Golden Kamuy Episode 5 Review: Race

In this episode of Golden Kamuy, Sugimoto gets to be yelled at. And that’s pretty much it.

Japanese Title: 駆ける

Plot

After his capture by the 7th division bad-ass soldiers, Immortal Sugimoto finds himself badly beaten up by the creepy twins and his cheeks pierced with food sticks. Azirpa recruits the magical-escape man to help Sugimoto escape, and they arrive just in time to help him kill the guy that was about to stab him to death. Sugimoto steals the guy’s guts and pretends they’re his own, then while the 7th division rushes him to the hospital in a sled, he kills everyone and escapes. A couple of horses die in the process.

The escape-guy agrees with Azirpa to take her share of the treasure in exchange for his help. They all decide to camp together in the forest and eat some horse soup. Azirpa tastes miso and changes her opinion on it. She is now okay with eating what she referred to as poop.

In the meantime, the old guy with the long hair (Hijikata Toshizō) that was looking for the scary big guy with the square on his head, meets with his super old friend Nagakura Shinpachi to plan on finding the hidden treasure and get Ezo its independence and form a new Shogunate. Kewl.

Episode Highlights

Dislocated joints: I have taken anatomy courses and I’ve seen my fair share of weird body mutations, but damn, joint dislocations, as well as double-jointed people, still freak me out. I did, however, laugh quite a bit watching Shiraishi cover himself in bear fat and slip through those window bars.

Less gore than expected: I mean, yeah, stealing someone’s gut is pretty horrible, but I was expecting that shot to be a lot more dramatic. You know, like when you turn a page in a Junji Ito manga and you see the most horrible thing imaginable, that sort of imagery. But maybe I’ve been reading too much Junji Ito lately.

Take the sticks out for god’s sakes: I know that he was too busy killing people and making an overly dramatic escape (how did Tsurumi catch up with him so fast?) but couldn’t he spare 3 seconds to remove those awful sticks from his cheeks? Why did I have to see that for so long?!

More food: I’m starting to believe that Golden Kamuy is about Hokkaido cuisine as much as it is about anything else. It can’t be a random choice the extent to which the characters talk about food in every single episode.

Themes and Trivia

Kinbaku: Did you check how sophisticated the way Sugimoto was tied up was? In Japan, bondage is considered a form of art… sort of. Kinbaku, ‘tight binding,’ or Kinbaku-bi,’the beauty of tight binding’ is a Japanese style of bondage or BDSM which involves tying a person up using simple yet visually intricate patterns, usually with several pieces of thin rope.

Hijikata Toshizō: An actual historical figure, Hijikata was the Japanese Vice-Commander of Shinsengumi, a great swordsman and a talented military leader who resisted the Meiji Restoration.

Nagakura Shinpachi: Also a real person, he was the captain of the 2nd troop of the Shinsengumi.

Ezo: The old name for Hokkaido.

Sukiyaki: A Japanese dish that is prepared and served in a Japanese hot pot. It consists of meat which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. The ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs after being cooked in the pot, and then eaten. It is a winter dish and it is commonly found at Japanese New Year parties.

Back to the point please, maybe?

Don’t forget! You are supposed to get those tattooed people and find the treasure, remember? Stop eating and get to work!

What did you think of the Golden Kamuy’s second episode? Let us know in the comment section! And don’t forget to check the rest of the Spring 2018 anime reviews on MANGA.TOKYO!