#and also they would have SO much to talk abt re: anger and loss of autonomy

[themyscirah]

I know I JUST changed my theme yesterday but this one is even better so like. Bleez hours ig 😈

[goldenkamuyhunting]

re your post abt killing the tiger, can I ask abt ‘As Tanigaki showed he’s not good at taking care of others and at taking his own responsibilities’? what instances particular are you referring to? Thanks so much! I don’t really remember having such an impression of tanigaki while reading the manga haha :’D (But I do agree w you abt him rushing to revenge being a risky thing)

Sure you can ask!

I don’t mind explaining my view of Tanigaki but, of course, I can’t claim to own the truth about him so it’s okay if you feel like not agreeing with me.

Now... although I often end up talking about Ogata and Asirpa, Tanigaki too is one of thecharacters I love. He’s actually one of the guys who got me into Golden Kamuy. And ofcourse, like all the characters I love, he makes me wish to bang my head againsta wall.

Now... first, to make sure, I think the post you’re talking about is this? Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

And now, back to Tanigaki, I’ll try to explain you my feelings regardinghim.

Mind you, I’m sure Tanigaki isn’t a jerk or a guy prone to slack off. He’sa complex man who’d like to mean well but... made many mistakes and hadn’trealized it... or has actively turned his eyes away from them.

I’ll go in chronological order instead than in a chapter order because Ithink it’ll be easy to follow his story.

Beware, what follows is a list of moments in which Tanigaki showed he’s not good at taking care of others and at taking his own responsibilities. Tanigaki isn’t just this of course, there are other moments in which Tanigaki is a great guy. This list however isn’t meant to list them.

It’s also a subjective list as it reflects my impression on his actions so don’t take it as words from Noda sensei.

And now let’s start.

In chap 75 we learn of the drama that signed Tanigaki’s life and set him onhis current path.

His sister’s house had been burned to the ground and, inside it, he foundhis sister’s burned body, stabbed by Kenkichi’s knife, while Kenkichi isnowhere to be found.

His first assumption in the middle of his emotional storm is that Kenkichi has murdered her and so he goes in mad rage to the home of Kenkichi’s parents and threatens them.

Now I understand in that moment he was in an emotional storm and wasn’t thinking straight but times go by as he searches for Kenkichi (and then hears a rumor saying he has joined the 7th division).

At this Tanigaki immediately decides to go join the 7th division so as to get revenge on Kenkichi. His family is against it and he leaves them with rude words as his revenge on his dead sister is more important than his living family members to him.

And this is already a pretty bad thing to do.

We see his mother is crying, the rest of his family is probably grief striken. I get he’s angry because his sister was murdered but did he have to hurt everyone else because he was hurting?

He could have left them in a gentler manner if he really felt he had to because it would drive him insane not to go... but really, truth is he shouldn’t have left at all and remained to take care of HIS LIVING FAMILY, instead than trying to avenge HIS DEATH SISTER that won’t have any benefit from it.

It’s not all though. Time has gone by. His anger should have calmed a bit. Kenkichi was someone he knew, someone he probably could call a friends as the two were close enough to go on a first name basis without honorifics and only a year apart. They had likely grown up together.

Why is he so sure Kenkichi could have done something like that?

I understand circumstances were against Kenkichi but was Kenkichi such a terrible person it was obvious to assume he would murder his sister in cold blood, burn the house and escape with no good reason at all? Shouldn’t he had thought ‘I’ll give him the benefit of doubt and ask him what had happened first and afterward, if he turns out guilty, I’ll kill him?’

No, he didn’t.

Murdering Kenkichi is Tanigaki’s way to cope with the pain of his loss.

He’ll always blame Kenkichi for his pain even when he’s told he also played a part in his mother’s death.

What’s worse is the way he wants to kill him.

It’s a clever way, of course, as Tsurumi likely had Ogata kill whoever was on his way with the same method... but whose murders are tactical in nature. Ogata is fundamentally Tsurumi’s hit-man. No, it’s nowhere near a good thing, actually it’s pretty terrible but that’s how things work. They’re clearly not good guys to do such terrible things, but well, I don’t expect them to be, considering their aim. It’s job, nothing personal, and Tsurumi is likely careful to make sure the killing will happen in such a way it won’t cause damage to the army and therefore to himself. Tsurumi doesn’t want to lose this war or to get killed.

Tanigaki was supposed to be a good guy... nothing like a bad one... yet his murder is personal, but he doesn’t have the guts to face Kenkichi first and make sure he’s really guilty, he’s trying to find a way out from being punished for his murder and, although Tanigaki is presented like a guy who believes in comrades, war buddies and stuff, he wants to murder one of his comrades (on the battleground Kenkichi is one of his comrades) in the heat of the battle without caring for the damage this can cause to his faction.

If he had shoot Kenkichi sooner, Kenkichi wouldn’t have managed to save them by stopping the guy with the bombs strapped on himself.

This is not anymore a murder in the heat of rage and desperation, it’s a planned murder in cold blood, whom he wants to carry on without caring about the damage he can inflict to others and of the possibility Kenkichi might be innocent.

Tanigaki is so taken by his narrative in which Kenkichi is the culprit and the person to blame for everything he doesn’t want to see any other possibility.

But still... Tanigaki isn’t a monster. Although he still plan to murder a dying man who had just saved his life... he hesitates.

Maybe ironically what stopped him are Ogata’s words as Ogata assumed he was there to help Kenkichi, reminding Tanigaki at the core he is a good person, not a murderer, maybe not but still Tanigaki hesitates and this gives him the chance to hear Kenkichi call his sister’s name.

This pushes him to do what he should have planned to do at the beginning, ASK FOR EXPLANATIONS before judging Kenkichi. Fate will help him in get what he’s asking and from Kenkichi’s explanation it’ll turn out he wasn’t the monster Tanigaki believed him to be, that he deeply loved Tanigaki’s sister and that he did what he did because it was the only way he had to help her. While this brings peace to Tanigaki in regard to his sister’s death... actually he doesn’t know how to build upon it.

Kenkichi’s confession proved his path to revenge was the dumbest thing Tanigaki could make. He caused further pain to his mother, who died, he attempted to murder a man who actually was innocent, he ended up involved in a bloody war that mentally scarred him and all... for nothing.

Tanigaki is ashamed of himself... which does him honour as he realizes he’s the one to blame but, instead than acting like an adult, go back to his home and apologize, he prefers to hide in Hokkaido.

What if his father is suffering like his mother for the loss of his sister and for how Tanigaki left? What if he merely managed to hold a little longer than his mother but the grief will eventually kill him too?

Tanigaki is ashamed... so he hides, he doesn’t apologize, he doesn’t want to go to his father and say ‘I’m sorry, I was wrong and you were right’. He doesn’t deliver Kenkichi’s words to his relatives but let them live in the uncertain and grief.

While I understand him... well, he’s not taking care of his family or facing his responsibilities.

It gets worse.

Tanigaki decides to remain with the 7th, is involved in Tamai’s little expedition, wounded by Retar and left there.

Now, Tanigaki is a soldier with obligations toward the 7th and toward the comrades who were with him and that were using him as guide.

What’s his reaction?

He wants to hunt Retar.

He doesn’t go to report to Tsurumi. He won’t search for his comrades. He wants to hunt Retar. Tsurumi and his men were searching for him Tamai and the others, a sign he wasn’t allowed to disappear for so long.

This is of no concern to Tanigaki. He wants Retar.

Of course this is his subconscious trying to tell him something, to go back home and return being a Matagi but the point is a mature person would have still kept in mind his obligations to his comrades and the Army.

Tanigaki instead goes on his personal quest to find Retar and joins forces with Nihei.

I love the relationship with the two with Tanigaki in the beginning looking down on Nihei due to him using a Murata rifle,

without knowing anything about Nihei’s phylosophy...

way to hunt...

or life (Nihei also uses that rifle because it belonged to his deceased son).

Again, like he did with Kenkichi, he judged someone without knowing all the facts and was proved wrong.

Nihei, who doesn’t even know half of Tanigaki’s problems, tries to help him by understanding what Tanigaki truly need, to go back home. He understands Tanigaki is making excuses because he doesn’t have the guts to go home but wants to. Nihei wants to give Tanigaki a way to overcome his shame by giving him Retar’s pelt once they’ll have killed him.

I think Nihei wanted to help Tanigaki because he saw in him the son he lost and who couldn’t come back home. I love how they bond and how Nihei tries to be a father for Tanigaki, teaching him but also listening to what Tanigaki knows and accepting his suggestions. Nihei really wants to help Tanigaki go back home.

Although Tanigaki needed medical aid ironically Nihei understood what Tanigaki needed the most was going back home. That if he weren’t given an excuse to go back home he wouldn’t be capable to do it on his own.

On the reverse side, although Asirpa and her grandmother will give Tanigaki medical aid they won’t encourage him to go back home but they’ll let him keep on hiding from his family in their village (no, I’m not blaming them, they don’t know Tanigaki’s situation).

Now, I get Tanigaki didn’t want to warn Tsurumi about being there in fear this would betray the fact Sugimoto too hung around that village but his actions were still irresponsible. He should have found a way to tell the army where he was as they were searching for him. He wasn’t really allowed to decide he could remain among the Ainu to help them.

The Ainu could also end up in troubles as Tanigaki could end up being judged a deserter and in many countries who helps a deserter to hide is punished as well. The truth is Tanigaki doesn’t want to go back to the Army and while I fully understand his wish, this is again irresponsible and wrong toward the guys he called comrades.

Then Ogata drops by and we see it’s only due to him Tanigaki spared a moment to worry about Tamai ando Co. His surprise makes clear he hadn’t asked about them to Sugimoto so he doesn’t know how they had ended.

Tanigaki is however fast to judge them. If they aren’t with Tsurumi they’re nothing to him even if Tamai and Co hadn’t attacked him, Ogata is attacking him under the belief he killed them and Tanigaki knows nothing of their reasons...

Too bad he’ll later tell Ogata he ‘has cut ties with the 7th’.

If Tamai and Co were despicable for having cut ties with the 7th why he doesn’t feel bad for doing the same?

And he has cut ties with the 7th already even if he’s not really admitting it to himself, because he takes advantage of how everyone is distracted by Ogata to sneak back to the Ainu...

...and later will move disguising himself.

The Ainu points out to how, by now, since Tanigaki is making obvious how he doesn’t want to go back to the 7th he should return home...

Note how Tanigaki doesn’t say ‘yes’ nor seems happy at the idea.

Then Inkarmat came along and she worried Huci and he decided to go search Asirpa. Now... I don’t want to think he did so to escape going back because, really, Tanigaki seems genuinely worried for Huci but... we’ll discuss it later.

For now let’s focus on Tanigaki’s travel and how Cikapasi will join him.

Tanigaki’s idea of dealing with the problem was... doing nothing and hoping it would go away by itself (as in that Cikapasi would go home by himself). When it turns out that’s not the case he finally faces him. Cikapasi asks to say, Inkarmat agrees and Tanigaki... plays along, I guess. I can’t find him warning the Ainu about Cikapasi being with them but since he wrote to them I’ll take he did it. The point is when Inkarmat is in danger is Cikapasi who hurges Tanigaki to save her. They were travelling together, she’s now a woman in danger and Tanigaki needs a kid to tell him to help her?

And so we reach the Anehata arc. Tanigaki has said he travelled all that way to bring Asirpa back to Huci.

However when Asirpa rejects the idea thinking it’ll make her look as if she were a child, Tanigaki says nothing.

Asirpa wouldn’t have acted as a child if she were to go back. Tanigaki knows first hand the treath on Huci’s health is genuine. His mother died for the same reason and he set himself on that travel to avoid this happening to Huci. Yet he does nothing to make Asirpa change her mind. He doesn’t tell her about how he lost his mother, he doesn’t tell her going back wouldn’t have been the act of a child but of a caring grandaughter.

It would have been fine if he were to try and failed, but he doesn’t. True, he’ll remain with Asirpa to support her in her travel but he doesn’t really set her straight on the risk Huci was running. This makes me fear he’s using the whole thing as an excuse not to go back home.

It’s clear he doesn’t know well how to handle his relationship with Inkarmat. I’ve talked other times with it and I’m also willing to give him a pass as he’s apparently not experiences with women so, probably, he doesn’t really know how to act with her but, although he tries to protect her from Ogata, he’s of no real support to her.

Inkarmat is a troubled woman with a sad past behind herself, plagued by Wilk’s memory which is, apparently, the happiest memory of her life.

When Tanigaki confronts her about the whole rice thing his reaction seems the one of a jealous man, more than of a supportive man. When Inkarmat explains him her reasons, he accepts them but he’s still not really supportive, more like ‘I’ll let up to you close this chapter of your life and once you’re done with what you’ve to do and I’ve done with what I’ve to do we can be together’.

This is not terrible per se as he were letting her have freedom and trust... but it’s not offering support along the way even though Inkarmat just told him about her sad past and she might have needed support to face it. But okay, as I said I’ll give him a pass as the whole thing with Inkarmat is mostly ‘unknown ground’ for Tanigaki... even if this might be part of why Inkarmat will feel it’s all right not to warm him about how she was passing info on Tsurumi.

Fast forward to post Abashiri, Tanigaki decides to leave Inkarmat in Tsurumi’s hand to ‘save Asirpa’ or so he says but fundamentally he carries along Kiro’s knife to ‘return it’ by stabbing him as he stabbed Inkarmat. He doesn’t make sure Cikapasi will remain home (even though he was the adult in charge of Cikapasi) so Cikapasi ends up tagging along and since they’re hunting two dangerous men the travel might be dangerous this time.

And so we reach the point in which he stabs Kiro.

Differently from Kenkichi this time it was self defence, so I don’t blame him for stabbing Kiro... I blame him for wanting that so much he left behind Tsukishima and, when Koito went back he didn’t follow him. Tanigaki was their guide. He should have made sure Tsukishima was following and shouldn’t have left Koito alone. The same way I scold Koito for leaving Tanigaki alone, I also scold Tanigaki for leaving Koito alone. Tanigaki is probably older and surely more experienced and they had been just attacked. He shouldn’t have left him alone.

So that’s my list of moments in which Tanigaki failed either at taking care of others or of taking care of his own responsibilities or both.

Mind you, as said before Tanigaki didn’t do it out of ill will or lazyness. He often meant well or did so by mistakes or because misguided by his own feelings. Tanigaki genuinely wants to do the right thing, to be a good person. He cares for many people and would like to help them. But still, he failed here and there and, in some cases, other people paid for his failure.

I was really, really hoping his travel to Karafuto would end up showing he had grown and can be supportive and help the people he cared about because I know Tanigaki is a good guy and can do it... and I’m really sad to see among his goals for the Karafuto trip there was ‘return that knife’.

I wanted him to be the one who’ll support Sugimoto, who’ll tell him revenge will bring no good and instead Tanigaki had a wish of revenge in his heart as well.

Tanigaki has changed from the start of the story, changed in many ways but sadly not in this one. This is a true pity and I’m really sad for him because Noda seemed to have set up things in such a way we can expect Tanigaki to have to pay the price for his own wrong choice.

And I can’t help but be worried for him.

Now of course you might feel differently from me, as said before I’m not Noda and I don’t own the truth on these characters but still I hope my reply at least helped to clear up my past words. Thank you for your ask!