Golden Kamuy, vol. 17

 

- Golden Kamuy, vol. 17. Satoru Noda. 

Entering Russia brings a tremendous change for both our protagonist groups. It’s no longer just the unmerciful nature or the cruelty of human adversaries; now there is the weight of history and politics. Sometimes, the sins of the past catch up not to the individual,  but to entire nations…

A somewhat odd volume of GK because it has less of its unusual characteristics: There’s less spectacular moments and less homoeroticism, which in theory would bring this closet to so many other generic adventure tales. But none of it went away. Check out the story of the virginal standard bearer seduced by his lieutenant and by another soldier. Or the gender non-conforming character Sofia Golden Hand. Or the method for separating flesh and metal in extreme cold…

This volume sets up the historical and political context for upcoming tales —a study of ethnic minorities in the Russian-Japanese border. It’s not that the quality was lowered or that it tried to appeal to the Mainstream -it’s that the story takes a slight pause to carefully set the next action stage. 

*