Golden Kamuy Final Season

Episode 59

I love that Golden Kamuy knows itself well enough to be able to have its cake and eat it too. The reveal that the Ainu elders traded the gold, driving the series' central plot for a deed that acknowledges their ownership of their ancestral land in Hokkaido, fits the anime's core themes of heritage and respect for indigenous cultures. It makes more sense for the ultimate treasure of this work to be the land and culture that informs it, rather than the gold that has only motivated violence and avarice throughout this story.

However, the manga's author, Satoru Noda, knows that Golden Kamuy is first and foremost a spaghetti western and that it would be wildly disappointing to have this golden goal pulled away at the last possible second. So this episode of Golden Kamuy gives us both! Not only will Sugimoto, Asirpa, Shiraishi, and company walk away with binding legal authority that ensures the Ainu's right to exist if they survive Lt. Tsurumi's impending assault, they'll also all be filthy stinkin' rich! That is nothing short of the best possible end state I could have hoped for in this historically, politically, and socially informed adventure story; and the fact that Golden Kamuy can pull this off seamlessly and organically is why it's one of the best written pieces of media I've ever experienced.

All that being said, this episode is a series of highs and lows. While the narrative payoff is more than enough to make up for the shortcomings, the animation is noticeably threadbare in spots, likely due to the resources going towards the upcoming final battle. While I appreciate the historical connections that this episode lays out with Toshizou Hijikata's real life and the short-lived Republic of Ezo, this episode does far more telling than showing. Especially with the end of the franchise looming, I would have appreciated it if more time had been dedicated to more fun character interactions or information that resonated more with the characters instead of largely educating the audience.

But, to hedge the other way one last time, it feels exhilarating to see these lovable idiots finally get the gold!!! They're so close to getting everything they ever wanted, and the only thing that stands in their way is a master manipulator who's dedicated his life to revenge, the most elite division of the Japanese Army, and four battleships. It's not going to be easy, but after this episode, I'm rooting for these beautiful, broken people harder than ever and hope to celebrate their triumph in the episodes to come.

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.