Hello A lot of times some gk fans complain that some people replace Shiraishi with ogata in the trio. I actually saw two people complain about this today. I don’t know if they were referring to your post. What do you think about this ? What’s the difference between sugi-ogata- asirpa trio and sugi- shira-asirpa trio? I really like your analysis so I would like to know your opinion
Hello, thanks for your question.
First off, everyone is entitled to their own opinion on things and it really depends how a reader understands or connects to the work.
But in regard to the idea that there is one true trio is bit silly.
Since the start, I have always read the first and serious trio to be Ogata-Asirpa-Sugimoto. These are the first three characters introduced. Noda-sensei kept Ogata in the back of the readers minds while he was recovering in the hospital. The fact that Tamai & Co. plus Tanigaki go in search of who ever had attacked Ogata in the first place. The fact that when he regains consciousness, Tsurumi immediately goes to him. Ogata was in the background until he reappeared to try to kill Tanigaki whom he was afraid would sell him out to Tsurumi and whom also killed Tamai & Co (as far as Ogata knows at that point in time).
Another important aspect of Ogata and Sugimoto is that they are frequently shown either in opposition or as mirrors. Ogata kills from afar and is cold and detached. Sugimoto kills up front and personal and tries to remember the faces of the men he killed to atone for his acts. Neither character cries out in pain when hurt by others (and boy did I try to find a scene were one of them does cry out in pain to prove @goldenkamuyhunting wrong. I couldn’t -_-).
They both “blow off” wounds or ignore them until they complete a mission. Both at times throw themselves into situations without abandon. Both men show little value for their lives at times but their personalities are complete opposites. Asirpa saw her father in Sugimoto when they first met and both individuals are both and bossy at times. But Asirpa has a lot in common with Ogata; they use long range weapons, both lost their families or were abandoned. I think Ogata is a possible outcome for Asirpa if she doesn’t start to take control of her role in the gold hunt. Chapter 191 saw her trying to detach herself from trauma. I hope that is a temporary coping mechanism and she doesn’t slide down the Ogata direction. She did have a very very bad day.
I think a lot of the conflict between Sugimoto and Ogata stem from how they perceive the other in relation to Asirpa. Sugimoto was livid that Ogata “stole” Asirpa, I think that on some level Sugimoto sees Asirpa as a kid sister but also sees her similar to Umeko as a female whom he cares deeply about. Sugimoto was clearly upset that Toraji married Umeko - he told her to marry Toraji and she did but you could tell he was like “But you were supposed to wait for me … but the two of you went ahead and got married without me …” Sugimoto doesn’t say want he needs to say and as a result others move on without his input.
Ogata figured out quickly that Asirpa has a crush on Sugimoto. He clearly saw that Sugimoto sees her as a kid sister. I think Ogata wanted to avoid Asirpa becoming hurt by Sugimoto since he knows he romantically has feelings for another woman who is never directly mentioned by Sugimoto. When Ogata does his fake flashback he’s trying to in part get Asirpa to move on from her crush. He likely sees the possibility for Asirpa to be hurt like his mother. I think Ogata in part saw it as tough love for Asirpa to protect her as well as his own need for her to chose him over Sugimoto. Everyone has more than one thing at play in their interactions.
But with the events that have occurred, these three characters are going to have to talk to each other. Sugimoto can’t other and dehumanize Ogata, he just saved him for Asirpa. Asirpa needs to know why Ogata wanted her approval and trust. Asirpa needs to realize that she almost killed Ogata and has to find a way to resolve her issues with self-defense vs offensive actions. And Sugimoto needs to let Asirpa realize that she almost killed him instead of “saving” her by “saving” Ogata who we know he wanted to kill with his bare hands if possible.
Okay, so let’s shift to the Sugimoto-Asirpa-Shiraishi trio. I think of this as the friendship trio. They goof around, they all are foodies always enjoying their dinners with lots of statements of “Hinna!” etc. The anime really highlighted these guys more than the manga does in my opinion - season 2 really uses the three of them grouped as a theme which isn’t as common. Just watch the opening - Who is the trio? These guys. Where is Ogata? Just with some blood splatter, he’s not that important according to season 2.
Now, Noda himself said that Shiraishi wasn’t intended to be a long term character. Kamuy Central has a section about character models. Here is the end of the translation.
And here we even have Kamuy Central calling them a trio! So yes, these guys to form a trio based on food, friendship, and fun times.
Shiraishi wormed his way into Noda’s head and heart so he got a larger role than originally intended. I like this, Shiraishi is a good character, he isn’t in my top 4, but I like him better than Tanigaki and Koito for example. Personally, he adds more levity to the manga and he also is as I’ve stated before a lover and not a fighter which shows in how his character has developed from being a selfish loner to a man with a few close and real friends (even though he just buried one of them). He plays an important role giving the reader a way into how one would feel being friends with Sugimoto but watching how brutal he can be when he intends to kill. Think of him watching Sugimoto after Hemei’s death … how he was afraid of Sugimoto when he had no choice but to secretly work for Hijikata.
Furthermore, his character development has been heartwarming … I really hope he eventually learns why Kiro was willing to die for his cause and to see a bigger picture. But baby steps, he’s got his first real set of friends so let’s not rush his development.
Now the best example of these guys as a trio go back to the snake kamuy/snake bite incident. Ogata is outside looking in on their behaviour, Sugimoto and Shiraishi are giving Asirpa a hard time and it is all in good fun. Ogata takes her seriously but he’s not joking around with the others. When they are in the swamp hunting cranes, Shiraishi tries so hard to talk to Ogata … but he’s purposely ignoring him being his loner self and Shiraishi is a friendly guy.
When we jump to chapter 189, the friend trio is reunited! Poor Ogata is passed out on the ice while we they are finally able to see each other once again. I think this shows the stark contrast between the “serious” trio and the “friend” trio.
Both are valid trios - just that one will move the plot further a lot more than the other. I don’t predict another flashback about Shiraishi - we got his prison break romance and that is likely it. And it was all played for laughs. If Shiraishi were a part of the “serious” trio, we would need to see a very deep and tragic/sad/emotional flashback from him. We don’t have that, and I don’t think we will get that.
When Sugimoto almost kills Ogata, the chapter ends with him and Asirpa inside her hunting tent eating dinner together. This is in direct contrast with Ogata being pulled from the river on a stretcher.
Both Sugimoto and Ogata have grown their hair out after leaving the military either by choice or not. Yet, both men can’t escape the cycle.
Ultimately, Sugimoto, Asirpa and Ogata will move the plot forward more so than Shiraishi will. That’s okay. He’s added a lot of depth to the cast.
Golden Kamuy chapter 192; another member of the 27th, and shift to the recovery of the injured group and reunion of Asirpa and Sugimoto.
Chapter 192 picks up with members of the 27th at the onsen and the introduction of yet another new character in addition to Kikuda.
A new Ainu character was introduced this chapter, Private First Class Ariko. He has a large scar across his face as well as some stitches on his forehead linked to the scar. He’s got a fair bit of very curly chest hair and a decent beard as well and some epic eyebrows. He also has longer hair but it is tied up in a bun, but they are at an onsen as well. Nice onsen etiquette Ariko!
Unlike most of the members of the 7th, he does not have dark eyes all the time. In this panel he has some sparkle. Below is another panel where he has some sparkle. Remember that Kiro almost always had some sparkle as well.
Also remember that my theory isn’t that sparkle implies goodness/innocence but that it implies some sort of goal or vision. Ariko has something that he would like to achieve. What that is we don’t know yet.
Once the men retire to their rooms at the onsen they are talking with Warrant Officer Kikuda. There is so much happening in this scene with Ariko. He’s wearing his dress shirt and pants and it looks like socks. His position is so formal and so Japanese. He’s got his fists on his legs right above his knees while sitting in seiza. This posture displays so much respect to Kikuda who is in the middle of a massage. Nikaido is in a super relaxed position on a futon. It is hard to gauge Usami’s position but Ariko looks so formal.
We have seen this formal position several other times:
Tsukishima maintains this formal position when addressing Tsurumi for Koito.
And the one time Ogata was properly seated in this position was when Tsurumi came to check up on his attempt to corrupt Yuusaku. But Ogata’s a little more relaxed as you do not see the straight arms, his are bent.
I’m guessing this was the best a commander/superior could hope for from Ogata. . . .
Anyways back to Ariko, he’s got a very formal posture that respects the man with whom is he talking to. Furthermore, his hair is still tied up in a bun. He has not let it down or anything like that. Another interesting observation is that Ariko does not have his ears pierced. . . . now Wilk also lacked pierced ears, but he is half Karafuto Ainu, half Polish. Since he grew up in a household that is more culturally mixed, his father may not have wished for him to pierce his ears like the other kids. He still got the bead triangle though for when he made his first successful hunt. But most of the Ainu characters have pierced ears; Asirpa, Cikapasi, Inkarmat but not Makanakku (Asirpa’s uncle) or Huci. It is also not a gender specific thing. I wish I knew more about the practice and distribution.
Wilk was all for cultural mixing so he came from an environment where it would be more flexible. Wilk, early proponent of multiculturalism. . . .
A really important contrast is immediately being set up with Ariko with Kiroranke. The youngest image that we have for him was at age 15 when he assassinated the czar with Wilk. This is the most western he ever looked, he has a short haircut and no earrings.
But his ear piercings are very visible and remember that Asirpa explained to Sugimoto how they pierce their ears young and use the vines to keep them open for future earrings.
When Kiro was later on the run with Wilk and Sofia he was going by his second fake name of Phillip. He had his longer hairstyle, but still nothing in his ears.
Even though he is again in Western style dress, there are parts of his appearance that indicate he has aspects of the culture that he was raised in. Kiro frequently has very similar posture to Ogata a lot of the time. Both of them appear very relaxed (perhaps b/c they are cats?). When they first talk to Kiro, he’s smoking his pipe, his legs are loosely cross legged and he’s even slouching a bit. Kiro always looks comfortable and chilled out when seated for the most part. And Kiro is frequently barefoot (as is Asirpa) when they are indoors, no socks for them. My point is b/c the Ainu have a different type of shoes, they don’t seem to wear socks with them.
I could find only one instance where Kiro’s hair is tied up - during the blind bandit arc at the onsen. For obvious reasons, he politely tied his hair up as he stares at the viewer here. Kiro has good onsen etiquette. For the entire arc his hair will remain tied up.
I tried to look to figure out what his hair looked like when he was in the 7th during the Russo-Japanese war, but no luck, you only see him sitting in a bunker tinkering with a grenade and his legs sticking out here. I would guess he didn’t cut his hair that much since he has it relatively long when they are in search for the gold.
But again, look how relaxed his posture is, he’s got his right leg crossed over his left as he’s leaning back in the bunker. Even though this is a serious situation, Kiro is still looking a bit more chill (like slightly chill, it is a war).
Throughout the entire story we never learned if or what Kiro’s Japanese name was. . . his original Tatar name of Yulbars, his fake Russian name of Phillip and his assumed name of Kioranke, an Ainu name. Kiro has existed in different societies and cultural groups but he definitely retained his original cultural habits and mannerisms. After the war was over he left the military and went back home immediately. When he assimilated himself into the Hokkaido Ainu, he put his earrings back in and he grew his hair out even more. In a way, Kiro returned to an appearance much closer to the one he grew up with.
In direct contrast we have Ariko. He’s being referred to by his Japanese name, not his Ainu name. He doesn’t have pierced ears, he has his hair tied back and his posture is super formal and Japanese.
The timing for his introduction is no coincidence, my crazy theory is that he’s supposed to serve as a direct contrast to Kiroranke. Kiro died fighting cultural assimilation and the extinction of the native people’s life styles. Enter an Ainu who clearly has been much more culturally assimilated and is still in the military.
It is revealed that Ariko is the one who saw an individual who is likely Toni Anji, the sound of geta in the dark and snow but who left footprints with straw shoes (that would make no sound) as opposed to geta. Why Toni Anji was naked or partly naked is unclear, unless he was enjoying the secret Ainu hot springs where Ariko was at the time. He does imply some knowledge of hunting and tracking since he immediately realized there was a mismatch between actual shoes and what it sounded like. But he simply states the man’s clothing e.g. tattoo looked unusual. Is he playing dumb or does he not know about the gold hunt?
Is he acting as a spy for someone else in the 27th and is going to an extreme to appear trustworthy by assimilating? Or is he actually assimilated enough that he’s being potentially ostracized or left out of the Ainu information loop?
Right now my gut thinks that he is more assimilated than most Ainu and is out of the loop. Kiro was totally fluent in Japanese but his mannerisms were most definitely not.
This segment of the chapter ends with Kikuda looking very relaxed as Ariko describes the situation with the mystery man. He’s getting a post bath massage similar to the one Sugimoto got from the informant for Tsurumi.
So of course they are chatting about this when boom, next panel the masseuse is revealed to be Toni Anji himself. Doing some recon in the heart of the 7th, well the 27th, likely for Hijikata. . . .
Meanwhile, Kikuda looks so relaxed . . . . if only he knew!
The chapter then moves back to our injured and recovering group of the remains of team Kiroranke with that of team Tsukishima. We get some background about the various houses and structures made by the Uilta and Nivhk peoples.
This then leads into one of the houses. An entire page is dedicated to the entryway/foyer looking outside. It shows, a basket (likely used by women for carrying items), wooden containers (maybe for water or milk) and then an empty cradle for a baby. The final part of the panel focuses on Ogata, alone, lying on a bed, sweating under the covers.
No one is attending to him nor is anyone with him. Ogata lies there alone on a bed of some sort of fur with a fur on top of him as well. It is hard to tell, but it looks like they may have retied his bandage but he’s sweating like nuts just like when Tanigaki was also poisoned. The visual link to the basket, containers and cradle makes me think Ogata is being linked back to childhood, more specifically his birth or in this case, his likely rebirth. So many motherly and domestic items are shown that page before a sleeping Ogata who is literally being swaddled.
When they stayed with the Oroks after Ogata shot one of their reindeer, Kiro presented the needles to the mother. It then shifted to the child in the cradle.
The story highlights that a woman cared more for her needles than her own child - that sounds harsh but in a way Ogata’s mother cared more for making anglerfish nabe than for him. I love how while they are chatting Ogata is just there noming away on some bread but it is a very sad saying, and refers to him in a way. Lastly, that child in the cradle looks pretty similar to Ogata wrapped up in those furs . . . . the little purrito that he is.
The next panel pans out to show Tsukishima also on a bed but with Tanigaki and Koito sitting in front of him before the fire. Both men have their backs against the bed/shelf that Tsukishima is on and they are also bundled up in blankets/skins.
Koito looks like he’s got a skin similar to the one that Kiro and Ogata were wearing previously. Based on the angle of their heads, we can see both are looking over at Ogata.
Tanigaki is the first to speak stating that he wonders why Ogata chose to team up with Kiroranke. He thinks that Ogata would/could not sympathize with minority populations nor would he want to fight for their independence as Kiro wanted to do.
Tanigaki looks so upset when he makes this statement. Why? Does he think he misread Ogata? That he understands him even less? That he doesn’t have a clue what Ogata is thinking? Has he made very incorrect assumptions about his motivations and now he’s confused?
Please note that @goldenkamuyhunting and I had a thread about our thoughts on Ogata being sympathetic to the revolutionary cause here . . .
We both wondered if Ogata could be mixed-race or that b/c he was ostracized he could connect with the feelings of the native peoples.
Koito simply states that he thought Ogata was in it only for the gold.
The shot then pans out to show Sugimoto stating that he wished Ogata were only in it for the gold. That way he could kill Ogata with no regret, but that statement implies that Sugimoto might have an inkling of a feeling that Ogata’s motivations are more complicated than simply getting some of the gold.
I’ve already written at great length that Ogata likely started out with a goal to get some of the gold and then his goal changed to gaining Asirpa’s trust which would be demonstrated by helping him potentially attain the gold. I also think he is involved in the gold hunt to likely disrupt or foil Tsurumi’s plans . . . to what end, I’m still unsure.
There is a lot going on here, but first, I’d like to focus on Tanigaki.
Tanigaki was once an enemy of Asirpa, Sugimoto and Shiraishi. He used Asirpa as a human shield and he almost died from the amappo (arrow trap). But Asirpa rescued him and they made a stretcher to take him back to her temporary hunting tent.
We see their conversation where she tells Sugimoto and Shiraishi that they need to take him back to her kotan to help him rest and heal in a cise.
Tanigaki pleads for them to leave him but he is overruled and he is taken to Huci’s place. Here we see Osoma supporting Tanigaki’s head as Huci spoon feeds him.
Tanigaki was critically injured by a poison arrow trap and he was cared for by the relatives of Asirpa, whom he tried to physically harm. Tanigaki later refers to himself as one of Huci’s children and accepts the hand mitten thing (which I have no idea what the name is) from Osoma.
But my point is this - Tanigaki was helped and healed by Asirpa’s family when he was lost. Asirpa later convinces Ogata to help rescue Tanigaki b/c he returned to being a Matagi by saying with Huci. But did he really? Tanigaki followed Kiro all that way up to Karafuto to kill him in revenge for stabbing Inkarmat. Nihei went to a great length to tell Tanigaki to return home to the Matagi and he was given a second chance. He did not shoot Sugimoto in the head, but he tried to kill Sugimoto and had no qualms with hiding behind Asirpa. He was sold out by Inkarmat to Tsurumi b/c she thought she was doing the right thing for the Ainu and he asked her about her actions she told him that she was doing what she thought was best. Ultimately, I think Tanigaki wrote off her reasons or never tried to understand them. Furthermore, Tanigaki wanted to kill Kiro out of revenge but he never really seemed to understand that Kiro was doing what the thought was right for his people. Tanigaki is okay with passive native individuals like Huci, Osoma, Inkarmat, Cikapasi but when those individuals exercise some sense of autonomy he sees them as an enemy - in this case Kiro.
Despite the fact that Ogata rescued him from the Ainu during the Anehata arc, he still told Hijikata about his background and sees him only as a killer (which upset Ogata greatly). He also would not admit to being complicit in the bullying of Ogata in the 27th in Meko Oyasi (ch 169), I don’t think Tanigaki participated in the bullying but he likely let it happen or stayed silent.
It is clear that both Tanigaki and Koito are not pleased that Ogata is being helped but only by the bare essentials. They didn’t leave him to freeze to death out on the ice. But Ogata is not getting the first hand attention that Tanigaki got from everyone else when he was healing despite being an enemy. Is Ogata a worse enemy based on his actions? Yes. Does that means he should be denied basic human compassion? No.
Koito has made it clear he does not like Ogata and he likely participated in the bullying despite saying he didn’t; he looked at Ogata as only one possible option - greedy for the gold and he has no honor for his father’s status or “suicide”. The look in his face shows that he really does likely want to kill Ogata and he really wants a simple reason to do so.
Looking back at Sugimoto, he seems to be gaining a little more insight into Ogata. Tanigaki isn’t sure why he’d align himself with a revolutionary but maybe Sugimoto is starting to think based on Ogata’s hard to determine goals in combination with his meltdown on ice with Asirpa, that he might be in this crazy quest for the gold for more than that gold. He’s learned enough to know that he’s an illegitimate child, his mother was referred to as a whore, and he’s a bastard child. He might begin to recognize that the guy might have had a tough go at times with everyone either attacking him or trying to bully him. Sugimoto is obviously still angry, livid, and upset and totally wants to KILL Ogata if possible. But the fact he aligned himself with Kiro and has been bouncing between different groups is perhaps indicating to him that Ogata has a more complex goal than the simple acquisition of the gold (one of those likely looking for a place to belong and to have a leader or mentor). I hope that Sugimoto is on some level starting to understand that just like his own goal to get the gold to help Umeko has become intertwined with helping Asirpa, that Ogata also has a more complex goal or had a more complex goal before he just lost it.
I wonder if Sugimoto is even more cautious around Ogata since he knows the “secret” about Umeko from the start. When they were trying to measure each other up in chapter 5, Ogata asks if Sugimoto is in it only for the gold - and makes it clear this is a dangerous game but he replies it is for the woman he loves making his rationale more complex than just simple greed. Ogata later calls him about about his motivations in the swamp and it does upset Asirpa even though Sugimoto doesn’t realize it. Sugimoto is trying to keep his personal goal for the gold separate from the quest with Asirpa, but with them as “partners” they should be more equal in their rationale.
When they were reunited their hands meet on equal levels. But now that they are back together, Sugimoto has returned to treating her like a kid sister. After Svetlana and Gansoku depart to head to mainland Russia to make it big (a whole ‘nother story). Sugimoto tells Asirpa that she needs to return home to Huci healthy.
Asirpa then looks serious as she asks Sugimoto if Tsurumi will let her return home to the kotan, since everyone knows she’s the key to the gold (and now that she knows the key it is even more important). Sugimoto simply replies that they’d be stuck with Tsurumi for the time being but once they’ve solved the code it is implied better to the code to go to Tsurumi than to Hijikata’s group.
So right now this implies that Sugimoto is more okay with Tsurumi creating a military dictatorship on Hokkaido than HIjikata’s goal of a free and independent Ezo Republic. Asirpa then asks Sugimoto why? since Wilk was more than willing to work with Hijikata to create the tattooed skins to save the code for the gold. Hijikata and Wilk both wanted an independent Hokkaido, Hijikata never completely trusted Wilk but I’m sure Wilk never completely trusted Hijikata either. But both has/had a more morally “higher ideal” than Tsurumi’s goal to make money off of warfare in the future. This is very interesting since Sugimoto despite no longer being in the military seems most okay with Tsurumi, an ethnically Japanese military man choosing the fate of Hokkaido.
Sugimoto was not okay with Kiroranke getting the gold for fight for the rights of the native peoples. Which is independent of Kiro and Ogata stealing Asirpa away from him. This then leads to the fact that Sugimoto has now decided to hide his understanding of Wilk’s intentions for Asirpa’s future in the Ainu independence movement etc. Sugimoto has a flashback to his conversation with Wilk . . . which when he was on the boat heading to Karafuto he told rear admiral Koito he has so much to say to Asirpa and . . . and. . . .
and . . . in response to Asirpa asking him if her Aca told him anything useful, he says “Nope, nothing.” With a very sinister looking face here . . . as he flat out lies to Asirpa. You had a very long conversation with Wilk, you were upset that you concluded he was training her to be the Ainu Joan of Arc, which Ogata concluded that she was the “idol” of the Ainu revolutionary movement.
So after Sugimoto decides to omit the details to Asirpa, she asks what they will do about Tsurumi, Sugimoto then states he doesn’t want to go along with him and he has no intention of being loyal to him but he’s the best bet to solve the gold hunt for the time being. As far as Asirpa sees it they are back on the same path.
Sugimoto states that they have renewed their partnership as they look at least other with super sparkly eyes. Asirpa looks very softly up at Sugimoto as he says this. This is what she would want to hear, that she’s being treated as an adult and a partner again by Sugimoto.
But the final page of the chapter then ends with Sugimoto looking very severe as he promises himself to find the gold and free Asirpa from this burden.
And at this point, Sugimoto has just thought the same words that Ogata said to Asirpa several chapters ago (185). He tried to get her to trust him and allow him to find the gold to release her form this crazy quest to allow her to go home to Huci and Osoma. Except the difference is that Ogata verbally told her this (and currently I still believe he was being truthful in his intentions) while Sugimoto is thinking this but not telling her this.
The irony and parallels of this situation are so obvious. The difference is that Ogata seems to have started out by being honest and slowly omitting details and then outright lying to get her to trust him. Sugimoto has Asirpa’s trust so he feels it is okay to lie to her for her own good. He’s protecting her, and he thinks he knows what is right for her. These two men are being always set up as two halves of a whole, if you combined them you might get a well balanced individual! Both men are hurt and incomplete. Ogata rationalizes his lies were okay b/c all he wanted was Asirpa’s trust eventually and he likely did want her out of the quest for the gold as he learned more about the partisans. Sugimoto rationalizes his lies as being protective and shows that their partnership is UNEQUAL, he is an adult and she is not and her innocence must be preserved. At this point, Asirpa deserves to know what Wilk wanted her to do - in a way she knows this - Ogata brought it up to her, she likely isn’t quite ready to face the truth in his statements.
My final comment on this chapter is my disappointment with the resolution of Svetlana. She goes to Russia with Gansoku and Tsukishima is like “hey, um send a letter to your family. I emotionally connected with their pain and your pain. . . .”. Uuuummm okay. . . . That wasn’t what I was expecting from her, maybe Svetlana was a read herring for us readers to think the story would go another direction? There goes my hope for her to be Tsukishima’s girlfriend but he deserves better!
As far as Shiraishi, I see three possibilities:
1.) He’s deeply in pain over Kiro’s death and is crying or hiding.
2.) He’s drunk.
3.) He’s getting laid.
#2 & #3 would be him trying to run away from #1. I really hope it is #1.
So much stuff happened in this chapter that I decided to analyze it as two parts so make it easier on myself. For part 2, I am focusing on Ogata’s conversation with Asirpa after she realizes he was lying to her (oh so terribly lying at that).
* I would like to note that my ideas do not come from a vacuum; I would like to thank everyone for the discussions on discord. We do not always agree, but I love hearing your opinions and input on the manga. Hearing different viewpoints helps me to approach things from different angles. I also want to send a major thank you to @goldenkamuyhunting for chatting about Yuusaku related things. He really confuses me -_-.*
So Asirpa figures out that Ogata has lied to her about Sugimoto. She then makes the blanket statement that she can’t trust anything that he as said. She pulls herself away from him and aims one of her arrows with poison at him.
Likely unknown to her, she repeats a line which he likely was told when he was in the 27th and bullied. We see her blushing and sweating as she declares this to him. I think this line pushes him over the edge. He lied to her, she figured it out and instead of asking “Why did you lie to me? Who were you talking about?” She physically separates herself from him and decides that he’s untrustworthy.
At that point, Ogata’s mindset shifts. I’d say this is the point where he begins to lose it, he loses control of himself and he’s lost control of the situation. He is now going to react at his most basal level, which unfortunately will be very childish and petty. He’s feeling likely raw emotions that he’s never learned to deal with or accept so he beings what is almost a conversation with himself as his personal philosophy (which has likely been his coping mechanism all these years) is challenged by her own belief system.
The wind howls as he calmly states that he’s out of time. He lifts his hand to his head to fix his hair under his hat, likely this is him doing it out of habit when he’s stressed/uncomfortable (think back to his showdown with Tsukishima at Edogai’s). He has such a look of resignation - he couldn’t pull this off, things do not go the way he wants.
He’s looking down with such a look of heaviness about him. He’s got stress lines under his eyes, his gaze is a bit unfocused and he’s got this odd smile of resignation. I feel so much sadness and disappointment in this panel, is he disappointed in himself? in the universe? life in general that he can’t have something that he wants? Does he see this as denying him “happiness” or does he simply desire to get what he wants? Does this imply that he really wants the gold? Or that him getting the gold leads to something else that he wants? Whether it is him getting the gold or using the gold for another goal, at this point in time he has come to the conclusion that he will not get that goal.
The next page shows Asirpa aiming her bow at Ogata drawn back and her hands are shaking as there is a close up of the poison on the arrowhead. This implies at this moment she has an intent to kill. If you stop and think about it, she’s aiming the arrow at him with the poison. Now, I want to take a time out to look at the times that Asirpa has used her bow against humans before getting back to Ogata. This chapter is about Ogata, yes, but this chapter is also about Asirpa.
So let’s look at some other instances when we’ve seen Asirpa’s arrows not used against bears, horses etc.
The first time that Asirpa aimed her poison arrows at human was Shirashi. This was when she tracked him down via Sugimoto’s sock and she needs him to help her. At this point in time he’s not been very nice to her, he’s insulted her, made racist comments to her and even then he’s not sympathetic to Sugimoto abandoning her. So without hesitation she aims a poison arrow at him point blank.
She demands Shirashi take her to Sugimoto at that moment. She flat out tells him if she shoots him he dies in less than one step. When she pulls back the arrow her face is deadpan. What is scarier is her close up, the light normally shown in her eyes is gone. Her eyes are dark. This is an expression that we do not normally see from her. She has screen tone on her face that makes it looks partially shaded. She is threatening to kill Shirashi if he does not cooperate with her. Is she sweating? No. Does she look nervous? No. She looks stone cold.
The second time she uses an arrow against a human is with Henmi. Realizing that Sugimoto is in danger she takes the time and effort to remove the poison from the arrowhead.
She then is able to shoot him in the arm as he lunges after Sugimoto while his back is turned to him and he is defenseless. This means that she has saved Sugimoto but she has doomed Henmi to death. He doesn’t die directly from her arrow, but he will die indirectly from her actions.
Why do I say she results in him dying as a result of her indirect actions? The next panel shows it. He stops mid swing with the arrow in his left arm. This gives Sugimoto enough time to block his strike. Sugimoto then quickly is able to pull out his bayonet and stab Heimei several times. At this point, Henmi’s fate is sealed, granted there is some orca action in there . . .
But he dies as a result of his fight with Sugimoto.
The last example of Asirpa shooting an arrow at a human is when they have rescued Shirashi and Koito is pursuing them. Sugimoto is injured, Ogata isn’t too keen on fighting Koito as he hangs back and Shirashi isn’t useful in direct combat situations. Sugimoto is struggling in his fight with Koito, and she provides a distraction.
So while riding a horse, she is able to shoot the airship’s wooden frame directly below Koito as he lifts up his sabre to strike at Sugimoto again. This allows Shirashi to jump in and knock Koito off into the trees. While she’s riding the horse, we do not get a scene to see if she removed the poison from the arrowhead or not. I’ve waffled on this point, if she shot a poison arrow at him, it would be a repeat of with Shirashi with an intent to kill. If she cut the poison out, based on her aim, she was very risky, that arrow was close to hitting a lethal part of Koito, he’s moving around, she is etc. Either way, she is very lucky that it only created a distraction and did not result in bodily harm to Koito.
All three of these situations demonstrate that Asirpa gets very close to breaking her vow to not kill anyone. All of these situations were to save Sugimoto. One of the situations lead Sugimoto to kill someone. How does she rationalize the death of Henmi by Sugimoto’s hands? She gave Sugimoto the advantage to kill him.
So going back to the panel. She’s aiming directly at Ogata. He then asks her about something that has been bothering him for a long time.
He states he clearly remembers when they first met over the sniped convict. Asirpa prevented Sugimoto from killing Ogata. His face is shaded while he ask re-iterates that she swore to not kill anyone for the gold. He then labels her as a “pure” person. But he questions her reasoning - now that he knows the full background of Wilk, he knows that Wilk could kill and he could to it repeatedly and with no remorse. So he finds it odd that with a father like that, did he teach her to not kill people? By not teaching her about killing she would remain “pure”? She’s sweating as she is still aiming at him. This implies that Ogata believes that Asirpa’s vow to not kill was an “order” from her father.
If she is following her father’s wishes, she is being groomed to be an icon for the Ainu. Even more so, he asks if Asirpa must be pure like Yuusaku a flag bearer [icon] for the imperial army. Asirpa doesn’t understand what he’s talking about. She doesn’t fully understand the position that Wilk put her in. At Abashiri, Sugimoto asked Wilk why he wanted her to be an Ainu Joan of Arc. Did Ogata see that conversation through his binoculars? Or has he come to this conclusion on his own with their travels to Karafuto with Kiro? Either way, he provokes her to kill him. She should be able to kill him since he says “pure” people do not exist, therefore, she should not exist unless she were regular. What is interesting is that he then states that if there is a reason to kill, you will not be impacted by a guilty conscience. This then implies that when he killed Yuusaku, he had a reason. What that reason him following Tsurumi’s orders? He was ordered to kill Yuusaku, so with that reason he accomplished his mission.
That only other person who was unwilling to kill was Yuusaku. And this was because he was following his father’s instructions/wishes for him. He was an icon to inspire the men but also to help to alleviate their guilt. He’s leading men into battle to kill others but he himself does not kill. He indirectly results in death. Does this actually keep him “pure”? I would say no, Yuusaku is denying that his entire job is to inspire men to kill other men.
Yuusaku is sweating the entire time he says that people feel guilt. Does he feel guilt for not participating? For indirectly resulting in the death of enemy men? This then leads to Ogata telling him that people do not feel guilt from killing and perhaps the are acting.
Ogata interestingly can only explain his own experience to Yuusaku. Since Yuusaku is avoiding getting his hands dirty, Ogata feels that his experience is more truthful since if what he experiences must be closer to what the other men killing feel that what Yuusaku knows.
Asirpa is hesitating and sweating this entire time Ogata is talking to her. He sees her hesitation so he decides to push her further. He goes all in with his dare. He states what was always obvious, he is the sniper who killed Wilk as the wind dramatically blows his hat off. I can’t help but think that Asirpa knew this on some level. She knows he’s a skilled sniper. Who else would Kiro signal to?
Asirpa has such a look of shock, she’s shaded and she’s still frozen in position. He continues to pressure her, that she can do it, that she like everyone else (Sugimoto, Tanigaki, Kiro, Sofia, Wilk, Ogata etc) can kill another person. He then tells her that she is likely the same as him (and implied like the rest of those mentioned). The next panel shows her pull the bowstring back while he smiles back at her. It shows her sweating, stress lines under her eyes, she’s breathing heavily as she keeps aim at him.
His smile looks mighty similar to the one here, when the 7th comes to Edogai’s house to destroy the evidence. Even though he bayoneted the unnamed man, he’s taking quite a beating.
He knows he betrayed members of the 27th and he’s killed some of them - he oddly seems happy getting the wrath of the revenge he likely deserves. This is the same as admitting he shot Wilk to Asirpa. He betrayed her trust and she has the right to kill him, he won’t resist at this point.
Asirpa then de-escalates the situation, as the sound effect indicates, she loosens the hold on the bowstring and lowers her aim. She then tells him that she will not kill him. This is not the answer he wanted from her.
Like with the unnamed man from the 27th, it is apparent that Ogata in part thinks that he deserves to die. He believes that “pure” people don’t exist and he doesn’t want to admit that killing fills people with guilt and that they have feelings and their emotions are tied to these feelings. His philosophy is that he does not feel b/c he has forced himself to not feel. He is acting like a child here, he cannot lose this argument. If she kills him, he wins the argument and he dies. If she does not kill him, it proves his argument is incorrect and he will have to deal with his poorly developed and deeply buried emotions.
How dedicated his he to his philosophy? Very, with the fact that he uses Yuusaku’s own words to turn them back on Asirpa [and Yuusaku]. “It’s simply not right that people like you should exist“ is a direct reference to what Yuusaku told Ogata. He told Ogata that “it’s simply not right for there be people in this world who don’t feel guilt . . . over killing.”
Ogata believes his experience is real b/c it is based in his own experiences. He has killed while Yuusaku has not. It indicates that he literally interpreted Yuusaku’s statement to imply that he [Yuusaku] means that Ogata shouldn’t exist. This is to a man who was unwanted, who already thinks that he is broken and missing something and when he talks to Hanazawa, he will tell Ogata that he is broken and missing something. So for Asirpa to reject him, and then to stick to her belief to kill when she is facilitating the death of many people in the quest for the gold, he can’t help but question how she can exist with such a contradiction. He wants his philosophy, as broken and flawed as, it is to remain his philosophy since that is how he has survived this long. He is not losing this argument even if it kills him.
Based on his fake flashback being a possible childhood dream of how he wanted his father to think of his mother when he was dying, his reason to not feel guilt of killing likely goes back to when he killed his mother. She was the first person he killed and he coped with this event by shutting himself down and pushing all of his emotions and feelings away. Those emotions have never matured and are tied to the boy who made this terrible mistake. So now that Asirpa is making him admit he betrayed her, his easiest option is for her to kill him. That is how little value Ogata holds for his own life and how immature and childish his emotions are.
Now, I’m not saying that Ogata is an immature adult, in many aspects he’s a perfectly functional and fine adult. He does his job with extreme skill and diligence. He’s intelligent and performs and meets expectations. But his emotional maturity never had a chance to mature with the rest of him. Ogata can pay his taxes, balance his cheque book, do all those boring adult things. . .
This idea of “my philosophy or death” now makes the convict of Sekiya fit in the overall story. He was a man who questioned his faith and the existence of God in the face of senseless tragedy. He wanted to know if there was a blessed path and used language very similar to Ogata when he talked to Hanazawa in the tankoban version of chapter 103. Ogata wanted to know if there was a place in his father’s family - there wasn’t.
When Hijikata kills Sekiya, he lays on the ground staring at the sky as he bleeds out to death. He has concluded that God does exist and he is being punished. His hypothesis was proven by his death. He dies happy that has has been punished by God and all of his doubts are answered.
So now Ogata has put himself in the exact same type of situation as Sekiya. He wants to prove his own hypothesis by it resulting in his death.
The chapter then ends with him blankly staring at Asirpa with his rifle raised.
Sugimoto now has the same white eyes that he just had, but now Ogata stares blankly while holding his rifle. What will happen with Ogata’s apparent “permission” for Asirpa to kill him being denied? It could mean that he does feel guilt since no matter what he did, she could not be convinced to kill him. This may also make his definition of “pure” people incorrect, which he would not want. He said that “pure”people do not exist when he refers back to Yuusaku. Did Yuusaku do something we are not yet aware of that makes him not pure? Or does it not exist b/c Ogata killed him? But Ogata cannot go around killing all the “pure” people, that isn’t a logical outcome. Does he want her to state that even though she hasn’t directly killed anyone, she cannot be “pure” b/c she is guilty by association? Does he want her to admit that by becoming involved in the hunt for the gold she has resulted in the death of many people? Just making the decision to go to Abashiri to meet Wilk (information that was leaked to Tsurumi via Inkarmat) to confirm if he was her father resulted in the massacre of 700 inmates at the prison.
Ogata is a very damaged and broken man, but he has pointed out the hypocrisy in Asirpa’s actions in the hunt for the gold. He has set up his showdown with Sugimoto. Asirpa will be forced to face the decisions that she has made up to this point. She has wielded her arrows 3x to save Sugimoto and threatened to kill or resulted in the death of those unwilling to help or who could harm Sugimoto.
Sugimoto is approaching with the intent to kill Ogata again.
She always wants to save Sugimoto.
She wants to save Ogata again, just like in chapter 5.
Sugimoto has no problem with killing other men for her. That is what he wants to do to Ogata. What does this showdown mean? I think it means that Ogata will live and he will have to face that his own belief system is flawed and he must recognize his guilt likely goes back to his mother’s death.
This likely means that Sugimoto will not be able to kill Ogata even though he has reasons to, Ogata tried to kill him and facilitated the shifting of Asirpa to Kiro’s own agenda.
Most importantly, Asirpa will have to face that her own personal belief system has allowed her to keep her hands clean but at the cost of all of the others involved in the hunt for the gold. But “pure” people (as defined by Ogata) do not exist and she should face her involvement in the deadly race to find the gold. That is how she is linked to Yuusaku. Both of them are leading men into “battle” and leading them to kill one another while they do not dirty themselves.
Do I want this to lead Ogata do have a full redemption and realize the errors of his ways and do a 180 in his worldview and personal philosophy? Oh hell no, I do not. I want Ogata to deal with his own guilt from killing and facing his childish emotions. I want him to become more normal and face his pain and damage so that he can heal. If he can have “normal” emotions, I will be happy. I want Ogata to suffer for his actions, but I also want Asirpa and Sugimoto to suffer for their actions. Neither of them deserves a free “main character pass”. No one in this story is entirely good or evil. Everyone has good and bad aspects, everyone brings points to the table that call out the beliefs of other characters in this very morally grey zone.
Golden Kamuy chapter 186. Ogata is a deeply conflicted man, revenge will likely hurt Tanigaki and Koito needs to do something differently
Aw man the much awaited chapter 186 translation posted last night for me here in the mountain time zone. I read it and then decided I needed to just go to bed and sleep on it before making any sort of statement on it. Having some coffee helps!
The roller coaster of emotions in this chapter is still quite high and I personally am not surprised by Ogata’s current actions, but I was deeply disappointed by Tanigaki’s and I’ve got some mild scolding for Koito.
This week I will again start from the easier points to address and then work myself to the more complicated ones.
First off, Koito. He proved that he could kick some serious Russian convict bum by cutting a nice pie sized wedge of the man’s skull and brain out with a few quick cuts from his sabre. We have seen his skilled swordsmanship in action. Yay! He then checks in with Tanigaki as a superior - good. But then he starts yelling for Tsukishima and wanders off without ordering Tanigaki to come with him.
Argh, goddammit Koito. All you needed to do was tell Tanigaki to come with you as you looked for Tsukishima. You are in the middle of a snow squall on an ice flow, you know that separating your party is a bad idea. Just one sentence was all you needed to say; “Private First Class Tanigaki, good job, now let’s find Tsukishima.” eoaiutognaotualgnorugzlkmaotualdgaewoiagl! This is how i feel about him leaving Tanigaki slightly behind him, and Tanigaki doesn’t move to follow him either. *sigh* Leadership fail.
When he does find Tsukishima he then scolds him for dealing with Svetlana, even though Tsukishima tells him who she is. Besides Tsukishima’s connection to her based on his own life events, he’s thankful that her family saved him and everyone else. Yet, Koito doesn’t even think that it would be a good idea to help her as her family helped him. Koito, her family gave you nice tea and pastries and you just want to ditch her. Sigh.
I really hope this means that Koito will learn to become more compassionate of others or to “pass it on” aka kindness to just be a good person. I’m rooting for you to learn this lesson Koito . . .
Let’s move onto Ogata and Asirpa now. I think their conversation is much more nuanced than pointing a finger at Ogata and yelling “liar liar, pants on fire!” etc.
Ogata has his rifle ready, and Asirpa is concerned and asks if someone is following them. We get some internal dialogue from Ogata where he realizes he’s in not situation to fight so he has to do another course of action.
Again Asirpa hears Sofia calling to her and she tells Ogata that the should return to the others.
I love the zoom in on the panel focusing on Ogata’s face, he’s on guard, he’s ready for action, it is hard to tell how much he is thinking to give a reply and how much of it is him going on auto-pilot to a threat.
But ultimately, he yields to Asirpa’s words and realizes he needs to tell her more to get his point across. So he has to play another card since his soft and honest conversation wasn’t enough for her. His mouth is covered, perhaps he is hiding his face on purpose or perhaps he wants to look defensive to show Asirpa he’s protecting him.
What I find most interesting is after he says that Kiro made a signal, Asirpa blushes! She has this soft look, like I don’t know, maybe she realized that all of this revolves around her? Inkarmat told her that on the roof but she was super upset about them being shot, so I don’t think she would have been like “Oh am I the center of attention? Tee hee”. Okay so that is a bit over the top, but I think the blush is her realizing that she really is the key to this entire crazy/bloody/violent quest for the gold. Ogata has been trying to talk to her for like 3 chapters now! She’s got to realize that he is trying to say something important. Then he grabs her as he tries to keep her separated so that he can keep talking to her. She seems a bit shocked when he grabs her but not hurt, more surprised.
So now he’s running off with Asirpa . . . He tells her to hurry, this show how important this action is to him and how he wants to keep talking to her is. Finally, while running away, she finally realizes that she has a question. Her “???” indicates that after the surprise of being pulled away she’s able to ask Ogata another question. She goes from blushing to sweating again as she begins to try to piece together what Ogata is saying. I think she in part is nervous about she she is about to hear from him.
Ogata is glancing around, he’s got puffs of his breath around him, his stress lines under his eyes are intense. I personally love how we get Ogata’s point of view when he tells Asirpa that Kiro waited for you to confirm that Wilk was Nopperabou before saying that “and then he had a sniper shoot him.”.
I really like his line here. It shows so much about where Ogata potentially stands in the hunt for the gold. Oh this line is so open to interpretation! It is so cleverly written. Ways that I could interpret this as a reader i.) based on Kiro’s signal, he was working with someone to kill Wilk. That sniper was not me. ii.) Kiro wanted Wilk dead and was working with someone else. No indication of partner. iii.) Kiro signaled a sniper. It was me, but I can’t actually say that but I want you to know that. Asirpa you are smart, you know what this means.
I personally like number iii. since Ogata then follows with him not knowing what happened between Kiro and Wilk but that the gold lead to a falling out between them. His statement is highlighting that the gold leads to conflict and nothing good. I love how he’s not looking at Asirpa but his eyes are open so wide and the stress lines are there. He’s feeling something here, is he looking back on his actions to get him to this point? That his continued involvement will likely lead to more pain and suffering? I don’t know but he’s distressed by what he just said.
The conversation then moves back to Asirpa taking charge again. She’s still sweating and she asks “Why [pause] Why didn’t you tell me before?”. She’s looking up to him with such open but concerned eyes. But he gives her a straight answer now, ask he just said the hardest part to date. He mentioned the sniper [him] directly to her. He seems to have regained a bit of his composure as he answers her, telling her that now she knows the key to the code. By mentioning the sniper his line of “I thought it was necessary to work with Kiro” is a way that he’s giving for his actions and almost stating why he thought it was okay to kill Wilk b/c he was under the indication that the only way to solve this was to work with Kiro.
His statement about keeping quiet makes sense, I think he’s being honest there. I think he also rationalizes shooting Wilk by his following statement “I was fine with anything so as long as I got some of the gold . . .”. It is as though after he shot Wilk something changed and now, he’s not fine with doing whatever it takes to get the gold. It is very interesting that he doesn’t complete this statement and instead shifts to the danger of working with Kiro. I think he’s not ready to verbalize why he’s not fine with doing whatever it takes anymore. But it could be implied it is linked to Asirpa and his Yuusaku fever dream. Those are some very interesting statements from Ogata though.
I think his statement that Kiro may get rid of her, Shirashi or Ogata is an accurate concern and she needs to look at her father’s friend in a different light. Now that Kiro and Sofia revealed how Wilk truly acted and that both of them were impressed with that “resolve” it is concerning for Asirpa, Shirashi and Ogata. If they aren’t dedicated to the partisan cause they aren’t useful to Sofia and Kiro. I really hope Asirpa is putting this together in her head. It would be incredibly difficult for her to question Kiro - since the beginning she’s cared about him as an older male role model and he gives off an “uncle” vibe to her.
I don’t think Ogata is holding her hand in a forceful way, almost like he’s afraid to lose her but she’s not fighting back either b/c she needs to have this conversation with Ogata as much as he needs to have the conversation with her. It as though both of them are passively going along with each other b/c they need to have these conversations. They are likely the two most emotionally closed characters so I think deep down they both need to start facing their own problems. Asirpa needs to realize what Kiro’s intent actually is. Ogata needs to come clean that his “do whatever it takes method” comes with a cost that I think he’s aware of now.
Finally, Ogata again asks her to tell him the code. He’s desparate and the two things he’s holding onto are his rifle and her. This has got to mean something - are these the only two things he can trust? His rifle will not let him down and he needs her support? The next panel then returns to her sweating face - has she figured out he just admitted to shooting Wilk?
The panel ends with more internal dialogue form him as he’s nervously glancing around. Asirpa should realize that he’s deeply concerned about things and he’s as panicked as Ogata has ever been. I really want her to ask in the next chapter if Ogata shot Wilk. if you want more meta on Ogata’s behaviour that I really agree with check out this by @goldenkamuyhunting here. I agree with the idea that no one can make a crazy change overnight and that slow changes are much more realistic.
I’ve said what wanted to say about Ogata and Asirpa for this chapter. I don’t think he was lying, he was trying to admit he did it in the most awkward but soft way possible, while panicking in a snow squall on an ice flow.
Now to Kiro and Tanigaki.
Tanigaki notices Kiro coming up from behind him after he ejected the used rifle shell. Tanigaki and Kiro then proceed to beat the living crap out of each other with Tanigaki slamming into Kiro at such a force that he knocks his ushanka off and breaks the ice behind him. Since Tanigaki has the Murata rifle, he hasn’t had time to reload it, so he’s forced to jump Kiro. This is a very brutal fight. Kiro hits Tanigaki in the head with a block of ice two times and the second time the ice breaks on impact with his head here.
Tanigaki has a concussion at a minimum by this point and brain damage if it is worse. Kiro goes to grab his remaining knife as he’s straddling Tanigaki on the ground. We see he’s in rough shape and then Inkarmat’s smiling face in a black shaded box (past tense/flashback indication).
We then move to the next page. We see Kiro over Tanigaki and Tanigaki’s shoes/boots facing us. The sound effect is “thunk”. I want to know exactly what this thunk means. It first looks like perhaps Kiro stabbed Tanigaki with his knife. I have to admit I had the help of others to realize that the thunk has to do with Kiro being stabbed. Pan out to a Kiro sweating and breathing heavily.
He looks down at blood on his right hand. He stands up off of Tanigaki. He then starts sweating a lot as he looks down at himself.
Boom the next page zooms out to show his short knife stabbed in his gut and he never was able to draw his other knife. Kiro is screwed. He’s got a gut injury, in the middle of a snow squall on an ice flow.
The final panel is Tanigaki reminding him of him hurting Inkarmat and he reveals his purpose to join the group was to get revenge on Kiro for her.
This is not good for Tanigaki, nor is it good for his future. This has proven that 1.) he has learned nothing from his quest for revenge in regards to Kenkichi. 2.) if Kiro dies, he has killed a tiger (as pointed out by @goldenkamuyhunting) and Sofia prevented the other Russian convicts from shooting the tiger to prevent future misfortunes 3.) he’s still running away from his problems.
The entire time that Tanigaki has been trying to bring Asirpa home to Huci has always felt like he cared less about Asirpa as a person and more that she was a goal of a quest to avoid returning to Ani. Yes, he’s found Inkarmat and Cikapasi along the way but he’s still aimless or refusing to face the fact he should go home. But we now know his major reason for heading to Karafuto was to kill Kiro. That isn’t going to solve his problems. I feel that the panel showing Inkarmat in the flash back is a bad sign, that by likely killing Kiro, she will also die.
Lastly, I want to touch briefly on Sugimoto and Shirashi. I think that b/c Sugimoto is still driven by his need for revenge and his anger at Ogata and Kiro and hasn’t faced his own problems in regards to Umeko and Toraji. Additionally, he has his need to talk to Asirpa but he always thinks the only way to save her is through violence that he’s being stalled by karma currently. Since he’s linked Asirpa to Umeko and Toraji he needs to 1.) de-couple this and 2.) rescue Asirpa though a non-violent means. So since his karma is say constipated, he’s unable to actually reach her until he does something to examine his own thoughts and actions. So now he’s stuck on a piece of ice with Shirashi and Ryu. Irony at its finest.
First off, I loved the animated sequence they added in when Tanigaki, Sugimoto, Shirashi and Ogata flee from the locusts.
Please excuse my quick edit as I lack the time and proper video editing tools.
In the first gif you see Tanigaki open the door and run in followed by Shirashi and the left foot of Sugimoto.
In the second one, I edited from the end of Sugimoto to Ogata doing some fancy footwork as he does a full 180 pivot on his right foot and steps backwards with his left and then right before shutting the door!
I must commend the animation staff with using this quick scene to highlight what the manga has clearly shown, that Ogata will always pick up the rear! Thank you thank you thank you! I love that he even turns to face the on coming threat as he slides the door shut in one fast motion. This means a lot to me as a very avid reader of the manga. This subtle characterization was well thought out and the editing here was just so spot on. *this is giving me so many good feels*
The other aspect of this episode that I loved was the well done otter meat scene and that they DID NOT CUT IT OUT. *phew* And they kept the comedy of the entire scene intact as well.
I liked the anime adaptation from Ogata’s sea otter overload. It just fried his kitty smell and also likely his lack/fear of physical leading to emotional intimacy.
*melts at next scene*
I have no words for the animation of him passing out. . . . just “ . . . . “. *goes back to melting*
The rest of the guys look a bit rough animation wise and I wonder why they had him keep his wool jacket on, since in the manga he’s just wearing the dress shirt and cloak and his dress shirt oddly appears in the next scene.
I am in love with his facial expression when Sugimoto says Kiro. Talk about some bedroom eyes from Ogata there. The rest of them look either a bit surprised or embarrassed and Ogata is like “don’t mind the absolutely seductive look I’m giving you Kiro . . . “
When you compare Ogata in the anime to the original . . .
Like damn. I vote for the anime scene better b/c is has 200% more sexy Ogata bedroom eyes. I mean. THOSE EYES!
Anyhoo moving on . . .
They definitely captured the, “I’m stoned on catnip” expression here.
I have mixed feelings on Ogata moaning throughout. I mean seriously, he moaned while feeling dizzy and passing out and moaned in response to the others’ conversations. it does add to his fanboy/girl appeal but I think I preferred the much more socially awkward speech bubbles of “ . . . . “ instead.
I will likely not have enough time in the next two weeks to give my full attention to comparing the anime and manga, but I think the editing on this episode shows more of an awareness for the subtle mannerisms that define these complex characters. Actually, I’ll say that 19 and 20 have both vastly improved on putting in those details that really help in following everyone and their changes and development.
Golden Kamuy chapter 191: the Karafuto arc ties up and shifts to *ahem* some onsen times.
The karafuto/pursuit of Kiro and Ogata arc has finally come to an end. I really like the chapter title page with the group standing around Kiro’s body. It gives this arc a feeling of completion. The previous chapter had also used the Ainu quote that nothing comes down from heaven with our a purpose and this is a nice touch/spin on that concept. Now we the reader are in heaven looking down.
It looks like Asirpa’s bag, Sugimoto’s pack/mess kit and Sugmoto’s rifle are all off to the side. Shiraishi was carrying a pack/mess kit earlier and it is likely Sugimoto’s. Ogata’s kit may still be under this cloak and Sugimoto handed his and his rifle off to Shiraishi since we saw him carrying them in the last chapter. Plus, it would be really uncomfortable to carry Ogata over a pack. This shows that this moment for Shiraishi is very important. Asirpa and Sugimoto give Shiraishi some space, while Koito, Tsukishima and Tanigaki hang back.
I love the next panel with Shiraishi and Kiro’s body. Shiraishi makes sure to bury him under the ice and give him proper respect and he cries while he does it. Shiraishi refers to the fact that Kiroranke grew up on the Amur river and that the ice he’s on is connected to will take him back home to the river. It is poetic and I like it.
The most touching part is here where Shiraishi takes his mittens off (new mittens? maybe he didn’t lose his original mittens or did he swap with Ogata?) so that he can place his bare left hand on Kiro’s forehead to likely close his eyes. Shiraishi has changed so much as a character since the beginning. I even like the detail were there is a little bit of sweat on Shiraishi’s hand on his thumb. . . . such a nice detail.
He was only out for himself and now he’s taking the time to treat the body of a good friend with respect. This again really highlights that Shiraishi liked Kiro as a friend and that he will miss him. Even if he fought against Sugimoto’s group to the death, he had a good relationship with him. Shiraishi is in that sense a lover and not a fighter - he has never tried to kill another person and even though he does illegal things and aligns himself with all of these war vets who have killed other people, he maintains his own “purity” so to speak and respects the dead.
Shiraishi’s facial expression is heartbreaking as he says that Kiro was too serious.
What is more interesting is the rest of the group. Asirpa also looks very upset, she’s got a bit of a flush on her face (likely from crying). She’s likely reacting to what Shiraishi is saying but again must feel such a mix of emotions.
Sugimoto looks stone cold but has some sparkle in his eyes while Ogata is out cold as just a hat. Sugimoto’s mouth is turned down, again I could read this as a simple frown, or is he trying to keep his feelings in? Is he upset that things haven’t gone down how he expected? When he left Abashiri, he wanted to kill Ogata and Kiroranke - instead he saved Ogata from Asirpa while Tanigaki and Koito really resulted in his death. What does this facial expression from Sugimoto really mean?
Tanigaki is pretty beat up, we can now see the bruising on his face from his fight with Kiro swelling up. His entire right side of his face is a mess.
Koito and Tsukishima look on both frowning with very severe looks on their faces. I wonder if they are really not sure if he’s dead based on how hard he fought them? They certainly still look very upset.
Finally the two groups are able to exchange some information, we get the info from Tanigaki tells them that Inkarmat said that Kiro had told her that “Wilk changed” harking back to the flashback when he accidentally stabbed her after he pulled the knife on her.
Sugimoto is also able to finally relay to Asirpa that Wilk did not kill the other Ainu. Finally, she has gotten her answer that her father was not a murderer at least in that instance. This should give her some relief, but she also just learned he could slit a man’s throat no problem from Sofia and Kiro. But instead she looks off into the distance and her reply is “ . . . . . .”. I wonder if she thinks that Wilk lied to Sugimoto based on what she now knows. I think that Wilk could have lied to Sugimoto . . . or I would doubt his word like Asirpa.
She notices movement while the action, if you could call it that, shifts to Tsukishima who falls to his left knee while he grabs his neck wound. He’s able to support himself to an extent with his rifle. Poor Tsukishima is sweating all over his face and he’s got stress/exhaustion puffs over his head. He’s in rough shape.
Thankfully, Tanigaki steps in to help brace Tsukishima while Koito freaks out. Koito orders Tanigaki to carry Tsukishima, but seriously, he’s in some pretty rough shape as well. I love how then on the next page when Sugimoto spots Svetlana with binoculars (Ogata’s binoculars I’m assuming) Asirpa and Sugimoto go running after her. Asirpa is a little honest here telling the others that Kiro and Sofia were exchanging information. Now Tsukishima and Koito know about Sofia and we know that one of them will tell Tsurumi and he’ll know that she’s back in play in the quest for the gold. I’m sure Tsurumi already knew that Kiro’s likely goal was to meet up with her but now he has verification that it indeed was Kiro’s end goal.
This is nice framing as at the bottom of the page we finally see an almost full body shot of Koito and for the first time see that his right arm is in a sling!
We can see where his left forearm has been bandaged but now we have official confirmation that Koito’s right arm is injured enough that he likely has it bandaged and he’s got it in a sling. A horrible part of me wants it to be seriously injured; remember in the last chapter, I think he pushed through the injury with his adrenaline but now that the fight with Kiro is over, he’ll find out he damaged his right forearm. Oh that would be some karma for killing a tiger.
Sugimoto and Asirpa disobey his direct order not to run off and Sugimoto drops poor Ogata in the process. Be careful with Ogata Sugimoto! He’s already travel sized, just be gentle with him. Instead of finding Svetlana, they find Gansoku, trying to get some Russian convicts to beat the crap out of him (and failing of course). Poor Sugimoto immediately regrets his decision b/c now he’s stuck with a super friendly Gansoku. But all is not lost, for Gansoku is able to pick up [poor] Tsukishima and carry him when no one else is able to. Tanigaki is holding Tsukishma’s pack and Gansoku is carrying him so gently and he looks so happy to be helping out! Oh princess Tsukishima, what can he do for you? (sorry, I couldn’t resist the joke). Hell, is Koito jealous that Gansoku is holding Tsukishima like a princess and he can’t?
Tsukishima’s facial expression is priceless - I hope this means that he respects Tsukishima from their bout in the stenka. He may be a small man, but Tsukishima is a tough dude and he’s likely uncomfortable with this situation.
But Gansoku is more helpful than Koito who is now giving Gansoku the evil eye in the background as he is unable to carry Tsukishima. Jealous a little Koito???? But seriously Koito, you didn’t even help Tsukishima when he collapsed, you let Tanigaki support him and now you are staring through Gansoku when Tsukishima looks like he’s at a loss for words and hopefully just in shock at the entire situation. Maybe he’s in shock for the first time b/c someone else is helping him and doing the job that he would normally do. Remember this?
Tsukishima not only rescued Koito from the wolverine by punting it, but he then had to carry the injured Koito on his back and then he gently placed him on Enonoka’s grandfather’s dogsled. If Koito hadn’t been so reckless, he could have returned the favor and carried Tsukishima but with two injured arms, he’s unable to do so.
I think it is very interesting that Asirpa believes that Sofia will come to find her at the right time. This was not how I thought things were going to resolve themselves. I thought for sure Sofia would encounter their group and school Koito in French for being a crappy leader. We know Sofia can speak French and Koito as an officer knows another foreign language and we know he doesn’t speak Russian. . . . French is a good guess with his refined manners and his dainty teacup holding skills. I can hope for future Sofia scolding of Koito and Tanigaki . . . perhaps she will become the curse of the tiger. But I don’t see Sofia as the type of a person to go on a quest for revenge like Tanigaki. I could see her trying to keep fighting the good fight and being on the other side of these characters when the hunt for the gold ties her into it more directly. I also find it interesting that Koito blurts out that they [the 27th] made a deal with Sugimoto to bring back Asirpa and Shiraishi. I really hope Shiraishi and Asirpa ask what the terms of this deal are. Sugimoto needs to come clean about this before things get more complicated.
I love the fact that Sofia goes to say goodbye to Kiro. She removes the ice blocks so that she could see his face one last time. I’m guessing she watched everything as is happened. I hope she respects both Asirpa and Shiraishi when the meet again in the future. I also want to know if Sofia and Svetlana will connect - she wasn’t just introduced to get in an argument with Tsukishima and disappear.
The action on Karafuto comes to a close with a final panel that focuses on the trio; Ogata-Sugimoto-Asirpa. Why do I call them the trio? These are the first three characters that we were introduced to in the series. I am bold enough to state that I hypothesize that Sugimoto is Asirpa’s right hand and Ogata is her left hand. Their body language is always mirrored and both men are linked to her.
I do find the return of Asirpa’s short knife from Suigmoto a little underwhelming. He held onto her knife to find her and return it to her . . . but just like their reunion, it seems to fall a little short. Perhaps, this will get a redraw in the volume version? It was his only physical tie to her and we do get a very sincere thank you from Asirpa. But I would have expected more from this scene. The only part I like is Asirpa’s “thank you Sugimoto.”.
And keep in mind, Ogata is still in the background for this scene as well.
The story will continue to advance with these three moving the major parts of the manga through their actions and their future flashbacks. ‘Cause oh does Sugimoto owe us a flashback or two in regards to Toraji and how he got kicked out of the 1st division.
As far as Ogata’s further links to these two; the first time Sugimoto almost killed Ogata, Asirpa stopped him. His body was able to physically heal in the hospital and he came out “liberated” from an unknown thing according to Noda. Plus, his liberation is shown through his longer hair.
The second time Asirpa now has almost killed Ogata and Sugimoto saved his life. This next healing phase will likely focus on his emotional and psychological healing that he will go through. Hopefully, this will be done both by talking with Asirpa (as they have A LOT of things to discuss) as well as with Sugimoto who cannot treat Ogata like the men he has fought (and killed) as he has done in the past. Sugimoto won’t be able to state that Ogata isn’t human and doesn’t feel pain, his injury and pain (both physical and psychological) will be in full view for Sugimoto soon.
Shiraishi will likely also tie into this group as he formed the friend trio with Sugimoto and Asirpa. So with that our newly merged party is heading back to hopefully get some urgent care and some R & R. I really hope Asirpa gets some time to digest everything that happened that day. As @goldenkamuyhunting pointed out it was literally Kiroranke’s worst day, but it was also a very bad day for Asirpa and Ogata. You can tell she’s tired and distressed as she keeps bouncing around this chapter: 1.) Why did Kiro want Aca dead? 2.) Where is Sofia? 3.) Who is over there? etc. I personally think she’s being a bit hyper to distract herself from the true trauma of that day; realizing that Ogata did lie to her about some things and almost killing him. Asirpa just can’t immediately deal with something like that sort of trauma, right now she has to focus on keeping herself busy enough to get back to safety.
So the plot then shifts to an onsen at Noboribetsu. It is a place that is visited by injured soldiers to help with their injuries. So with the death of Kiroranke, we then get the introduction of a new member of the 27th, Warrant Officer Kikuda.
His introduction is quite *ahem* striking as we get mid-thigh to head shot of him with his private parts barely obstructed by the steam of the hot spring. We also see that he’s got a very prominent forehead and he’s got a large scar on his chest.
But seriously, everyone was likely just looking at how well endowed he is and than we finally get his name and rank. A few of us are trying to figure out what his character inspiration is; we’ve thrown out the idea that he looks a bit like Clark Gable or like Roger Moore and/or Sean Connery (as James Bond). Is he a spy? Just like Usami, this man has not appeared in any of the flashbacks of the 27th that we have to date; the battle for the 203m hill, the battle of Mukden, or the snowstorm when the 27th gets to hear Tanigaki’s backstory.
Before the raws dropped, I had read some text spoilers with no images, so I wondered if this new guy would be this unnamed man from the battle of Mukden used to test Tsukishima’s loyalty to Tsurumi.
But the nameless man has a totally different eyebrows, eye lashes and nose so he shall continue to be a mystery to me for the time being. Who are you nameless man from chapters 149 & 150? You work for Tsurumi . . . I will keep you in the back of my mind.
Back to our new manly character Warrant Officer Kikuda, we know that he has an injury. Just like Usami he isn’t in any of the 27th flashbacks that have been revealed to date. Usami was working as a spy for Tsurumi at Abarashi, we know that Tsurumi was a spy. Therefore, Tsurumi doesn’t have the stereotypical Japanese military hang-up with spies and spying that was prevalent during that time period. Based on his dapper looking character design, I’m going to put out the crazy idea that he could be a spy for Tsurumi. Based on their brief conversation, he’s concluded that Usami and Nikaido were sent by Tsurumi to check in on him. But his statement to Usami and Nikaido is a bit spicy and snarky, does he have some bad blood between him and Tsurumi? I want to know more about you Warrant Officer Kikuda!
He also casually mentions that another private first class told him about a man he met/saw in the dark who ran off to the sound of geta. Sounds like Toni Anji is back in the mix. The last we saw of HIjikata, Ushiyama, Kadokura and Kirawas was at Lake Akan. Perhaps, Toni Anji is with Kantaro? I want to know where our little aspiring criminal is who now is obsessed with getting praise and attention from Hijikata is.
