata

The former "demon vice-captain" of The Shinsen-gumi who was said to have died at the Battle of Hakodate, but in fact continued to live on for 30 years locked away as a political prisoner. He has connections to the man who stole the Ainu treasure, and is the one who planned the escape of the prisoners with the map tattoos on their bodies. Almost as if he is continuing the fight for The Shinsen-gumi, he prepares to start a war to declare independence for Ezo. He's over 70 years old, but he is overflowing with youthful energy, and shows no faltering in his sword skills.

Hyakunosuke Ogata

Voice: Kenjiro Tsuda

A lance corporal in the Imperial Japanese Army's 7th Division. His father was also part of the same division, and Hyakunosuke himself is extremely skilled as a soldier. He excels at precise shots with his gun, and is even able to blow a bullet through an opponent's head without fail as long as they're 300 meters or less apart. He's good at using the standard-issue Type 30 rifles issued by the army in terms of range and accuracy, and although the weapon has little piercing power, his skills allow him to take down far-away enemies in one shot with it. He is called "Bat Bastard" for his tendency to change his attitude depending on the situation, and ends up facing off against Sugimoto during his travels alone.

Genjiro Tanigaki

Voice: Yoshimasa Hosoya

A private first-class in the Imperial Japanese Army's 7th Division. He was born in the North-Eastern hunting village of Matagi, so he has the skills to survive in the mountains. Because of the Matagi's rules that forbid villagers to sneeze or even clear their throat in the mountains in order to avoid making noise, he is naturally a very quiet person and doesn't speak much at all. He throws away his homeland of Akita and joins the colonizers, remaining in the army even after the Russo-Japanese War ended. While chasing after Sugimoto -- who badly injured Ogata -- he encounters the Hokkaido world Retar who senses that Asirpa is in danger, which makes his Matagi blood boil.

Tatsuuma Ushiyama

Voice: Kenji Nomura

A martial artist known as "Undefeated Ushiyama" due to the fact that he hasn't lost a match in ten years. He has a muscular body built up thanks to extreme training techniques, and his bulky frame is so hard that he can bounce nails off of it. However, he has an unbearable amount of sexual desire, which sometimes is his worst enemy. He was locked away in prison because he slept with his master's wife. He is one of the prisoners with the map tattooed on him, and teams up with Hijikata due to their interests being similar.

Cast

Saichi Sugimoto
Chikahiro Kobayashi
Asirpa
Haruka Shiraishi
Yoshitake Shiraishi
Kentarō Itō
Lieutenant Tsurumi
Houchu Ohtsuka
Toshizo Hijikata
Jōji Nakata
Hyakunosuke Ogata
Kenjiro Tsuda
Genjiro Tanigaki
Yoshimasa Hosoya
Tatsuuma Ushiyama
Kenji Nomura
Shinpachi Nagakura
Takayuki Sugō

Staff

Original Creator
Satoru Noda (serialized in Shueisha "Weekly Young Jump")
Director
Hitoshi Namba
Assistant Director
Takahiro Kawakoshi
Series Composition
Noboru Takagi
Character Design
Kenichi Oonuki
Main Animator
Junichi Hayama
Small Arms Design
Koji Watanabe
Prop Design
Shinya Asanuma
Animal Design
Ryo Sumiyoshi
Art Director
Atushi Morikawa
Color Design
Takahiro Mogi
Director of Photography
Yuichiro Tozawa
CG Director
Yuko Okumura, Kouhei Hamada
Editing
Gō Sadamatsu
Sound Director
Jin Aketagawa
Sound Production
Magic Capsule
Ainu Language Supervisor
Hiroshi Nakagawa
Music
Kenichiro Suehiro
The First Season Opening Theme Song:
"Winding Road" performed by MAN WITH A MISSION
The First Season Opening Theme Song:
"Hibana" performed by THE SIXTH LIE
The Second Season Opening Theme Song:
"Reimei" performed by Sayuri×MY FIRST STORY
The Second Season Ending Theme Song:
"Tokeidai no Kane" performed by eastern youth
Animation Production
GENO STUDIO INC
Production
GOLDEN KAMUY Project

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