#golden kamuy ch. 310

[velrikka]

"You were born a blessed child, brother." Still gives me the Chills like goddamn. When I read that I had to pause a few minutes! Going with the interpretation that Yuusaku is a manifestation borne from Ogata's guilt, I wonder: Does he actually believe that sentiment deep down in his heart? Does he truly believe that he was born blessed, despite his actions has led us to believe otherwise?

[swageta]

On a less serious note, love that my man was dedicated to kill stealing until the very end. 

[xxmanitaxx]

Shiraishi what the hell...?

[tsukishimashukuro]

You either loved ch 310 or hated it

[globodamorte]

GK SPOILERS FOR CH.310!! SCROLL PAST IF YOU HAVENT READ IT YET

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I'm.honestly in awe of how perfect his death was. he didn't get a redemption arc. he didn't let himself get one, which is pretty in character tbh. the way his whole life is full of self punishing and self sabotaging, guided by a philosophy that he only follows out of fear. "if I was loved? what then?" I love how he came to the final conclusion by himself, no one told him "oh you poor soul you're actually loved silly boy!" he just realized it by himself. and the breakdown he has while doing so is honestly .. chefs kiss.

ogata couldn't get a happy ending. it would be too ooc for him. he sealed his own fate, and realized his mistake too late. like, I'm sorry. as many other characters in Golden kamuy, it's a shame but there was no way. and who's to say that accepting his feelings of guilt, feeling loved, blessed for an instant and reuniting with his brother isn't a good ending for him? he's free of himself now.

also? asirpa hasn't killed anyone yet because ogata shot himself before the poison killed him. maybe he didn't even realize it and I'm reading too much into it, but it's nice to see one last act of him protecting asirpas "innocence", that draws yet another parallel between him and sugimoto. I bet he would feel.. uhh.. guilty lmao

having the realization happen with all ogatas from so many periods of his life is at the same time super cool but also acts like he's reflecting on his entire life journey. his life passing before his eyes, and him accepting (because realizing? he kind of already knew but was in such extreme denial that he was kinda trapped by it) his mistakes and true feelings simultaneously.

I kinda wish he would have cried a little. not in a "oh.... what is this...?" way but in a "azula after she gets chained to the floor" way.

in a "the fragile philosophy that guided my life was just shattered and I ruined myself and so many others for nothing and I feel so bad about it despite pretending I don't for over 20 years. also I'm in a lot of pain" way.

I also wish his delirium of yuusaku was a little more idk... affectionate. I think it would contribute and escalate his breakdown more up until the climax. maybe some changes will be made when the volume is released, but who knows.

his last line "brother, you were born a blessed child" also is perfect bc that's the last thing ogata thought he would hear in his life (even if it was a delusion of his IDC) it counters all the times he thought and thought and said to himself and others that he is cursed, defective, broken from the start and that there is no hope for him. but he Chose that broken path.

I'm also glad he said it himself. he CHOSE it. maybe he was afraid, maybe he was desperate, maybe he was so isolated that he couldn't possibly find another solution, after all he was a child, desperate for love and attention. maybe it's all of that together. but I'm glad that he doesn't shy away from it. he acknowledges that even so, he still was very in the wrong and his actions are not suddenly ok because he's so fucked up, and I really appreciate that.

edit: also I'm glad he was smiling.

[velrikka]

I doooo kinda wish that the manga showed us the aftermath of Ogata's manic unravelling. A scene in the (almost) afterlife where the brothers talk about the admission of Ogata's guilt & the deep rooted belief that he doesn't deserve a modicum of kindness; especially not from Yuusaku. Not him.

Oh, also a scene where Vasily gives him a proper burial!! I really do believe that he's the only (surviving) living soul at the end of the story who mourns Ogata's passing. I think Asirpa has grown too much to let that grief to stay with her long. Tsukishima a little, perhaps. But that history is behind him now.

[swageta]

Golden Kamuy ch. 310

“I wasn’t a defective, lacking person...I merely chose the path that I felt a defective person would take”

FFFFFFFUUUUU

DON’T TOUCH ME

I’m seeing people on here and other places online interpreting this chapter as sending a “fate is inescapable/unavoidable” kind of message. I think it’s more accurate to say that Ogata’s fate was unavoidable because of the path he put himself on and the choices he repeatedly made over the course of the story. His fate might have been inescapable, but at the end of the day, he was the one that set its course.

Also, I love that Ogata accused Tsurumi of “always looking at the wrong thing”, but this entire time, he was doing the same without realizing it. He was so caught up in his resentments that he couldn’t see that his worst enemy was not his father, his brother or society writ large. It was himself.

This shit is SUBLIME. UGH.