Golden Kamuy Episode 2: "So Eat Your Brains," "Is It Good?" "Yeah..."

Set in Hokkaido at the end of the Meiji Era, ...... is an adventure in search of "buried gold stolen from the Ainu". The TV anime "Golden Kamui" is sure to excite everyone just by hearing the setting. In this issue, we will introduce its second episode, "Nokkabo!

In the first episode "Wenkamui," Sugimoto and Ashi (Ri) Pa, who were both assigned to search for the "Ainu buried treasure," head to Otaru, the financial district known as the Wall Street of the North, in search of clues. On the way, Ashi (Ri-Pa) finds an Ezo spruce tree that is a feeding ground for squirrels, and decides to set a snare. As we were heading to Otaru, I asked him, "You want to eat a squirrel?　I like squirrels (because they are cute)," said Sugimoto. Sugimoto replied, "I like squirrels too. Squirrels eat only nuts, so their meat is delicious. Their pelts can be sold for cash. I hope you catch a lot of squirrels. The two are not quite on the same page, but they seem to be a perfect match (laughs).

Although they did not get much useful information in Otaru, they succeeded in trapping one of the escaped prisoners who followed them on their way home. Sugimoto tried to find out the whereabouts of the other prisoners, but the man replied, "I don't know. Sugimoto, however, learns from the escaped prisoner that the prisoners killed each other and ran away without knowing why, and that the tattooed man had no face and was called "NOPPERABO. At that moment, the escaped prisoner was shot in the head by someone and died instantly. Ashi (Lipa) tactfully puts a live coniferous tree on the bonfire to create a smoke screen, and the two manage to escape the crisis.

Still, it was really cool of Asilipa to calmly put up a smoke screen in the midst of being shot at!　Incidentally, it is said that "coniferous wood contains a lot of oil, so it burns easily and produces a lot of smoke," so please try it when you are sniped.

The man who sniped the escaped prisoner was Ogata of the 7th Division in Hokkaido, which is said to be the strongest in the Army. Apparently, the army is also in pursuit of the "Ainu reserves". Ogata followed Sugimoto and Ashi (Lipa) through the forest, but Ashi (Lipa) set a trap for him and took his gun. Sugimoto took advantage of this opportunity and attacked, but as expected of the soldiers of the army's most powerful division, whom the people of the province reverently call "Hokuchinbeitai," they struggled with him. The moment they struggled, he pulled the bolt stopper of Sugimoto's gun, disabling it. The battle then turns into a close combat between the soldiers. In the close combat between the "immortal" and the "strongest," Sugimoto broke Ogata's arm in an arm wrestle from a back-support throw, and the winner emerged. In the end, Sugimoto's gun hit Ogata in the back of the head as he ran away, and he fell down the cliff.


Sugimoto looked down the cliff and said, "If we let him go, we will be chased by his friends. It was for the best," he mused. There is only one way I learned in the war not to die. Don't get killed. I'm not a homicidal maniac. I'm not a homicidal maniac. But I wouldn't hesitate to kill someone if I thought I was going to be killed. The weak are eaten. It's the same in every world," he continues. Sugimoto said, "Even in this situation, you must not be hungry. Of course, you are alive. You eat in my hunting shack.
Now, everyone, it's time for the "Ainu meal" you've been waiting for! (Yay!

In the hunting lodge, we will eat squirrels caught in the trap we set at the beginning of the tour. Ashi (Ri) Pa suggested making chitatapu, an Ainu dish where the meat is minced by beating it with a knife. The first step is to remove the skin. The squirrel's fur can be peeled off by hand as if you were taking off your clothes if you make a slit in the skin. The gall bladder is bitter, so we remove it. The whole brain is also made into chitatapu, which is a delicious delicacy on its own," said Ashi (Lipa) as he prepared the fish. The text alone is quite impressive, but I never thought I would see the day when I could watch a squirrel being skinned in an animated cartoon (laughs).

I never thought I would see the day when I would be able to see a squirrel's skin being peeled off in an animated cartoon.　You eat it raw, Mr. Asiri Pa? Sugimoto replied with a question. What do you mean? Do you have a problem with the way we eat?" After the exchange of "Oh no...I'm not used to eating that kind of food..." and "Then eat its brains...", Sugimoto decided to take a bite of the squirrel's brains. As if in doubt, Asipa asked him, "Is it good? Sugimoto's eyes were vacant as he answered, "Yes..." to Asipa's question, "Is it good? Unfortunately, there are no photos, but their funny faces and chewing noises bring laughter and tears to my eyes.

After "eating brains raw," the group moved on to cooking "chitatapu. Squirrels are small, so we beat them with a tasilo (mountain knife) to make chitatapu. If you make chitatapu, the hard-to-eat parts are gone, and you can eat all of it," he said. Then, "Take turns. Chitatap means 'something we chop'. We take turns chopping, that's why it's called "we. You should hit it while saying 'chitatapu,'" said Asiri. Sugimoto tapped the meat while saying, "Chitatap, chitatap, chitatap, chitatap, chitatap.... He tapped the meat, saying "Chitatapu, chitatapu, chitatapu, chitatapu.... Or maybe it was because he had eaten the brains properly (?). It's a raw food. But today, I'm going to round up all the meat and put it in ohau (soup) so that even the refined Sisamu (Japanese) Sugimoto can eat it easily," said the gentle Ashi (lipa).


Sugimoto, who ate the ohau, which he said was "made with all the blood and bones, so the saltiness and broth are soaked up," opened his mouth and said, "Itadakimasu....n!　Delicious...! He must have really enjoyed it. The meat had no smell and was slightly sweet and tender, with a nice crunchy texture from the finely chopped bones! He even commented like a gourmet reporter. Beside Sugimoto, Ashi Pa filled his mouth with ohau and called out "hinna hinna" repeatedly. Hinna hinna" is a word to express gratitude. When Sugimoto heard that "Hinna hinna" is a word to express gratitude and is also used to express gratitude for a meal, he said "Hinna hinna" with her. The night passed by as the two thanked each other for the delicious meal.


Around that time, Ogata, who had fallen off a cliff during a fight with Sugimoto, was rescued by his friends. According to the finder, "We found him on the riverbank in the evening. If he had been found a little later, he would have died of hypothermia". A person who appeared to be a superior officer asked, "Was he attacked by someone...why was Private Ogata acting alone?" He seemed to have a natural question. I'm glad that Ogata survived, but if he regains consciousness, ...... Sugimoto and Ashi(ri)pa-san will definitely be targeted... Holy shit!

And the next day, one of the escaped prisoners, Yutake Shiraishi, a genius escapee, is caught in the trap I had set for him. This time, Shiraishi tries to get some information out of him, but when he takes his eyes off the trap, Shiraishi escapes with a razor in his mouth. However, he falls into an extremely cold river with Sugimoto, who has been chasing them. The two are on the verge of freezing to death, but Shiraishi, on the condition that they let him go, uses the razor in his mouth (again?!) to start a fire. (Again!), but Shiraishi manages to escape by starting a fire with a bullet he planted in his mouth on the condition that they let him go. Shiraishi then says, "What Nopherobou did was to instruct 24 escaped prisoners to go to Otaru. The leader of the escaped prisoners was Hijikata Toshizo, the ogre deputy chief of the Shinsengumi, who was thought to be dead," and then disappeared from Sugimoto's presence.


Sugimoto and Ashi(ri)pa's journey finally began. In addition to the two escaped prisoners, a soldier from the 7th Division in Hokkaido, who was after the "Ainu buried treasure," made an appearance in the second episode, and the story progressed quickly. According to Shiraishi's information, there were 24 escaped prisoners in total. According to Shiraishi's information, there were 24 escaped prisoners in total, and the leader of the escaped prisoners was the Shinsengumi's ogre sub-chief, Hijikata Toshizo (?!?). The road to the buried treasure seems to be a long one, but I am sure Sugimoto and Asiri will be able to handle it.

We also started the "Ainu Gohan" (Ainu cuisine) through Sugimoto, who is a "refined Sisamu (Japanese person)" like us!　Sugimoto, who never speaks a word and only uses facial expressions (funny faces) to describe the tastes of the food, is a gourmet reporter at heart!

(Editorial Department - S)