The probably penultimate season of “Golden Kamuy”, one of the best titles of the last few years, saw a number of changes. Brain's Base produced the season, replacing Geno Studio, while Shizutaka Sugahara replaced Hitoshi Sugahara as chief series director, and Takumi Yamakawa replaced Kenichi Onuki as character designer. The result seems to move more into comedic territory (action comedy if you prefer), particularly in the first episodes, but thankfully, the usual anime silliness is placed in the background as time passes.
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The race to obtain the body tattoos and eventually the Ainu gold continues in the most intense fashion, as the three groups (Asirpa and Sugimoto's, The 7th and Hijikata Toshijo's group) are all in, trying to get there first while ridding themselves of their opponents. Expectedly, more and more former prisoners who pose a threat all around appear, with the narrative focusing intensely on some and briefly on others, retaining, though, an episodic approach throughout.
The combination of more humour and more episodes and characters (with the latter already being too many in the previous entry) actually harms the quality of the season, which is definitely on a lower level than the previous three. The way the “villain of the week” approach is implemented may help even more in the analysis of the main characters and their backstory on occasion, but forbids the viewer from growing any empathy for characters who frequently just appear to get killed in a single episode. Furthermore, it takes away from the focus on the more interesting characters, although this aspect is actually toned down as the season progresses.
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That being said, a number of very interesting individuals continue to be present. First and foremost, Tokishige Usami, whose psychopath ways include an obsessive love for Tsurumi since childhood, and a propensity to both receive and inflict pain. His ‘semen detective' abilities are obviously here for laughs (the series always exhibited a somewhat crude sense of humour) but Sugahara still manages to integrate them in the narrative, again particularly close to the end. Otonoshin Koito is also quite intriguing, as more of his past is revealed, making a somewhat ambiguous character, something that actually extends to the majority of the 7th's members. Human bears, poisoners, serial killers, trigger happy mailmen, prostitutes, pregnant women and a number of other individuals appear throughout the season, adding to the action aspect.
With Toshizo and Tsurumi appearing very briefly throughout, at least in the present arc, it is quite good for the series that the relationship between Sugimoto and Asirpa moves forward once more, with the connection they share gradually changing as the latter grows up and matures. The questions she essentially poses by the end will be concluded in the last season, bringing Sugimoto in front of a rather significant dilemma.
The cultural aspect is a bit toned down this time, but is still one of the main ingredients of the narrative, with the Ainu ways, particularly regarding the culinary, the fauna and the flora of the territories the various groups pass from exhibiting a rather high level of detail and realism. Also of note is the appearance of cinema in the movie, in one of the most interesting episodes that Sugahara also manages to organically implement in the season. The overall drawing also finds its apogee in those aspects, which again, bolster an intense attention to detail.
On the other hand, Takumi Yamakawa's character design suffers significantly, with a plethora of characters looking quite similar, and their sheer number definitely not helping in that regard. Some distinct facial characteristics allow some of them to stand out, but again, the problem persists. Thankfully, the main ones differ significantly. Lastly, the plethora of ‘silly faces' become quite annoying after a point. The animation by Brain Base retains the quality of the previous seasons, with the movement of the characters being ideal, both in the action and the “calm” moments, while the interaction of the characters with the background is also quite pleasurable to watch.
“Golden Kamuy Season 4” is on a lower level than the rest of the seasons, but still manages to stay high compared to other titles, particularly due to its rather intriguing story, many interesting characters and the presentation of the era and the Ainu culture. Hopefully, the new people behind the series will improve and give an overall great title an equally great finale.
