It’s hard for me to dislike this show, because I just don’t take it seriously whatsoever. This week, Mia gets to transform, and both the resulting battle scene and her battle poses are goofy as hell:
You got this soft-spoken first-year high schooler who nevertheless insists that she’s tough as nails. It’s a contrast that makes me smile even though I don’t think the show is very strong overall. It’s going to be hilarious when all of them start fighting together. The rest of the episode is also full of silly interactions between the girls and their various personas. We’re up to three different versions of these girls running around now. For the main character, we have Asuka, Seriousuka, and Rootin’ Tootin Asuka. But she’s not alone, because Yu also has three flavors: Yu, Western Yu, and… sexy, seductive Yu? What exactly does Sexy Yu want? Why is she trying to lead the girls into different fragments? Well, that’s a question for another episode. It’s just funny how Asuka is so ditzy that she often gets swept up in the heat of the moment.
Storywise, we still have more questions than answers. Plus, it’s not though if these characters are very deep. Last but not least, these characters never really tackle their moral quandaries with much aplomb. I was hoping that Mia would end up questioning her ideas of justice. After all, Western Nana and Western Chloe might be bank robbers, but they’re only committing crimes in order to feed and house a bunch of orphans. So how exactly do you define justice, especially in the world that tries so hard to resemble the lawless West? Unfortunately, this aren’t questions that the story ever bothers to touch upon because it turns out that both the judge and the sheriff are Clutters. So, y’know, just beat them up and save the day.
Oh yeah, if you’re wondering why the girls keep diving headfirst into these fragments, you’re not the only one. Seriousuka has pretty much given up on trying to stop them.
Golden Kamuy Ep. 16
At the same time, Golden Kamuy is also goofy, but for some odd reason, I’m losing my patience with the show. I guess it’s because I initially followed the series for its premise, which is sadly going nowhere fast. We gotta go pay Asirpa’s father a visit, right? Too bad Shiraishi got himself captured. Oh hey, they can save Shiraishi… whoops, it turns out he doesn’t wanna get saved, because he thinks Sugimoto’s going to kill him. Be that as it may, our heroes literally can’t break into prison and chat with Asirpa’s dad without the Escape King’s help. As a result, the story is kinda stuck spinning its wheels until they get that idiot back.
Meanwhile, Nikaidou gets a prosthetic leg that can shoot buckshot. Yeah… So why can’t I watch this show for the characters like I do with Akanesasu Shoujo? Because I don’t like most of these old geezers. I kinda like Sugimoto and Asirpa, but the girl barely has a role to play these days. Ah well.
Ken En Ken: Aoki Kagayaki Ep. 5
After five episodes, Yin and Zhao finally bump into each other, but it doesn’t appear as though they recognized each other. The girl kinda reacted, but maybe she couldn’t believe her own eyes? To be fair, it was in the middle of the night during a ferocious battle, so I guess I can’t blame them. Anyways, things are coming along as we expected. The Taibai Empire is still evil for evil’s sake.
Here, we see them pick on a poor woman and her child. Oh, I’m sorry. To say that the soldiers are picking on her is an understatement. That guy was about to flat-out murder the woman had Yin and Ning not stepped in. They probably would’ve murdered the child too, and for what? Nothing really. Nothing other than to be huge dirt bags.
Meanwhile, Zhao continues to serve the Empress, and his resolve is unwavering. A corrupt governor tries to buy his silence to no avail. The guy loves his imouto (as male characters are wont to do in anime), and she’s equally obsessed with him in return.
Last but not least, the two sisters are still trying to acclimate to the fact that they’re pretty much now rebels. If Yin is too hesitant to embrace her new role, then Ning is too gung-ho. Y’see, she’s all about murdering Imperials. She can’t get enough of it! Even the rebels are like, “Yo, we’re outnumbered. We should fall back and regroup!” And yet, the girl with two prosthetic arms is like, “Yo, we got this!” Needless to say, Ning’s “growth” is driving a wedge between her and Yin. This part was funny, though:
That’s not exactly the reaction I would expect after taking a life, but there you go.
Moe Sucks 
I really can’t get over how lousy Golden Kamuy is. Forget the constant tonal whiplash between goofy comedy and murderous mahem, as you point out, the story just keeps spinning its wheels and getting lost staring into its own belly button.
The show’s direction is certainly dreadful, but is it also possible that the source material just isn’t as good as it’s cracked up to be?
It’s probably just bad. Zero character development and non-stop goofiness.
It’s pretty funny at times.
The premise is very interesting though. Ainu people, gold, a forgotten part of history…too bad it’s not the story I thought it would be.
The first half of the first season was fine. Then it kinda just made a joke of itself.
Hello, manga defender here.
There’s not a world of difference between the Golden Kamuy anime and manga (if you don’t like the tone or pacing of the anime then you probably wouldn’t like the manga either), but it’s definitely not a great adaptation. The manga has a better flow, which is especially noticeable with the jokes. But more importantly, it’s been cutting a lot of content in order to get to the climax in time. In just four episodes, the second season has already cut two full arcs. They weren’t the most vital arcs for the overall plot, but they were a bit more serious and both of them focused on Sugimoto/Asirpa’s group so as a result there’s less of them and more of random other stuff. They’ve also been leaving out some of the educational Ainu hunting/food segments, which is a shame.
I’m still enjoying it, but this week’s episode was particularly weak and I wouldn’t recommend watching the anime first. If you don’t like it to begin with then the manga is not going to change your mind (it’s not a complete trainwreck like a certain other adaptation that starts with a B and end with erserk), but it’s undoubtedly better.