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「再会の街」 (Saikai no Machi)
“Town of Reunions”
First off, I would like to apologize for the incredibly late premiere review. I was travelling around Okinawa this past week and couldn’t get to it in time, much as I wanted to. “Better late than never”, I suppose.
As is the wont for Golden Kamuy, we jump in full steam ahead (cold open, no OP/ED, even), and it seems like everyone is hands on deck in this premiere. We didn’t have so much as a recap, but honestly, I don’t think one was needed. Just by seeing each of the crazy characters, I could immediately remember what and where they were involved with. I’m someone who normally has difficulty remembering faces and details, especially if there’s been a long gap between seasons, as there has been with GK. However, as soon as I saw each face, I was immediately like “Ohhhh, such and such character!”, which I think that’s a testament to Noda’s ability to write and draw these characters.
For as cold a place as Sapporo is, it sure is one hell of a hot spot, everyone converging on the city. First off, we have one half of the gang, comprised of an odd coupling between Shiraishi (Itou Kentarou), Sugimoto (Kobayashi Chikahiro), Asirpa (Shiraishi Haruka), Hijikata Toshizo (Nakata Jouji), Ushiyama Tatsuuma (Nomura Kenji), and others in pursuit of the Jack the Ripper copycat who’s making the rounds. Tonight’s their last night to catch him, which they’re desperately trying to do, with the assistance of the detective who figures out the killer’s plan. But not before getting beat to a pulp by said killer- oh the irony. You do gotta give the sleuth points for determination though.
It’s not an entirely original plan- following the exact footsteps of Jack the Ripper, but just overlaid onto a map of Sapporo, but that makes it easier for our crew. The murderer is clearly a crazy Jack the Ripper otaku. This is probably the closest thing to a fan pilgrimage he can make, since the means to travel were more limited back then. Also, given that this is Noda writing, who can turn anything and everything into an opportunity to up the whacky. Plus, that he’s in Tsurumi’s Troup 7, that probably gives all the explanation one needs- it’s kind of a given the kind of fellows that join that division.
While the murder investigation is going on, Hijikata is hellbent on winning Asirpa to his side, trying to get her to lead an Ainu revolution. His vision for the future- turn it into the Ezo republic for mining and bringing in foreigners to work it. He proposes Asirpa lead it because with both the Ainus history of co-existing with the Russians and Polish, and Asirpa’s own father having been Polish, she’s perfectly suited to merge together different nationalities.
While on the surface it sounds like he’s pro-Ainu, I’m kind of suspicious of Hijikata, and I do worry about Asirpa joining up with him. What’s in it for Hijikata? And to whom will the money from the mining go to? To the Ainu or will the Ainu be exploited? And what will happen to the Ainu’s sacred land- will that be left untouched, or will it be tapped into for the sake of mining?
Questions aside, it’s not exactly smooth sailing to even get the gold. Asirpa knows the code, but some of the skins put a spanner in the works, defying the code that had been working up until then. To further complicate things, Tsurumi made fakes that were mixed in with the skins Hijikata stole from him. Hijikata knows there are fakes, but is there the possibility some were genuine or that some that were believed to be genuine, actually fakes? Or is something amiss with Asirpa’s code? I started to sweat when Hijikata demanded to know if Asirpa really knew the code. If it turns out to be wrong or Asirpa comes to believe she can’t decode it and he finds out, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hijikata tried to get rid of her for knowing too much. She does have Sugimoto as her guard dog, but Hijikata has already shown once that he can separate the two.
Something that really stood out to me was the contrast between the tiny Asirpa and all these big, muscly dudes. While Asirpa may not have the physical abilities the others do, she has a resolve of steel- facing them head on without so much as flinching. Her spirit is every bit as strong as theirs, and that leaves an impression. She says she wants to lead her people and I 100% believe she will do it, provided Tsurumi doesn’t fuck things up.
Another important ally is Ipopte, the soldier whose father was supposedly killed by Asirpa’s father, Wilk, although they were both on the same side. I am interested to see the role he plays in all this going forward- Ipopte and Asirpa both share a bond with their fathers. However, I seem to vaguely remember another backstory going on with him, something with Tsurumi- I can’t quite recall if he was a double agent or if he defected.
Then, the killer candy man, Ueji Keiji comes strolling into the middle of this storm, rhapsodizing on how much he loves to kill children and disappointed people. (The part about his disappointed father made me laugh out loud). He almost claims another victim, but not before he’s stopped by Ushiyama, which takes a hilarious turn when Ueji distracts him with a classic “look over there” line involving big tittied ladies- it cracks me up how well the characters know each other’s quirks and use that. Then things turn into a big brawl and not even the pirate, Oosawa Fusataro (Seki Tomokazu), can stop Ushiyama on his rampage.
If that weren’t enough, Ogata (Tsuda Kenjirou) sneaks into the fray, much to Mr. Hood’s ecstasy, sending him on a frantic search for his “wildcat”. All’s fair in love and war, and everyone gets buddy buddy over a drinking party that is strangely reminiscent of a middle school trip that gets a little rowdy and the teacher has to give a “lights out” reminder. We might even get a pillow fight to boot!
And that was only the first 23 minutes of the season. Anything and everything’s possible when it comes to GK, and watching the premiere reminded me of how much I missed having it on air. It’s bittersweet, because this is also the final season. I really don’t want to see it go- there’s nothing else that I can compare it to and thus nothing else to fill that hole. I will enjoy what we have left and am looking forward to seeing how Noda-sensei closes out this epic journey.
End Card
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