Golden Kamuy (2018)

[ゴールデンカムイ]

Season 2

Director: Hitoshi Nanba
Studio: Geno Studio
Starring: Chikahiro Kobayashi, Haruka Shiraishi, Kentaro Ito
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
As spring arrives, Sugimoto's group approaches Yuubari, but Lieutenant Tsurumi is already there and hatches a plan to confound the search for the tattoos.

Impressions:
I have to admit that it felt odd at first seeing greenery after associating this series so much with its wintery snowscapes, but the change in seasons allows us to explore new customs and cuisines, so that's nice. The main goal is getting Asirpa to Abashiri Prison to confirm if Nopperabou is actually her father or not. I mentioned shifting alliances as a factor in the show in my review of the previous season and that gets ramped up here, especially when we add the element of Inkarmat's premonition that there's a traitor in the main group.

We get some good development of the secondary cast. While I like the insights provided by the backstory eps for Tanigaki and Ogata, they don't feel like they were woven organically into the story. Your mileage may vary on that, though.

We close on a solid cliffhanger, but they could have cut things off a good five or ten minutes shorter to really twist the knife into the audience. Given that Season 3 didn't come out until two years later, that would've been cruel to anime-only viewers. The story continues strong through this season, making it just as worthy as the first for having a place in your collection.

Rating:
Own It