/ gk finale spoilers
one of the things i love most about golden kamuy (though there are hardly any things i don’t love about golden kamuy) is the characters’ deaths. it’s almost surreal how good noda is at evading the little things that can make a fictional death melodramatic and silly and hitting you straight in the heart.
ienaga and ushiyama both finding “perfection” and fulfillment in dying so that another person can live. botarou finding the true realization of his dream in dying so that another person can live and remember him. hijikata recalling his youth and letting new young warriors take his place. sofia dying forgiven after a lifetime of guilt. toni anji’s quiet death that is devoid even of sound effects on manga’s pages. nikaidou getting split in half (physically) and through this, at long last, reuniting with his other half (metaphorically). usami receiving tsurumi’s grand gesture of love, in a way that he’s aware of (the “brother in arms” speech) and in a way that he’s unaware of (the pinky finger). kiroranke calling out for sofia. heiji koito thinking of his son as he’s sinking with his ship. ueji seeing his father’s disappointed face in his own and laughing as he falls to death. inudou dying by the object of his life-long obsession. sekiya’s death proving to him that the world is more than simply a sequence of random events. henmi’s obsession with death and sugimoto’s mercy of giving him a good one. heita’s “i managed to beat it”. ogata’s entire dying monologue as he can’t deny his true feelings anymore.
“but really… it’s such a relief”.
death as a relief. death that completes a person or one that brings them happiness and fulfillment. one of the most intimate parts of human experience. noda writes his deaths in a way that allows the readers some alone time with the dying character — as we learn the conclusion to their story.
immaculate.
