This time there’s no doubt. Not that there ever would be that Golden Kamuy gets fully adapted, but we got our official announcement. Even I, as someone who hasn’t read anywhere near this deep into the manga, could tell there was no way we were going to finish this in 13 episodes. But it’s moot now – next winter is the time (why so far off?) for Bousou Ressha-hen (Runaway Train Arc). I don’t know how many eps it will be – as best I can tell there’s nowhere near enough material for a full cour. But it does seem from the announcement as if Saishuushou will finish with a proper TV anime.

As for this season but not series finale, it was more of the same really. Pure Golden Kamuy insanity of the highest intensity. I still feel like this has all gotten a little out of balance – there’s very little of the series’ other insanity, of the comic (and not always black) variety. It may sound a little strange, but I realized here something that had been nagging at me for the past couple of episodes – it was all starting to remind me a bit of Shingeki no Kyoujin. Heck, we even got a “final season” that wasn’t a final season. And that applies especially to Tsurumi – the way he’s portrayed here is indeed very titan-like.

Now before you wig out, no – I’m not taking that comparison to a qualitative level. GK is obviously orders of magnitude better – it’s just that the shock effect Noda seems to be going for (and achieving) here is reminiscent. Another thing I kind of already knew but really hit home is just how deeply his work is rooted in themes of masculinity. This is very much true in Dogsred as well – Noda is consumed by the notion of the brutality, courage, and often stupidity of the human male. It expresses itself differently in different men – Tsurumi, Hijikata, Ushiyama, obviously Sugimoto. It presents more positively in some than others. But it leaves Asirpa as something of an island in a sea of testosterone.

There are other prominent women in the series, of course. And the two most prominent of them are both a major presence this week. It was pretty obvious that Adm. Koito wasn’t the only one going down with the ship. Sofia would never leave Goryokaku when all her men had died protecting it. Sadly, her life is bookended by the choice not to act. First in the assassination attempt (I don’t know if that bit about Russian revolutionaries taking an oath not to kill children is real or not). And now, she has a clear kill shot on Lt. Tsurumi and can’t pull the trigger. Her hand was stayed first by conscience, then by remorse. Admirable in themselves, but they mean her story ends in futility.

Did Sofia take any comfort in Tsurumi declaring that he forgave her? Who can say. The other prominent woman is Inkarmat, and of course we haven’t seen her in an age. But she’s here along with Tanigaki Nispa – a remarkable coincidence is must be said. But a lucky one for Asirpa, who’s about to go into the moat after the horse she and Sugimoto are fleeing on is shot out from under them. He too is acting on conscience – unable to turn away and live his happy life knowing he has a debt that remains unpaid. Things look bleak for Tanigaki, but I’m not buying that he’s dead. If Noda kills somebody, he usually does so in so spectacular a fashion that there can’t possibly be any doubt.

The other great battle going on here, of course, is between the two snipers. This one takes the form of a cat and mouse, with each of them staking out a place in 800 meters apart. Vasily is waiting for Ogata to make his move, and Ogata- well, it’s still not 100% certain what his endgame is. Vasily tries to outsmart Ogata using the flash of his binoculars but as good as he is at this, we know Ogata is better. Again we don’t see a body here, but I’m more inclined to believe this is the logical end of Vasily’s story than it is Tanigaki’s.

It soon becomes clear where the next final season gets its name. The idea of boarding a train to Hakodate and trying to flee via ship makes sense, but this one happens to be acting as a troop transport for the rest of Tsurumi’s men. Ushiyama comes to the fore here, looking as indestructible as ever as he mows through the hapless grunts like a thresher in a wheat field. Lt. Tsurumi catches the train, Tsukishima and Koito close behind. The blood and guts continue to spatter, and Sugimoto continues to be ripped apart piece by piece in highly disturbing fashion.

Hijikata pays Sugimoto his highest compliment as they prepare their last stand on the runaway train – acknowledging his Bushido, and in effect his status as a samurai. And he’s certainly not wrong. Bushido can be – and historically often is – used as a pretext for the worst sort of toxic masculine culture. But that trivializes it and the role it’s played in Japanese history. I have no doubt in reading Noda’s work that he sees Bushido as something highly honorable and noble, yet he also makes no effort to gloss over the colossal misdeeds often committed in its name. It’s part of the inherent contradiction that makes him such a fascinating writer.

If there is indeed something nobler and more aspirational at the heart of Golden Kamuy, it can be hard to see it at times. This is not Vinland Saga, brutality used in service of a story about something very noble and aspirational indeed. Noda seems to glory in that brutality for its own sake, and his instincts as a storyteller seem always to be “when in doubt, go bigger”. He doesn’t hide the ghastly costs of living the way his characters live – he just leaves it up to the audience to decide if they’re worth it. I’ve said it on many occasions, but there really is nothing in the world like Golden Kamuy. It’s a singular experience in every way, and I doubt we’ll see its like again anytime soon.