So… A bunch of stuff happened.

It may seem disingenuous to praise Golden Kamuy for the massive plot explosion that took place this week, after taking issue with Double Decker! Doug & Kirill’s most recent episode.  And maybe it is, but I think there are some real differences here.  In the first place, everything that happened here seemed adequately built up to, as opposed to what felt like a lightning acceleration in DD.  As well, the episode itself built up to its conclusion, which gave it that much more impact.  A lot of stuff goes down in this series a lot of the time, but somehow it never feels rushed.  And this ep was a perfect example of that.

I’ve talked often about the many sides of Golden Kamuy, and that tonal versatility was very much on display here.  The first half of the episode was firmly in the more wistful and irreverent vein, with Ainu food porn, humor and some of the most intense emotional bonding between Asirpa and Sugimoto that we’ve yet seen.  And the second was a conflagration of the highest order, very much in the mold of the first few episodes of this season.  That it can execute the A-part and B-part equally well is testament to why this will be a serious contender for best anime of 2018.

So much happened in the second half of the ep that it’d easy to give the first short shrift, because it sort of quietly speaks for itself where the second demands analysis.  But I hate to do that, because it really was wonderful.  I love the bond between Sugimoto and Asirpa, which is for my money pretty much unique in modern anime.  When he tells her “whatever happens I’ll be with you until the end”, it’s a perfect encapsulation of what’s grown between them.  We see bonds growing all over the place here, in fact – Cikapasi is doing his best to push Tanigaki and Inkarmat together and make them the parents he’s never had, but the situation is more complicated than he (or Tanigaki for that matter) realizes.  Apparently the Ainu take their version of the indirect kiss pretty seriously (it really does mean you’re engaged).

Then we have the early stages of the plan to infiltrate Abashiri, which involves building a salmon hut on the banks of the river outside the prison (and bribing the guard with fish to turn a blind eye – a fish eye?) and tunnelling under the walls.  This involves quite a discourse on salmon from Asirpa – and a return of “chitatap”.  This gives us many wonderful highlights, starting with Sugimoto and Shiraishi’s faces when they realize what Asirpa is preparing.  We also have Cikapasi using Hijikata’s katana to prepare the chitatap, and Asirpa shaming Ogata into saying “chitatap” as he chops the innards – but only once.

This is all building to one event, though, and that’s the attempt to break into Abashiri and get Asirpa in front of Nopperabo once and for all.  To assist in that Hijikata has a mole on the inside – Kadokura (Yasuhara Yoshito – it feels somehow fitting to have one of the stars of Rurouni Kenshin appearing here), the captain of the guards.  His father was an old Shinsengumi sympathizer and he’s invaluable in providing the information on where Nopperabo will be and when, as he’s shifted to a new cell every night.  And things seem to be straightforward enough, but that’s when the shit really hits the fan.

There are so many seeming betrayals in the final act here that it’s hard to tell them without a scorecard.  Hijikata’s disappearance at a key moment certainly suggests that he’s betrayed Sugimoto – used him as bait – but it seems as if even Ushiyama is unaware of what the old man was planning. The fact that the Nopperabo in the cell was a fake (that’s a tough gig) pretty much confirms that Sugimoto was set up by somebody.  Inkarmat certainly sells out the group to Tsurumi, probably through the letters to Huci from Tanigaki that she’s tipped him off to – and the 7th comes steaming up the river in a destroyer after having blown up the bridge connecting the prison to the mainland.

What a mess.  What of Kiroanke, who also seemed likely to be in the midst of a double-cross – and Ogata, who never seems to be working for anybody but himself?  What’s clear is that we have pretty much all the major players in the drama – including Nopperabo – together, which means the fireworks are going to be spectacular next week.  What’s not clear yet is just who’s fighting who, and how many factions are in competition here.  Team Sugimoto is fighting for survival at this point, but Asirpa has been taken by Anji Toni, who’s most likely working with Hijikata, who’s almost certainly working against Tsurumi, who also wants Asirpa.  And complicating matters still further is the matter of divided loyalties, such as Inkarmat’s – I want very much to believe that despite her treachery her feelings for Tanigaki are genuine.

There’s a bit of the RK Kyoto Arc or “York Shin” in this – a collision of great and powerful forces that can only result in some serious collateral damage.  And as in those instances, the combination of careful and brilliant buildup and monumentally compelling characters on both (all) sides means that the resolution of all this is sure to make for riveting anime.  Next week’s episode – and indeed the rest of the season – should prove to be one hell of a wild ride.