Golden Kamuy is a near perfect live-action movie adaptation.

 

I am still searching for the best live-action adaptation of a manga. There are more gems than one might think with a plethora of adaptations ranging from mediocre to downright atrocious having been released over the years. When it was announced that Golden Kamuy was getting an adaptation, I was rather sceptical. It's not an easy thing to adapt into live-action with moments of comedy that often only work in the mediums of anime and manga. Somehow, against all odds, I found the movie to be one of the best live-action adaptations to date. 

Saichi Sugimoto, a veteran of the Japanese military, is given the nickname of 'Immortal Sugimoto' for his uncanny ability to escape death, often healing from otherwise fatal wounds within days, and also for his savage fighting style. Following the brutal Battle of 203 Hill during the Russo-Japanese war in which Saichi's best friend Toraji sacrifices himself to save Sugimoto, Sugimoto is told a dubious tale. The tale revolves around a hidden pile of gold, stolen from a tribe of Ainu by an infamous prisoner of Abashiri Prison. It is said that the location of the gold can be found in the tattoos of the escaped prisoners. Sugimoto does not believe the story until the man whom told him the tale attempts to murder him in his sleep, causing Sugimoto to give chase before he discovers the man's corpse. 

It turns out that the man who told Sugimoto the tale was one of the escaped prisoners, something that Sugimoto confirms by revealing the tattoos of the man. Whilst carrying the corpse with him, a large brown bear attacks and Sugimoto barely escapes the encounter unscathed thanks to intervention from Aspira, an Ainu girl. The pair travel together with Aspira teaching Sugimoto the ways of the Ainu. They encounter another one of the escaped prisoners, an escape artist by the name of Yoshitake Shiraishi who reluctantly aids them. Meanwhile, they are not the only group looking for the gold as the feared 7th Division of the Japanese army, led by the near psychopathic first lieutenant, Tokushiro Tsurumi, also seek the treasure. Tsurumi plans to from an independent Hokkaido, unsatisfied with his treatment in the military. To further complicate matters, the renowned former leader of the Shinsengumi, Toshizo Hijikata, thought to have been killed at Hakodate, is still alive and also seeks the gold. Hijikata seeks to found a second Republic of Ezo and has recruited another former Shinsengumi captain, Shinpachi Nagakura as well as a fiecersome judoka with an interesting scar on his forehead, Tatsuuma Ushiyama. Naturally, these groups find themselves crossing paths on route to finding the Ainu gold. 

I'm no expert on Golden Kamuy. From what I've gathered, the movie very closely follows season one of the anime, with the synopsis for both being nearly identical. Shigeaki Kubo's respect for the source material shines through even if certain things have to be omitted or rushed due to the time constraints associated with creating a movie. There's plenty of anime-like moments such as bodies flying after punches, kicks or throws. Aspira also mistakes a certain element of miso soup for poop, a recurring gag that leads to a nice little pay-off during the end credits. The escape artist Shiraishi, also gets a few slapstick moments that highlight his character including a couple of amusing chase sequences, the first of which involves him sliding down a hill rather humorously to escape from Sugimoto. The infamous bear scene is not at all as terribly done as in the anime, which I'm ok with. 

The incorporation of the Ainu elements were very intriguing. Sugimoto acts as our surrogate during the scenes in which Aspira teaches him the ways of her people. At the same time, it's also teaching us as the audience a little about the Ainu people. As sceptical as I was about these scenes, the fact that Hiroshi Nagakawa, an Ainu language linguist from Chiba University, served as a supervisor, showcases the dedication to accuracy and is rather commendable. The scenes with the Ainu are a rather fascinating peek into their customs, culture and language. 

As a fan of Shigeaki Kubo's previous work on the High & Low series, I was curious as to what he would do with a live-action adaptation of a manga. His cinematography was fantastic. His camerawork had such a dynamic flair with a usage of a wide variety of shot types, camera angles, techniques and lighting effects. The camera was almost always on the move, around the scenes, but not overly so with it being still when the scene called for it. One of my favourite shots of the movie is a low angled shot that sweeps across the battlefield before panning around behind Sugimoto and transforming into an over the shoulder shot. It's like the camera is a fly, attracted to the battlefield by the stench of the dead bodies, which is fitting as we see Sugimoto eat one in that very shot. 

The action for the most part was rather well done. The scenes of the Battle of 203 Hill were particularly riveting. The dramatic music combined with some rather dynamic camerawork and violent imagery of men being killed left and right made the battle scenes some of the most tense of the movie. The action was almost always in the centre of the shot, making every punch, kick, swing of a weapon and throw perfectly eligible and in frame. The choreography was pretty decent for the most part. My favourite fight scenes were both in the first half of the movie with Sugimoto taking down Hyakunosuke Ogata being the stand out in my opinion. One of my main criticisms of the fight scenes would be the fact that in the climatic fight, it is a night time struggle on a fast moving platform that goes so fast in the dark light that it is difficult to see everything at times. My other criticism could easily be hand waved away due to it being an adaptation of a manga, that is the fact that people are sometimes sent flying through the air when they realistically wouldn't. 

I've seen Kento Yamazaki get some criticism online from foreign fans of Japanese media. Whether it's the fact that he's been in a plethora of live-action adaptations within a short time span or that these fans just don't like his acting, I don't get it. Yamazaki is an incredibly talented actor and his talent shines through in his performance as Saichi Sugimoto. He seamlessly switches between the badass hero veteran of war and the clueless buffoon with ease. He makes Sugimoto a likable character with his performance and I like him in leading roles. 

Opposite Yamazaki, Anna Yamada also put in a solid performance as the young Ainu girl, Aspira. She's been aged up from the manga, a decision that I'm in favour of and the chemistry she shares with Yamazaki makes them a fun pair to follow in their adventures. She also looks cute as an Ainu. 

Hiroshi Tamaki looked like he had a ton of fun portraying one of the major antagonists of the movie, First Lieutenant, Tokushiro Tsurumi. He was quite the intimidating presence, one of those bad guys that could switch between being cold and calculating to downright volatile at the drop of a hat. 

In contrast, Hiroshi Tachi's portrayal of Toshizo Hijikata was a much more refined, elegant and almost noble villain who commands respect with his swordsmanship. It's quite the nice contrast between antagonists and yet another different portrayal of the Shinsengumi leader on screen.  

Overall, I had a great time watching the live-action adaptation of Golden Kamuy. I wouldn't call it a perfect adaptation, but it is darn close to being so. I would definitely recommend it to fans of the source material as I believe that it does it justice and is very respectful of it. I'd also recommend it to action fans who like a sprinkle of comedy. 

There's also the promise of a sequel with one being teased at the climax. I am fully on board with the idea.