Golden Kamuy Final Season

Episode 57

It really speaks to the writing of mangaka Satoru Noda and the team at Brains Base that this episode of Golden Kamuy can radically shift the story to one of a much smaller scale and have it be one of the most fun outings of this season. This flashback to before Sugimoto joined the Japanese Army is not only one last opportunity to revel in some low-stakes character moments before the final arc kicks off, but also explores Sugimoto's apparent relationship with Mokutarou Kikuta and further embellishes the interconnected social web that's quietly been the engine of Golden Kamuy since its inception. In my ideal world, we'd get little side-stories like this one featuring the cast of Golden Kamuy every few years until the heat death of the universe, but I am so glad that we at least get this little romp with this cast of lovable eccentrics before the narrative's homestretch.

In this episode of Golden Kamuy, a young Sugimoto is recruited by Kikuta into a scheme to protect Yuusaku Hanazawa's, Ogata's half-brother's, virginity, as losing it would disbar him from serving as a flag bearer in the Army due to social conventions that require a person in the role to be a virgin. Yuusaku is only in danger of losing his virginity because his mother set him up on dates with a thirsty rich girl, Kaeko Kaneko. After all, she doesn't want her son to fill a position in the army with such a high mortality rate. Throw in Lt. Tsurumi and company trying to get leverage on high-ranking military officers and Sugimoto being a well-meaning wild card, and it becomes very obvious very quickly that Kikuta's plan is going to blow up spectacularly.

This comical, but important to the people in it, situation is a microcosm of why I love the writing in Golden Kamuy so much. While it's grounded in still relatable social tensions and motivations, it feels grounded in the norms of this specific time and place, while also giving these well-defined characters plenty of room to bounce off each other. It's a fun situation, but also quietly says a lot about restrictive social conventions and the people trapped within.

And, BOY, does this episode have fun! From the opening sequence of Sugimoto humming “Singin in the Rain” to him transforming from a wild dogman to a little puppy the second Kikuta gives him food, to Kaeko's over-the-top (but understandable) lusting for Sugimoto, this might be the most an anime episode will make me giggle all year. This episode is also filled with small tidbits of information that super fans will care about, like the independent confirmation that Tsukishima's lover Chiyo is alive and happily married, further establishing how Lt. Tsurumi has been using her life to manipulate Tsukishima.

Simply put, this episode is a distillation of everything I love about Golden Kamuy, and I'm so glad we get to see these lovable idiots partake in some low-stakes, but meaningful, misadventures, before the finale draws near!

Rating:

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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.