Golden Kamuy Final Season

Episode 54

It is so rare to have a sprawling work of fiction like Golden Kamuy absolutely nail the “big reveal” or “connecting all the loose ends of the plot” moment in its narrative that I can't help but fawn over this episode as much as the ones prior even if it's decidedly less action packed and more economical with its visuals. The fifth episode of Golden Kamuy's fifth season finally sheds some light on longstanding mysteries and character motivations for both the audience and the characters. Having captured both Asirpa and Sofia, Lieutenant Tsurumi reveals his connection to Asirpa's father, Wilk; the origins of the Ainu gold, which motivate much of the plot; and hints at the emotions driving his many machinations throughout the show.

Beyond the soft confirmation that the needless death of his wife and infant daughter is at least partially spurring Tsurumi's slavish devotion to finding the gold Wilk hid and snuffing out his plans to protect the Ainu people, we also learn why and how Kiroranke and Wilk had their falling out. After Asirpa's birth, Wilk understandably became far more focused on creating a community where his family could be safe, rather than solely fighting for indigenous liberation from a place of ideological purity. This shifts his priorities from freeing indigenous peoples everywhere to creating their own nation in Hokkaido, which Kiroranke rightfully points out will not achieve their original goals, as Hokkaido is not hospitable to the customs of all tribes.

This kind of schism, forming between close friends who are now in wildly different places in their lives, feels not only believable but also deeply human. This falling out between Wilk and Kiroranke also feels especially tragic, as we know from history and broader social trends that both of their goals are unattainable. Kiroranke's plan would doom the Ainu to a forever guerrilla war against various governments. With this plan, and Wilk's idea of creating a nation-state from groups of people fundamentally opposed to the kind of governance a community of that size would require, are dubious at best. Most importantly, though, Golden Kamuy understands that these two well-meaning people were destined to fail, and makes this drama interesting by grounding it in their likable identities and relationship.

Tsurumi isn't just monologuing this information at Asirpa and Sofia either, and we also see Koito and Tsukishima react to this new information, or Tsurumi's seemingly honest perspective on things they already knew. This is particularly interesting as these two young men have been slipping out from under Tsurumi's thumb for a while now, and what he says while getting all the emotional and material fulfillment he's ever wanted may cost him his two best allies. Seeing the way Tsurumi has rallied disenfranchised young men to his cause throughout the show has been nothing short of scary, especially with how common radicalization feels in today's political climate, and I desperately want to see Koito and Tsukishima finally catch on to his grift.

Even if this is one of the less violent and more grounded, tonally and visually, episodes of this season of Golden Kamuy, it was still a delight and masterfully written. Just as things were getting a little too tense or lore-heavy, the show would wisely cut away to a great gag, like Shiraishi and Sugimoto driving a novelty beer car way too slowly or getting ejected from it while a slide whistle sound effect played. This was a surprisingly successful exercise in moderation from a show that usually goes big, and I couldn't be more excited to see what it's building to in the next episode!

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The immortal Lucas DeRuyter (no one's been able to kill him yet, at least!) is an entertainment writer with a focus on anime, video games, and other forms of niche media. A sampling of his past work is available on his portfolio and you can keep up with him on a weekly or daily basis by checking out ANN's This Week in Anime and his Bluesky account, respectively.

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Golden Kamuy Final Season is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.