#Gk shirashi

[trickstermelon]

GK doodles

[devoti]

THIS GAY SCENE OGATA LEMME SEE THAT CHEST HAIR BABYGIRL

[celiascarlet]

you look me in the eye and tell me they wouldnt go to barbie

[piduai]

Some screenshots from gk just make me pinch my noise. I don’t want shirashi butthole stank through the screen.

you're just jealous of his peanut butter swag

[championofravens]

Shirashi isnt disgusted at being checked out by another man

Sugimoto has no issue calling them lovers

The si- gay rep in gk post cancelled holy shit

No judgement, no jokes, just Sugimoto and Co being petty observers to The Drama

[miyukisluv]

i feel like this is their dynamic in a nutshell

[spoonzadelic]

Shiraishi can have a little gay lover... as a treat

[papers4me]

Golden Kamuy has ended! T__T. did you like the ending? I felt weird, to be honest.

Hi anon! Yes, GK manga ended.

I loved all the final chapters in the final arc except the last one! I'm kinda underwhelmed by how desperate the last chapter was trying to wrap things in a " happily ever after" feel. I mean I've always knew that despite the tragic stories of every convict, 7th division guy, & the protagonists, the story will end in a hopeful note cuz of the " future" theme. But it was done kinda poorly imo, all respect to Noda regardless.

Here's What I liked in the final two chapters:

Yumeko: loved her so much! sometimes very minor characters steal the entire ending!!!! She started her story being in love with sugi, it was a teenager/childhood romantic love, she even begged sugi to take her with him. but when he refused, she didn't abandon her life for him. She married toragi, not cuz sugi said so, but really toragi was everything sugi wasn't! Yes, he wasn't handsome. but he was mature, responsible & never ran away from his issues. Even in his wedding night, he faced sugi with how he felt upon seeing him back & faced umeko with how inferior he felt that her former lover is back. Umkeo calmly assured him that she'll choose him over sugi even if sugi would kidnap her. She chose to love her husband & build a loving marriage. After toragi's death, she wasn't a damsel in distress waiting for sugi to man up & come or cure her eyes or whatever. She moved on. She accepted a widower's proposal & chose wisely. It's obvious that the new husband loved her as he paid for her eyes surgery & funded her own small business that suits her. Upon seeing sugi again, after many years, she didn't recall the years of lost childhood nor did it ignite her teenage love. She was gladly surprised but sugi has become a stranger to her. a kind person from the far past. I really love her. Hands down the strongest character without holding a sword, or facing villains, or being in a death train. Being mature & moving on is the hardest theme in GK that tons of hard men failed at! & Umeko did it with few panels.

Tsurumi: I loved everything abt his journey & ending! Noda did wonders in compacting Tsurumi's entire emotions in one single silent panel! PERFECT! Tsurumi's face upon seeing his wife & daughter's bones gone forever & upon realizing he did NOT choose them at the end. This silent Panel was Noda's best writing hands down in the entire series. It goes to show that you dont need pages of monologue or exposition or tons of panels to convey a character's inner feeling. Tsurumi lived & died not accepting his role in his wife & daughter's death. He lived & died blaming wilk. His grief & guilt were so overwhelming for him. Best thing is that his greed & lust for power was exposed too, in the same panel! He was not given any salvation till the end & he chose his own journey.

Ogata: I talked before in depth abt my opinion of Ogata's story & death. Great writing & loved it all.

Shirashi: him running after sugi & asirpa was beautiful, him stealing the gold was so awesome! Why would the gold be buried forever? if no body wants it, Shirashi can take it. lol!

. Sugimoto taking his share from the gold before leaving the well. Awesome! Sugo contributed in finding the gold. He is one of the original pursuer to even convince Asirpa to start hunting it. It was a deal between two ppl with contract, shares & equal partnership. Asirpa can decide to disown her share or hate the gold or call it satan or whatever, that's her part. She has no right to deny sugi his share which she agreed upon initailly. Sugi only took his share nothing more.

Sugi throwing his share at tsurumi & leaving Toragi/ Uneko's share untouched in his pockets was awesome! he has a right to abandon his share but he made a promise to toragi & he'll try ro keep it even in the supposed death.

Koito's growth was well written!

I'm fine wit the Ainu issue not fixed or the central not exposed, it was never the purpose of the story. As I keep saying GK is a story abt ppl's journeys & choices. The ethnic minority, gold hunt, central are plot tools to create struggles for the characters.

.---What I didn't like:

1. (sugimoto's & the protagonist curse):

Wrapping up the protagonist internal issues was done weakly, imo. unforgettably, Noda wasnt better than most Manga or story writers in this regard. it's so common for writers to perfectly wrap the side characters struggles but leave the protag till the last moment & gush everything in weird exposition or an over the top climax. Protags carry the story's themes, GK is Sugi's story, but authors think that if they present the protag issues or start wrapping them up before the finale, the readers will NOT read the last chapter.... Why?? do they think that ppl ONLY follow the protag?? why the over the top climax to milk the readers feelings for the ptotag one more time? it really cheapens the story...

A lot of authors do that.. Even AOT's isyama did that cheap protag's struggle milking till even after the character's death... In GK, Noda wanted us to fear for sugi's life & went to great lengths to ensure his supposed death even to the point of pinning sugi with a freaken sword to a metal train's drowning body! wth! I never once thought sugi will die from the beginning of the manga. not even for a split second. Not cuz he's the protag, but his death would go against tons of GK themes. So I was worried reading how noda kept making it harder & harder for sugi to be alive becuz I knew that the only one in trouble is Noda himself! How would he fix that cuz sugi is 100% surviving, only to be met with the final chapter jumping that altogether....TIME SKIP fix everything you guys... wow. one of the most underwhelming scenes that I've come across recently. lol. Sugi will be saved off screen cuz sugi is immortal. meh~

2. Sugimoto emotionally & psychologically completely healed in the time skip. simply because we must be caught up with sugi's face down with tsurumi till the end, if sugi's issues were dealt with earlier then the over the top climax wouldn't be so over the top. Sugi accepted his past, his sins, & is ready for the future in the 6 months off screen healing process. He comes to meet umeko with content, tells asirpa that his homewon isnt his home anymore, but it was whever he eats food with her. One silent panel can explain everything about a character. but 3 pages of exposition can do nothing if it didnt feel earned.

Unlike Umeko, sugi is the protagwho we followed his story, One of Sugi's issues were that he was good for nothing, makes a huge deal from nothing ( Umeko was happily married with healed eyes, while he was hunting for gold & hating himself). how things would be different if sugi learnt to face his issues! that's his journey. Sugi learning to accept himself, that's what we MUST see. it's not abt romantic love with Umeko or asirpa. nor comfort food. He convinced himself he has a seat in hell the last time we saw him in the train, time skip! he chose a peaceful food filled future with asirpa.. bummer..

Sugi & asirpa ending up together is 50% expected. even if sugi didnt show any romantic feeling during the whole story. I'm thankful to Noda for not making sugi fall in love with what Noda described as 12-13 years old child during the manga! From sugi's side, she was a precious partner in a journey, the 3 years time skip wasnt ambiguous at all in telling their future. Asrpa is growing to be an adult woman & is spending all her time with him & we know she's head over heels in love with him. in the 3 years time skip & beyond, sugi can fall in love with her if he sees her as a woman, which he will, because the theme is happily future & new type of partnership. within the story, they renewed their partnership twice & each time with new equal perspective. in the implied future, they'll do their 3rd partnership renewal with new equal terms as wife & husband. I have no issues with all that. I'm not a shipper of anything except good writing! XD, but I really wished that sugi parted ways with asrpa when they were in his hometown to learn to heal & find himself & then 3 years time skip, he comes back to her!!!! better? at least it gives depth to him even if it's off screen, it will imply, he is working on himself, bot tada~~~~ perfectly healed & happy!

2. Tsukushima:Oh boy, this is a hard one cuz I LOVE tsukushima! but he was spared any kind of punishment, didnt regret anything, didnt grow, didn't even let go of tsurumi, didnt reap what he sow, he just escaped everything. He was one of the best written characters until the finale......

3. Ushiyama's death was so unnecessary. Perhaps Noda killed him cuz it's convenient? he was one of those characters with one path. He's been the same since his first appearance & the story has too many strong characters? cutting him from the scene makes the finale harsher? I duno. It did nothing story-wise. Asirpa would have shot Ogata regardless of Ushiyama's death, cuz she swore to protec sugi if he'd face death. so, again, why?

do i still love gk? YES! Do I think it's well-written? YES. I'm not a fan of the simple fan servicey feel of it, it has major writing issues in my perspective, but I LOVE gk.

To me, Noda delivered weak ending, not horrible ending! Thank you nOda for the great time I spent reading GK! respect !

[theepisceswriter]

i just love how expressive the main three are in gk then there are characters like ogatas bitchass (endearing) who’re like 😐😑😐

also my favorite bits of unnecessary canon information that came from sir noda himself is that: shirashi has the best ass of the entire gk cast n sugi is always a lil bit sweaty, just a little bit

Now why Noda just handing out that Shirashi is submissive and breedable and needs to be pegged the most??? He knew what he was doing by releasing that

[chibivesicle]

Golden Kamuy chapter 185; how to cram in as much as possible in single chapter.  Uh, thanks Noda-sensei. . . .

It is here, the translation for gk chap 185 is up on mangadex and everyone is a twitter about it.  So time to tackle the chapter and what all is happening.

My co-dependent rescue cat is sitting next to me, so let’s do this!  I am going to focus on three major things happening in this chapter;

1.) Ogata and Asirpa

2.) Tsukishima and Svetlana

3.) Sugimoto and Koito

I’ll start off the easiest parts to tackle; Sugimoto and Koito.

It looks Koito is going to shine in a combat situation with one of the escaped convicts here.

The Russian convict has ordered him to throw down all of his things as he approaches Koito from behind.  It appears he’s making a move to pull out his sabre and strike by time he has turned to face the man.  I practiced iaido many moons ago and we know he is skilled in the sword arts so this is just a very basic but effective move to do.  He’s removed his mitten and will be yielding his sabre with his gloves.  I predict Koito’s gonna kick some Russian convict bum. 

Another thing to note is that he’s got what my friends would refer to as either “idiot mittens” or “kids mittens” b/c the mittens are physically attached to a string which likely either attaches to his jacket sleeve or all the way through the jacket to the other mitten through the coat.    I like this detail b/c it is both cute and I have lived most of my life in northern places so this is a very banal yet accurate touch.  Noda really shows his Hokkaido background there!  As a desert dwelling northerner I really appreciate the detail!

Ok onto Sugimoto.

As soon as Sugimoto is reunited with Shirashi he immediately asks where Asirpa is after violently shaking the poor guy.  This shows that Shirashi has held up his promise to Sugimoto to make sure to stick with her when he has not been able to.  Sugimoto is sweating before Shirashi can even answer and when he does he states that he’s with Kiro and Ogata, but oddly doesn’t even mention Sofia.  He conveys what Ogata reported to them.  Interestingly, Sugimoto starts with Ogata shot me and then shot Wilk and emphasizes that Kiro was Ogata’s accomplice. 

These statements show Sugimoto’s inherent dislike/distrust of Ogata.  He makes it sound like he was shot first on and Wilk as well.  He knows that Inkarmat told everyone that Kiro signalled to someone elsewhere before the shots happened.  That means Kiro was making the ultimate call on what would happen - Ogata was too far away to confirm Wilk’s identity - Kiro had to ask Asirpa who was close to him before making the decision to shoot Wilk. 

Everything about the current events show that Kiro is the leader - Ogata can’t speak any of the native people’s language, and as the events have unfolded it is clear that he’s not sharing his plan with Ogata - b/c he’s the leader in their group and Ogata is his assistant.  I think deep down Kiro still loved Wilk as a friend so it isn’t as if he could have shot him, but instead he looked for someone else who could - oh here’s Ogata and he knows that he has to have some father issues even without knowing the full details.

Anyways, this is setting up an interesting showdown since it is quite clear that Sugimoto is working on his full emotions and not reading the situation to realize that the bigger threat isn’t Ogata but Kiro.  He likely wants revenge for shooting him and almost killing him but he did the exact same thing to Ogata so they are technically even as far as their interactions.  But Sugimoto is in part masking or not realizing it is revenge b/c he’s using saving Asirpa as his reason to hurt Ogata and Kiro.  He used saving Asirpa as the reason to kill all of the convicts in the silent kotan arc.  Who pointed this out to Asirpa?  Ogata.

Next is Tsukishima and Svetlana

Finally after all of these chapters we’ve found Svetlana!  Not surprisingly, Tsukishima is interacting with her.  He’s the only party member who can speak Russian and he seemed most emotionally impacted by her parents story in the lighthouse.

Tanigaki is leading Koito and Tsukishima following Sugimoto’s trail.  I guess Tanigaki is so engrossed in tracking Sugimoto, it takes Tsukishima glancing to the side to spot Svetlana.  Where are his full matagi skills?  Tsukishima not only yells that someone is there to them but by time he stops to recognize her, he has to yell for Tanigaki and Koito to wait (which they clearly do not do) and he turns away from her telling himself that he doesn’t have the time to talk to her.  Are they ignoring his commands or unable to hear?  The entire time he’s talking to her, they keep walking away.

You can see how he’s sweating so hard trying to come to a decision and he finally dives in to confirm her identity.  He has chosen to help her vs continue on with Koito and Tanigaki.  She confirms who she is and he tells her about her parents.  She tells him she wants to leave Karafuto/Sakhalin and she didn’t care how she got out.

His face is then shaded, as he likely understands exactly how she feels as he was also trapped on Sado island.  He pulls her up and tells her to head to the dogsled and to wait for him there.  He boldly tells her that she’s going home.

She then protests that she wants to go to the city and wants to see St. Petersburg which if she made it to the mainland she maybe could reach it.

This is so well done as the next page is his reaction!  Tsukishima is incredibly upset as he can’t believe she doesn’t want to tell her parents that she’s okay.

How they feel waiting for her - he knows exactly what that feels like as his fiancee was waiting for him and she was told that he died and at the same time when he returned home he was frantically searching for her.  His emotions are so raw and real but he’s speaking how he feels - that he’s connected with both her and her parents and can’t believe how much this is hurting them.  This is who Tsukishima is deep down, a man who cares deeply for others and for those he loved.  No repressed, deadpan Tsukishima - just raw Tsukishima.

When she’s finally able to speak, he learns that she committed a crime with the man she was with (it is unclear if she actually loved him or just saw him as an out) so she didn’t want her parents to actually know that she had been arrested.  She likely thought she was protecting her parents and their honor I guess or she was just so ashamed that she couldn’t face them and would prefer to disappear than admit the truth.  She’s in a tough spot and once she says this Tsukishima then realizes the situation is more complicated.  And who else got arrested?  Tsukishima.  I hope they have a great conversation.

I really like this interaction, we got to see a side of Tsukishima we’ve never seen but he never “lost” it; he was very upset but he’s going to calmly talk to her until what ever happens with the kerfuffle between Tanigaki & Koito and the escaped convicts.

Now on the the most complicated part but the most awaited - Ogata’s and Asirpa’s conversation.

Their conversation starts with Ogata’s back to the viewer and he tells her that she’s figured out the key to the code for the tattoos.  This is an excellent panel format as the page needs to be turned to get to the next panel.

Ogata then kneels down in front of Asirpa and pushes the edge of his hat back to that she can see his face as he’s kneeling down (you can see the hand motion lines to the left of his right hand).  The next panel has him below her after he asked her to tell him what the code is.

He then states that he just wants to get a fair amount of the gold and states that his needs are like Shirashi and Sugimoto who need some of the gold but not all of the gold.  In the panel where he tells her than he doesn’t need all the money and that having that money would result in him not having a quiet peaceful life.  He is explaining that who ever takes all the gold will only be caught in a future conflict over the gold and he doesn’t want that.  In the last panel his facial expression is so soft, he’s blushing and you can’t blush on command or when you are lying.  Blushing shows that he’s in part embarrassed but that he’s likely telling her his honest feelings.  Ogata isn’t good with his feelings or with expressing his feelings so his blushing makes sense.

He continues to explain that if she told him the code than she can leave this crazy fight to the death over the gold.  She can return to her life with Huci and Osoma and do what she wants to do, not do the things that Wilk wanted her to do or Kiro wanted her to do or even Sugimoto wants her to do.

Ogata is the first adult who is asking her for her permission to take on her burden and let her go back to being a kid.  He’s not insulting her, he’s not belittling her, he’s honestly asking her if it is okay for him to do what he wants to do and that it is okay for her to leave this situation.

Asirpa’s face is sweating the entire time while he’s talking about her life back him with Huci and her extended family.  This looks exactly like how she looked when Tanigaki found her after the swamp.  She tried to remain calm with what Tanigaki said but she’s sweating and she’s trying to keep a straight face.

Ogata is the only person in the party who admits the dream aspect to be is just a dream but does offer the advice that she should contact Huci through a letter.  This likely has to do with Ogata’s own soft spot and love for his grandma.  Even though he wonders about the concept of love due to his experience with his parents, it is clear that he loves/d his grandma since he thinks it is important to contact her.  Sugimoto finally jumps in to say that they could head back and help her feel better.  He tells her that she doesn’t have to be so stoic in regards to her feelings toward Huci.

But once Sugimoto says that is spurs Asirpa to want to be treated like an adult in the situation.  She needs to know if the man in prison is her father!  She states that this is for her own future but forgets about Huci’s feelings or her relationship with Huci in this instant to look more like an adult.

Sugimoto then states that it is well said and indicates that he’s fully behind supporting her decision.  But of course it is to Sugimoto’s benefit to support this course of action b/c he still needs to get some of the gold.  Even if he isn’t acting outright for it in this scene this is in the background - the gold for Umeko is still something that he has to achieve and even though he deeply love and cares about Asirpa, she’s his key to getting that gold.

Okay, back to their conversation. Ogata is still kneeling/squatting before Asirpa and explains that she is allowed to leave the fight for indigenous people’s rights to Kiro and Sofia and the she shouldn’t have to carry such a heavy burden that both Sugimoto and Ogata now know through various means that Wilk wants Asirpa to lead her people to independence.  Ogata knows how young Kiro was when he got involved with the partisans, he’s smart enough to know that she’s at the same impressionable age to get sucked in too.  Yes, Kiro assassinated the czar at the at of 15, but that implies he got involved at an even younger age when he’d be most impressionable.

He then says, “Please tell me, Asirpa.” and he’s still blushing when he says this.  The next panel has a grey shaded shot of Asirpa’s face and you can tell that now her eyes are shadows which means she’s likely thinking very seriously about things and also dealing with a lot of emotions underneath.  The arrangement of the two panels side by side shows the power dynamics in this situation, she’s above him, he’s kneeling below her, he’s blushing and she’s got a stone cold stoic expression.  It is almost like their normal expressions have been reversed or flipped.  We’ve seen Asirpa blush plenty of times in front of others while Ogata keeps a cool expression.  Like here when she does the crane dance.  Sugimoto is clueless but he knows exactly what happened.

She finally asks him what he’s saying is true, why ask her separate from Kiro?  There is a lot going on that statement - she’s asking him if his objective is true.  A valid point, but this does match what he has been saying from the start, he wants some of the gold, he just added in the part that she doesn’t need to be a part of the revolution or be a part of the gold hunt and just go back to being herself.  He still remains mysterious about his reasons for wanting some of the gold.  I still fall back on @goldenkamuyhunting‘s meta post about his mother’s geisha debt.  He likely needs to pay off that debt and then he’d need some money so that he can leave a quiet and peaceful life; since he stated if he had all the gold that would not be possible.  I’m going to read between those lines and interpret it to mean that he just wants to lay low, hang out with his rifle and move on. 

Now the second part is why he wanted to ask her away from Kiro - this means two things; 1.) she’s smart and figured out that Kiro is the one will determine what to do with the gold [not her] and it will have to do with independence for the indigenous peoples.  2.) she still has faith in Kiro and doesn’t think that her providing him with the code will have a negative impact on her e.g. she essentially joins the partisans by default by supplying the code and helping them to attain the gold.  if it is #1, then she is confirming what Ogata is saying and that he’s worried about her and wants her to choose her future and to leave the hunt for the gold. When Ogata was caught in his brother fever dream, Asirpa began to wonder if finding the gold was even worth it.  It shows that the actions and events around the gold had her questioning the reason for all of the death and destruction that it has brought so far.  If it is #2, then she is setting up a fight between Kiro and Ogata since she already bluntly asked Kiro if he killed Wilk right after Inkarmat told her.  Maybe she put more faith back in Kiro after Abashiri, since she saw with her own eyes that Kiro did not “kill” Wilk.  If she confronted Kiro based on her conversation with Ogata she’d just go up and be like, “Hey, Ogata wants me to tell him the code so then he will be working with you.”.  There is no way Kiro wants Ogata to be his partner with the key to the code, it puts him in too powerful of a position and Asirpa no longer has any value to Kiro.  Kiro has never treated Ogata like a partner in the entire Karafuto arc and Ogata knows that currently he’s not useful and at a disadvantage.  By knowing the code he protects Asirpa and the same time puts him in a more dangerous position but gets him closer to the gold. 

After her question statement we get this panel.  We can hear Kiro yelling for Asirpa and he’s just looking at her with such a tired face.  It is hard to tell how he’s feeling here,  Kiro yelling just but the pressure on both of them to find a reply, perhaps he’s thinking what to say . . . but definitely he’s stressed out by the situation.  He just put himself out there and he’s likely an emotionally exhausted wreck.

Kiro then wonders how far away they went, but seriously where’s Sofia?  Not with him.  The Russian convict then manages to steal Tanigaki’s rifle and fires it at him as he attempts to block it with some sort of item from his pack. 

Ogata immediately recognizes it as the same gun as earlier.  He then grabs his binoculars to see who is approaching.  His facial expression has gone from this soft face back to business.

The then sees Sugimoto through the snow; it looks like he’s trying to sneak up on their position from behind some ice.  His rifle appears to still be on his back and I don’t think this type of weather Sugimoto has the advantage compared to Ogata.  If he’s going to hurt him, he’ll have to get a hell of a lot closer.  Keep in mind that Shirashi is likely with Sugimoto as they were both following Ryu towards Asirpa.  Shirashi is the other non-violent member of the group so he may play a role in holding Sugimoto back if need be.

Sugimoto’s eyes are looking to his left and not straight ahead but the shadows around them show that this is serious business.  He’s pissed and he’s in the zone and remember any person who Sugimoto thinks is bad isn’t human.  And b/c Ogata isn’t human, he won’t feel pain or will it be bad to hurt him.

Of course Ogata is full on shocked that it is Sugimoto.  His face says it all - he didn’t kill him and while he looks completely in shock, you can see he’s already pulling his rifle down off of his shoulder b/c he knows he’ll be coming for him.

It then ends with the final panel here.  He admits it, that deep down he knew he didn’t kill Sugimoto. Snipers instinct I guess.  It looks like he’s realizing that he did not take the right course of action in their situation, I wonder if he shot Sugimotos thinking that if he lived he’d go after Kiro first, since it is clear that Kiro is the leader in their actions.  But unfortunately, Sugimoto thinks Ogata’s the one in charge.

This ending panel really hits home that both Ogata and Sugimoto are tightly linked to Asirpa and both have drawn out emotions from both of them that they’ve tried to hide or bury. 

So what are my overall impressions on this?  I think chapter 186 is going to see how all of these tense emotions between our characters play out.

Do I believe Ogata?  Yes, I currently do - we’ve never seen these expressions from him nor these behaviours.  When he lied to Tanigaki at Huci’s house, he was smiling like a cheshire cat and seemed too relaxed.  There was no softness nor blushing.  I’ve spent too much time staring at his facial expressions in this chapter - he’s different and it likely has to do with how he feels after his fever dream.  He’s saying that the wants the gold for the same reason since the beginning of the series - he wants a cut but not all of it.  He’s figured out Kiro’s endgame - he wants Asirpa to join the partisans and fight Russian and Japan and for the people’s rights.  But he’s forgetting that is what he wants to have happen not Asirpa.  Ogata is not a greedy individual, this has been demonstrated throughout the series, he only has what he needs and he keeps to himself.

Ogata is the first adult who is telling Asirpa how crazy all of this is and that it is okay for her to make her own decision on this not as an adult but that she has a right to not be an adult.  Yes, she wants to be treated as one but becoming involved with the partisans will not allow her to go back to where she was before and she won’t see Huci again.  I think her sweat while Ogata was talking her shows that deep down she knows if she keeps going on this path she won’t likely see Huci again. We don’t know Ogata’s own grandma’s backstory - perhaps he was unable to see her b/c of his decision to join the military and he regrets it and thinks she should have that chance.  The difference between Ogata and Sugimoto, is Sugimoto started out treating Asirpa like a kid and then switched to treating her like an adult.  Ogata started out treating her like an adult but is realizing it is okay to let her be a kid, b/c she is one.

The irony of the entire situation is that when Sugimoto was talking to Wilk he was upset that he wanted her to become a partisan and lead the Ainu and Sugimoto just wanted her to go home to Huci and hunt and eat brains.  Ogata upon learning more about Wilk via Kiro and Sofia has come to the exact same conclusion, she’s best living her life in the kotan with Huci hunting deer.  Both men have realized she shouldn’t be involved in this entire situation and want her to be happy.  So the both want the same thing for her but they also want a small cut of the gold for their own use.  So at this point in the manga, it is clear that Ogata and Sugimoto are the same in regards to their interaction with Asirpa.  Likely, the only person who will help them achieve both of their goals is - Asirpa and I hope she does.

[trickstermelon]

Body type headcanonsss

Tanigaki are you free tonight

[papers4me]

now that noda is on leave, I think U should revisit ur analysis of ogata. reread the chapters & you'll discover that ogata is not a cold-blooded killing machine. He killed his mom as mercy, he killed Yuusaku to save his mission since yuusaku is likely to inform tsurumi of his plans. he killed his dad because he deserved it. He only kills if he's forced & it is always a mercy killing. Yuusaku wont make it anyway since he sucks in the military. the poor dude never noticed ogata wanted him away.

Dear anon,

I really don't know what manga you're reading cuz this is definitely NOT Golden Kamuy.

First of all, your opinion of Ogata & reading of his characters is yours & you're free to think whatever. But since you're telling me to re-read the chapters, I'll advise you do the same.

"ogata is not a cold-blooded killing machine.", Really?

Him killing his mom is NOT a mercy killing. Poisoning someone to death at the age of I duno 8 or 9 is NOT mercy killing. His mom might had mental issues but she don't deserve death.

When on earth did Yuusaku threaten to tell Tsuruni anything? Yuusakue doesn't even know anything abt central or spying or even Tsurumi?!

Yuusaku "sucks in the military" cuz he "never noticed ogata wanted him away"... so, all the training in the military is useless if a guy never suspects his own brother "prefers to be alone"?! lol. Where on GK that Yuusakue's "bad" military skills are mentioned? Ogata is NOT the center of the universe, so Yuusaku might suck at reading his brother, but excel in doing military deeds! Yuusaku might even be very observant in dealing with the foreign enemy like Russians or whatever, buy why on earth would he suspect his brother?

I've read before ppl saying that "Yuusaku only got his position the military due to his dad". That was never mentioned in the manga or volume unless I've missed sth!. He might be bad but it was NEVER stated, so why is it treated as a fact?

Killing Yuusake is sth Ogata chose to do for HIS own reasons. It has to do with his obsession of " proving everybody can be corrupted & should NOT feel guilt". What Yuusaku told his brother ( the necessity to feel guilt as a normal trait) is NOT wrong at all. On the contrary is is the truth that Ogata MUST face. Ogata wants to say " i'm normal" but children who kill their moms are NOT normal. Ogata instead of looking back at himself & dealing with his issues chose to prove that the path of death, corruption & rejection of love is the right path. It is NOT.

Killing his dad is complicated. Hanazaw is targeted by the Central, Tsurumi & Ogata. All three want him dead for three totally different reasons. By killing Hanazaw, Ogata might be serving all three (central, Tsurumi & himself).

Ogata is NOT responsible for what his mom & dad did to him. but he IS responsible for what he did to others. Being a victim does NOT excuse killing others.

Ogata is a sniper. Snipers are sole soldiers with limited ammo & a hideout that once is exposes they're in immense danger. Ogata can't just kill everybody & do whatever. He MUST weigh his options & choose his targets without exposing his hideout. That's why he doesnt kill unless he must. Not saying he's a killing machine, I'm saying things aren't as humanely as you think. It is a military style for snipers.

You can LOVE ogata as much as you want, you you dont have to cleanse him to love him. He is fictional, loving him despite knowing he killed ppl doesnt make you a horrible person. It IS fiction dude~~~~~

You can cleanse him & make him an angel that descended to save Japan, just don't try to force this in my throat. I respect that you have your own opinion, but I disagree with ALL of it. lol.

This isn't the first ask I received abt Ogata's "angelic mercy killing that he is so forced to do despite being the most innocent human there is"... Why can't Ogata's fans accept that different opinions exist. ? I like Ogata, too. My reasons? he's so mentally & emotionally corrupted & adds layers to the story that otherwise would be lost without him, Him getting redemption or dying a killer doesn't bother me as long as it's well-written & makes sense within his character & the story. you don't have to convince me of your opinion. It's okay that others think differently.

Btw, Golden Kamuy is NOT a story abt right or wrong. All the "important" characters (minus Asripa & shirashi) are cold killers with bloody hands. Yes, the main MC Sugimoto included. He isnt fighting for japan nor the minority. He's fighting to help this child he "thinks" he got her into this gold hunt & whom he object his lost innocence on. That's totally fine. GK isnt a story abt perfect justice-fighters for the-right-reasons-heroes.

Did I write sth similar before? I duno. lol.

[papers4me]

Fascinating concepts in Golden Kamuy Manga ( part 2)

In part 1, I listed 3 concepts that I find intriguing in Golden Kamuy ( GK), I provided short explanation of these concepts but due to issues of space couldn’t provide more examples. The previous 3 concepts were: (1). Broken men of war & death, (2) Fun dynamics & journey companion  does not equal close friendships, & (3) Perspective is where characters are truly at. In total I have 9 concepts but intend to post 3 at a time. So, here we go~

4. What breaks men of war: ( emotional ties)

in my previous post, I’ve mentioned that these men of war are not fazed by death & some are even obsessed with it. goldenkamuyhunting has kindly added that they are affected by the death of those whom they’re emotionally connected to, and provided examples. very true. However, I want to look at this concept from another perspective. As much as the constant brush with death has hardened their hearts & stole chunks of their humanity, all the characters are still human. Their humanity isn’t mostly displayed in how they treat strangers/ enemies, or men on the other side, it is presented on how easily they crumble down once you press the right button: their loved ones. They have strong emotional ties that can break them down, even now after they’ve become so drenched in blood. These ties are mostly connected to ppl who are the reason of their current perspective or their past selves. Sugimoto, the ruthless, breaks down in tears at the memory of toraji, at the idea of failing Yumi, at the thought seeing Asripa become like him: a killer. These emotional ties break him into tears & self loathing frenzy. Sadistic Nikaidou not only mourn his brother, but becomes a shell of a man, delusional, erratic, addicted to drugs & hollow. Tsukishima, Tsurumi’s right hand who kills with no hesitation, becomes all sorts of mess at the thought of Igogusa: anger, tears, loss, despair, explosive rage, self-loath coupled with low self-esteem. Tsurumi himself, the man who fondly remember running thro rain of blood, was so affected by the murder of his wife & daughter to the point of not being able to restrain himself. (many examples) but the point is, I applaud the writer for not going the path of writing these characters as emotionless hard cold blooded war veterans. They have emotions & can break into sobs. You might think they’re unable to form new emotional ties, but some can, sugimoto formed healthy independent ties with shirashi! But the issue is not the new ties. The real issue is these men of war not yet dealing with the old emotional ties from their past. Those ties are eating them from the inside. The pain is still raw!

5. Excellent portrayal of unstable psyche:

Some of these men, due to the past emotional ties, have developed unstable thinking & deep troubling thought process & reasoning coupled with the ugly brutality of war. Other writers will simply write men such as Tsurumi or Ogata as mad guys, crazy & lunatic. But Noda chose a deeper more logical & intriguing approach. Their behavior shows elements of unstable & deeply trouble thinking; little boy Ogata poisoning his mother & Tsurumi’s infatuation of being a soul snatching shinigami. What they have done is unexcused & cannot be corrected. However, they are not mindless lunatics. Both characters are mysterious & rarely allowed to have inner monologue abt their true goal. Both play on different sides & have gone through some personal journey to solidify their nihilistic belief. Both goes even deeper into the depth of seemingly unstable thought process. Ogata, lacking family love, questions the concept of pity, mercy & compassion. Embarks on a journey to prove that he’s not alone in feeling no guilt over human death. That his tragic thinking is not up-normal. Other ppl exist like me. ppl other than weird Usami. Nothing is wrong with me, so father should accept me. So tragic. Yet Ogata even with this unstable thinking is portrayed as smart with analytic thinking, skilled, seemingly not swayed by manipulators & very perceptive! Same goes for Tsurumi, extremely manipulated, cunning, intelligent & sweet talker, but was shown as a loving father as he held his daughter in his hand in most of his Japanese language teaching scenes with wilk in Russia. His family’s death deeply troubled him & changed him into the monster he’s currently is. Obsessed with their bones. Not mourning them yet. His position as the story’s villain adds to this but in a very balanced way. There are more examples, such as Usami & a number of the tattooed convicts. But the point is the writer treats the characters as human, who are capable of unstable obsession & thinking, yet can display normal behavior & excellent logical thinking as well.

( btw: I’m not putting any character with the same scale as the other, or saying they’re equal or identical. They are NOT.  I’m simply looking at a ting aspect from their behavior in light of the concept they share) 

6. No heroes:

I duno abt you. But I don’t sense that this is a story of a bunch of alliances saving the day against the big baddie. I could be wrong tho. But this story has sth that is lacking from most stories, which is: each side have winning points as much as loosing points. Meaning each side has arguments that can lead to their logical success as much as arguments that sheds some light on the holes in their plans. Even the argument that says minority groups should have their own land with their own culture, while very just in concept, the application is quite complicated. A group of ppl with no strong army sitting on a land of rich resources won’t be left alone by other nations. It never happened in the real world, & while GK is fiction, it is safe to say that Noda is aware of this as he made Tsurimi himself point this out in ch,271. Even if the minority groups get their land, they can’t preserve their own culture if they continue their old ways without adapting into new generations & without reaching out to the outside world. Once again Trsumi pointed this out while talking abt japan itself. I duno how Noda plans to solve this. But This is not even exclusive to the Auni/Japan/Russia situation. Again, the story itself is way bigger than that. Each character is not even the hero of their own story. Asirpa’s trauma of finding herself shouldering the burden of an entire culture while struggling to have a normal selfish goal like any normal girl. Sugimoto becoming her body guard while she solves an issue that he himself isn’t that much interested in! he just wanted her to be happy. More importantly he wants her to NOT be like him. Living thro Asripa while he should be trying to figure out his own path, rather than looking for salvation thro the innocent angelic Asipra or becoming a human skinning tool to get the money for Ume’s eyes treatment when she herself never asked him to! Tsukushima, desperately trying to believe that there’s at least some bigger picture good for following Trsurmi, that all the years of blood stinky hands can mean sth, somehow, in the future, so may examples. But I love the concept of grey characters so dearly, no heroes, no angels.

Disclaimer:

I know my explanation for each argument & each concept & the examples I provide can be misunderstood. But I assure you that each time I provide an example, I’m looking at a tiny aspect of a deeply complex & intriguing character that cannot be summarized into one or two concepts & is bigger than to be compared to other characters as well. Each concept is shared by a number of characters but with different approach, level & reasoning behind it. If I want to discuss a certain character in depth, I’ll do that in a post dedicated for them  alone.

Lastly, This is just a fraction of my personal opinion abt the story & characters. I’m not claiming this is how they are truly written or this how Noda intended it or even that you should share my thoughts. I just think this manga is so darn good & rich with fascinating characters!

[papers4me]

Yuusaku & Asirpa (the innocent symbol for the father’s own quest)

Reading chapter 276, you can’t help but notice the striking similarities between Yuusaku & Asirpa & the future differences that will save Asipra from Yuusaku’s fate.

First of all, for the sake of the argument rather than focusing on the rightful cause of each nation/race or the father’s own character or personal gain, I’ll focus on Yuusaku & Asipra’s own character, fate & destination.

--The similarities between Yuusaku & Asirpa:

Both is considered an innocent, pure & just symbol for their own respective cause. Yuusaku is an army’s flag bearer, holding the nation’s flag with pride, courage & confidence in advancing towards victory. Army men get courage, hope & optimism just by looking at him! Asirap, according to Hijikata’s plan is a symbol for the Ainu. The reporter supposed to write articles abt her pride of her own traditions, conviction, &  the just quest for the right to the their own land. Along with her picture with her traditional attire will convey genuineness that will move readers & rally the Ainu behind her.

Although not a written rule, but Yuusake must stay virgin to further cast a light of spiritual approval & more importantly to not cloud his mind with the worry of a lover or a child left behind when he should be focused on his mission. Furthermore, he shouldn’t dirty his hands with the blood of other men even if killing them is justified at war ( Yuusaku himself is genuinely against taking lives & is wary of guilt). Asripa is a child (hence she’s not focused on marriage) & although she is considered at marriageable age according to Ainu customs at the time, she refuses to settle down, wear traditional tattoos that symbolize marriageable readiness or status. Furthermore, Asipra refuses to kill others even if they’re rightfully deserve death or stand at her way. She even makes Sugimoto promises to not kill if he to be her partner in their initial partnership contract.

Yuusaku’s ideas from from his father’s teaching & convictions. His whole fate is planned by his father & he was raised to accept such convictions. Putting his son in the front lines of death even if he hopes his son survives. Asipra’s father planned the whole gold hide around her memories. She’s the key for the gold & hence putting his daughters at the heart of danger. Knowing quite well that the gold attracts all kinds of men with all kinds of agendas. Asirpa is lucky she has an immortal vicious guardian to protect her & stand tall between her & all those men of war & greed. Asirpa herself went through a long journey that led her to fight the fight that her father’s chose in the first place. A fight that she didn’t even know it existed. Wilk raised Asripa knowing what’s to come, hence she is a different kind of Ainu woman. A path that the father planned.

Both Yuusake & Asirpa ended up in the planned path regardless of the journey it took. Both fathers used other men to ensure their chosen offspring will follow regardless of the obstacles. Hanazawa used Kukta to  “save” Yuusaku from earthy distractions: love & family. Wilk used Hijikata to find Asripa & get the tattoos key from her.

Both Yuusake & Asirpa  were faced with other options that they can take & leave their designed fate. Yuusaku ( while presumably he didn’t know abt the arranged marriage plan) he was given other options by Ogata to not become the so called symbol, hookers, killing war captives, & better yet! turning his back & going away. Yuusaku stayed & refused all distractions becuz altho he wants to please his father & meet his expectations, perhaps Yuusake really believed that’s his purpose. Although Yuusake knows of the high deaths rate of flag bearer, I firmly believe that he wanted to fulfill his duty, then live. He seemed the type that is too hopeful & too optimistic to solely think of death or focus on the real ugliness of war. Asripa while having more realistic approach than Yuusake, still chose to continue her designed fate. Sugimoto tried to give her an exit, go back to carefree hunting & forget this path. She refused. How could she turn her back to such rightful cause? afteral she was raised to be proud of her origin.

In Ogata’s eyes Asirpa & Yuusaku are alike.

---Striking Differences between Yuusaku & Asirpa: 

I believe (from a writer’s perspective: Yuusaku died so that Asrpa could live). Meaning, Yuusake is what Asripa shouldn’t become or death awaits her. Thus Sugimoo’s journey involves meeting both symbols ( Yuusaku & Asirpa). He met Yuusake so he could save Asirpa. Yuusaku didn’t die cuz flag bearers are at the front lines. NO. He died cuz Hanazawa screwed up by rejecting another son. Hence, the shot came from the back not the front. From an insider killer not a foreign outsider. Sugimoto will make sure Asirpa don’t get a stab in the back. She is at the heart of danger. Anyone could end her cause at once, simply by killing her.

Unlike Yuusake Asripa decided to dirty her hands. She refuses to kill for herself but she will kill for sugimoto if he will be in danger. This bring me to the third point:

Unlike Yuusake, Asripa wants both worlds! she wants love as well, not just fighting for her nation/cause. Yuusake was taught to just focus on the mission & not have his own little family. Asirpa wants to go to dugimoto’s twon & eat his fave food, loves sugimoto & is jealous of the idea of sugi having a first lover, someone he thinks abt. In her furute she wants the Ainue’s rightful place & sugimoto by her side as well. However, can you really have both? Sugomoto doesnt seem to love her romanticlly in the first place. While he’s extremely kind, fond  & protective of her, Sugi project a lot of his wishes on her. Sees his own innocence through her. Asirpa even confronted him on that. Secondly, even if getting Sugi’s love is possible perhaps the hardest part is getting her nation to unite. That’s a life time work! heck that’s generations work! Regardless, theses points separate Yuusake & Asrpra greatly & hence allows Asirpa a more realistic chance of survival.

Unlike Yuusake, Asripa was forced to see the truth of her father & no longer sees him through a child’s fond righteous eyes. Yuusake died not knowing the piece of sh!t that is Hanazaw. Asripa first was troubled by the rumor that her father killed the 7 Ainu & it took her ages to accept him again. Her quest was to ask him if he truly killed these Aiun! he didn’t. But he killed other ppl. Asirpa was once again to learn of her father’s dark histoy filled with blood, including the blood of an innocent woman & a baby. It doesn’t matter if Wilk didn’t intentionally kill Fina & Olga, his journey led to their demise. Whenever he goes, corpses fall. Wilk is one of the characters on this manga that rarely display guilt over death. Asirpa seeing her father’s bloody path, will enable her to judge wisely or more judge humanly. Unlike her father, Asrpa is not a wolf. Therefore, doesnt deserve a wolf’s death.

Unlike Yuusake who had no one that cared for him personally without any gain (beside his mother), Asripa has genuine ppl who cares for her personally, not her cause. ( sugi & shirashi). These two are capable of helping her.

I know that Wilk & Hanazaw arent 100% alike, however, these two men believe in their own ability to reach their goal & has designed their children’s path. It doesn’t matter which is righteous & which is horrible, both men put their only child ( as far as horrible Hanazwa is concerned) in the front lines of death. Hence, the whole post abt Yuusake & Asirpa.

I have more I want to say, But I can’t articulate more due to fatigue! but this chapter rocks!!! I love all GK characters as they all serve unique roles. I hope I get to write a post one day abt Ogata & Yuusaku!

[chibivesicle]

What is your favorite character from gk? (one or +)

Hello, thanks for your question.  I’ve finally cleared out my “asks” inbox by answering your question!  Phew.

I’m sure you have concluded that I’m a huge fan of Ogata since most of my meta involves him, and he is indeed my favourite character.

Ogata did not start out as my fav, it was actually Asirpa since after he gets critically injured he really doesn’t do a whole lot for some time.

Ogata moved up in my eyes by the Barato arc and by Yuubari, he was a solid #1 for me.  Asirpa is right after him in a very close second, I love how she is a very intelligent and independent girl and that she knows she’s going to be a new woman for the future.  I really don’t think I need to say much more - I mean who doesn’t like Asirpa?

Coming in 3rd for me is Kiroranke.  I know I’m out of step with most of the GK fanbase, since the butterfly Ogata is reaching for beat him out in the Japanese character poll.  But I really like Kiro, I like the fact that he’s playing some sort of long game and I at least respect his dedication to his cause fighting for the native peoples of the region.  However, I know that he’s fighting a lost cause and his actions will likely not save those peoples.  I also do not like he’s using Asirpa and trying to pull her into the partisan cause but at the same time, he is helping her to learn more about her father good or bad.  I know he will likely not live until the end of the story but I still really really like him.  He’s a really charismatic person and he’s got mad revolutionary skills!

Lastly, my 4th favourite character is Tsukishima.  He deals with so much stuff in the 7th and he’s a capable man.  His backstory really complicated and we know he is depicted as the conscious of the 7th making him the most grounded person working under Tsurumi.  I read how Noda wanted Tsukishima to be a badass man that others would want to be or look up to and i like that aspect of him.

As far as the rest of the characters I like pretty much everyone except for Hijikata b/c I think he’s a dick and Ienaga, since i’m not keen on serial killers who torture people.  I like Sugimoto’s softness and boldness, Tanigaki’s commitment to helping others, Shirashi’s humor and skills, Koito’s passion, Tsurumi’s long game, Inkarmat’s charm, Ushiyama’s strength and Kadokura’s “luck” if you could call it that.  Chikapasi is cute but annoying at times but growing on me and you can’t forget Ryu!  The fact that I like most of the cast is pretty unusual.

[chibivesicle]

Kiroranke is by nature a contradiction and that’s one of the reasons why I love him so much.

So I’ve had this stewing in my head for months but with the recent events of chapter 186, I guess I should write something.  Now, most of my meta analyses are on Ogata, Asirpa and I’ve done a little on Tsukishima and Koito as well, with a smattering of Sugimoto in the mix in regards to his relations to all of the aforementioned characters.   But behind Ogata and Asirpa, Kiroranke is my 3rd favorite character in gk.  He brings so much to the story and I’ve really liked what we’ve learnt about him during the overall Karafuto/Sakhalin arc.

I’ve always liked Kiro but he really got me interested in him due to his partisan background.  *warning, this is really long*

Where Kiro is first introduced, his face is partially shaded.

As @goldenkamuyhunting​ has already pointed out in a previous meta, this doesn’t necessarily indicate a character has dark leanings, it just means that b/c that character is unknown you aren’t sure how to perceive them.

But as soon as Asirpa recognizes him, he appears in full view and quite friendly to Sugimoto and Shirashi.

When Shirashi falls in you can see him moving with his net towards Shirashi.  In previous panels he had it down in the water so I take that he was going to offer it to Shirashi but instead he gets “eaten” by the giant fish.

I think it is important to note several things here, he jumps into the freezing water with no hesitation to save Shirashi and his skill with his makkiri is demonstrated.  This will become a theme with Kiro as it will be the same knife that will stab Inkarmat and later as we just found out, himself.  Holy foreshadowing Noda-sensei.

After he saves Shirashi they decide to eat the fish.  I like how he joins in and noms on the giant fillet next to the fire.  For some odd reason the anime had him using a tooth pick to eat individual pieces of the fish, it made him look classy or something.  I really like how is shows he’s more than willing to go at it.

Just like Ogata was able to determine Sugimoto’s identity when they first met, Kiroranke is able to figure out who he is very quickly as well.   Almost too quick if you were to ask me.  KIro is a very intelligent guy so I would expect him to connect the dots but this is almost too quick. And those screentones seem to indicate that he might have some serious motives or connection to Sugimoto.

I like how Kiro states knowing who Sugimoto is b/c he’s a “war hero”.   But Sugimoto was discharged from the army.  His quick recognition of him makes me wonder if @goldenkamuyhunting​‘s theory that he and Ogata have been working together for long time is possible. . . .

He looks relaxed and friendly as he tells Sugimoto how he knows it was him, but again it makes one wonder how famous Sugimoto really was?

Anyways, this encounter in retrospect is more interesting with our current state of events for chapter 185 &186 with Ogata trying to get Asirpa to give him the code to the skins.  Of course the great debate is “Is Ogata manipulating Asirpa?” and we’ve had a fair bit of meta about this but also Sugimoto is doing the same thing.  Go check out @goldenkamuyhunting​‘s post about how Sugimoto and Ogata are having parallel interactions with Asirpa. .  . .

But what I want to highlight is that Kiro then tells everyone that he knows what happened in Abashiri, he knows about the convicts and he knows the Noppera-bou told the convicts Asirpa’s registered name. 

More importantly, by relaying this information to Asirpa, he automatically makes her more involved and states that he wants for Asirpa to have the gold - b/c Noppera-bou is her father.  Asirpa is a very intelligent and curious young teen, she also loved her father and has a deep appreciation for what he taught her.  So of course she 1.) wouldn’t believe this but 2.) would be determined to find the truth b/c of what Kiro just told her.  

Asirpa is devastated and shocked by this news and Sugimoto then asks why he would know this information and he simply states that he came to Japan with her father.

I think at this point, Kiro already knows what his plan is, but he needs to make sure that Asirpa will have no choice but to head to Abashiri, and it is clear that he knows that she must have the key to the code based on the clue that got leaked/revealed to him via Hijikata.

I think two things happen when he invites them to his house here.

First off, he never answers Sugimoto’s question that he likely knows things about Wilk that no one else would know.  I love how Kiro looks with such open eyes at Sugimoto but simply makes a little snort with a smirk and changes the subject for everyone to stay at his home.  I think Kiro really one wants to show them his family to see that he cares for them and their future but also to be as friendly as possible to make sure they won’t be very suspicious of him.

Based on the ages of his sons, one was born before the war and I would guess the other was born after he got back from the war, the younger son is less than a year old, and it would imply that he came back 9 months prior so I think based on his kids ages, it is likely around 1907 or so.  He didn’t have to travel as far to get home after the war so, he could have returned home faster than most.  He also tells them that he feels responsible for what happened in regards to the gold b/c the man who stole the gold came with him to Japan. Interestingly, Kiro makes it very clear that the gold should go back to the Ainu.  This leads him to make a very strong statement.  That he wants to see this through all the way to the end.

I think many of these early interactions with Kiro are important.  They establish that he has a family but he’s interested in the gold for his family, for his children and for the Ainu.  He has already revealed that he knows who Noppera-bou is and already indicated he knew something about his original plan for stealing the gold.  I think this is the first aspect of Kiro - Kiro the father and husband who cares for the future of his family and the native peoples of the “far east”.

This concept will come up much later when tensions are much more strained in the group as everyone becomes suspicious of everyone else’s motives.

I have read Kiro as a character who has mixed feelings on what he hopes to achieve.  He clearly cares for his family and he wants them to live their own lives as free peoples not under the control of an imperial power like Russia or Japan.  But this clearly impacts how he interacts with people which such mixed intentions.

I think his encounter at the race track indicates this.  Kiro loves horses - like holy crap this man loves horses. 

So when he’s the substitute jockey, he not only bonds with the horse, he sees that the horse wants to win and then he sees them doping the winning horse even though it may kill it. Kiro has connected with the horse and he’s going to enjoy his time riding the horse and they are gonna win.

So Kiro literally is like “Screw you, horse abusers!  I’m gonna win this!”, look at my seriously angry face at you abusers of horses!

Even though he damn well knows he condemned the two men to death.  Seriously, if you think about it, Kiro chose a horse’s pride (and by extension his own) over the two guys lives.  That is a very interesting choice and will come back later in the the cabin with the bear siblings of death arc.  When he finds the horse that had been attacked by the bear, he’s immediately ready to risk his life to save the horse.

Shirashi questions his motives to save the horse.  Look how upset Kiro is about this horse!  He’s gonna save his horse, he’s sweating about the horse!

Kiro war vet of the 7th division - does not leave horses to die dammit!  But his love of saving the horse tips him off to at the time unnamed yakuza boss.

This then leads to him getting a death threat about the stunt he pulled at the racetrack.  Which he is reminded by this.

Like seriously Kiro, these guys are dead b/c of your love of horses and how you and a horse can’t lose.  But you are now stuck in a cabin with an upset mob boss who literally wants your head.

Even when they escape the cabin and the mob boss’s wrath for the time being, he still orders Shirashi to save the horse!!!

Like dude - this tells me that Kiro really values horses lives a lot.  And more than people who mistreat horses or are associated with people who mistreat horses.  Kiro loves his family and he loves horses likely as much as his family!

Okay, so I’m gonna shift to another aspect of Kiro, his role as a partisan.  Which is foreshadowed pretty obviously and really comes to light though Hijikata’s interactions with Ogata.

There are early indications that Kiro has a less than clean past.  This is indicated by his role as a sapper in the war and his ability to work with explosives very well.

 Sugimoto realizes that he’s more dangerous than he looks and notes to keep an eye on Kiro.  When they head out for Abashiri, Kiro takes them to the arms dealer in Sapporo.  He immediately knows where to go to purchase firearms and explosives without attracting much attention.  That implies he knows how to do things that won’t get him in trouble with the law and slide by undetected.

Interestingly, Sugimoto isn’t even thinking of how he should be careful with his own trail that he could leave during their travels.  This shows that Kiro is far too cautious and this indicates that he is hiding more than he would like to reveal.

Now before Kiro is clearly pointed out to be a partisan, we get an indication that he is not a fan of imperialism or cultural appropriation by people of a different group (and likely from an industrialized/colonial power).  This comes out in their interaction with the American rancher Dun, who single highhandedly decimated the Ezo wolf population with strychnine just like was used in the Western US to “win” the west so to speak.  Not only that but he’s clearly collecting cultural “artifacts” for his own use including the clothing that was sold to him by the drunk crappy Ainu husband.  This shows that Kiro has negative feelings towards all of those who have come into their region and are now trying to change their lifestyles and he is clearly upset by his actions.  Interestingly, Shirashi is the one who really notices this.

What is most interesting is that his true background is finally revealed when Ogata has joined up with Hijikata and he is fishing for how much information Hijikata knows about the gold etc.  Hijikata then let’s his team know that Noppera-bou is a partisan and he likely has to have collaborators on the outside.  And then bam!  Noda clearly lets us know that it is Kiro.

I’m still unsure if this implies that Hijikata already knows that Kiro is one of the partisans who was working with Wilk or if this is just for us the reader to know that he is one but no one else knows yet.  I find it very interesting that when Hijikata is working with Kiro, he really really pushes him hard for information. He wants to know more about his background with Wilk, but it is clear that Hijikata never knew Wilk’s name so he is trying to see what all Kiro does know or at least get a rise out of him to see if he’s emotionally hitting points that may lead him to some more useful information about Kiro’s possible involvement with Wilk. These conversations come out as he’s making the short-term canoe to rescue Shirashi.

This is a part where Kiro is explaining his own cultural practices for boat construction as well as portaging them over land between rivers etc.  It is unclear if this a practice shared by both the Ainu and his own Tatar group, but this really shows that Kiro is proud of who he is and that he is a capable man in these skills.  The canoe building exercise is a way for Hijikata to pry more into his background and Wilk’s as well.  Personally, I think that Hijikata’s line of rapid fire questions is not the best way to get information out of Kiro.  It is almost as though Hijikata is pushing him to see what gets an emotional response out of Kiro.

The most important thing that comes out of this is the indication that Kiro may know what Wilk’s name is.  That is super important and shows that despite working with Hijikata in prison, Wilk has others he likely trusted more at some point in time.

 Kiro will also continue to be suspicious of Hijikata.  When they go to the photo studio, he’s the individual who is most hesitant to have his photo taken.  This alludes to his status as a fugitive in Russia.  So, of course he wouldn’t want to have his picture taken, he’s too recognizable as a 41-ish year old man based on his 15 year old wanted poster.  He looks nervous while everyone else is relaxed for the most part.  Kiro’s inner thoughts “Oh shit, I’m a wanted man in Russia. . . I really don’t want my photo being made public but I don’t want to look too suspicious.”.

I think Kiro never trusts Hijikata as a result of his questioning of his background and also how he wants to know exactly how Kiro is linked to Wilk.  I think this really comes out after they rescue Shirashi.  It is clear that he separated himself from Hijikata’s group and went off on his own.  What he was doing during this time is unclear but one of his intentions had to have been to meet up with Asirpa again.  This comes out when during the otter nabe arc were he casually drops that he’s essentially been tracking their group.  He shows up by himself and he just reappears and everyone’s like “Oh cool, nice to see you again Kiro.  Not like going solo is odd or anything.”.

 But him rejoining the group leads to the confrontation instigated by Inkarmat.  She takes the swarm of locusts as a chance to have a one on one with Asirpa which alludes to Wilk’s role as a partisan.  From a storytelling perspective, I really like this element, she is conveying the knowledge that she knows about Wilk, which isn’t 100% accurate or truthful as we will later learn but does really link him to Kiro.  Her story of her teen encounter with Wilk, is unsettling to Asirpa since her father never told her about Inkarmat, which begins to show the indication of what she will later learn on Karafuto about Wilk and that he was a much more complicated man that she realizes.  The whole point of this conversation though is to get the Inkarmat’s belief that Kiro killed Wilk.

This obviously goes against all the previous foreshadowing, the fact that Hijikata knew Asirpa’s registered name, Noppera-bou saying “Asirpa” in prison etc.  This sets up the confrontation on the beach which is very interesting.  It seems that Inkarmat didn’t intend for Asirpa to act immediately on the knowledge based on her first thought but she had the betting ticket on her, which seems a bit suspicious that she wanted this to come out as a messy situation.  Maybe not at that moment, but damn, Inkarmat was prepared with her evidence.

Now, Kiro starts to sweat very nervously, he’s clearly thrown off by this line of questioning.  What is interesting, is we will confirm shortly that Wilk is Noppera-bou and that Kiro didn’t kill him.  Instead, Kiro is planning to kill Wilk as a fellow partisan, so I will hypothesize that Kiro is sweating b/c this is what he will plan to do in the near future. Ogata then cuts in to state that Inkarmat is clearly working with Tsurumi which is how she acquired the information in the first place that “framed” Kiro for Wilk’s “murder”.  Kiro is able to defuse the situation and rationalizes that Tsurumi wants to turn their group on each other.  It is also interesting that Asirpa despite not liking the prospect clearly sees that all of this could have indeed been orchestrated by her father.  

The sweat drop her on her face tells us that she wonders if the man in prison really is her father.

This is an interesting plot point as it pretty much means that no matter the tension, the entire group must travel to Abashiri to confirm Wilk’s identity but now the group has greater tension between everyone.  Inkarmat is fixated on the prospect that Kiro will kill her but during the blind bandits arc, Kiro makes it clear that she is not a target of him.  If he truly wanted to kill her, he could at any other point. Instead, he saves both Tanigaki and Inkarmat.  This means he is either a liar and only sees them as useful until Abashiri or he honestly did want save them from danger.

Overall, I think this highlights that Kiro is a complicated man who wants to achieve his goals as a partisan but still help people somewhat independent of his cause.

Keep in mind he kept trying to connect with Inkarmat by stating his sons are Ainu and his actions are for them.  I think he really wanted to pull Inkarmat into the cause b/c she is an Ainu woman who is actively involved in this complicated game for the gold. I’ve begun the respect Inkarmat more, as she was a lone woman who was doing her best to try to influence the gold game.  I don’t like her methods but she was a woman, very similar to Sofia, who is trying to create change.  I think in some ways Kiro respects her but feels like it would be better if she joined his side.  More than once he tells her that their goals are the same.  I think Kiro really thought he could try to sway her to see his side.

But ultimately, he and Inkarmat will do actions that are completely opposing in every sense.  I find it interesting that before the united but really not united group breaks into Abashiri, there is the big citatap party and I find it interesting that Sugimoto decides to unleash his Ainu culture appreciation on Kiro.

This scene really confuses me – why would Sugimoto decide to grab and pinch Kiro in his citatap euphoria?  Does this indicate that Sugimoto has completely let his guard down and now is no longer suspicious of him?  I’m confused by this, I’m seriously confused by this.  Is this b/c Kiro has that same friendly air that Shirashi, so Sugimoto likes that about him.  Argh.

Moving on, I’ll skip most of the content that directly refers to what happened at Abashiri.  I’ve already stated on several different meta that I don’t believe he intended to hurt Inkarmat in the kerfuffle.  What is important is that he reveals to Inkarmat that Wilk changed.  How he changed is unclear, but Kiro clearly states that the native peoples of the region must do something to prevent being overrun by the imperial powers of Russia and Japan.  It is here than you know that he feels very strongly about this and that he and Wilk were partisans.

I do think he looks guilty when he harms Inkarmat but tells himself later that it was better this way, b/c she sold them out to Tsurumi so he can rationalize that it was ok to harm her. He decided to kill his best friend (or at least I’ve read Kiro and Wilk as being best friends) b/c Wilk was no longer dedicated to the partisan cause . . .

Once the action shifts to Karafuto things get more interesting.  Stylistically, he the drawing style around him gets much darker and he gets much more sinister looking screen tones.  Immediately when he has some alone time with Ogata asks him why he had to shoot Sugimoto.  We get this very complicated reply over the course of the page.  Ogata gives all sorts of reasons as to what Wilk may have said or what information Ogata may be privy to that Kiro doesn’t know.  Ogata indicates that if Sugimoto is alive his rage to get Asirpa back could consume him and this may be something he desires (based on the raws of 187 this might be one of Ogata’s wishes).

What is more important about this panel is that this a somewhat subtle indication that on Karafuto, Ogata is in a weaker position in relation to Kiro. Kiro can speak the languages, he’s closer to where he grew up, he has the home team advantage and he did not share the plan with Ogata.  

As the Karafuto arc advances, it becomes clear that the only thing that Kiro shared with Ogata was that Wilk created a key to the code that only Asirpa would understand.  Thus, the rest of the time with the group, Kiro is only giving the rest of them the information on a need to know basis. Including his background and Wilk’s background.  He is keeping Ogata at bay as much as possible, which all things considered is smart.

Now, I will personally admit that I really liked Kiro as a character since the beginning but he really won me over when this was revealed.

I’m a sucker for populist politics and I like the aspect that Kiro, Wilk and Sofia were fighting for the cause of the common people.  Kiro’s background made it even more interesting as he finds away to cross the border, and we find out the somehow Tsurumi knew he would do it on the sly via the Oroks.

I like how as they travel closer to Sofia, that Kiro reveals that the mastermind was Sofia.  I’m really hoping for more Sofia action but for right now we will have to see.  But I’m off topic, what is really important, is that despite manipulating Asirpa a lot to try to get the code out of her, we do get to see the youth of Wilk and Kiro and their involvement with Sofia.  The flashback to Hasegawa’s photo studio also seems to indicate that Kiro and Sofia occasionally had sibling like spats but that Wilk was the one who tied them together.

Despite some of their differences, Kiro successfully breaks Sofia out of prison and is able to escape with Kiro and group and it then shifts to Sofia to try to pull the code out of Asirpa. What is most interesting is that Sofia and Kiro both looked up to Wilk’s dedication to the cause and his ability to act like a “wolf” and make the tough choice when necessary.

Unlike Wilk, the events at Abashiri indicated to me that Kiro is a coward and does not live up to that end of the bargain.  He is the mastermind behind Wilk’s death, but he has Ogata kill him.  He lacks the ability to make a cold-hearted decision. This comes out in the Inkarmat fight . . . he honestly didn’t mean to, but he tries to rationalize things.  He’s the one who wanted Asirpa to likely follow in her father’s footsteps b/c he looked up to Wilk as a leader and as a friend.  I think how he favors horses over people at times also indicates that his priorities are sometimes off and it might be how he copes with feelings from his pre-partisan days.

Yes, he came up with the “abduct Asirpa” plan and he wants her to figure out the code but he looks so dark and guilty a lot the time that it seems like it isn’t him.  I can’t help but shake the feeling that Kiro felt betrayed by Wilk and decided he was no longer dedicated to he partisan cause. With him no longer a part of the cause, he felt that it was necessary to kill him and use Asirpa.  Kiro looks ill at ease frequently on Karafuto like he’s trying to forgive himself for his actions based on the guilt he likely feels in regards to Wilk’s death.  I think Kiro thought the only way to continue the partisan cause was to become like Wilk, but based on the most recent actions. . . .

Kiro likely isn’t making it to the partisans in Russia, nor making it back to Hokkaido to see his family.  When Tsurumi [Hasegawa] talks about the Meiji leaders, he is compared to the one which is friendly and personable but skilled. I think Kiro was a young man who got pulled into the partisans at a young age (15!) but is a very friendly and overall genuinely nice guy.  By trying to dedicate his life to both his family, his people and the partisans he tore himself apart and his actions have finally caught up to him.  The irony of the situation is that Tanigaki doesn’t know that he likely is torn over the events with Inkarmat but since Tanigaki defaulted to revenge, he won’t get a chance to explain himself.

I don’t want Kiro to die, he’s a fascinating character but he was shown barefoot and he was also in the place of Judas in the “last supper” scene. . . so it was obvious he isn’t making it out of this story alive.  Kiro, if you do die, I want a killer awesome flashback okay?