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Golden Kamuy (TV) (all seasons).


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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15457
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2018 11:14 pm Reply with quote
Season 2, Episode 12 (Finale, episode 24)

And it finished on a characters are separated plot, after the character they have kind of been chasing after all show, who also revealed to not have been the betrayer to the AInu people, but her father's friend was likely so, who now has her.

I expressed at the end of the first season, that I have some real trouble expressing my thoughts on it. I do think the second season did have some great parts where it got very funny by leaning more into the crazy humour, the fake leg/congratulations Nikaido scene, is one of my favourites in the series. It worked really well when it would transition from getting too serious, to something totally wacky, but in character. There was something like the practically out of nowhere Last Supper scene, funny in a very Japanese centred story, but I also wonder if it might have had foreshadowing, such as who took the part as Judas, which after some cross referencing seems right. Asirpa had a lot of characters to bounce off of too this season, spreading the hina hina after Sugimoto is totally used to her now. Or really the alliances in this season got interesting.

I give this season a rating of Good (7/10), worth seeing, especially if you liked the first season.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15457
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 3:07 am Reply with quote
Season 3, Episode 1 (Episode 25)

Oh man, that was a good first episode of the season, even without Asirpa. The photograph joke especially got me, with Sugimoto kept presenting half naked pictures of the men.

It can be a weird mix of being serious and funny, like the whole wolverine bit, where clearly dangerous as an animal that put a bear in fear, but still somewhat funny how they had to run from the little guy.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2833
PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 6:06 am Reply with quote
Sugimoto takes a bullet to the head and in the episode after that participates in a bare knuckle brawl against burly Russians. Truly the immortal.

The hunt continues. Viewers get no recap to what is going on, it's straight to the action. Sugimoto and his group have to chase down Kiroranke, Asirpa and Oogata who are heading north into Russian territory for purposes unknown.

In the meantime, viewers get entertained by half-naked Japanese soldiers beating the stuffing out of rural Russians. The man in the glasses is the strong Japanese they're looking for who's possibly a tattooed convict. Now that they've got his attention, he'll probably participate next week.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23749
PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 6:48 am Reply with quote
Great to see this show back. I could have used a recap, actually, but no matter. I hope we get to see Asirpa next eppie. Hopefully, this is not going to be an extended arc of Sugimoto chasing after her and always just missing. Please note this is not an invitation for a poster familiar with the source material to come in and tell me one way or the other, I'm just expressing a hope.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2833
PostPosted: Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:18 am Reply with quote
#26

The four of them are lucky. Although he's ludicrously strong and a masochist, convict Gansoku Maiharu is not a homicidal maniac like some of the other tattooed convicts. Yes, he likes a punch-up and is ludicrously difficult to put down but anyone who's won him over will easily get information out of him.

I think a side-effect of Sugimoto surviving a bullet to the head is the incomplete inability to control himself after he's taken too many concussion hits. He has the same symptom as Tsurumi; he leaks brain fluid every so often. Were it not for the ice bath, it would have taken more than the angry wolverine to bring Sugimoto back to his senses.

First and possibly the last time I'll ever see a Russian ban'ya portrayed like this. Gansoku has spent too much time in Sakhalin and is too all intents and purposes a naturalised Russian.

Asirpa is back and she's hunting exotic food again. She's sure Sugimoto is still alive, but viewers are not told what she's heading towards so far north of her birthplace.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15457
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 2:19 am Reply with quote
Hammer and Sickle Sugimoto, becoming a danger to everything around him. How long before figuring out that it was not a plan rather than likely brain damage induced rage. And also the whole sauna bit, where they got chased into it by running away from the wolverine, and of course take their clothes off, and then start hitting each other with banya. This show can get so gay.

Also, rather than going after the key right on the table, they woke the Russian guy up, which made him get his head hit, then they shot the lock off without using the key that was right there.

Mentioning Asirpa's birthplace, have we received much confirmation on the part of her heritage that is not Ainu? I remember that it was a point noted near the beginning of the series where she has a touch that is not Ainu or Japanese.

Asirpa's face after I think somewhat made fun of the guys for not standing the sea lion food too well as she seems to have super gross fat all over her mouth.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:45 pm Reply with quote
Harleyquin wrote:
I think a side-effect of Sugimoto surviving a bullet to the head is the incomplete inability to control himself after he's taken too many concussion hits. He has the same symptom as Tsurumi; he leaks brain fluid every so often. Were it not for the ice bath, it would have taken more than the angry wolverine to bring Sugimoto back to his senses.

Beserker Sugimoto was downright terrifying. Who knows what he would have done with the kids were he not distracted. The leaking brain fluid was a good tell.

DuskyPredator wrote:
Also, rather than going after the key right on the table, they woke the Russian guy up, which made him get his head hit, then they shot the lock off without using the key that was right there.

I thought that a bit strange at first, too, but once the guy is knocked out the sound of the gunfire wouldn't matter. And shooting the lock was likely easier than trying to get the key.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23749
PostPosted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:48 pm Reply with quote
Looks like Asirpa will be back in the mix starting next eppie, even if she's not reunited with Sugimoto yet. Good. When she didn't show up until near the end I was starting to think my nightmare scenario of there being an extended arc without her was coming true. And yes, this show seems to get gayer with every passing episode.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2833
PostPosted: Mon Oct 19, 2020 10:52 am Reply with quote
#27

This episode didn't pan out the way I was expecting it to. The first part of the episode focuses briefly on Asirpa's party, then a quick shot of Gansoku leaving Karafuto for good. The rest of the episode is devoted to Sergeant Tsukishima Hajime's background and why he's so devoted to Lieutenant Tsurumi.

When Tsukishima tells Tsugimoto that self-control is really important for staying alive, it turns out he's speaking from personal experience. His is an unfortunate story, being one of Tsurumi's hand-picked "pawns". He's accepted his lot, so whatever the truth behind his fiancee's death/disappearance is it no longer matters to him anymore since the rest of his life is to be spent in service to Tsurumi, until one of them dies.

What on earth is with next week's episode title?!
spoiler[ I know what's coming up, but with something as eye-catching as that I'm sure non-readers will be curious to see what on earth Sugimoto is up to. ]
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2833
PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 10:40 am Reply with quote
#28

It took something left field to get Sugimoto and co. mixed up with a circus act, so getting the star acrobat moonlighting as a pickpocket seems to have done the job. Koito Otonoshin is surprisingly agile for a well-off officer, if he wasn't so enamoured with Tsurumi and part of the officer corps he might well have had a different life as a star acrobat. As for Sugimoto, it turns out he is prone to jealousy although the twist midway would have cost him his life had the Russians not intervened. Timely intervention too, since a real sword allows Sugimoto to defend himself.

As a diversion, the episode has its entertainment value watching the soldiers do something completely different from their main jobs. Fortunately the main plot is kept going as the circus master provides crucial information to give the pursuers the lead they have been searching for since they landed in Karafuto.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15457
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:45 am Reply with quote
I would have to say that my favourite part was with the dancing girls, the fact that the two beefy guys were put into their act, despite even a subplot about the girls having to leave when they get too old. Especially how serious it was treated with the teacher, and how emotional Tanigaki got.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23749
PostPosted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 4:07 pm Reply with quote
Golden Kamuy continues to be golden. That circus episode is an instant classic. I'm not getting enough Asirpa as I would like, but I'll probably survive.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2833
PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2020 11:28 am Reply with quote
#29

Not many shows can pull off the change in pace this one is currently doing. From a circus sideshow gone awry, viewers then enjoy a reindeer hunt, cultural studies into the northern Karafuto migratory tribes and a sniper duel all in one episode.

To top it off, we find out something explosive about Kiroranke's past. I'm sure it's a work of fiction, since portraying him as Tsar Alexander's assassin is definitely not how it panned out in the real world. Regardless, he is a wanted man in the Russian Empire and Tsurumi has screwed them over thanks to the tip off.

Oogata hasn't had much opportunity to showcase his godly sniper skills since he shot Sugimoto in the head. Now for the first time he has an opponent who's just as good as he is. With two natural born snipers at each other's throats, the finale to the sniper duel should be enough to keep viewers hooked for next week's material.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2020 1:59 pm Reply with quote
Harleyquin wrote:
To top it off, we find out something explosive about Kiroranke's past. I'm sure it's a work of fiction, since portraying him as Tsar Alexander's assassin is definitely not how it panned out in the real world.

I'm not sure if Kiroranke was supposed to be the assassin himself or just part of the plot. Might he have been a Japanese agent at the time?

This show just rolls out one compelling episode after another and shows no signs of slowing down. Splitting the groups creates the ability to tell the back stories for a number of different characters. We haven't seen much of Hijikata's band of subversives lately though.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2833
PostPosted: Wed Nov 11, 2020 6:39 am Reply with quote
#30

Again, the episode is impressive in how much content it can pack in one episode. The mix between action in the present and character development in the past is also a potent one.

That was an interesting end to the sniper duel. Oogata used the double bluff, but he needed patience and a lot of snow to get the shot in the end. He did respect his Russian opponent Vasili enough to ensure he would only shoot if given a clean opportunity, although it took him almost the entire day to finish the job.

First it was Kiroranke, now it's Oogata's past in the spotlight. I was half-right when I thought Kiroranke did the job on Alexander II, it was really a two-man show with the actual perpetrator being a complete surprise. Kiroranke's background is also unusual: half-Tatar and half-Ainu. Probably a combination that won't ever be seen today no matter how globalised the world is.

As for Oogata, viewers already knew he killed his father on Tsurumi's orders. Did he kill his younger half-brother as well in contravention of those same orders? It took the delirium of fever to remind him of this incident, but from what viewers have seen of Oogata to date he's become too used to killing so any guilt he might be experiencing for fratricide will probably not linger now that the fever has passed. On the plus side, the senior Ainu shot last week is still alive, which is something I'm not sure can be said of Vasili himself.

The reindeer bone method to tell fortunes is a charming coincidence with the oracle bones used in the Shang dynasty in China. Then again, divination by bone is not unique to one part of the world and has a surprising number of advocates throughout human civilization. The initial reading was surprisingly accurate; after all Sugimoto and the others are after Asirpa. But the later change of fate (blame Shiraishi?) signals more trouble ahead for Asirpa's group.
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