Golden Kamuy S4 – 07

「樺太脱出」 (Karafuto Dasshutsu)
“Fleeing Karafuto”

After production got delayed due to death of a staff member, Golden Kamuy is back in town to muscle its way to the front of an already packed anime season. Despite such a long gap between the Fall and now, it didn’t take long to get back in the swing of GK. We were left on the pretty big cliffhanger of Asirpa deciding to join up with Tsurumi after her fight with Sugimoto. Well that didn’t last long.

Asirpa is one of my favorite female anime characters of all time- so strong and determined (and not to mention funny). She doesn’t need anyone else to speak for her, she can speak for herself and her people loud and clear. Asirpa was so on fire. She totally took the lead in the deliberation with Tsurumi- demanding the answers and telling it to him straight. Tsurumi’s attitude does a 180, dropping the honeyed artifice for the hungry wolf that he is- you can hear a growl in his voice. His subterfuges won’t get past this girl. Her way is the only way and there is no option for compromise or failure- as well it should be. The gold belongs to her and her people and taking the road less traveled, she can take confidence that she’s doing what she believes to be right not what Sugimoto, not what her father, not what anyone else tells her is right.

I love the unspoken trust in Asirpa and Sugimoto’s partnership. When she gets ready to fire those arrows, even after fighting with Asirpa over the potential of her killing others, Sugimoto assents, trusting she’ll do what she thinks is right. Not that he, or anyone else for that matter, have a right to get in her way or stop her. Asirpa, for her part, trusts that Sugimoto will catch on and support her decision. Despite him not knowing the plan, he falls right in step with the ruse, warning Tsurumi’s men that Asirpa’s arrows have “poison” on them (thankfully, for Shiraishi), allowing for a quick getaway. I love how Asirpa has no qualms about setting down boundaries, telling Sugimoto “don’t tell me not to do things from now on”- she’s a strong, intelligent girl and can make wise choices for herself, which I think Sugimoto respects, especially seeing that “there’s more than one path”.

That ship chase was edge of your seat stuff. Just when you thought Asirpa and Sugimoto’s crew got away (rejoined by the Russian sharpshooter), Tsurumi’s crew appeared out of nowhere (calling in back- up from his daddy buddy). Then Sugimoto turned things around, tricking the other ship into blasting a path through the ice for them- clever. Even though Asirpa and Sugimoto’s gang made it away safely, disembarking on the ice, camouflaged by white sheets (again, brilliant), it’s still hard to tell which side actually won, because you can bet that Tsurumi and company will have an answering volley waiting for them in Wakkanai.

It’s ironic in a way that Sugimoto is fighting so hard to protect Asirpa, to make sure she doesn’t sully her hands, when Asirpa is the one trying to shield him. She knows the code for the gold already but keeps it secret. Otherwise, Sugimoto will take the burden all on himself and give in to his inner beast to the detriment of himself and others, which Asirpa wants to prevent if at all possible. Both Asirpa and Sugimoto recognize the dehumanization through manslaughter in the name of a cause, whether it be Ainu freedom or the Russo-Japanese war, though they approach how to avoid it differently. Sugimoto wants to take on all the dirty work to keep Asirpa pure and indeed, has no qualms about ruthlessly shedding blood himself if it’s for her sake. Let the ones who are already soiled form the front lines so no-one else has to stand in their blood soaked shoes. Asirpa opts for a 3rd path, one that is neither submitting to the enemy nor killing them unless totally unavoidable. As Sugimoto noted, her path is the hardest, but I think, also has the most potential, being one that very few try and which requires greater commitment and awareness of oneself and one’s beliefs- she will not lose her sense of herself unlike with the other two paths.

The ending teased some developments on the horizon. For one, we have Team Tsurumi’s counter attack against Asirpa, plotting a fake obituary for Huci to threaten Asirpa over to their side. Tsurumi is convinced this will test Asirpa’s mettle and make her falter over to them. I’m not so sure about that. Asirpa convinced Tanigaki to go back to the village, where presumably, he’ll be able to watch over Huci. With Tanigaki protecting her, I think Asirpa can ignore Tsurumi’s threats. What will be Tsurumi’s reaction in that case?

For another, we have Ogata hot on Asirpa and Sugimoto’s trail. He steals the dead soldier’s uniform and poses as a poor soldier to hitchhike over to Wakkanai. Oh boy, Sugimoto and Asirpa have some epic face offs ahead of them.

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