English Dub Review: Golden Kamuy “Wenkamuy”

Man vs. Bear.

Overview:

Sugimoto, a veteran from the Sino-Japanese War, stumbles across a secret map for a mass of Ainu gold.

Our Take:

The backdrop of Golden Kamuy is one that’s rarely touched upon, the aftermath of the Sino-Japanese war. Sugimoto is a veteran of wartime, who now lives a regular life panning for gold. His great accomplishments were tainted by military disobedience, so he has become just like everyone else- or so we think. Sugimoto, in reality, hasn’t lost any of his battle prowess and is waiting for his chance.

The hunt of the Ainu gold is a cruel one, with cruel origins and an even crueler execution. The tattoos on the bodies of the criminals are only acquired by skinning all of them and putting them together. Either way, the criminals will likely all end up dead, and the hunt for the gold will be a ruthless one. It’s an unfathomable amount, especially considering the adjustment for inflation back then, so whoever ends up getting it can easily build or establish an easy life.

Sugimoto isn’t all blood. He does genuinely want to help his deceased friend’s wife as part of their battlefield agreement and is even panning for gold at the start to pull that off. He will do whatever it takes, and the gold for him is just a means to an end. However, since the gold hunt is the easiest way to strike it rich, he’s willing to go to violent lengths to secure it for him. However, his partnership with Asirpa seems to be based on mutual agreement and, perhaps one day, respect. The two of them seem very complimentary.

A Wenkamuy is a creature that has consumed human flesh and has gotten a taste for it. Since that’s what it knows, it will forever keep killing and go after humans. As Sugimoto says, once it realizes that humans are not as terrifying as it initially thought, killing people is easy. While the bear has become a Wenkamuy, the other Wenkamuy is Sugimoto himself. Sugimoto is a hardened soldier who has defied death’s odds over and over again. His catchphrase is declaring that he’s immortal and daring the person coming after him to try killing him. The flashback of him on the battlefield is naturally filled with brutality and violence as he fights for his life but is more distinct in the fact that he survives. By accumulating violence and becoming familiar with death, Sugimoto becomes in essence, a wenkamuy himself. His partnership with Asirpa at the end of the episode trades her knowledge of the wild and Ainu culture with his prowess for violence.

It’s a strong start, some animation choices aside. I’ve been looking forward to this title for a while, so I’m here for the ride.