#Hasegawa Fina

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Would Tsurumi's character arc changed to a grand extent if the fate of Olga and Fina was different? In a way they lived and Tsurumi had less to no trauma about his family. Is his arc really lowkey turns around what happened to his family, kind of? What changed do you think it would make for his role in GK if that event went different in which they lived?

It's an interesting question!

Possibly it would have, as he might have decided to remain in Russia with them, maybe even switch loyalties between Russia and Japan, or he would take them back to Japan with him and not harbour any other ambition than be with them or, at least, wouldn't have harboured such a great grudge toward Wilk and might have remained a more human person or, at least, a less ambitious one.

There's to say though, in the last third of the manga his family drama is underused, basically it merely became an excuse to guilt trip Sofia into talking and into letting Tsurumi kill her. Tsurumi insists it's not his family drama what's moving him, and even though it's made clear he hates Wilk because he blames him for his loss and transferres this hate to Asirpa... well, all this hate just exists and goes nowhere.

It's not a motive, it's not an obstacle to overcome, it's not something that causes him to make mistakes (unless we want to consider the fact his brain started leaking like crazy in Vol 21 when he talks with Asirpa and never again [by the way this wasn't in the magazine version so if you're reading the mangazine version you might not know what I'm talking about]).

So... who knows?

The story wanted to say that loss was the thing that turned him into the Tsurumi we know so, without it, we wouldn't have Tsurumi therefore theoretically Fina and Olga's survival would have been a big change for him... but again, with how underused the whole thing was, we can't really tell what exactly it would have changed.

That's a question, I guess, only Noda knows the answer of.

Still thank you for your ask!

[amidonexor]

sorry i still can't get over them

[naruysae]

💀 🔥

[arial-s]

I had to...

Original from Fiona and Cake

[cleveradjacent]

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Teen And Up | F/M | 1,2k words | Fina/Tsurumi Tokushirou | giving Fina a character | Early Relationship | Pre-Canon | Spies & Secret Agents | More tags on AO3

Все вместе дышало со стены непонятным величием. Мальчик будто даже злился, настолько явно он ощущал, как острый творческий ум не влезал в его собственный. Из хлипкого воздуха человек вывел неистовство и жизнь, а как, и зачем, и почему глаз не отвести — юному Токуширо не было дано понять. Да и взрослому тоже.

Хасэгава Коичи и Фина, от начала до конца. В коротких сценах.

[unicat-w]

cute cute

[felsml1225]

Hasegawa & Fina

[piduai]

do you think there’s some wiggle room for assuming that fina and olga were killed accidentally by a stray bullet or do we all agree unanimously that wilk killed them purposely in order not to get compromised?

who is this "all" you're talking about, not only i disagree with that theory i think it's incredibly stupid and one of the worst to float around. wilk did not kill fina and olga on purpose. stating otherwise is a disservice to both wilk and tsurumi as characters. it is reductive.

first of all it is logically unsound. why would wilk do that? he is not omnipotent; even in the event that he saw that it was fina behind the bushes (which he didn't) for him it would have been just seeing her in her own backyard. he didn't know of her agreement with hasegawa. why would he kill her then? i've seen people propositioning that he must have seen her holding the wanted posters and put two and two together because he's smart, but he hasn't. he saw the poster only after she has been shot:

and because he is indeed very intelligent, he did put two and two together; hasegawa is not the man he thought he was, he's wanted by the government too, he's MUCH more dangerous than he seems, and he is aware that the three of them are considered enemies of the state. on top of that one of the three just accidentally shot his wife and child. this is trouble. that's the reason he hastily dragged sofia out of there, because he didn't know what hasegawa is capable of. even in the unlikely event that he killed fina because, as you say, he didn't want to be compromised, why would he let hasegawa live, then? if that were the case, he would have killed him too. so this makes absolutely no sense.

second of all, this would unnecessarily paint wilk as an absolute monster. and for what? he is a difficult case i'll grant you that, but he is not a monster. wilk's cold and cruel logic was extended to circumstance, but even that considered, would he kill the woman who has been receiving him in her house for months while her husband was sharing his precious knowledge with them, and their infant child besides? he has been shown as being a person capable of feeling deep gratitude even before he had asirpa (he gifted inkarmat his own mother's kimono for being his guide and teacher around hokkaido). would he do that to the people who showed him so much kindness? i don't think so. wilk has assassinated the russian emperor because he was a political extremist. he killed his own dying comrade when they were being chased because it was absolutely necessary, sofia admitted that after a lot of hesitation she would have done the same. killing fina and her child wouldn't have been a necessary sacrifice even if he concluded that she knew about what he is; it would have been an act of evil. and wilk is not an evil figure in golden kamuy.

third of all, if he had done that, then he would have completely, unequivocally justified tsurumi's hatred and vendetta against him. if we look at it the way it is in canon - it was a tragic accident that happened in the midst of chaos, nobody at the site knew exactly who was the killer (until tsurumi retrieved the bullet), they all shared the blame in some way but ultimately it couldn't be pinned on someone alone - then tsurumi's attitude towards wilk is complex and multi-layered, but while he has a right to be resentful towards him and the trio as a whole, ultimately his grudge borders on petty because, again, it was an accident. if it were on purpose, then he would have been 100% justified in his actions towards them. who can blame someone for loathing the intentional(!) killer of his family and for wanting to get revenge? which would murder a good chunk of tsurumi's carefully crafted characterization at the core for no good reason.

[ginkochama]

Warmth

[chidori66]

[tokoyamifumi]

okay WAIT i need to talk about golden kamuy again. WARNING, MAJOR MANGA SPOLIERS AHEAD. 

so at the end of the sapporo arc tsurumi takes asirpa and sofia to a church to interrogate them about the key to solving the code right, in my opinion this location was clearly intentional.

in this scene tsurumi is explaining his past with sofia and wilk, and sofia is once more faced with the guilt that haunted her for 18 years. she explains her side of the story to asirpa and tsurumi explains how his family was killed by wilk, and how wilk became nopperabou. the fact that this exchange takes place in a church gives me the feeling that this was a confession, telling asirpa of their sins so they could be absolved of them. why asirpa? because as we saw in the last supper painting, asirpa was seated in the spot jesus was in.

i think it goes even further than that however, tsurumi revealed to sofia that wilk had killed his family, not her, he was absolving her of her guilt in the situation, the grim reaper delivered salvation and forgiveness to her. this is evident when he eventually kills her and says that he forgives her (but not wilk). the dichotomy of asirpa representing jesus and tsurumi representing the grim reaper is an important one, because both are seen as saviors. asirpa is pushed into the role as the future leader of the ainu, and tsurumi saves his men from hellish circumstances and gives them purpose, to the point where they fervently worship him. the fight for the gold has become a holy war between good and evil for the future of japan.

also i just thought of something else, seeing as how asirpa is jesus, it could be argued that wilk is the representation of god, and by killing olga and fina, he was essentially casting hasegawa out of heaven, leading him down the path of tsurumi. thats mostly speculation, but it makes sense both in the catholic canon and gk canon

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Did you not notice Sofia shooting Tsurumi the same moment he did? I actually think its a great add and means a lot to Sofia character’s arc. What do you think?

Well...

...to my shame I’ve to admit I noticed it only on my third checking.

Credits when it’s due Noda ALWAYS improved greatly the volume version of his manga and Vol 30 is noticeable because it’s kind of massive compared to the others because yes, it contains 12 chapters but also lots of new pages and changes for a total of around 250 pages (other volumes have around 200).

Now, among the chapters contained in Vol 30, one of the weakest points was the way Sofia was handled as I wasn’t the only one unsatisfied for how her death didn’t feel emotional at all and, either Noda wasn’t satisfied either or the Japanese fandom wasn’t and he got wind of it so he took care to try to improve things.

And in my books this counts as him deserving lots of kudos because, as far as I know, there are very few manga authors who take care to try to improve the volume version to the extent Noda goes.

So what do I think of the changes and, more specifically, of the scene in which Sofia pressed the trigger? Did it improve things?

If you ask my two cents... yes and... no.

Why yes and no?

Let’s start with the good bits.

Character wise, Sofia managing to shoot, just works better than her freezing completely.

That’s because, for start, in the church she was shown capable to attack Tsurumi without freezing up, and because it makes the scene a little less in ‘easy mode’.

I mean, to have Tsurumi take her down after she resisted for so long defeating all the ones who tried to kill her, solely because she froze up seeing him… well this felt waaay too convenient. Sure, it can be argued that Tsurumi shoot twice while she managed to shoot only once and didn’t even graze him, and we still have the panel showing how she sees Hasegawa when looking at Tsurumi which might imply she hesitated, so Tsurumi still had him easy but well, the scene might not be perfect but an improvement is an improvement.

So yeah, THIS IS GOOD.

However… on the opposite side we can see that, even if Noda redrew part of the image… there’s basically 0 focus on how Sofia managed to still shoot back despite her regret.

The image is still structured as it was before, the focus completely on how Sofia got shoot twice so that it comes easy to miss Sofia fired too… because the message isn’t that Sofia still managed to fire but that Tsurumi shoot her twice, placing all the focus on this…

…but okay, it might feel less impactful if you’re not a magazine reader and watch the scene without being influenced by how you’re aware Sofia didn’t shoot in the magazine. Despite the little focus on it you might still notice she shoot.

So okay, this might be me nitpicking.

What’s not me nitpicking is that Sofia now firing changes how we view the scene, especially in connection with what follows.

In fact in the magazine the whole scene was about how Sofia’s guilt was so overwhelming it stopped her to fire and made her apologize to Tsurumi, finding relief only when she heard him saying he’ll forgive her.

This could tie in with how Ogata is literally killed by the personification of his own sense of guilt… only to end the theme of guilt with him as Asirpa will feel no guilt and Sugimoto is apparently cured from his own (and the same might be said for the rest of the surviving cast, who regrets nothing, from Nagakura who, once Hijikata is dead, leaves Asirpa and Sugimoto to their own devices same as Kantarou, to Tanigaki whose shame in going back is never discussed again, to Koito and Tsukishima who apparently did nothing wrong and the only one to blame is Central who would like to blame them and their men for having rebelled but no, they won’t let evil Central do so… and it won’t considering Koito and Tsukishima will remain in the Army and Koito will continue to rise in ranks).

Now though, the most harm Sofia’s guilt does is to make us speculate if Sofia hesitated to shoot and therefore made easier for Tsurumi to shoot her, or if she missed on purpose (unlikely but she didn’t even graze him which is kind of bad considering she had a rifle) therefore making easier for him to come out of that fight without even a scratch.

So yeah, Sofia managing to fire weakens the idea she has overwhelming guilt…

And while this is good because that overwhelming guilt wasn’t well presented (we were all in with how she believed she murdered Olga and Fina but the idea she now feels guilty merely because she went there felt out of nowhere, as if she’s searching for something to blame herself) at least to western audience (Japanese audience is much more into guilt merely by cause-effect discounting intention so maybe they were more okay with this jump) but could have been easily overcome by presenting her guilt better…

THIS IS also BAD because it weakened the whole theme of guilt and therefore the connection with how Ogata killed himself due to inability to face his own guilt (but considering the theme of guilt isn’t pursued any further by the other remaining characters maybe Noda sacrificed it gladly).

But okay, after Ogata’s death Noda wasn’t really interested in the theme of guilt any longer so he might not have minded toning it down from Sofia’s death as well…

…but then we still have Sofia’s final moments all circling around it, around how she blames herself for Tsurumi’s loss and how she finds peace when he tells her he’ll forgive her… before killing her, implying he’ll never forgive Wilk instead.

So we tone down Sofia’s guilt but easing such guilt is still the core of her death? It makes it even less emotional.

Overall, as I’ve already said when commenting it for the magazine version, the scene still seems to be more about Tsurumi’s loss than about her.

It seems to be about how she has done something unforgivable to him (when Tsurumi is actually a lot more to blame for his own loss while Sofia is only peripherally and vaguely responsible), how noble he is to forgive her despite that and yet how vengeful he still is toward Wilk.

All this while at the same time all of Sofia’s previous goals are forgotten to focus on a guilt that was poorly developed and just introduced.

Yeah, credits when it’s due, Noda tried to give focus to Sofia’s love for her men in a new scene in which she searches for them and find none of them remained alive, breaking down and calling Wilk and Kiro as well… though the story doesn’t really focus on her feeling guilty for them, for dragging them in that suicide mission, she just mourns them… and again, credits when it’s due, to stress how Sofia should feel guilty Noda remarks, in another added scene, how Sofia’s group draw the line at killing children (which she actually didn’t do, that was Wilk’s mistake and he went on living just fine and without regrets as far as we know).

Now… I can intellectually work out a psychological explanation to justify Sofia’s guilt and how Tsurumi’s words were ‘salvation’ for her… but sometimes in a story what matters more are gut feelings. When watching Sofia’s death I didn’t feel as emotionally involved as I did when watching Nikaidou’s death (and I liked Sofia much more than him) or when I watched Boutarou or Kiro or Kikuta’s death (and those were characters I actually liked a lot instead).

Her death, same as any other character’s death, was supposed to be an emotional moment, not a moment in which you start doing a psychological analysis to figure out why in that moment she would feel that way. As I said, maybe it’s cultural, maybe for a Japanese person the jump is much smaller but… I still watch the scene and it feels more about Tsurumi’s loss and rage against Wilk than about her… and yeah, a father losing his daughter feels a terrible pain… but, as far as I’m concerned that wasn’t the moment to focus on Tsurumi.

But whatever, in the end even this won’t really have a follow up. Tsurumi will never be forced to face his own responsibilities in his loss, even though he’ll realize he sacrificed Fina and Olga’s last remains to get the land deed, ultimately he’s there to tell Asirpa, or better Wilk, that everyone he/Asirpa loves will be killed by the Golden Kamuy and Wilk is to blame for this.

So… to sum it up… while adding that shoot sure improves some things in the scene, as far as I’m involved it doesn’t fix it.

It might be a cultural matter so there’s no way around it and it’s just me but well, that’s how I feel.

Thank you for your ask!

[osomanga]

Vasily Conspiracy Theory

Something I’ve thought about since long but ne’er quite put into words coz it’s a bit of a sretch about connecting Hood-chan to plot beyond sniper....

So,

Vasily, Ilya and the two Russian border guards...

are pretty much Tanigaki, Tamai, Noma and Okada

It pretty much plays out in that way. The ones from each group that lived and joined the gang: Tanigaki Genjiro and Vasily

And...

I mean, Tanigaki...

Whatever did Tsurumi think when he heard that story??

Beacuse what Tsurumi did was the very same thing: The Japanese spy that burned down his house with his dead wife and daughter’s bodies.  

He had told Fina to go home to her family home with Olga

So she had a family somewhere who didn’t know she was coming home but would maybe get to know if ever they heard of the death of the wife of the japanese photographer.

Now Vladivostok=/=Sakhalin. It’s not far, but Vasya as a border guard by some stretch may have been sent alongside Ilya... But also Vasya looks in his late 20s/30s like Ogata, whereas Fina would have been around 40 like Tsurumi had she lived. Plus like, Sofa is already the connect to Hasegawa Koichi.  

Nonetheless what if Vasya sees Tsurumi and his radar goes off: Hasegawa Koichi looking like a zombie.

Or not.  

[chibivesicle]

Golden Kamuy chapters 265 & 266. The reunion we’ve been waiting for.

After the flashback told by Kiro on their way to break Sofia out of prison in Russia, we learned about Tsurumi’s past as a spy in Vladivostok and his family who died in his encounter with the Russian secret police.

It has been a long time coming for that flashback to be connected to present day (well in the manga timeline) Tsurumi and Sofia.

The cover page has an image of Tsurumi with Olga and Fina seen through a keyhole.  I want to know - who is the person looking through the keyhole at them?

Is this supposed to be symbolic of Tsukishima and Koito listening to him?

The chapter starts off with Kikuta meeting up with Koito and Tsukishima as they realized not everyone made it to the rendezvous point.  Of course they then quickly decide to separate, but tell Koito to stay behind.

Kikuta and Tsukishima separate and we learn that Ariko and Kantaro catch up to Hijikata as he states they are going to rescue Asirpa.  Sofia’s men also state they are going to rescue Sofia.  Everyone is still converging on the same point.

Koito carefully decides to go back and investigate because he was concerned by Tsurumi’s facial expression upon meeting Sofia.  He knows there is more to the story and he’s not just going to blindly follow Tsurumi’s orders.

Of course, he catches Tsukishima doing the same thing!  I love how he tries to pull rank on Tsukishima but not really.

Their argument is kind of adorable in a way - both men are trying to understand what is going on in a pot calling the kettle black sort of way.

Tsukishima may have sunk low when he tried to stop Tanigaki and Inkarmat, but the time on Karafuto changed both of them.  He revealed to Koito how he had been manipulated by Tsurumi and tried his best to keep on keeping on, but Koito had stopped him from that direction.

What is more interesting is to learn that Koito didn’t even realize that when he spoke to Tsurumi normally at the brewery!  As a reader I had made a poor assumption where I thought he had realized he spoke normally, but it seems to have been lost in the heat of the moment and only Tsukishima picked up on it.

Tsukishima points out the obvious to Koito and I love how he finally realizes this with a little sweat.  Koito had been so into well just doing things, that he needed to be reminded of what he had done.

Tsurumi then sends Nikaido out to allow him to talk to Sofia and Asirpa undisturbed and even double checks that the church is empty!  Which they had already done when Tsukishima and Koito were with him!  Tsurumi does one more check of the rooms as the two men hide under a desk or table of some sort.

Tsukishima wonders if Tsurumi is going to discuss something that he doesn’t want any of his subordinates to hear.  Tsukishima looks upset and angry about this while Koito seems more concerned.  Sofia and Asirpa are tied up and tied to a pew in the church.

There is a flashback where Sofia noticed the photos in the stove of Hasegawa’s photo studio and she grabbed the one of her with Kiro and Wilk. Tsurumi then sites down in a chair across from them in a relaxed posture.

Sofia comes to and realizes that she’s tied up and then notices Asirpa next to her.  Tsurumi finally removes the gag from Asirpa and comments that wearing her headband suits her as the special child of the ainu.

She’s unsure how to reply to the comment and Tsurumi states he’s glad to talk to her.  He then mentions Sofia Golden Hand and talks about meeting again.

Sofia of course wants to know who he is and he controls the conversation by discussing that it has been 18 years since they last met.  He then holds up the photo and refers to her by her fake name she used when they were in Vladivostok.  Only then can she put the pieces together slowly (I mean she took quite a beating before being brought to the church).

Tsurumi then presents the finger bones of Fina and Olga to Sofia while we see the view of the door keyhole.

Of course Tsukishima is the one watching while Koito listens through the door.  We get Tsukishima’s flashback to when he saw Tsurumi with the finger bones alone with bare feet.

Tsukishima now has the names of the people the bones belonged to.  Sofia bewildered asks him if he is Mr. Hasegawa.

She has figured out who this mysterious Japanese man is and what her relationship to him is.  Tsurumi calmly thanks her for recognizing and remembering as his weird brain fluid leaks.  Sofia is speechless as Asirpa begins to apply what she knows - asking if the photo is of Wilk and Kiro - and if it was taken in Russia as she recalls Kiro’s story that first introduced Sofia to her.

Koito is concerned to learn that Tsurumi was married with a family and he then turns to look at Tsukishima who is clearly upset.  He is very pissed off at Tsurumi.

It is clear that Tsukishima likely knows more that is making him this angry about the situation.

The chapter ends with a confident looking Tsurumi.  He reveals that they recovered letters from Kiro’s possessions which included the ones sent back and forth with Sofia.  He then suggests that they talk to Asirpa together. . . .

so that they can explain what happened to the Ainu.  It begins to rain harder, likely reflecting the tears around everyone in this situation and the quest for the gold.

Being an intelligence officer, I’m going to think that Tsukishima likely handed over the letters to Tsurumi not knowing about the milk ink, and was left in the dark as Tsurumi kept this information to himself. 

We know Kiro wouldn’t have been dumb enough to use actual ink.  Though, I wonder why Kiro kept the letters from Sofia.  Either he thought no one else would crack them or he did it for nostalgic reasons and his unrequited love of her.

I honestly expected more from this chapter.  For a long awaited ‘reunion’ of sorts it falls flat for me.  I wanted more from Tsurumi.  I wanted more from Sofia.  The character development and decisions from Tsukishima and Koito are predictable as they continue to think for themselves in the hunt for the gold. 

And where is Kikuta off to?  Find Ogata who is currently preoccupied with Vasily?  I had high hopes for things and it fell short.

So with that, let’s slide into 266 - pinky finger bones that has Tsurumi and Tsukishima wearing civilian clothes in Vladivostok.

Tsurumi quizzes Tsukishima on the meaning of the name of Vladivostok and Tsurumi explains the strategic importance of such a location.

A random Russian man then approaches Tsukishima.  He is curious if they are Japanese as he wants to talk about a random Japanese man.

Tsukishima frantically flips through a book (likely a dictionary for translation) as he asks the man to slow down so he can look up some things.  He then realizes after the man approached them that Tsurumi walked away quickly.

There is a burn out building and Tsurumi is standing outside of it, the brim of his hat shading his eyes as Tsukishima is breathing heavily implying he ran after him.  Tsukishima slowly reads the sign which reads ‘Hasegawa Photograph’ and he immediately comments that it was the name the Russian man had mentioned.  And that he had a wife and daughter, but the fate of them was not stated.  Quickly, Tsukishima asks if Hasegawa was someone Tsurumi knew.

Tsurumi says no but with a pause, there are lots of Japanese people living there and he must have been odd.  This clearly tells us that Tsukishima knows that Tsurumi lived in Vladivostok before!  He does his best to avoid looking at Tsukishima in his reply.

Tsukishima keeps thinking about the name as Tsurumi walks away from the remains of the studio.  It is then that Tsukishima mentions that Tsurumi’s mother’s maiden name was also Hasegawa, since they traveled to pay respects to his mother in Niigata.

Tsurumi remarks that Tsukishima remembers well and then tries to state it is a common last name in the area. 

The action returns to the resent where Tsukishima confirms that the Hasegawa he was asked about was indeed Tsurumi.

He begins to discuss what he knows about the Ainu gold, were about 50 years ago, 1860s, a more radical element of the Ainu were trying to rebel against the shogunate.  They sought to purchase munitions and arms from the Russian Imperial Navy - but the ship sank and they were left with the gold and nothing to purchase.  Tsurumi skips ahead to the fact that Wilk was in search of the gold, and Asirpa realizes that the man who taught Sofia, Kiro and Wilk Japanese had to have been Tsurumi.

Sofia, clearly in shock hangs her head as she recalls meeting Olga and Fina and enjoying their time together.  Tsurumi catches her attention by holding the finger bones in his hand before her. It is clear he’s trying to manipulate her to reveal as much information as possible by guilt tripping her.  Tsurumi looks totally creepy as he holds his head at an odd angle looking down at her.

He reveals that he was the only wanted man that day.  He knows that she found the wanted poster about Wilk and returned to warn him.

Because the three of them approached him and his studio, it is possible that Fina and Olga would have lived.  Sofia is barely holding things together.  She’s sweating, her eyes are stressed and it seems she’s moments away from losing it.  Kiro explained that Sofia felt guilty about what happened to Fina and Olga, even though it was unclear what happened that day.

Tsukishima and Koito are thinking about what Tsurumi has told them and others in the 27th previously.  That controlling the land where their comrades feel should remain in Japanese hands so that they can rest in peace. 

But a full page spread where both men’s veins are bulging as they wonder if Tsurumi’s true goal -

is related to morning his dead wife and daughter by making Vladivostok a part of Japan so he could honor them.  All in all a very ‘petty’ goal for a man asking others to fight and die for him.  That isn’t what Koito or Tsukishima want to do in the army for obvious reasons.

Tsurumi continues to interrogate Sofia.  He wants her to validate the deaths of Fina and Olga.  Talk about really putting on the psychological pressure!  Tsurumi wants to know what Kiro told her.  He makes it clear by referring to Kiro as Yulbars and frames it as the sacrifice of his wife and child.

Tsukishima is wondering why he’s questioning her about something that happened 18 years ago.  It seems like this line of interrogation is out of revenge and doesn’t serve a functional purpose.

Sofia weeps and finally speaks.  Yulbars told her that Wilk changed because Asirpa was born.  This goes back to what Kiro told Inkarmat at Abashiri - Inkarmat wanted to know how Kiro could kill Wilk, and he replied that he had changed.

So, really, Tsurumi already knew this.  Inkarmat told them that he said ‘Wilk had changed’.  Why confirming this from Sofia makes sense is beyond me at the moment as a reader.  Kiro stated this clearly - it wasn’t like he was hiding the info. . . . maybe Noda realizes that Abashiri was a long time ago in the context of the manga?  Or that Tsurumi wants to have confirmation from another source about Wilk changing.  Does he need an irrational amount of evidence?  Or does he want to torture Sofia as much as possible by dragging up the past?

The chapter ends with Shiraishi and Sugimoto watching Koito sneak back into the church.  They conclude that Asirpa must be there and that they should do something.  Sugimoto begrudgingly states they need Hijikata’s assistance as Shiraishi is surprised at his restraint.

Their attempt to drive forth and find others results in them crashing into a likely telegraph pole and they fly out of the beer bottle car. 

I guess Noda wanted to end the chapter with a joke but it seems to fall short.  I hope they don’t do anything stupid that complicates the rescue of Asirpa.

These two chapters have brought the reunion of Tsurumi and Sofia about, but I’m unsure if it has been effective as I would have expected for such a huge reader ‘payoff’.  Sofia is shocked to learn that Hasegawa is alive and clearly wants some sort of revenge on her for her actions.  Tsukishima and Koito know too much about his possible highly personal goals.  Neither of them serve under Tsurumi so that the bodies of his family can be on Japanese soil.  It seems like such a petty reason to try to use the gold to establish a military state on Hokkaido.

I am glad that Tsukishima and Koito are thinking about their actions and may finally consider their blind faith in Tsurumi.

As I previously stated, I’m still unsure what confirmation that Kiro concluding that ‘Wilk changed’ from both Inkarmat and Sofia does to help Tsurumi out.

I’m personally disappointed that Kiro didn’t destroy the letters that Sofia sent him.  I’d say it is obvious that when Tsurumi got them, he knew exactly what to do with the letters as a former spy.  I wonder if Tsukishima feels left out since he likely read the letters and didn’t know what to make of the nonsense that Kiro and Sofia exchanged?

I hope that Sugimoto and Shiraishi don’t mess things up even worse.  What ever Tsurumi discusses with her - I feel that it is something that she alone needs to hear and decide how to respond as the figure at the center of the quest for the gold.

I can’t write a meta without wondering what Ogata is up to?  Having him distracted with a sniper battle with Vasily seems to be a waste of his effort and attention, unless Kikuta is going to get mixed up with them?

Well that’s all I’ve got for now.  I’m behind and need to catch up on the next chapter!

[recentanimenews]

Golden Kamuy – 33 – A Wolf in Vladivostok

As Kiroranke and Sofia exchange correspondence, smuggled in and out of the prison with a little help from master of disguise Shiraishi, Asirpa, Kiroranke, Shiraishi, and Ogata stay in a village of the Nivkh, Karafuto’s most populous ethnic minority. Kiroranke maintains that Sofia could have crucial information about Wilk and the code for the gold.

Because he claims the gold will benefit all minorities including the Ainu, Asirpa is willing to go along with his plans. We also learn that Sugimoto’s team has reached the reindeer farmers who previously hosted Asirpa’s team. They’re still a ways behind, but Sugimoto is looking forward to reuniting with her at Ako Prison.

That’s pretty much all for present-day events, as Kiroranke spends much of the rest of the episode telling a story about—among other things—how he, Wilk, and Sofia learned Japanese from a man named Hasegawa Kouichi, who ran a photography studio in Vladivostok. Kouichi has a happy life with his wife Fina and infant daughter Olga.

Before the three revolutionaries arrive at his doorstep wanting to learn Japanese, Kouichi spots a lone wolf on the outskirts of town—an ill omen, if you will. Still, Kouichi welcomes the three and they learn quickly, with Wilk learning the quickest while Sofia seems least motivated to learn. Sofia is also immediately smitten with little Olga. Kouichi even likens the three to the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration who successfully modernized Japan.

It isn’t long until Kouichi learns that his three visitors from the far west were responsible for assassinating the emperor. Assuming the Russian secret police will descend upon his studio soon, he tells Fina to take Olga and go far away to await word from him, insisting she not return under any circumstances.

As it turns out, the police aren’t there for the revolutionaries; they’re there for Kouichi, a Japanese spy using the studio as a front. Sofia, Wilk, and Kiroranke break out the guns and do their thing; none of the police can be allowed to escape. Kouichi makes things a little easier in the ensuing siege by revealing he keeps a machine gun hidden amongst his photography equipment.

As the three take out the police, Sofia fires a shot into a tree, and I half-expected it to be that lone wolf Kouichi spotted earlier, which he encountered a second time while Wilk was teaching him about traps. Instead, it’s Fina, who did come back for Kouichi. A bullet hit both her and Olga, killing the child and leaving the mother in bad shape.

Sofia is beside herself with grief and regret, but there’s little time for either; she and her compatriots must flee before attracting more attention. When they reach the seasonal ice floes that allow passage from Russia to Karafuto—the same ones Kiroranke will use in the present to help Sofia & the other inmates reach their allies on the mainland—Sofia declares she won’t be going with Wilk, whom she loves, or Kiroranke, deciding to stay in Russia to stoke the fires of revolution.

We then return to Kouichi holding his dying wife, and the moment he tells her the truth: his real name is Tsurumi Tokushirou. That’s right, that Tsurumi, with the busted skull. It truly is a small world. Now we know the connection between him and the revolutionaries, and it’s another horribly tragic story, this time centered on one of the series’ main players.

Lt. Tsurumi seemed to accept his wife and daughter’s death as an accident, but he’s quite a different man since his head injury. This added history will color all future interactions (if any) between Tsurumi, Kiroranke, and Sofia. Kiroranke also writes to Sofia that Wilk has died, and though the woman has become hard-as-steel in the years since she last saw him, she still can’t help but weep from the news.

By: braverade

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