Golden Kamuy (2022-2023)

[ゴールデンカムイ]

Season 4

Director: Shizutaka Sugahara
Studio: Brain's Base
Starring: Chikahiro Kobayashi, Haruka Shiraishi, Kentaro Ito
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
Sugimoto and the others leave Russia and make their way back to Hokkaido, but the shifting alliances around them makes the hunt for the gold all the more chaotic.

Impressions:
Not only do we get a new studio this season, but one that ended up running into problems. Due to production issues, there was a six-month hiatus in the middle of the season. I was honestly wondering if they'd even pick things back up again and was surprised to hear when it was actually airing again. This would ironically presage all the series that would go on hiatus in the Winter 2023 season (although in this case, it was reportedly due to a death in the staff while the Winter 2023 shows all blamed Covid). Anyway, enough about the behind-the-scenes stuff. Let's get on with the show.

First, it's nice having the power trio of Sugimoto, Asirpa and Shiraishi back together again. While the main goal of collecting the skins of the prisoners remains, the critical element of Asirpa having figured out how to decode them makes her an even more prominent piece on the board with all that entails. We also introduce two new characters in the 7th Division, Warrant Officer Kikuta and the Ainu soldier Ariko, to add some more complications to the mix. Unsurprisingly, the closer we get to the finish line, the more the backstabbery ramps up. Mostly because I complained about it before, I will say that contrary to Tanigaki, Ogata and Tsukushima's backstories in the previous two seasons, the ones for Koito and Usami here feel more organic to the present narrative. Maybe that's just a me thing.

While there's plenty of good material here, I'm starting to feel a bit fatigued at this point. More than that, some lines get crossed here which might be too much for some viewers. I mean, it does feel like the bent of the humor has been getting progressively cruder and cruder. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you, then all's well. I still want to see the story through to the end, but I'm not quite as enthusiastic as I was earlier in the story. If you're invested in the story, you'll still want to give it a watch at the very least.

Rating:
Watch It