Golden Kamuy series is that it takes place during the Russo-Japanese War, which ended in September 1905. The main premise of this series has us on an adventure with Sachi Sugimoto and Asirpa in which they are searching for the lost Ainu gold. As this is the main motivation of our two leads.
As the anime continues, there are two other groups that are also hunting for the gold. Those being Tokushirou Tsurumi who is lieutenant of a corrupted platoon in the 7th division. Also Toshizou Hijikata who is a former vice commander of the Shinsengumi and the leader of the escaped prisoners from Abashiri Prison.
Golden Kamuy is a manga that I consider a masterpiece, as it delivers in every aspect that you can ask. Sadly, the anime adaptation has issues. This season covered 70 chapters in 12 episodes, which messed with the pacing. For most people, the CGI bear is the one issue, with poor art direction and animation just being decent. Some action scenes are cut down from the manga. Though the worst is where the anime cut Sugimoto’s backstory regarding his childhood friends Umeko & Toraji. Thankfully it doesn’t cut Asirpa’s part, but it does hamper a good amount of the scenes with Sugimoto.
The best parts of this adaptation are voice acting and sound direction. The former is usually strong in anime, but in Golden Kamuy it is especially strong. All the top male seiyuus are present and give out some wonderful performances. The sound direction, thankfully, is good and is pretty solid throughout.
The comedy and worldbuilding are some of the strengths of the manga. As the series goes into Ainu culture, and in the manga, the worldbuilding regarding the Ainu, Japan, and Russia is all top-notch. Sadly, because of pacing, this stuff gets cut down. Which undercuts the adventure gourmet feel of the manga, which is more of a straight-line story. Though at the very least, the feel of the characters and comedy match very well and are done well. Which again is credit to the voice acting.
Now what if you only watch anime and don’t read manga? I do think the anime shows enough for you to continue, as it focuses more on the main story of uncovering the gold and less on the adventure feel of the manga. Also, if you enjoyed season 1, then continue on forward. With that being said, the endpoint of S1 is still awkward, and I question if anime-only fans would want to continue to S2.
Overall, Golden Kamuy S1 is proof that adaptations aren’t made equal. Even some great manga won’t get the roll of the dice their way. Though there is enough, mostly with the voice acting, that can make it worth watching. But if you read manga, please experience the series through the manga first.