English Dub Review: Golden Kamuy “Race”

A three-way collision.

Overview:

Sugimoto is still being held hostage, but Asirpa and Shiraishi make the move to break him out.

Our Take:

Now, this is an action-packed episode.

The combined might of Sugimoto, Asirpa, and Shiraishi band together and manage to break Sugimoto out of confinement. Sugimoto uses his combat knowledge and improv skills, Asirpa uses her arrows and hunting skills, and Shiraishi uses his escape abilities.

Afterward, Shiraishi officially joins the group, having made a deal with Asirpa for a portion of the gold. He is an unlikely player, more of a joke character than the rest of the cast, but he does have skills. He was able to sneak into the building undetected, and free Sugimoto. Afterward, he was able to don a military uniform to search for the skin and then escape undetected. While he’s a regular presence in the town, nobody has suspected him yet. While clearly lacking in combat ability, he isn’t dead weight on the team. They all have a comedy moment together, and which means that the three of them are bonding, somewhat.

The third player on the board is revealed: the one who spearheaded the convicts’ escape, Hijikata Toshizou. Hijikata himself is an incredibly well-known historical figure, specifically as the Vice Captain of the notorious Shinsengumi. He’s known for fighting against the new government at the time and was killed at the Shinsengumi’s last stand at the Battle of Hakodate. In this series, Hijikata is still alive, having been jailed for his crimes instead of dying on the battlefield. He’s become old, no longer the young man that history knows him to be, but that hasn’t broken his spirit. It’s unclear what he wants at this point in time, but he is hunting for the gold to fulfill an unspoken dream of his. To do so, he is traveling with another old comrade, Nakamura Shinpachi, and another prisoner, Tatsuma Ushiyama. Despite his age, Hijikata has strong companions and is no slouch himself. The Shinsengumi were a group of warriors, and Hijikata himself trained from a young age. He is familiar with both firearms and the art of the sword, making him a very capable contender in battle. He also seems to be quite shrewd. None of these are a good sign for Sugimoto’s group, who already has to deal with Tsurumi.

So far it seems to be a three-way struggle for the map, and things are getting intense. Really looking forward to seeing how the show plays things out.