Golden Kamuy Final Season

Episode 58

This episode of Golden Kamuy simultaneously contains everything I love about the show, and makes me deeply skeptical about this anime's capacity to stick the landing on its sprawling, epic story. While I adore how Sugimoto's flashback resolved, the rest of the episode sprints through what's supposed to be one of the biggest revelations of the series and the setup to the show's ultimate conflict. I'm sure there's a way that Golden Kamuy could fit the rest of its story into the three or four episodes that remain, but I don't think some of the most affecting material in the franchise will have much room to breathe, and that bums me out.

Episode nine of Golden Kamuy's fifth season kicks off right where the previous ended, and Sugimoto is getting into a bare-ass brawl with Lieutenant Tsurumi and company. Sugimoto can escape with Kaeko Kaneko once Tsurumi realizes that he's not Ogata's half-brother, Yuusaku, and therefore determines that Kikuta's machinations aren't getting in the way of his own, broader schemes. Beyond this naked brawl being some of the most outlandish (and completely deserved) fan service we've seen yet for Sugimoto, the stoic Ogata's silent laughter at his golden boy half apparently being a naked idiot was a great character moment for anime's best problem child.

Kaeko getting her own little character arc and afterstory note is also a great touch, and further proof that Golden Kamuy has some of the best character writing in the game! A lesser story would have had someone in her position be a one note, horny, gag character; but Golden Kamuy gives her both external and internal motivation — her family's expectation for her to marry rich and her jealousy at other women her age who have already settled down — and an interesting resolution in her lead her parent's estate and support other women in the process. While the events of this flashback are as dialed up to eleven as the rest of Golden Kamuy, the events and characters feel deeply relatable and human, and this barely related side story feels like a fun-sized version of everything I love about this manga and anime.

Back in real time, we learn that the gold is hidden in the star-shaped Fort Goryokaku, which feels like it should be a bigger deal than what the anime makes of it, and definitely hits harder in the manga, with this revelation coming right at the end of a chapter. The gold being hidden here ties into the real-life history of Toshizou Hijikata in a cool way that the anime makes clear, but the back half of the episode nearly feels like a montage to get everyone in place for the finale. Maybe it's just that I don't want Golden Kamuy to ever end, but I wanted more from an episode that feels somewhat like a conclusion to the series' longest enduring mystery.

But, for every valid criticism I have of this episode, whenever I think of Ogata pouting when he learns that the flailing, naked Sugimoto is not his brother, my fondness for this episode returns and grows.

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.