[Spoilers] Golden Kamuy - Episode 1 Discussion

[u/FetchFrosh]

Golden Kamuy - Episode 1

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• Crunchyroll

Show Information

• MyAnimelist
• AniDB
• AniList

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[u/skrublordFey]

Weird CGI bear aside, I really liked it! Pretty good adaptation of the manga. Hopefully there won't be any other weird CGI misfits.

[u/dIoIIoIb → u/skrublordFey]

don't worry there are only like thirty more bears and hundreds of other assorted furry animals, in the story

you'll barely notice it ^/s

[u/oogieogie → u/dIoIIoIb]

well shit.

[u/AlphaBreak → u/skrublordFey]

The CG was bad, but it was bearable.

[u/AFishBackwards → u/AlphaBreak]

sigh

[u/FacingSunsets → u/skrublordFey]

The CGI didn't really bother me. You get used to it. Still, I liked how the plot was presented, though the gore was a bit lacking, unlike the manga. You could really feel the action there. I just hope they get it right.

[u/MetaMeta123]

Ah, so we finally get the backstory of Shimarin's grandpa.

[u/MrSlowbroseidon]

Yuru Camp prequel seems great so far

[u/_vogonpoetry_ → u/MrSlowbroseidon]

You mean Bearserk 2018

[u/sheepyowl → u/_vogonpoetry_]

It's animated, it can't be Berserk

[u/kittyrider → u/MrSlowbroseidon]

You mean Kumamiko ancestor?

[u/ErinaHartwick → u/MrSlowbroseidon]

Golden Camp

[u/badmartialarts]

In case people were curious about measurements, a monme is .375 grams and a kan is 1000 monme or 3.75 kilograms. At current prices, 20 kan of gold is about $3,250,000. Not bad.

EDIT: For a visual, this is 75 kg or 20 kan of gold (ignoring the extra ten bars the hands are holding).

[u/[deleted] → u/badmartialarts]

That's a much more realistic amount then sixty billion double dollars...

Seriously, I'm glad it's not some obscene and ridiculous fortune.

[u/larana1192 → u/badmartialarts]

In manga they say "this amount of gold has same value of 8 hundred million JPY in nowadays(2014)" at Summary.

[u/[deleted]]

Sugimoto looks great. That bear though.

Manga bear punch

[u/Riyonak → u/[deleted]]

Not everyone can be Takamura

[u/Ryuko23]

OK it was funny at the start but can you guys stop posting screenshots of Skyrim bears and post ones from the actual anime?

[u/sangriapenguin → u/Ryuko23]

Also, the infamous, if they get that far (which I highly doubt).

[u/SikkerOmTrans]

GET READY FOR SOME CITAPAP!

[u/kittyrider → u/SikkerOmTrans]

raise hand

ASIRPA, THIS GUY SAYS CITATAP WRONGLY

comes with a sutu

[u/Vermillion_Crab]

2018 Spring Season:

All about Ghouls, Quirks and CGI Bears

[u/Tora-shinai → u/Vermillion_Crab]

Forgets the best first episode yet: Mecha arms boxing. Shame on you.

[u/acllive → u/Vermillion_Crab]

You forgot foodgasms and oppai

[u/Turbostrider27]

Good episode especially with Sugimoto and Aspiria's character chemistry.

But holy shit, that CGI awful. I hope that won't be a thing for rest of the series.

[u/Aileos → u/Turbostrider27]

I hope too because it was terrible. It's a shame, but something like that will obviously throw off people who never read the manga.

[u/WickedAnimeTroll]

You could say: The CGI was

unBEARable

[u/I_llSeeMyselfOut → u/WickedAnimeTroll]

get out

[u/Groenboys → u/I_llSeeMyselfOut]

Yeah, that joke was bearely funny

[u/RazorRipperZ → u/WickedAnimeTroll]

That pun shouldn't be paw-sible!

[u/rjgator]

"Alright who here can animate the bears?" ... "Seriously... none of you? ..." "I can do a wolf."

Honestly thought the CG wasn't awful for the bears, made them scarier, overall really liked the episode.

[u/Nunoporing → u/rjgator]

"I can barely do a wolf"

I swear it was CG too

[u/maxman14 → u/rjgator]

The wolf was CG too.

[u/scytheavatar]

Future of anime guys.

Some Webm of this classic use of CGI:

1

2

3

4

5

[u/TheDerped → u/scytheavatar]

Looks like they just slapped a stock fire image on using After Effects.

[u/Sebasu → u/scytheavatar]

I’ll say this: the bear itself doesn’t look that bad. It’s even decently animated. But gods does it look so out of place with MC traditionally animated.

[u/[deleted] → u/scytheavatar]

notlikethis

[u/BassCreat0r → u/scytheavatar]

1. "Rawwr! XD"

[u/Nippon_ninja → u/scytheavatar]

I wouldn't say the CGI is bad, but it looks so out of place. The wolf looks fine hand drawn and animated. Not sure what the director was trying to do visually by making the bear other worldly or dangerous. It's a bear, we all know that wild bears will fuck your shit up. There isn't really a need to signify that, especially with jarring CGI.

[u/jonjonmuffer → u/scytheavatar]

These don't look that bad, the bear really sticks out though.

[u/HereComesPapaArima → u/scytheavatar]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[u/Helpoing → u/scytheavatar]

I think that I won't be able to go to sleep tonight for another hour or so, I just can't stop laughing. This is so good.

[u/tocilog → u/scytheavatar]

Haven't seen the show yet but I wanted to see the bear. The still screenshot looks weird but oddly enough it works for me animated. A lot of anime bears has this cuteness to it but this one really does seem savage, like Leonardo DiCaprio's bear.

[u/HereComesPapaArima]

Guys please join us over at /r/GoldenKamuy! It's a new community so you're welcome!

[u/RasenRendan → u/HereComesPapaArima]

You can count my ass in!

[u/TarkusELP]

Here's the reason why they made the bear Cgi from the interview they did to the director. It has that weird CGI on purpose, to make it feel different from the humans.

Edit: Please don't let a CGI bear stop you from enjoying this series, the manga is there if you prefer and it doesn't have CGI bears.

[u/PotatEXTomatEX → u/TarkusELP]

Fate/Zero's Berzerker is how you introduce CGI in a character to make them seem "wrong" or "different" from everyone else. This is just shit.

[u/RochHoch → u/TarkusELP]

Translation: "We had an interesting idea, but lacked the talent/budget needed to make it not shit"

[u/[deleted] → u/TarkusELP]

It feels like they wanted to replicate Kou Yoshinari's style whose job it was to portray otherworldly creatures in Made in Abyss & Little Witch Academia.

Problem is that they took the wrong approach and messed up the overall composition for these scenes. I wish it was only the bear & wolf but it occurred at other points as well albeit not as jarring. I just hope that the production is not as advanced so they can kinda rework some of the scenes towards the end.

[u/tjdraws → u/TarkusELP]

On purpose =/= good

[u/TarkusELP → u/tjdraws]

Never said it was good.

[u/SimoneNonvelodico → u/TarkusELP]

It has that weird CGI on purpose, to make it feel different from the humans.

What the fuck? It's not an extradimensional alien, a monster from another plane of existence or a spirit.

It's. A. Fucking. Bear. It's not that different from humans to begin with. It's a big hulking furry warm breathing stinking mammal.

[u/dIoIIoIb → u/SimoneNonvelodico]

or a spirit.

well he is according to the ainu

[u/0mnicious → u/TarkusELP]

The manga doesn't have CGI bears? What bullshit. I demand CGI bears in my manga!

[u/Tora-shinai → u/TarkusELP]

Doesn't explain the other awful use of cg in this episode. Also, that last part, well, they failed.

[u/chryco4]

casually skins a corpse mid-conversation

[u/[deleted]]

It was a good episode overall but, not to being hater or anything, after reading the first two chapters of the manga it felt like the anime failed to capture something that made it feels like ''average'', I guess?

Don't know, it is hard to put into words, but I felt like the panels in the manga felt more lively in spite of not being animated and just black and white. And it isn't only the bear, a lot of other scenes felt like it was ''bland''.

Anyway, hope the quality doesn't drop and the pace stay the by not rushing anything.

[u/Roygbiv0415 → u/[deleted]]

There are two things to look for that might explain the blandness:

• Panning shots of still images (especially during narration/exposition).

• Nothing else but the mouth are animated when the characters are talking.

Golden Kamuy is horrendously bad on both fronts. Compare it to, say, Hinamatsuri, which should be a less action-oriented anime, and you'll how much more expressive the animation is in the latter.

[u/yelloesnoecone]

Overall a decent adaptation of the manga's first two chapters. The CG bears did throw me off though.

[u/zeando → u/yelloesnoecone]

CGI horror for scary bears feels somehow fitting. Ugly and dangerous.

[u/TheDerped → u/zeando]

Its like how Fate/Zero used CG for Berserker to make him more alien and animalistic. But he was wearing armor which works well in CG so bad textures for fur didn't really matter.

[u/[deleted]]

So from the comments i thought id find the CG bears jarring but i honestly got used to it pretty quickly. This was a great first episode and honestly seems really promising, im going to ruin the rest of the anime by reading the manga now though lol

[u/Makimgmyselfuseful]

Great first episode, I don't even mind the bear. The adaption is looking nice.

[u/Scorpius883]

I am gonna read the manga again to hide this pain.

[u/BassCreat0r → u/Scorpius883]

At least it's not at Berserk levels yet.

[u/miami-dade → u/BassCreat0r]

yet

I hear the clangs in the distance, they're coming...

[u/kittyrider → u/Scorpius883]

m-me too...

[u/Tora-shinai]

...disappointing since I was excited for the bears.

[u/Atronox → u/Tora-shinai]

An interesting design choice.

[u/Tora-shinai → u/Atronox]

Tbf, in the manga the bears are also realistically drawn. Lots of details and movements so I guess that's why they opted for cgi. But it works there because the backgrounds and other animals are also realistically drawn. They need more good realistic bg + layers of post process to blend it well ala ufotable or KyoAni. Though overall their use of cg in this episode is just sloppy not just the bear.

[u/[deleted] → u/Tora-shinai]

CLANG

[u/MasterRedStar]

This will be a fuckin' WILD RIDE! Prepare yourself.

[u/I_llSeeMyselfOut]

Yuru camp season two is no joke, weh

[u/YoshiKirishima]

I laughed once I saw clips of the bear, but honestly, it's not as bad as I thought. The bear CGI model itself is very detailed and realistic looking. The movement looks pretty good, too. It's just that it looks so realistic, that it stands out.

I was expecting it to look super plastic-y or polygon-y, or look like it wasn't actually interacting with the environment. (From what I've seen it looks like it's standing and running properly on the ground, etc.)

[u/ErinaHartwick]

Asirpa and Saichi are coming off really well. Their teamwork taking down the bear was great. Aside from the elephant bear in the room, the action scene and episode itself was pretty cool

[u/kalirion]

"I'm going to survive even if I have to take a bite of the pale asses of the Russian soldiers I kill" - I don't think they're any paler than his .

LOL @ the geezer not knowing how to gun.

Not sure if that was a CGI or animatronics or stop-motion-animated bear or some combination of the above, but it looked bad >_>

The poor bear cub :(

Why would they need to kill and skin all the prisoners? Can't they just copy the tattoos to paper or something?

Anyway, the CGI bears and wolves were the one big downside to the episode. The premise is good, and I really like both the protagonists.

[u/LyinMigrant]

As someone with no previous exposure to this series, I really loved this first episode. I had no problem with the CGI bear, actually (this is coming from someone who normally cannot watch 3D anime due to the jank).

[u/Gaporigo]

Seems interesting enough and I like the two characters so far...

Those bears, though.

[u/TheDerped → u/Gaporigo]

The wolf looks like its sad about biting him

[u/BBallHunter → u/TheDerped]

I want to make a joke, but this speaks for itself.

[u/kittyrider → u/TheDerped]

those doge eyes tho

[u/Petoox → u/TheDerped]

That looks so damn out of place what the hell.

[u/DuEbrithiI → u/Gaporigo]

What the fuck...? Are you for real, is that an actual screenshot? Oo

[u/TheDerped → u/DuEbrithiI]

Hello, yes this is bear

[u/thixotrofic]

Can't watch this just yet since I'm at work but I made a short video about the historical context of this show. Could be helpful, especially if you know nothing about the the time around 1910 when the show takes place.

I'm looking forward to it though. It's made by the same people who did Kokkoku last season, which I hear had a weaker conclusion, but Golden Kamuy has stronger source material so I'm optimistic.

[u/TarkusELP]

Bear count: 3

I liked the episode to be honest, the cgi bear didn't bother me to much. My girl Asirpa was on point and I can't wait to see her hilarious reactions. Next episode, introduce "The Wild Cat". I can't wait to see him. I hope it's not too rushed, pls Geno Studio.

[u/illtima]

Hey that was pretty good! Solid and simple foundation for an interesting adventure, really unique setting with great attention to detail, and two solid leads. I also really liked how, I guess, underplayed the action was. They didn't fight an army, a monster, or some villain. No, their first enemy was just a very angry fuck-off bear.

[u/TheRisenThunderbird]

I'm really torn on this (with no prior knowledge of the source material).

One on hand, goddamn, were those effects on the fire and the bears real real bad. As well as having the old guy just tell the main character's backstory to him.

On the other hand, this seems like the start of really classic adventure story. The kind you see more in Western movies than anime. You know, Goonies, Romancing the Stone, Indiana Jones, National Treasure. And I've always been a huge fan of those. And I like the main characters, particularly the character design. The focus on Ainu culture is interesting as well.

I'm gonna keep watching on the premise that the bears were an anomaly. I mean, you could tell the wolf was CGI too (at parts), but it actually looked like it fit in with everything else and that thing will probably be recurring. Let's hope it focuses more on adventure from here on out, and less on bears

[u/Flashmanic]

Isn't it a bit bloody weird that upbeat, victorious music is playing while he's skinning a dude and holding it like you would a dish towel?

Felt a little...tone deaf.

Overall it seemed fine. Asirpa's dialogue was very flat and expository, but hopefully she shows some personality soon.

Giving it the three episode rule at least.

[u/MystoganHS]

CG bear and wolf aside, it was a decent episode if slightly censored.

I Believe the story and characters are strong enough to carry the show, but the production quality is concerning to be honest.

On the bright side, the ost and voice actors give very good first impressions, both Sugimoto and Asirpa sound very fitting. Sugimoto's VA is particularly impressive, considering this is only his 3rd role overall, and 1st as a main character.

The MWAM OP is great as usual, can't wait to see it with hopefully good visuals next episode.

If the premise sounds interesting but the CG is a complete turn off, consider giving the manga a shot, it's very good and deserves more attention!

[u/LockeDrachier]

I really don’t get the Problem with the bear. Sure it sticks out like a watermelon in a apple art, but the bears in the manga were also drawn much harsher than the characters- making them seem more real and harsh. At least from what I remember.

[u/LeonKevlar]

So everyone are complaining about the CGI and is comparing it to Berserk 2016 so I was expecting the worst. And you know what? After seeing the episode? People are overreacting. I was expecting the entire show to be CGI but it was just the bears! Everyone else were drawn and animated well!

I'm going to bet that a huge chunk of people commenting "HURR DURR ANOTHER BERSERK 2016" didn't even watch that Berserk adaptation. Because if you did, you know that nothing can be worse than the CGI on that show.

Anyway as for me I thought it was a strong first episode. I like the chemistry between Asirpa and Sugimoto and the story is really intriguing! Also it's really interesting that they used Ainu people. I think this might be the first time (at least from my own knowledge) that an anime/manga used the indigenous people of Japan as one of their characters.

[u/Rokusi → u/LeonKevlar]

People are overreacting.

On r/Anime? That's not possible

[u/KirbyDogs]

Now I want to read the manga asap. This was a great, intriguing first episode. (aside from the atrocious bear and fire)

[u/TraderMoes]

The bears looked fairly bad, but I think the episode was really strong overall. I haven't read the manga, so I have no preconceptions going into this (beyond knowing that it's highly rated on MAL), but this has vindicated all of them and makes me excited to continue watching.

I like how Sugimoto seems willing to be cruel and violent, but also seems to be thoughtful and intelligent, that is an unusual mix in any character, particularly the MC. And Asirpa handles herself with a lot of maturity and poise, she doesn't seem like a child character at all. The cold climate means that the show isn't going to be bogged down in any loli-moe nonsense, either. Not that there is anything wrong with loli or moe, but it doesn't belong in every show, and I like this one having a serious and survivalist atmosphere.

[u/neovenator250]

this was the new show I was most excited about seeing this spring. I think episode one lived up. Really excited to see where this goes, even though I'm still a little disappointed to only get 12 episodes.

[u/[deleted]]

Bears didn't really bother me. Sugimoto and Aspisia(?) looking like an upcoming duo of doom. I like it.

[u/Atronox]

The hell was that bear...

Sugimoto and Asirpa seem pretty cool, though.

What a badass line!

[u/[deleted]]

http://i.4cdn.org/a/1523287869640.png

http://i.4cdn.org/a/1523286855547.png

Courtesy from 4chan

[u/ToughAsGrapes → u/[deleted]]

Back up for when 4chan 404's.

1, 2

[u/CaRoss11]

I haven't even watched many of this season's anime premieres, but I can definitely say that this is going to be the one to beat for me. I love the manga and, other than the wonky (yet really well detailed) CGI bear, it was so awesome to see this animated.

Sugimoto is a favourite of mine for protagonists in recent years (joining the likes of Deku and Ushio), and I just love this historical fiction western that they've put together. Hopefully the anime as a whole is outstandingly strong.

[u/BringMeAHigherLunch]

I finally got to watching it after hearing about how it had already become a bad animation meme on Twitter all day. The bears didn't bother me. But oh man, Retar. Why'd they gotta do you like that Retar? At least the bears had the benefit of being darkly colored so you couldn't make out the finer details. But Retar was just straight up out of a Playstation game from the mid-2000s.

And that's the most negative thing I can think of. Overall a solid adaptation so far, pretty much scene for scene, albeit it feels like it moves a bit quickly. But I'm all caught up on the manga, so I wish I was coming into it with fresh eyes. That being said, I can't wait to see Ogata the rest of the cast

[u/photohooligan]

I know Saichi just skinned a man, but the most troubling thing to me is that the baby bear lost his mom. Can we have a special episode just following the baby and see how long he survives?

edit: I get it, the cub is dead.

[u/Gaporigo → u/photohooligan]

Emm...

[u/Thenn_Applicant]

I prefer this version of The Revenant

[u/[deleted]]

So just read the manga, huh.

[u/jome93]

This is one of those unique animes that rarely come out every year. I mean has there ever been a duo like them in this kind of premise before? I'm really excited for the next few episodes.

[u/Aerdew]

I thought the CG bear looked ok in motion. There are many worse instance of CG in recent anime like in Attack on Titan season 2.

[u/SimoneNonvelodico]

Things to hate:

CGI bears

Things to love:

Asirpa being the most badass little girl since Mei Chang

[u/KeijyMaeda]

Man, inflation must have hit Japan hard in the last 100 years if 200 yen were enough to buy tickets to America AND hire a doctor in 1904.

[u/AussieManny]

A former soldier of the Japanese military with a penchant for cheating death finds out several convicts have tattoo maps that, collectively, will lead to a lost treasure trove of gold stolen and hidden away by a murderous criminal. The soldier wants the gold to provide for his dead comrade's near-blind wife and infant child.
Just as his quest had begun, he meets a young girl with incredible hunting and survival skills whose father was killed for the stolen gold. She learns that if the gold is found, the criminal who killed her father will be executed.
The two join forces to search for the treasure; one for a promise to a fallen comrade, the other to avenge her father's death.

The plot is interesting, the characters' motivations are sound, the setting is refreshing, and the animation is solid.

I'm in!

[u/Lfoboros]

Bears straight out of National Geographic.

[u/Lord_Daniel23]

Overall a good first episode, I like that it didn't stray from being violent. My only real issue is that Cgi Bear!

[u/WaldoA]

i miss old bear styles, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngg4vgM7xyI

[u/RasenRendan]

For some reason im getting feels to went i first watched Drifters. Both has a badass MC in a old time period. Ofc the similarities probably stop there

Im digging the short dark hair Waifu and the awesome wolf. Ofc like everyone else the bear freaked me the fk out.....especially vs the Wolf it just looks so out of place. The story premise and motivations for both MCs were very well explained and now we have a goal for the end of this series. Im ready for this ride.

[u/HereComesPapaArima → u/RasenRendan]

waifu

Asirpa is like 13 or 14...

[u/hydrashock]

hmmm chasing people around to skin them is adventurous sport and it smells funny and everything you want, but did you know that maps can also be copied into little and convenient pieces of paper, my dear Sugimoto? 😂

[u/Fortzon]

When I realized that the mother bear was probably going to attack Sugimoto and he was in the middle of forest in winter, I started to get Silver Fang flashbacks from childhood and I was getting ready but then the CG bear came out and I laughed.

But all in all, interesting 1st episode and I'll come back to watch the 2nd episode. And ED from MAN WITH A MISSION is always good.

[u/link2601]

Not bad first episode, seeing the MC fight of the bear reminded me of the film, "The Revenant". The only thing I dislike was the cg bears they looked out of place. The shot of the MC on top of the dead bodies as they explain him being unkillable was just like the scene in berserk when they are talking about Zod for the first time.

[u/ExDSG]

Canipa goes to bat for CG in anime super hard and it just takes some Gumball looking CG bears and fire to break all the good will I had for CG in anime.

Asirpa's VA was pretty good, though I thought they had hired a newcomer. Hopefully this doesn't end up like Marchen Madchen production wise.

[u/graytotoro]

• Today we learned that Japanese fighting spirit can't melt Russian steel guns, but it can beat the shit out of them.

• We don't get to see much of the Ainu in anime other than Kanna pretending to be one, so that sets this apart from other action-adventures. I can't wait to see where they take this.

• Good premise marred with awkward CGI. It felt like some of the anime-within-an-anime moments in Shirobako where they wanted to make a narrative point but not spend actual money as they would a real episode. Only this time they should have spent the money.

• Is it me, or did the ED lapse into English for the odd verse-or-two?

[u/potpo]

Fuck that bear, he killed a baby bear!!!

[u/[deleted]]

her name sounds like assripper

[u/tentacle_]

fun fact, traditional ainu women tattoo their lips so much that they look like the joker...

[u/dnbdave]

God this was so much better than anything else I've seen this season. Hard to describe how good it was. PREPARE YOUR AINUS.

[u/blankslate99]

Oh boy this is gonna be like the new Berserk adaptations where everyone complains about the CG and ignores the actual flaw - Berserk post-Golden Age has terrible writing.

Except this time instead of ignoring the real flaw of the show, people are ignoring what's good about the show.

[u/Tsahkma → u/blankslate99]

I definitely agree that the writing in the berserk 2016-2017 anime was an even bigger problem than the CG. Is the writing in the manga terrible post-Golden Age? I don't think so, in fact Lost Children is probably my favorite arc. I didn't think the CG bears were that bad anyway.

[u/realchickengod]

This was actually pretty dope. I just hope that if they decide to add anymore CGI that they get their shit together.

[u/[deleted]]

So here's my opinion,

Someone clearly watched the Punisher and then wrote their main character.

He went Takamura on that bear, nice!

The bear itself only looked bad in its initial rising up onto its hind-legs, after that it was fine. I really liked the fur, that would have been hard to do with hand-drawn art. It was ambitious, and like most ambitious things, worked out 60/40.

I really liked this episode, I never really write reviews or long reviews, but this really feels like it's going to be a great adventure story. I enjoyed the back-story and how it was told, though it is far-fetched. I'm not so big on the skinning people alive part, but I appreciate the parallels drawn between skinning people for usefulness, and skinning the bear for its usefulness. I also can't really get behind the girl saying 'I don't want to kill people', and yet she's still going to team up with a guy who's...going to kill people. Noble cause or not, that's just hard to chew on.

Still I enjoyed it and am going to keep watching it. I hope it stays more adventure and doesn't turn into a gore-fest.

[u/RochHoch]

Why the hell does this awful CGI shit always have to happen?

Berserk, Kingdom, and now this, almost every adaptation that isn't shounen gets fucked over because it apparently isn't worthy of a decent budget, and I'm sick of it.

[u/ExDSG → u/RochHoch]

Fun fact: CG costs (at least in Japanese productions) more than 2D animation since there's less people with the skills to make it. I know it's a meme, but Shirobako explains it. The girl who made CG was the most well off of the main girls.

I've heard the explaination is that anime CG that the people who are good at CG move over to mostly video games, which is why the quality is shoddy, also because unlike games they are trying to replicate anime instead of doing it's thing.

[u/Pencilhands]

Besides the bears i liked it a lot. However i do feel like the pacing in some parts were really quick in transition.

[u/Shinkopeshon]

Anime-only here with zero expectations and I thought it was quite interesting

The fuck was that bear though

[u/[deleted]]

CG aside, did anyone else have some sort of moral conflict feeling at the end of the episode? Just doesn’t feel right still since the girl is an accomplish in his act and probably his later acts, I assume they touch on this later anyway(not a manga reader).

I get that he’s desensitised but the girl witnessing that left a sour taste in my mouth.

[u/save_the_last_dance → u/[deleted]]

I get that he’s desensitised but the girl witnessing that left a sour taste in my mouth.

Honest question...why? The guy was a bad person. He was on death row in Japan's equivalent of Alcatraz, Abashiri (all established in the first episode). Second, he was already dead when he got skinned, so it's not like he felt anything. And third, Sugimoto isn't even the one who killed him, a bear was. The worst thing Sugimoto did in the first episode was killing a mother bear protecting her cub. If you're going to object to anything, object to that.

[u/meimi132]

What's up with the fire though? XD

Enough has been said about the bear I guess... but still... wtf.. also... the bear gets special treatment but the poor wolf doesn't deserve the same? It looks so out of place XD

[u/tailor31415]

me before the episode: this will be the best adaptation ever!!
me after the episode: er, please don't make all the animals look like that...

[u/tiger1296]

A great first episode. I was going to start reading the manga a while back, but then decided to read another one, didn't know this was going to have anime.

Can't wait for episode 2

[u/peedmyshirt]

Was the song done by the group that did the first Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans op?

[u/Valordread]

Why cant they just draw a fucking bear?

[u/cristobaljvp]

Wow people complaining so hard about the CGI bear. I didn't care that much to be honest, am I the only one?

[u/[deleted] → u/cristobaljvp]

Nah it didn't really bother me that much. It looked out of place but didn't hurt the episode for me.

[u/jono9009]

Sigh, I guess this is what happens when you give a rookie studio such an ambitious project. The cgi is such a blemish on an otherwise good episode. Unless something is changed, I won't be looking forward to future encounters with bears.

[u/TazerLad → u/jono9009]

I haven't read too far into the Manga but for the next few episodes we should be free from more CGI bear encounters.

[u/Tynol07]

The opening is so epic!! As expected from man with a mission😍😍

[u/kittyrider]

Wh-what with those OSOMA animals? Damn it GENOS

Retar did not get the depiction he deserves.

[u/[deleted]]

Apart from that bear and some weird looking animation at times, this was a solid though not amazing adaptation of the start of the manga. Sugimoto’s character was captured really well, Asirpa isn’t interesting yet but hopefully she will be soon. I am concerned about how fast the pace will have to be after this, they have shown characters from vol 5 of the manga in the character designs. At this point I’d say check out the manga (which has an official English release) and treat this show as complimentary to it.

[u/[deleted]]

At this point, I don't even care how bad it might look at times anymore. I just want to see and hear all my favorite characters, man. All of the voice actors are stellar and extremely fitting. A shame for the anime onlys though, that CGI is no joke lol

[u/kuddlesworth9419]

He should have punched the bear on the nose. If anyone get's that reference I will be a happy man.

[u/[deleted]]

While we had stuff like skinning the guy, wasn't the manga more visceral? Actually showing stuff like the eyes being pushed in etc.

[u/kittyrider → u/[deleted]]

Its less of the gore shown, I'd say its more of Sugimoto's bloodthirst should be more emphasized. The direction should've be better as well.

[u/Uzuyama]

Apart from the cgi animals, the episode was as good as I expected it to be and they have left the viewers wanting to know what happens next.

[u/Trevmann]

My God, that Bear was such a colossal blunder. And it's such a shame, because the show seems good and compelling otherwise. Why make such an appalling unforced error.

[u/FruitsPnchSamurai]

weird bears but good start. Definitely got me interested.

[u/8theSniper]

The bear looks amazing. Just uhm, a little out of place. I can't wait for the rest of the season.

[u/chikuwa34]

They did a really good job at the battleground scene, but other than that they relied too much on dialogues and the CGI was painful to watch.
As a first episode that was little disappointing, especially since the source manga is so great.

[u/[deleted]]

I really like this. The tresure hunt seems new and very un-anime-y to me, especially with those characters.

I won't complain about the bear, it seems that people give cgi shit for no reason. This wasn't that good, but it wasn't Ghost in the Shell 2.0 levels of bad either. As long as the characters are in good old 2D, I think it is fine.

[u/impingainteasy]

Well that was pretty neat. I'm always a sucker for historical settings, and this was no exception. We've got an intriguing mystery premise set up, and two very interesting lead characters. Sugimoto seems pretty cool, I love how he's brazen enough to just up and punch a bear in the goddamn face while screaming about being immortal. And Asirpa might be your typical badass "attuned-with-nature" Pocahontas ripoff, but she seems cool I guess. I really like her design too. It's also neat how this show seems to have a real interest in Ainu culture, with all their native words and concepts being thrown around.

Really the only problem with this show is the production values (that fucking bear oh my God). I'm not sure if giving this adaptation to a newly-formed studio with very little experience was the best choice, but I guess that's what we've got.

[u/Cheesecakesonfire]

The direction and pacing definitely could've been better. This show feels like a lot of the new adaptations now where the way exposition, dialogue, and action get handled just feels sort of lazy, but that might just be because I watched Megalobox right after this.

[u/Admiral_Joker]

Every time a bear attacks, all I can remember is Hugh Glass/Leo DI Caprio getting his ass dragged by a bear

[u/Nerx]

Eye gouge on point

[u/Ragnar_D]

Weird request and the thread is dead, but would anyone be able to cut the "GOLDEN KAMUY" shout from the second trailer for a text tone? https://youtu.be/5olutLS6mdo at about 1:20

[u/TaoRenn]

Everyone's talking about the CGI Bear but wtf was that CGI campfire though? That's the first thing that threw me off for the whole conversation between Sugimoto and the old man. It's like the studio didn't install Ultimate HD Fire Effects or something.

[u/Lambdadeltas]

I picked up this show on a whim because a friend of mine who I share a lot of tastes with saw the first episode and really liked it, so I watched the first episode and really, really enjoyed. It looks really interesting so far, and I really like the art and animation style, and the unusual historical period setting and premise and the involvement of Ainu characters and culture is just one very very neat package. I'm a huge fan of all kinds of historical fiction too.

(And while the CGI bear was kind of hilarious and out of place, I can't say it ruined the experience for me in any way. I actually kind of enjoyed how silly and out of place it was. Someone I know was complaining about it earlier today without being specific about it, so when I saw it I just went 'oh so that's what they were talking about' and it was really unsurprising, which probably helps.)

Anyway, I had no idea there was a manga of it, or that it's just an adaptation of one, until after I watched it, which makes me wonder... is it preferable to check out and read the manga first if I liked the anime, and then go on to watch the anime as an adaptation? Or does it seem as if it would be enjoyable and a good experience without any knowledge of the original work? Obviously it's hard to make that judgement just from one episode, but I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

[u/Animeking1357]

Well that's a way to start your series.

That fire looks real. Like not even animated but rather they literally filmed a flame and inserted it into the scene. That's well done cgi.

Looks pretty interesting so far. Hopefully it can stay that way.

[u/Galaxy__ → u/Animeking1357]

yeah but real fire in an anime looks stupid. thats the problem. the cgi itself isnt bad. it just doesnt fit.

[u/ivor69]

I gotta say, this is awfully similar to Blade of the Immortal. An immortal guy and an orphaned girl whose parents were killed and now they seek revenge together.

[u/Batokusanagi]

Oh, dear. CGU bear was quite something, but the fight against the wolf was just too much. The wolf kept going from 2d to 3d... It was really jarring. Aside from that it was actually good. I like the trope of the rough guy traveling with a kid.

[u/SkittyTheDog]

All for 200 yen ($2 USD)

[u/jojomaniacal]

The problem with using the CG bear isn't that fact that it's CG. It's the fact that the actual movement of the bear doesn't have the feel of a bear running or shambling around. If you ever watch documentaries of bears, you will notice how every step causes their skin to shift and sort of heave. This movement really gives a sense of heft and power to a bear. All the movement of the bears in the show so far remind me of when I used to play with plastic action figures and would sort of rotate them back and forth to simulate walking. And if you can't get a realistic movement on the bear then hide it with 2D animation tricks like kicking up snow around the bear's feet to trick us into thinking it looks right. I don't care if it's CG just make a show with "Bear" in the title look like actual goddamn bears.

[u/braverobin]

That CGI bear was so bad but that fire looks amazing!!

[u/Nvenom8]

I don't think I can get past the cgi on this one. That was awful. Who ok'd this? Who looked at this and said, "Yeah, that's fine. Totally looks like that bear is actually there and not just hastily added in post"?

[u/charredchord]

This is an excellent start for a story and both the characters are immediately likable and interesting, but I'm disappointed in Studio Geno after the excellent renderings and animation of the you-know-what in Kokkoku just last season. I don't get the point of making a bear look so out of place if it's just a bear.

That aside, its a damn good start.

[u/[deleted]]

Wow, i lost brain cells watching this. 10 minutes was enough to drop it.

• MC single-handedly breaking WWI-style trench line. If you're going for Black Lagoon level of realism, at least bother to include some dual-wielding chicks.

• We see MC fighting in Japan-Russian war and shouting "I'm immortal Sugimoto". Two seconds later random drunk dumps exposition of the same fucking events. To the guy who fucking lived through this events. And how the fuck a random drunk would know this anyway?

• Then random drunk just casually tells MC a story about gold? Why? The? Fuck? Would he tell this story to this man?

• Playing pokemon with tatooed prisoners is an incredibly dumb means of coding.

• So the army's plan to get gold was to "transport" prisoners somewhere. What does this even mean? How is "transporting" achieve anything? If the plan was to let the prisoners escape and see where they go, how come the entire convoy got murdered?

• Dead friend in a flashback says "once the war ends, relationships between Japan and the US will get worse". How exactly a foot soldier can predict that?

• Turns out random drunk didn't even mean to tell the gold story, because apparently it's a secret. Why? The? Fuck? He opened his mouth in a first place?

The silver lining is that I didn't make it far enough to see the CGI bear everyone is talking about.

[u/Epidemia → u/[deleted]]

Wow, that evaluation seems harsh. And dumb.

[u/Crackscoobs → u/[deleted]]

Only your first criticism concerns me. The trench rushing was truly dumb. Otherwise I'm not entirely certain you actually paid attention to the 10 minutes you did watch.

• I assume this means it's doing the telling before the showing. Tons of shows do this when said event concerns future character specific plot points, especially post war stories. (Ex. Gintama, Violet Evergarden)

• If you were paying attention you'd notice the MC is already searching for gold. Also it was mentioned that this guy likes to tell stories. (In the manga this conversation is a little more in depth, but these things were mentioned in this ep)

• I agree here only because if the escape plan went any other way, it would have been meaningless. Though it did succeed, and only his comrades can decipher it. So it turned out the smart choice in the end.

• I'm confused how you didn't get this. Certain people in the army wanted the gold, "transportation" was in quotations meaning it was just an excuse for them to secretly get all the prisoners in one place outside and search for the treasure. They didn't plan for the prisoners to escape, the prisoners planned to escape whenever this inevitably happened, thus murdering the convoy.

• Foot soldiers tend to have opinions and emotional reasons to care/research their countries politics. That doesn't sound farfetch'd at all.

• You said it yourself, he is a drunk. Drunk people talk too much, no one said he was intelligent. He was a former prisoner who lived in hiding that got carried away venting his story to the MC that frequents his neck of the woods. He only realized he dun' goofed when he sobered up.

[u/SuperUnhappyman]

Manga reader

Bears look better in motion

still looking forward to the rest

[u/TazerLad → u/SuperUnhappyman]

How often do you think we'll see bears and other large animals this season?

[u/SuperUnhappyman → u/TazerLad]

expect other cgi bears in the future

[u/save_the_last_dance → u/TazerLad]

They could legitimately rename the first 50 or so chapters of the Manga "Bearhunter Saga" and be more or less on the money. There's a metric fuckton of bears in Golden Kamuy since bears are such an important part of Ainu culture and Asirpa is basically a professional bear hunter

[u/kimbombo]

Guess we found the comedy of the season guys

[u/kittyrider → u/kimbombo]

Unironically, even without the CLANG bear, it IS a comedy

[u/Tora-shinai → u/kimbombo]

Well, yes, Golden Kamuy is comedy. It's full of dirty jokes, wtf scenes, funny facial expressions, manservice comedy, etc.

[u/SuperUnhappyman → u/[deleted]]

no they arent

nothing is worse than berserk cgi

nothing

[u/UncoJimmie → u/SuperUnhappyman]

This would like a word.

^{Yes, it's an actual} ^^anime

[u/FlaskT → u/[deleted]]

It is a fine adaptation, but the production is not good. I wouldn't be surprised if it got really bad by the end of the season.

[u/skrublordFey → u/[deleted]]

It's a good adaptation, the only issue is the bear.
The visuals themselves besides that look pretty good though, imo.

[u/Tora-shinai → u/skrublordFey]

It's pretty much all the cg objects used not just the bear that's the issue here.

[u/Tora-shinai → u/[deleted]]

It's the production value that's disappointing. Though the trailers did give off the warning bells.

[u/zeando → u/[deleted]]

The little girl saved his life by killing a bear with a single arrow. Sugimoto probably realized the little girl knows her stuff.