I’m particularly worried about the pacing of Golden Kamuy, which is as messy as it gets. The pacing has no problem speed through the action chases to the ridiculous level, then slow down several notches for more cooking in the wilderness, Asirpa’s crazy face and Sugimoto surprisingly uninjured face after got skewered. We get to see more of the madness (awesomely madness) side the duo’s foes, from Captain Tsurumi with his melted brain and manages to run straight after got kicked out by the horse and rolled several metres or Hijikata who is just happy to chop people’s heads, enjoying the snowy wind and preparing to shake things up to die… and now we even have a small team of hunters who isn’t after the gold but to hunt the last Japanese white wolf on Earth. I’m not so sure about the last gang and how it’s relevant to the main plot, but my main gripe so far of Golden Kamuy besides the pacing is the side characters. The twin, as expected, is pure cold-blooded bastard. The guy with the hammer forehead has no real deep or role except whenever he spells out Hijikata’s plans and motives.
The main chemistry between Sugimoto and Asirpa remains strong, despite the fact that they act mostly like a lover’s quarrel this week. Last episode, we know that Sugimoto left her behind because he cares about her well-being, and this week, we got an answer from Asirpa’s point of view. Screw it. She’s taking the role knowing full well about its risk, and the one who acts up and screws up is Sugimoto himself. It’s as strong a response as you can get, and I don’t mind the new member of our crew – the Escape King who so far is portraited as a comic relief. I would rather have him as a laid-back guy who lighten the mood than having eating sequences that for me just feel so out of place. We also get to see more about Hijikata and his gang, and the only thing we learn so far is that he isn’t the one to be messed with (and he’s both master of sword and gun huh?). Well, despite it’s a plot-heavy episode the whole content lacking in actual engagement, as it serves more of building up the gangs into the great battles. At least after this episode I can safely say that all the players are in place, so the next moves are going to be vital.
