Golden Kamuy vol. 14

How close am I to the bottom of my “To Review” pile?  You’re about to find out…

Vol. 13 left off with Immortal Sugimoto about to face down the guards of Abashiri Prison, who were facing the imminent threat of Lieutenant Tsurumi’s forces.  In short, that cliffhanger ending promised a volume where all hell broke loose and vol. 14 does not disappoint.  That’s because getting out of a burning prison cell with Shiraishi proves to be the least of the challenges facing Sugimoto in this volume.  Another encounter with Nikaido, catching a bayonet with his teeth, finally meeting up with Noppera-Bo, becoming a “no brainer” brother with Tsurumi, this volume puts his Immortality to the test in thrilling fashion.  Yet it’s not just his show:  Tsurumi and his men face their own challenges as they have to take on a prison full of guards and hundreds of angry inmates.  Hijikata also faces his own reckoning with Warden Inudo, while Kiroranke shows his true colors, and Asirpa gets the closest she ever will to a reunion with Noppera-Bo.

In short, this is the volume where EVERYTHING CHANGES.  Mangaka Satoru Noda has been building up to this point for a good long while and he delivers on the payoff.  We get some answers regarding Noppera-Bo’s motives, more questions are raised, and some unusual alliances are formed as the core cast splits into some very different groups by the end of the volume.  While all this makes for a thrilling read, Noda doesn’t really give you any time to catch your breath even after the narrative reaches its climax.  Normally that would be a good thing, but it feels weird for the mass of conversations setting up the series’ new direction to be treated with the same intensity as the action described above.  This is admittedly a minor issue in what is easily one of the best volumes of the series to date, and a good sign for its continued quality going forward.