#golden kamuy reference actually

[dotssu3]

i just found out theres a disco elysium tie-in manga? wtf is this lol

[fslurusami]

gk nightmare blunt rotation

shiraishi: coughs like a bitch every single time he takes a hit

tsukishima: exclusively smokes dirt

tsurumi: exclusively smokes shit that gets you Wizard High

botarou: holds his breath for a solid 30 seconds and does not pass it in the meantime

ogata: ogata

ienaga:

[eyedelater]

noda-sensei's art peculiarities

(links are carefully selected example images from golden kamuy)

incredibly skilled with the human form; even difficult poses are rendered perfectly. (does he make everyone naked just to show off?)

babies are Not cute. they're ugly with puffy eyes and always look sleepy and disgusted.

clearly hates drawing teeth and the inside of mouths. notably just leaves the inside of mouths white most of the time. sometimes draws rough teeth, sometimes draws detailed teeth, sometimes implies teeth with shading, sometimes fills it in grey— it's not consistent at all. i think i've deduced that what he hates the most is calculating the position of teeth in the mouth.

despite the above point, he seems to always draw sofia's teeth because her tooth gap is an important part of her character design

sometimes zooms in and draws details (especially on hands) then zooms out and you can tell because now the line weight is a little different

3/4 view from behind (1/4 view?) of people's faces where you just see the funny bumps of their lips. and it always works

big round sweat drips that often have Texture and Shading.

incredibly skilled at drawing animals, even notoriously difficult ones like horses. though most of the animals die. especially horses.

amount of sparkle in the eyes is meaningful. more sparkle indicates the lightness of their spirit, and no sparkle indicates coldness or jadedness. best/worst example is reinvigorated tsukishima. asirpa is of course also a critical example. and i think ogata's eyes never have any sparkle his whole life.

he can draw wrinkles in the places where they would normally go on someone's face, and he can do it well. or he can decide to draw Other lines on someone's face, in any spot, and if someone questions it, the answer is that they're just like that, and you have to accept it. i really like this "they're just like that" approach to character design, and there are many examples in golden kamuy (e.g. ariko's square irises and pupils, ushiyama's forehead plate, tsukishima's nose)

really good at drawing the way strands of hair wrap over the top of someone's head. (look at tsurumi, ogata, hijikata)

he'll draw chapped lips that'll make your own lips feel real dry.

mouths are often shaped like that... but it works

eyes are usually black, but sometimes a character's pupils will get really small during moments of high tension and you can see their iris and it's light

this is just a hunch but i think he prefers drawing men over women

judicious use of lines going up from the corners of the mouth

he's not a coward: if a character's chest is exposed and the angle is right, he will draw that character's nipples, and that is right and just. he will apply the same principle to draw a character's butthole, which i don't have such a strong opinion about.

there are lots of men with very close-cut hair (bc it's the military) and that's not distinctive, so he gets creative with the hairlines. i think this is an underrated aspect of character design.

careful use of line weight on the corners of closed mouths has a powerful effect (of cuteness?) (look out for this next time you read the manga. it's everywhere and it's the best.)

consistently skillful use of ink splatter effects for blood; similar splattery effects used for snow

eyebrows and other facial hair are usually drawn as multiple long, thin lines together, and for an eyebrow with emotion, you put a couple of perpendicular lines at one end or both

strands of blood or hair extend and curl around in unrealistic ways for dramatic effect. this effect is omnipresent.

occasional really, really choice faces that were obviously drawn either from photo reference or while looking in a mirror

character design by actually giving everyone different facial features, as opposed to character design by assigning different hair and accessories to uniformly pretty people. the latter is much easier, but he chose the thorny path of his own will! thank you for setting a strong example, noda-sensei!

[teitomonogatari]

for once here's something from me that might be actually useful/fun to know

i made a height chart based off of noda's height rankings coupled with the official anime heights + color coded weight rank as bonus for visuals

yellow is the values that i estimated since we don't have any confirmed heights for them, with the darker yellow being basically canon since it'd be the only option

if we get more model sheets with heights (either from s4 or past ones) i'll update this, i'm hoping we could at least at some point get maybe inkarmat and kikuta, possibly vasily?

how i estimated + personal comments under cut (aka thick tsuki and thick sofia appreciation)

some thoughts:

TSUKISHIMA IS A DENSE LAD. i honestly originally added the weight ranks only to see how dense he was specifically and i was not disappointed. so here's more fodder for fellow chunky tsuki enthusiasts 😌🙏

SOFIA..... 😳😳😳😳 no wonder kiroranke was down bad. she's heavier than him i loooove that for them sm. she truly did grow into an even more beautiful woman he was absolutely right.

i'll never let anyone say that golden kamuy has no twinks when edogai is right there.

hijikata is also surprisingly light; i know he's old but i was expecting maybe a bit more muscle weight considering how skilled a fighter he is and the fact that abashiri had them do a lot of manual labor.

how i calculated (for others like me who enjoy math ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶ ):

i basically went off of the fact that the smallest difference between a rank is 1 cm, so a rank above would need to be at least 1 cm taller and a rank below would need to be at least 1 cm shorter

based on that, ranks 9, 13, 14 and 15 are basically the only option, so i'm running with those being canon

for rank 17, 162 cm is directly in the middle of 161 and 163, which are the minimum and maximum value

for ranks 4, 5 and 6, instead of going for the average of the min + max, i spaced them out so that the interval between each is the same. this gave me heights with decimals for the cm, but i just removed that in the formatting to make it cleaner. the calculations themselves are using cell references though so the height in feet uses the value with the decimals for the conversion.

the min + max of each is easy to calculate, so if you wanna know (for instance) the tallest height that vasily could be, it'll just be 184 - 3 spots down, so max 181 cm

anyway that's it feel free to use this as fodder for art or fics or just for fun facts :) i originally made this for myself but thought it'd be fun to share

[every-ogata]

What made you start this blog? Im glad you did but it seems like a lot of work.

As @kkachi-rkcl once put it, I read Golden Kamuy and all I got was toxoplasmosis.

Something about this funny lil man made me want to spend a lot of time grabbing photos of him so I can stick them in my wallet. I originally started this actually to get references of him for drawing and it just spiralled.

[here-lies-golden-kamuy]

NSFW | The Ultimate Golden Kamuy Breast Guide

Yes. You read that right. This came to me in a fever dream.

AKA I was taking a bath and pondered how it was unfair that GK has an official penis and ass chart but not a breast chart…I decided right then and there that I needed to do something for my fellow women lovers

Basically, if the Golden Kamuy universe was genderbent, what would the breast chart look like? 

The only canon woman included in this boobie companion guide is Ienaga because her being a transwoman is important to me. But honestly, I don’t think her cis women self would be any different. ALSO! While some characters have been assigned by me personally, this chart also involved a randomizer. What can I say? Breast sizes are moderately based on genetics, and genetics is a game of probability. So if you’re unsatisfied, don’t blame me, blame probability! /lh 

All just putting it out there, all breasts are beautiful! They’re all gorgeous gorgeous gals, and I love them all <3 

Is your favorite not here? Reblog so I can add them here! 

LET’S START 

BREAST 101: BREAST MORPHOLOGY

For this guide, I’ve chosen three parts of breast morphology: breast shape, breast cup size, and nipple and areolae size and shape. 

ONE: BREAST SHAPE (check the link for reference illustrations on breast shape!)

Round Round breasts have a uniform appearance with roughly equal fullness on the top and bottom

GK GALS WITH ROUND BREASTS: Koito, Ienaga, Kikuta, Tsurumi

Bell-Shaped Bell shaped breasts typically occur in people with larger breasts. These breasts tend to be narrow at the top and full at the bottom

GK GALS WITH BELL-SHAPED BREASTS: Tsukishima, Ushiyama, Tanigaki, Kiroranke

Slender Slender breasts are narrow and long, with nipples pointing downwards

GK GALS WITH SLENDER BREASTS: Boutarou, Toni, Usami, Kantarou

Conical Conical breasts are cone-like in shape: the top of the breasts slope down toward the nipples, which point outward. This shape often occurs in people with smaller breasts 

GK GALS WITH CONICAL BREASTS: Sugimoto, Yuusaku, Kadokura, Nikadous

Relaxed Breasts with looser or thin breast tissue tend to have a relaxed or elongated shape. The nipples typically sit lower on relaxed breasts, and they may or may not point downward

GK GALS WITH RELAXED BREASTS: Shiraishi

East-West East-West breasts are full on the top and bottom, and the nipples point in opposite directions, away from the body’s midline

GK GALS WITH EAST-WEST BREASTS: Ogata, Vasily, Kirawus

Close-set Close-set breasts have little or no space between them. They sit in the center of the chest, which leaves a bigger area between the breasts and the shoulders

GK GALS WITH CLOSE-SET BREASTS: Ariko, Edogai, Nakagura, Hijikata

Asymmetrical Breasts Breast asymmetry occurs when one breast is a different shape or size to the other. Most people have slight breast asymmetry

GK GALS WITH BREAST ASYMMETRY: Ariko, Sugimoto, Edogai, Kantarou, Hijikata, Boutarou, Kiroranke, Yuusaku, Tsukishima, Ushiyama, Ogata, Vasily, Ienaga, Nakagura, Koito

GK GALS WITH NO BREAST ASYMMETRY: Shiraishi, Tanigaki, Nikadous, Toni, Usami, Kirawus, Tsurumi, Kadokura, Kikuta

TWO: BREAST CUP SIZE

There are two parts to breast size: the band size and the cup size. The band size is the number that refers to the circumference of a person’s ribcage (typically measured underneath the breasts). The cup size is the size of the actual bust. All-in-all, breast sizes (and shapes!) are influenced by different factors, such as age, lifestyle, weight, pregnancy or breastfeeding, genetics, etc. 

For this, I followed a Japanese guide for bra sizes (here’s a reference for international conversion of bra sizes) and opted to instead focus on the characters’ cup size rather than the band size (too difficult to think of, because we don’t exactly have their canon measurements). 

JAPANESE A TO B BRA SIZE: Sugimoto, Shiraishi, Kadokura, Ienaga, Tsurumi, Kantarou

JAPANESE C TO D BRA SIZE: Koito, Ogata, Toni, Nikaidous, Edogai, 

JAPANESE E TO F BRA SIZE: Nakagura, Hijikata, Vasily, Usami, Yuusaku

JAPANESE G TO H BRA SIZE: Ariko, Tsukshima, Kikuta, Boutarou

JAPANESE I BRA SIZE: Tanigaki, Ushiyama, Kiroranke

THREE: AREOLAE AND NIPPLE SHAPE AND SIZE

Last but certainly not the least: the areolae and nipples. The nipples are the nubs on each breast that is designed to be where an infant will latch its mouth during the breastfeeding age. On the other head, the areolae are the darker-colored skin surrounding the nipple. All areolae and nipples are unique, hence why I felt like this part also had to be included in this guide. 

A. AREOLAE 

GK GALS WITH LIGHTER COLORED AREOLAE: Nikaidous, Tsukishima, Shiraishi, Vasily, Usami, Kadokura, Edogai, Sugimoto, Kantarou, Ienaga, Ogata, Kirawus

GK GALS WITH DARKER COLORED AREOLAE: Yuusaku, Nakagura, Kiroranke, Hijikata, Kikuta, Toni, Tsurumi, Ushiyama, Ariko, Boutarou, Tanigaki, Koito

GK GALS WITH SMALLER AREOLAE: Kadokura, Boutarou, Ogata, Koito, Kiroranke, Tsukishima, Ariko, Shiraishi, Ushiyama, Usami, Kantarou, Nakagura

GK GALS WITH BIGGER AREOLAE: Tanigaki, Nikadous, Edogai, Vasily, Hijikata, Kirawus, Kikuta, Tsurumi, Yuusaku, Ienaga, Toni, Sugimoto

B. NIPPLES

GK GALS WITH BUMPY NIPPLES: Kiroranke, Kikuta, Nikadous, Toni, Hijikata, Sugimoto, Usami, Vasily

GK GALS WITH SUPERNUMERARY* NIPPLES (EXTRA NIPPLE/S): Ariko, Tanigaki, Ienaga, Ushiyama, Boutarou, Tsurumi

GK GALS WITH EVERTED (ERECT) NIPPLES: Kadokura, Koito, Tanigaki, Ushiyama, Kantarou, Tsukishima, Vasily, Usami

GK GALS WITH FLAT NIPPLES: Ienaga, Yuusaku, Kikuta, Ogata, Sugimoto, Nikaidous, Nakagura, Kirawus

GK GALS WITH PUFFY NIPPLES: Shiraishi, Kiroranke, Edogai, Ariko, Hijikata, Tsurumi, Toni, Boutarou

*It is totally normal to have an extra nipple or two! The extra nipple/s look more like moles than nipples. 

[captaindarkiplier]

I always forget that one of my inspirations for Captain Dark and Head Engineer in Darkhenge is Ogata and Yuusaku from Golden Kamuy. I didn't realize it at first but they are very similar and Darkhenge is just like a bigger version of it (with more details that I like)

Like I only mentioned Madoka and Homura as an inspiration so far, but most of the writing/content about them are not similar at all, it is just some scenes or over arching themes that fit But what I did not mention is how Head Engineer kinda being Actor Mark (and Dark being multiple people as well) makes the dynamic more interesting than what they are in those media. Not that they are bland, but that they are supposed to be seen as blandly innocent/good characters (referring to both Madoka and Yuusaku) and to have a "Actually I might be evil" behind that is so good, and I guess that juxtaposition is really missing from the media I like. (Except Utena, but that's hardly comparable to Darkhenge or even Madoka despite the common association. Utena is a beautiful story hard to flanderize since it's About flanderization- a poor explanation but yes)

[mejomonster]

Manga I'm reading or will read (so I guess if you have similar tastes check some out):

Death note (im not still reading, I read it long ago, still one of my favorites)

Hikaru no go (LOVE this artist, loved the cdrama adaptation, still need to read the original)

Billy Bat (i love everything naoki urasawa has ever made. If you like mysteries thrillers and wild plots? You'll probably like everything this author made too. In this particular case, billy bat is like if Kingdom Hearts crossed with Beyond Evil and was global scale centuries scale murder world control plot, full of references and a good evil mickey mouse spoof and an evil disney and comic artists as the protagonists and a lot to say about creation and stealing ideas and originality and transforming what already exists and like. If youre both into murder mysteries AND an artist then the themes are very fascinating. Urasawa also seems to make many manga that take place in multiple countries and characters of varied backgrounds, and I appreciate the global scale of the stories and the particular perspectives it offers. Some other manga by urasawa on my to read list: Pluto, Master Keaton, 20th Century Boys, Monster)

Tomie, and anything by Junji Ito (i love junji ito! I read Remina and LOVE IT, highly recommend for horror and sci fi lovers its a short good read. Read his cat manga for some comedy and zero horror. I find his horror manga oddly comforting. I also read Lovesick and adore the way the stories end up much more about personal fears manifested as monsters while the personal fears continue as the true plot, my favorite kind of horror. Junji Ito did a manga adaptation of No Longer Human I may eventually check out, but since the original novel was written by another person im not sure I'll click with it as much)

Dungeon Meshi (to read, self explanatory, its a very kind story in terms of how you feel, nice art and characters)

Golden Kamuy (to read)

Vagabond (to read)

Devilman (reading, feels oddly like old mickey mouse and xmen comics which is pleasant, it is as gay as youve heard)

Berserk (reading, i love it to pieces and take gratuitious breaks because it clicks Too much for me. The character and world designs are very close to how i usually design fantasy worlds, including the gratuitious faerie designs im always doing, so i try not to read this When im writing as its just too close to what i click with lol. I highly recommend if you like fantasy and solid characters)

Tokyo Babylon and X by Clamp (to read)

Banana Fish (to read)

Revolutionary Girl Utena (to read)

Vinland Saga (and the animal version, to read)

Beyond the Tricornered Window (i started, its surprisingly lust filled for a ghost finding story)

One Piece (reading)

Urusei Yatsura (i love everything by rumiko)

Ranma 1/2 (ive read and watched many a time, just my absolute fave. Do you like gender shennanigans, action and romantic comedy? Well i happen to love romantic comedy, IF its bisexual and filled to the brim with action scenes and ridiculous moments. Ranma 1/2 perfectly fits that niche. So lots of fun fights, off the wall moments like a baby pig being actually a teen boy adopted by another boys fiance, a girl who turns into a cat and wants to marry Ranma when he looks like a guy and kill him when he looks like a girl, 2 anime villain level dramatic siblings in a mess with ranma and his fiance akane romantically, a rich preteen girl who kidnaps pig boy, a guy named moose who turns into a goose, its just great)

Trigun (i want to know why people love this manga)

The Drifting Classroom (i just like horror manga a lot can u tell, to read)

School Rumble (another romantic comedy slash ensemble slice of life, where ranma plas with gender and comments on societal biases, school rumble instead keeps it lighter and plays with the usual romance teen manga tropes and both uses and breaks them a lot. The lead is in love with an alien boy who does not get crushes, and is the only alien in the plot. The guy who loves the lead is a delinquent manga artist and that gets meta at points. The leads sister is the more likely usual Protagonist type but shes just into helping animals and avoiding ppl and is very similar to Komisan, one of the leads friends is like Girl James Bond. The characters all read stereotype in early eps then actually get explored in ways you wouldnt expect and wouldnt assume to go that deep. Its very much ensemble about friends, and the romance is not actually main stage despite all the crushes, so a bit like Ouran Host Club in that way. I like romances and slice of life best When they subvert tropes and do the unexpected with them, and school rumble does fun things in that way)

All the Kingdom Hearts manga (i just like kh and love the artist and little side scenes the manga adds that the games dont have. Id love to read the novels one day if i could find them translated)

Innocent (i got an ad that recommended it but it looks scary so im probably in)

Homunculus (looks scary, of course its on the list)

Detective Conan (to read, my friend LOVES the anime)

Arcana (genuinely no idea what its about, i just gave it one look and made a judgemeny guess itd be my kind of story. Ill find out)

Brutal (looks scary, so of course i added it to my to read)

Erased (my friend loved the anime so ill probably like it)

Inuyasha (i figured maybe i should finish the manga since ive Watched half the anime back in childhood)

Seven Days (theres a jdrama bl adaptation)

Takara Kun and Amagi Kun (theres a jdrama bl adaptation)

Ultras (ill be real it looks super gay but also romance heavy only and i dont care much for Only romance usually, if u like gay sports stuff this looks like REAL gay sports romance drama for adults)

Witch Hat Atelier

[kokognos]

i be having thoughts of changing “The Vultures” OC story name to something else but theres this one thing i wanna include in the end of the story thats so cool

if you’ve read the entirety of gk, basically imagine the end part sorta with tsurumi where he says THE THING and you’re like,

“WOWWW so THATS why its called that…”

yk??? except instead of it being dropped i want the mention of the story’s title to add extra meaning to the story. i want the mention to make the reader realise what/who the phrase “The Vultures” is actually referring to.

i dont wanna say too much since i dont wanna spoil it in case i do turn it into an actual webcomic but just know im gonna take so much inspiration from Golden Kamuy and maybe add a few easter eggs/references to it (even if the story is set before when golden kamuy is and in a different country)

[goldenkamuyhunting]

In the Golden Kamuy fanbook there's enough stickers to spell Golden Kamuy twice, but there's an extra set of letters, that being A A L D E Y, what do you think it means?

I guess...

you’re talking about this page?

Originally this image was a reference to this cover:

Noda then made a bunch of other letters who also were used when there were made birthday posts for the characters. You can see there are some letters that don’t show up but that Noda drew, likely because they were drawn at a late date... or just because they would end up taking too much space.

I honestly don’t think the extra letter means more than that Noda drew spares so you can write “Golden Kamuy” with the characters you prefer.

Of course it can be that it’s actually an anagram or some sort of abbreviation or initialism but I fear I’m not the right person to ask about it as I’m pretty bad with this sort of things...

So sorry if I’m not of help at all.

[a-ard]

bou and shira shawshank redemption theory

anyway i just love dissecting shiraishi

this is a stretch and I will use SR characters loosely but I’m shameless so whatever

what if shira's ending is yet another of noda's reference to shawshank redemption? okay spoiler if you havent watched it

Andy (SR main char) disappeared after he successfully ran away. turned out he actually stole the corrupt money from the officer like what Shiraishi did

Red, Andy’s close friend, then took a journey to a field. realizing he really had no place, nor friend, nor family to call his own after he went out of jail but then later found a tin box and you know whats inside it? a letter from Andy and an envelope containing some of the stolen money (coin/gold in Shiraishi case). Red later found out that Andy was on an island from that exact envelope

Sugi followed Asirpa because he had no place, nor friend or family to call his own and found an envelope of coin. They later found out that Shiraishi was on an island from that exact envelope. see where i’m going here?

in SR, Andy asked Red to come to a very small and quiet fishing village place on the Mexican coast. which he actually had previously discussed with Red just like how Bou had discussed it Shira

oh ALSO Andy told Red how Zihuantanejo is his dream home, and how the pacific ocean has no memory. the place where he would like to go so he can start everything all over again..

so like... Shira here is both Andy (stolen the corrupt money and spent it dry) and Red (listened to his friend's dream and followed the map to where Zihuantanejo is. the quiet place where Andy slash Bou wanted to spend his whole life after breaking out of jail)

Sugi in some way is also Red, with how he lost his ways and needed something that he could follow to feel alive again

also in SR the officer literally killed inmates to keep the money safe. you know.... like golden kamuy huh.... Andy used the blood money (gold) for his own dream just like what Bou intended to do... SHIRAISHI IS BOU/ANDY BY PROXY OKAY. DO YOU GET IT?

SHIRAISHI ISN’T AN ASSHOLE OKAY HE LOVES BOUTAROU THAT’S WHY HE MADE SURE BOU WILL GET HIS DREAM COME TRUE

--

because the thing is.. noda LOVES referencing movies and i think this is the most reasonable answer like my brain tried their best making sense of things. im pretty sure he had previously planned out the ending from waaay back and just couldn’t execute it smoothly w/ how the magazine run the industry like the marine. its silly at first but its actually a very bittersweet ending both for shira and bou

idk IDK i feel insane

[tempenensis]

Hello Lele! How’s work?

I just read a theory about how Yuuji could be part of the Ainu tribe, because of that red sword he had in a winter art Gege did some time ago. Besides being in Hokkaido, and being sacred land, is there any other info on the Ainu jujutsu society? Do you have your own theories?

Thanks for all the cursed object file translations❣️❣️❣️

Hi!!

(I love it how many of you use how's work like it's a standard greeting lmao. It's fine, I'm fine and managing. I might complain sometimes, but I swear I'm properly working lol)

Yes, that theory has been circulating since a while back and I have answered same ask like this but, uh... I have to disagree with this theory. Besides that one art, there's no solid connection in the story between Yuuji and any kind of sword or sword lore that I can think of. Also Gege seems to firmly want to spare Hokkaido and Ainu alone in the main story, in addition to there's like, zero reference to Ainu lore (ofc cmiiw if you found any, since the only thing I know about Ainu stuff I got from watching Golden Kamuy), compared to Buddhist references that Gege used liberally.

Unfortunately, there's not much info about Ainu jujutsu society, either in the main story or the fanbook. But if they are able to maintain their own barrier, at the same strength level as Tengen's, even in smaller area, their main figures should be quite powerful. But other than that, I can't really say anything since if they want to make cooperation with the Ainu, then the story would've shown some signs of them, (to "balance" Kenjaku making cooperation with the Chinese). Since we see nothing up to now (which, if the estimation that he said in his latest interview is true, has reached probably around 70%-ish of jjk storyline), I doubt if Gege actually want to involve them actively in the story

[shinmiyovvi]

I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS (Also free reminder that you’re wonderfully amazing and I truly cherish you so much. You are one of my closest friends and are so very loved💖💖💖)

1. Are there any holidays coming up you look forward to?

2. What are your next project plans for your OCs?

3. Infodump a cool fun fact about the F/O currently on your mind

Awww, and I also cherished you too as well and never forget that we are here for you. You are also a great friend that I met here and you are also loved as well 💖💖💖💖

Anyways, let me answer each question

1. Actually no, all I'm expecting is school and a bunch of workloads to face with a lot of expectations and questions awaiting on my doorstep of what would be my course in college and my strand in senior. Although Christmas is around 5 months away and I know I never really celebrate Halloween that much but I'mma support you once you're gonna start off Halloween in a very early way possible.

2. I might be very tired and lazy, sometimes busy with enrollment, irl stuff, and grinding the whole season of Golden Kamuy but I may still continue on working with their reference sheets and information. For any future plans, maybe I would finally just went to do some work on my BOCW ocs and MW oc due to the fact that I am working on my Golden Kamuy Oc in which you will know her soon after once I get to finish coloring her ref sheet. I may also work on my self insert since I sometimes draw them once in a blue moon and would work on redesigning them. I wanna do Len and Art (Agarthan Arthur?) screentime since I have so many plans for these two. I would also try and make some oc x canon content even if it means crying over how hard Primis Nikolai's outfit can be :'>. I may also start posting more GK oc content with her being shipped with Tsurumi (cause why not?) and trying to practice how to draw each GK characters just in case if the time comes. I might also start making my Vinland Saga oc, but gotta need to work on my Viking history since I known only a little bit.

3. That one fun fact that would always be part of my heart is Tsurumi tends to play with his porcelain enamel plate while taking a bath. There is a small comic on the wiki page where he just lets the plate float on the water like a paper boat. Gotta love this unhinged yet handsome man 💖

[eyedelater]

here is a post of thoughts i had while rewatching the golden kamuy anime (and while watching the new episodes airing now, up to s4e3)

rewatching early episodes, i suddenly feel like tsurumi's voice should have been sexier. i mean, maybe people think it already is. but i think it should have been sexier given how his favorite underlings view him. his voice fits his character design from the perspective of "this is a scary archvillain military guy in his 40s who is threatening to kill sugimoto and acting kinda crazy! ooh, he's the primary antagonist!!!" but it doesn't quite fit the aspect of his character that is so incredibly charismatic and admirable to certain people around him. so that aspect should maybe be reflected in a sexier voice…? am i insane though

(slams table) if tsurumi's voice was even HALF as sexy as ogata's voice… that would be… more appropriate…!!!

i already made some broad statements about the anime in a previous post, but i'll make some more. the golden kamuy anime (at least the first season or two) has taken the approach of no stretching, all squashing, no addition of any nuance or fun extras, only pure and compressed adaptation of manga into anime-- with broad omissions. no extra jokes thrown in or anything. some jokes partially or completely omitted. and i think the timing suffered from all the squashing. also, the episode breaks are in weird and unnatural places, but i guess they're in weird places in the manga a lot too. but i don't mean that the anime is Bad bad. i would say the anime does approximate justice to the manga but is rather clumsy and could have been much better. my feelings about the OPs and EDs (that they're lame) have not changed.

all the voice actors have been doing a great job, though. especially asirpa, played by (looks up her name) (double take) haruka shiraishi.

okay, revising my opinion slightly. the 2nd OP is a little better than the first because, among other things, tsukishima does a high kick. and the song is slightly more engaging. and did the production value increase a little for season 2? it's becoming apparent that my first time watching the anime was not a Close Watch. the 2nd ED is unpleasant because i really don't like the song.

i think the anime is too dark sometimes. i mean dark as in the amount of light. and i mean actually a lot of the time. i can't fucking see. i understand that it takes place in our real world, but i think you can bend that by properly illuminating things you've gone to the trouble of carefully animating, enough so that i can actually see them. key examples: the scene where ienaga's tattoo is first revealed. the coal mine. infiltrating abashiri. every scene that takes place at night!

the first time i watched the anime, i watched it on vrv.co, which i think has some connection to crunchyroll and therefore has the official subs. the second time watching the anime, a paywall had sprung up on that site, so i went elsewhere and ended up watching episodes with fan-translated subs. so it was interesting to compare (based on my memory) some different translation decisions that were made. the fan subs were a little worse.

the main reason i'm studying japanese is because translations can be so iffy that i can't trust them. here's an example i just came across in the anime (unofficial subs done by some rando). the whale is pulling everyone toward fishing boats that contain henmi kazuo, and shiraishi is yelling to watch out, and a fisherman says, "That [bouzu] is yelling something." "bouzu" means "monk," and it is often used as a way to refer to young boys, but because monks are often bald/shaved, you might also call a guy with a shaved head "bouzu." so clearly in this case the fisherman, referring to shaved-head shiraishi, meant the latter. but the subs translated it as, "That boy is yelling something," because the translator forgot that second connotation of "bouzu." and you, the viewer who can't understand the japanese being said, might just think that that man referred to shiraishi as a boy because he looks that young, and you might come away thinking shiraishi is younger than he is. his age isn't explicitly mentioned in canon (apart from being over 20), so you might try to piece things together from various little clues, and if you took the use of the word "boy" there to be a clue, you would get the wrong impression. that's why painstakingly precise translations are not only worthwhile but in fact necessary! if you're an absolute nitpicker like me!!! this is just a bad example for making my point, actually!!!

i think a lot of the cinematography in the anime wasn't dramatic enough. manga is nothing but raw cinematography, so you need strong cinematography in order to adapt a manga properly. (i also think it's important and worthwhile to preserve the framing of panels in the manga when translated into anime, when possible. i mean like treating the manga like a storyboard to some degree.) in some dramatic moments, much of the drama is lost because it is not framed dramatically enough. and i think leaning toward excessively dramatic framing would be better for golden kamuy than playing it excessively safe, since it would enhance both serious moments AND ridiculous moments! just think about how things are framed in the nichijou anime. more animes need to reach in that direction with their cinematography. just go nuts with it! like nichijou! please!

when tanigaki and kenkichi are talking to each other in a cave, i like listening to their dialect. genjirou is pronounced like "genzərou" and kenkichi is pronounced like "kenkitsi." it's like, oh, you can just change that part, huh? that's how japanese dialects sound to me as a japanese language learner. though satsuma dialect is a much higher level of unintelligibility. they change a lot of parts. but tanigaki's akita dialect is very interesting. and he can utterly erase it and speak in "standard japanese" when talking to tsurumi or others. he and koito and tsukishima have code-switched their various dialects into oblivion. many soldiers in this story erased a part of themselves. (side note: i think hidoro and the rest in barato also had some dialect in that OVA, but i wasn't paying that much attention…)

coward animators showed ogata's entire boobs during the sea otter scene but omitted his nipples. (cups hands around mouth) boo! weak!

the strings-heavy soundtrack of the anime is pretty earnest. i appreciate that.

usami's voice is appropriately nasty even from his very first appearance. props

gotta wonder how much of usami's pursuit of jack the ripper they'll show in the anime. they can't just omit the whole thing and make it an OVA because the surrounding context is incredibly important to the story. but will they even imply the shiko-shiko? and the sound of it? is he gonna say "hihiin"?

i didn't realize the voice of tsukishima is also the voice of miles edgeworth. i went to his wikipedia page to see if he is known for being able to speak russian or if that's something he worked on for his role as tsukishima (or if they got another voice actor to do the russian parts? i don't think so, but i can't tell…). i didn't get an answer from reading that article. can you imagine if you sign up to voice a character who speaks russian and has a bunch of russian lines and you just have to learn to pronounce russian well enough for it to pass? it's like on america's next top model when they'd travel to milan and then have to film a commercial in ad-libbed italian… not that i ever… anyway…

noda-sensei wasn't such a coward that he erased everyone's nipples in the vital and irreplaceable stenka scene, one of our rare best tsukishima appreciation scenes. only the coward anime staff would decide to do that! (cups hands) boo! boo!

i think mostly everything about the anime improved slowly over time, with season 2 being better than 1 and 3 being better than 2, in terms of timing and cinematography and stuff. of course it's still a lot of squishing and omissions. i wish they could have done a great job from the start, because the story really deserves it. also they show nipples on the tattooed skins when tsurumi wears them as shirts but not on the living men. boo! a chest without nipples is like a night without stars! it's a matter of principle!

i love when ogata is depicted from the correct angle to show his eyelashes going off the side of his face and it's like, oh. they are eyelashes. it's very rare in the anime and the manga. happens in s3e3 though.

the line where tsukishima has a moment of clarity while searching the beach is hard to hear well enough to compare the translation :( i was wondering about this one. i suck

season 3 episode 5 around 16:12 ogata does a little laugh. why do you ask?

these voice actors playing russian border patrol… they're definitely japanese voice actors sounding it out, right? i haven't heard a whole lot of spoken russian, but something's definitely off, right? also, is vasily's voice actor from that scene going to continue playing that role and say nothing but "hm hm" 30 times?

in the anime, at the end of the sniper battle, vasily decides on the coffin and fires one shot and then waits. but in the manga, vasily got really confident and fired at least 3 shots into that coffin before getting shot in the face. why would they change that? or did it get changed in the volume version? no, i'm pretty sure it was 3 shots in the volume version.

ogata's little cape was green earlier in the anime and later it's white. you thought i wouldn't notice??

i can't understand exactly what yuusaku is saying in s3e6 when he tells ogata that people who don't feel guilt shouldn't exist in the world. i was really wondering about that line because i think the translations i've seen differ significantly. i suck

ogata notices asirpa remembered something important and he's like (trying not to put on a scary face) (trying not to put on a scary face) (isolates asirpa from the others and approaches her from behind with the scariest face ever)

"then why are you asking me when kiroranke and the others aren't around?" then ogata looks at her with a face that says, "BECAUSE I'M NOT GOOD AT THIS!" and a little later (s3e11 14:12) he's making an "argh, this is so difficult…!" face that i really enjoy

ogata fleeing, sugimoto "i'll aim for the horse!" (shoots clearly at ogata's head level three or four times) that's plausible deniability.

before i knew it, i caught up with the anime and now i'm watching the first episode of season 4. this OP is quite good compared to the others. it made me smile twice. it's got a good intensity about it. the ED is good too! it has a subtle charm. it should be very useful for viewers who might not remember who all these characters are in relation to each other. and the song is nice. now, about what happened in between the OP and ED. that was a pretty faithful adaptation of the manga. i read that part of the manga just recently so i remember and it syncs up almost perfectly. i had kind of expected them to cut out a lot of the stuff with kadokura and kirawus, but then i remembered we saw figure skating ushiyama in the trailer, so of course the surrounding context has to be included.

the second episode of season 4… i think these fan translated subs could have used a little delicacy, a little beating around the bush about what obencho means.

they show us kadokura's nipples on the lake, but not everyone's nipples at the banya?? boo-- wait didn't they switch animation studios? maybe these new animators aren't so cowardly. maybe they'll show us everyone's nipples, as justice demands. wait, people are naked in the opening (which constitutes another point in its favor, for capturing the sentiment of the source material), and i didn't look closely. do they have nipples? i must ascertain… for research purposes. (short pause) result: they show us boutarou's nipples in the OP. i think kikuta's nipples were shadowed, but shadows are fair game. i accept this.

i'm watching season 4 episode 3, and they didn't chicken out on showing us everyone's nipples. well done (respectful nod.) they did chicken out on showing us the silhouette of kikuta's huge dick on his very first appearance like in the manga, but that's perfectly understandable. i couldn't hold that against them. really, it's too much to even call it chickening out. absolutely nothing wrong with that decision. as far as i'm concerned, everyone involved acted correctly. and that's all i'm going to say on the matter.

this new animation studio really is much better at keeping a dramatic momentum in terms of timing and framing. they're also very faithful to the manga in terms of showing us little extra things that i think would have been cut out before (e.g. in this episode, the snow geta and baby ipopte with a torch). kikuta ties on toni's sweaty bandana without a second thought. and next week's episode is what i've been waiting for… it's what i've been eagerly waiting for!!! it's the koito otonoshin kidnapping incident! argh! so long to wait! just kidding, time already passes painfully quickly because i'm an adult.

[andragoras-in-vanity]

girl help im having ambitions above my pay grade

[piduai]

Noda’s interview for the special Golden Kamuy exhibition

this is not my translation. an english translation of the interview was provided in the exhibition guide book, so i scanned & ocr-ed it and am just sharing. besides the interview itself there’s two lengthly comments from two different people who worked closely with noda on the manga which i found were an interesting read.

On the Opening of the Exhibition

—I want to congratulate you on the opening of the Golden Kamuy Special Exhibition. You were in the middle of illustrating this work when you lent us a wide variety of art reference materials for this exhibition, including Sugimoto's military cap and Asirpa's makiri. Of the many materials you have lent us, is there anything that is particularly memorable for you? Satoru Noda: I would say Sugimoto's Type 30 rifle. There is a company that made the same gun as a prop for Clouds above the Hill. I gave them even more detailed materials and had it custom-made. To be honest, it cost me 600,000 yen. I was broke at the time, but I didn't hesitate to buy it, because I knew I absolutely needed to have detailed reference materials that I could even use for close-up illustrations. I think of real reference materials as investments that improve the quality of my art and get people to buy my work. If I were able to make illustrations based on my own imagination without doing any research or buying any materials, and the work could become popular and sell well anyway, that would definitely be preferable.

—It sounds like you were able to create Golden Kamuy by getting your hands on detailed materials that were expensive and difficult to obtain, and by conducting frequent research. Regarding these materials, is there anything you want to convey to visitors to the exhibition, or any particular points you would like them to pay attention to? Noda: Most of the military-related materials were items that had actually been used in the past. I'd also like to point out the detail on the makiri and the embroidery. All of the creators’ works have something great about them. Ipopte Ariko's makiri is supposed to be so well-made that its creator, Yukio Fujito, calls it the best work of his life. The tamasay (necklace) is also an old item that I got at an antique store in Sapporo.

—For this exhibition, you drew a large B1 size illustration of Genjiro Tanigaki. What made you decide to create this piece? Noda: I like to go see other artists’ exhibitions, but what I go for are their hand-drawn illustrations. However, I've already switched to fully digital mediums. I felt I had to prepare something hand-drawn for those who were kind enough to come see the exhibition.

I hadn't used acrylic paints in about twenty years, so I apologize for my poor technique. I hope the illustration is able to convey what I feel to be the appeal of Tanigaki.

Reflecting on the Series

—The opening day of this exhibition at the Tokyo venue will be the same day as the release date of the main publication of Weekly Young Jump, in which the final episode will be published. You are currently in the middle of writing the climax of your work. What are your feelings on the final chapter? Noda: I've already set a complete schedule for publishing the final issue, and I worry every day about whether I'll be able to nail the ending, but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to keep it interesting. I don't think of it as a perfect work at all. I have lots of regrets. However, it is absolutely impossible for anyone other than myself to make Golden Kamuy any more interesting than it already is, or at least that's what I tell myself for consolation. I think I just had the right momentum. I feel like I've been walking a tightrope at full speed for several years. I was very fortunate to be able to become a manga artist and to be blessed with this kind of series. It's sad, but it's better to end it now when people will still miss it. Just like athletes, manga artists have an age in their lives when their creativity and stamina are at their peak. What you draw during that period is important. For the rest of my career as a manga artist, I hope to work in a more leisurely way.

—Are there any behind-the-scenes stories about the production that you can reveal now? Noda: I intentionally drew the code tattooed on the skins in an unclear way. I think the people on the animation side were troubled by the lack of clarity. Even in the chapter about Second Lieutenant Koito's past, I deliberately avoided showing the entire fort of Goryokaku. But I knew that if I didn't show such an important place, people would get suspicious, so I included the story about Koito's past. There were people who thought, "Why didn't I think of that?” when they found out that the gold was in Goryokaku in the main storyline. By the way, the idea of the tattoos being a map did not come from Shumari or Cobra. I hadn't read either series. I don't think of it as some amazing idea to begin with. But the idea of cutting the skin at the center line of the body and limbs came about because I had knowledge of hunting, and I don't think it's an idea that any manga artist could come up with.

—The scene where it was revealed that the gold was located in Goryokaku was sensational. Can you tell me why you chose Goryokaku as the stage for the climax of the story and as the location of the gold and the battle? Noda: It has to do with the picture of the star when the code is deciphered. It had to be something that readers all over Japan could recognize clearly at a glance. Also, it's the face of Toshizo Hijikata when he sees it. It was what I had pictured from the beginning of the series. I don't think there was any other place to end this story.

—So it was decided from the beginning of the series. Did your plans for any of the episodes change while you were working on the series? Noda: No matter what anyone says, there was nothing in the series that I tried to stretch out. I'm not crafty enough to do things like making characters that are popular with readers appear more. I was determined to make sure I finished it before I died and to make the whole story balanced.

—Reflecting on the series so far, have you noticed any changes in the way you draw manga? Noda: If you look at the first volume, you'll see that it's very poorly made. I'm talking about the composition and sketches. There was a lot of useless dialogue, too. I want to redo everything up to the 10th volume or so.

—What were some of your favorite moments while making the series? Noda: First of all, I'm happy about all the letters I've received. Fans carefully wrote me many letters in very beautiful handwriting. I've kept them all. I'd like to reread them on my deathbed. Also, I was able to redeem myself from my previous work. Golden Kamuy eased the frustration of having my last series discontinued. Having received various awards and sold a good number of copies, Golden Kamuy proved to me that I had enough talent to call myself a manga artist.

—What were the hardest parts of the experience? Noda: The hard part was that I had very little time to do anything other than creating manga. There are many different kinds of manga artists, and I think they can use their time in completely different ways depending on their style, but in my case, I didn't have much time to spare. I was fortunate enough to have my work turned into an anime version, so I had a lot of work to do. During the serialization of Golden Kamuy, Yasuyuki Kunitomo, who I worked with for a long time when I was an assistant, suddenly passed away at the age of 65, and I began to think more and more about the fact that we only live once. I wanted to go fishing, watch more movies, live a healthy life, see foreign countries, and so on. I had given up on all of that. I used to think that talented manga artists should just keep making manga until they die, but I don't think that way anymore.

Noda’s Thoughts on his Characters

—What kind of characters are Sugimoto and Asirpa to you? Noda: They are the beloved characters who changed my life. I don't think either of them were depicted as perfect people. Sugimoto is a good-for-nothing guy. But he's kind. I'm not someone who always chooses perfection as the answer. Asirpa is the same. She's a girl of twelve or thirteen, after all. I was adamant about giving these two a happy ending no matter what. It's the least I can do for readers who have been following the series for more than thirty volumes. Killing Sugimoto is not something an entertainment writer would do.

—Are there any other characters that you feel strongly about in addition to these two? If you were to convey a message, what kind of message would it be and for whom? Noda: I wanted Ariko and Tanigaki to be more involved. Aren't they adorable? I wanted them to eat, exchange uniforms, bathe together, and kill each other. They could have been best friends. If I were to convey a message, it would be, "Sorry."

—The illustration of Tanigaki and Ariko playing cat's cradle in the frontispiece of Chapter 240 is very impressive. Were they close since the Russo-Japanese War? Are there any hidden episodes between the two? Noda: Rikimatsu told Genjiro that he would look better with a beard, so he started to grow one.

Closing Statements

—Please give a message to the readers who have seen the story through to the end. Noda: I would be grateful if you would go back and reread some of the volumes from time to time. The beauty of manga is that you can open the books to pages you found entertaining, or parts you liked, and enjoy them anytime. I am very glad that there are so many people who enjoy this series. It makes me happy to know that a lot of people are supportive of my work. This exhibition is evidence of that, and I'm honored. I'm grateful to have been born into this world with only one life to live, and to be able to make a living as a manga artist, but I never imagined that I would be able to experience something like this. I want to express my appreciation to all the readers who enjoyed and supported Golden Kamuy all the way until the very last chapter. Thank you.

A Talk On Various Topics by Kazunobu Goto, Historical Research

I officially started working on Golden Kamuy as a supervisor from around the fourth volume. As the Japanese Army's 7th Division and the Shinsengumi's Vice Commander Toshizo Hijikata begin their activities in earnest, there was a need to supervise the work on historical and military matters, so Mr. Hakko Okuma of the Young Jump editorial department reached out to me.

I had been supervising a manga series called Zipang by Kaiji Kawaguchi, which was serialized in Kodansha's Moming magazine, and I got acquainted with the Young Jump editorial department at a mochi pounding contest held by Mr. Kawaguchi. The first work | supervised for Shueisha was Jashu, which was written by Takashi Yano and illustrated by Yuko Osada. It was serialized in Monthly Young Jump. Then, | supervised Gunjo Senki by Masaki Kasahara, which was serialized in Weekly Young Jump. These opportunities led me to the great fortune of becoming the supervisor of Golden Kamuy.

One of the episodes that left a deep impression on me when I first joined was the scene where Hijikata's faction forced their way into a private house in Volume 6, Chapter 58, titled "Showdown in Barato." This was inspired by the battle of Toba-Fushiri, the first battle of the Boshin War, where the Shinsengumi attacked the new government forces while hiding inside private houses. Satoru Noda was gracious enough to listen to the ideas of a novice like me, and that scene was born. It was a simple scene that you might overlook at first, but I still remember how happy I was.

The second most memorable scene for me was in Volume 13, Chapter 130, "Guiding Lights". In this chapter, Rear Admiral Heiji Koito, who is the commanding officer at Ominato Naval Port, appears with the Ikazuchi-class destroyer under his command. | also gave advice from both military and historical perspectives on the mission to attack Abashiri Prison by sailing up the Abashiri River in a shallow-draft destroyer, and on the fates of Toshizo Hijikata and Shirosuke Inudo, a warden at Abashiri Prison (the loyal Toshizo and the twisted revenge of Shirosuke) in the following book, Volume 14, Chapter 135, "Chain Deathmatch."

I remember that there were not enough reference materials for drawing the Ikazuchi-class destroyer, so I collected materials for its prototype, the B-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy, and got help from model makers. When trying to come up with what strategy Lieutenant Tsurumi would use to attack Abashiri Prison, which had walls that rivaled those of a fortress, Mr. Noda asked whether it would be possible for a destroyer to float up the Abashiri River.

In response, I provided him with detailed information on the specifications of Ikazuchi-class destroyers and let him know that they were fully capable of performing the task. The main gun of the Ikazuchi-class destroyer, a 40-caliber 7.6 cm gun (QF 12-pounder 12 cwt), is more powerful than the Type 30 (Arisaka) rifles used by the Japanese Army in the Russo-Japanese War (the 40-caliber 7.6 cm gun has a firing rate four times that of the Arisaka, which was called a rapid-fire gun. Ikazuchi-class destroyers were also equipped with five 40-caliber 5.7 cm guns, which have more firepower than four guns of an infantry artillery company, so they have impeccable ground-level gunfire capabilities.)

I was also commended on my advice on the rivalry between Toshizo, who represents the old shogunate soldiers who sacrificed themselves for the Tokugawa shogunate, and Shirosuke, who represents the samurai class who switched sides to the new government. The duel sequence and Shirosuke's last words (‘Finish me off, last samurai’) were so cool, they really got me fired up. Mr. Noda's portrayal of Toshizo is an example of how old age can make you more and more powerful. He is so sexy that you can't help but root for him.

It was around this time that the background of each character began to be worked out in detail, and the details of their pasts were developed. In particular, thorough research was required to develop the characters of personnel from the 7th Division, such as First Lieutenant Tokushiro Tsurumi, Second Lieutenant Otonoshin Koito, Special Sergeant Major Mokutaro Kikuta, Sergeant Hajime Tsukishima, Superior Private Hyakunosuke Ogata, Superior Private Tokishige Usami, Private 1st Class Genjiro Tanigaki, and others, as well as Sofia Goldenhand.

The true value of this process was demonstrated in Volume 20, Chapter 197, "Spoiled Brat." The stories of Otonoshin as a boy and Lieutenant Tsurumi as a young man intricately intertwine to form a brilliant mystery. The kidnapping of Otonoshin by Special Sergeant Major Kikuta, Sergeant Tsukishima, Superior Private Ogata, and Lieutenant Tsurumi is depicted as a set-up to win over Rear Admiral Heiji Koito, and we learn that Lieutenant Tsurumi wanted naval forces from a very early stage.

These detailed character backstories are fully put to use in Volume 23, Chapter 226, "Sacred Ground.” It depicts the encounter between Superior Private Tokishige Usami as a young boy and Lieutenant Tsurumi. The scene shows why Private Usami so fascinated with Lieutenant Tsurumi. These are episodes that were written according to detailed character backstories that were thought out in advance. By combining the detailed backstories of each character, such as what year they were drafted, what year they entered the military academy, etc., without creating plot holes, our aim was to achieve a high level of realism in the work.

As of the release of Volume 28, when this text was written, there are still many details in Golden Kamuy that have yet to be revealed. These details were thought out in the early stages. This all happened behind the scenes, but the plot of the “mottled gold coin,” a unique coin minted by the Ainu and depicted in Volume 27, Chapter 271, "A Mottled Gold Coin," was decided at a meeting at the end of December 2019. It was finally depicted in the first week of March 2021 in the main storyline. The plotline was created over a year prior, and here, it was presented to the readers for the first time. It's stories like these that are the hidden plotlines (gold) of Golden Kamuy. These plotlines will reveal themselves during the climax of the hunt for the gold, so I hope you look forward to them.

Remarks On The Golden Kamuy Special Exhibition by Hiroshi Nakagawa, Ainu Language Supervisor

On June 10, 2014, I received a call from Hakko Okuma, the editor in charge of Golden Kamuy, asking me for advice on a manga set in Hokkaido. Ten days later, Mr. Okuma and Satoru Noda visited my laboratory at Chiba University and showed me the drafts for the first three chapters, which were nearly complete. My honest impression was that it was captivating. The setting and the story surprised me. I was fascinated by the detailed drawings, depictions of Ainu folk tools, and the heroine, an Ainu girl. At that point, I offered my services and became the Ainu language supervisor.

At that time, her name was still undecided and she had a working name, which I rejected. After that, we discussed a number of ideas, and finally settled on Asirpa. Looking back, that was my first contribution to this work. The name Asirpa is a combination of the words asir, which means “new”, and pa, which means "year," and it is usually used to mean "new year" or "next year," but in the story, Asirpa herself can be interpreted to be a representation of the future. This was Mr. Noda's idea, but if we were to translate the word for "future" into the Ainu language, Asirpa would certainly work, as it refers to the year to come. And although it's just a coincidence that we gave her this name, I'm sure that this work played a role in attracting the attention of many people who had not previously been interested in the Ainu, and it certainly has been an opportunity for a new social climate regarding the Ainu people.

Not only does Golden Kamuy feature a number of Ainu people as its main characters, but it also breaks the stereotypical image of the Ainu as simple people who fell victim to the changing times and were exploited by the Japanese, instead depicting them as strong-willed people with vibrant personalities. Both Inkarmat and Wilk are mysterious characters whose intentions are hard to read, and Wilk can even come across as terrifying. On the other hand, Kiroranke, the good-natured ladies' man that he is, gives the Ainu people an attractive impression (although he is actually a terrorist).

Asirpa is not just an ordinary heroine who is tough and cute. In the early chapters, there were often comedic scenes where Asirpa is seen playing with small animals like rabbits in the frontispiece, but when you turn the page, you see her dismembering and eating the animal. But isn't it an unusual occurrence in the history of Japanese manga to see a heroine who catches, kills, and eats animals? Japanese people generally don't think of themselves as participants in the killing of the animals for food, even though we eat from the carcasses of cows, pigs, and chickens-on a daily basis. Asirpa does away with this façade and shows us in a natural way that we rely on the lives of other beings for sustenance. In fact, without understanding this first, one cannot understand the traditional Ainu worldview. In that sense, Golden Kamuy is a great textbook for understanding Ainu culture.

One of the major achievements of Golden Kamuy is that it successfully incorporated into the plot the ethnic minorities of Sakhalin and their cultures, which had not been portrayed much in the past. In addition to Japanese and Hokkaido Ainu, the Russian, Sakhalin Ainu, Nivkh, and Uilta languages are spoken in this manga, which is unprecedented in the history of comics worldwide.

The differences in language and culture between the Sakhalin Ainu and Hokkaido Ainu are portrayed in a fun and lyrical way through the interactions between Cikapasi and Enonoka. The hohciri, which is the kind of beaded hair ornament that Enonoka gives to’ Cikapasi to wear on his forehead in Volume 16, was something that few researchers knew about until about 40 years ago, and even today, only one such ornament can be found in a museum in Japan. Another hidden story was that of the isohseta ("lead dog"). Although the Hokkaido Ainu do not use dog sleds, dog sledding is very important in the lives of the Sakhalin Ainu. Ryu, who tagged along with Cikapasi from Hokkaido to Sakhalin in Volume 14, fell in love with the headdress of the isohseta who led the pack, and was finally promoted to isohseta in Volume 21. No one would have predicted that Ryu, who entered the story in Volume 3 with Tetsuzo Nihei, would do so well after his owner's death.

I was very fortunate to be involved in a series that shines a light on the Ainu people and their culture in such a meaningful way. After eight years since the start of the series, we have finally reached the grand finale, and as someone was along for the ride, I am deeply moved. But my relationship with this work will probably continue for a long time to come.