History Manga / GoldenKamuy

* DismantledMacGuffin: The treasure map is tattooed on the skin of 24 men who went their separate ways.[[spoiler: it's eventually downplayed as the point is made towards the end of the gold hunt that solving the code doesn't actually require ''all'' the skins to be solved. Rather, the need for collecting all of them was more about the various groups trying to hedge their bets in deciphering the gold's location from the skins, not being aware of the minimum amount needed to solve it, as well as limiting their competitor's ability to solve the code before them. This gets brought up when [[HopeCrusher Ueji keiji]] attempts to foil the gold hunt by tattooing over his own clue, except the various searchers who witness this completely tune him out for the above reasons. Once the gold's location is revealed, it turns out it only needed 12 of the 24 skins in order to be solved, and the location it indicated was recognisable enough that even missing a few parts the others would have been able to identify it.]]

** [[spoiler: Chapter 284 reveals that the location that Hijikata's skin marked within the Fort was actually the hiding spot of a concealed document, a land deed between the Ainu and the then-newly forming Republic of Ezo to secure vast swathes of land all over Hokkaido for the Ainu, with international witnesses to it's signing, such that the current Meji Government cannot declare it null and void due to being agreed with a previous government. This raises Asirpa's spirits as she realises the 'cursed' Golden Kamuy has been transformed into a Kamuy that the Ainu truly need, whereas everybody else is crushed by the revelation that [[AllForNothing the gold has already been used to buy that land.]] Then, as the chapter ends, Hijikata points out that the documents specify that only 10,000 Kan of the gold was used to buy the land, meaning there is still about 37 tons of gold remaining somewhere.]]

* SaveTheVillain: Sugimoto saves Henmi from drowning, unaware that he's a serial killer.

* InfantImmortality: Aversion (and a very rare case of the aversion of this trope ''not'' being the opposite trope of DeathOfAChild, as it is not PlayedForDrama) on its "cute animal" version, right in Chapter 1, when the big brown bear kills and eats the bear cub. Contrast with the straight usages of said opposite trope mentioned above.

* DismantledMacGuffin: The treasure map is tattooed on the skin of 24 men who went their separate ways.

* RatedMForManly: Let's put it this way, a mere Mook faces down a brown bear with a bayonet.

** [[spoiler:Chapter 280 reveals the location of the Ainu gold: Fort Koryokaku; the site of the last battle of the Boshin War (to Hijikata Toshizou's amusement.) It's also the same place that Koito was taken during the FalseFlagOperation in 199-200, and his facial expression upon being told that shows he's not pleased with the Irony of the situation.]]

Satoru Noda's award-winning manga ''Golden Kamuy'' has been serialized in [[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Young Jump]] magazine since 2014, and is still ongoing. An anime adaptation began airing in Spring 2018; it can be viewed on Website/{{Crunchyroll}} with the appropriate regional subtitles, with Creator/{{Funimation}} doing the English dub track.

* BigFancyHouse: The boss of a fishery (referred to only as the Herring Magnate) owns one and meets Tsurumi here to discuss conquering Hokkaido. It is so fancy even the toilets are made of luxurious porcelain.

* BlockingStopsAllDamage: Averted with Second Lieutenant Koito. His Jigen-Ryu sword style includes a brutal overhead strike which Japanese swordsmen agree mustn't be blocked, but dodged, since the strength of the strike will just drive your own sword into your forehead. [[spoiler:The only one to successfully block him is Kiroranke, and the blade is still driven almost halfway through the stock of his rifle.]]
* BluffTheImposter: Koito demands that a man posing as Prison Warden Inudo converse with him in Koito's native Satsuma dialect, since Inudo spent some time there. The imposter, amazingly, answers his questions. Then Koito asks about his drinking habits, and "Inudo" replies that his tolerance has gone down. [[spoiler:Koito immediately shoots him in the head, saying that the real Inudo doesn't drink.]]

* BottomlessMagazines: Averted, reloading rifles is taken into account, and Asirpa can run low on arrows even though she's using them sparingly.

* TheCatfish: The "Iwan Onnecep Kamuy" is a mythical giant huchen which is 7 meters long and eats bears. Less impressive but as scary are 2 meter long huchen which eat anything in their path, including Shiraishi, who fortunately escapes.

** [[spoiler:Nihei's single shot rifle comes in handy during Tanigaki and Ogata's SniperDuel.]]
** [[spoiler:Kumagishi Chouan's FinalSpeech in Chapter 90 finally became relevant in Chapter 274 for identifying the fake skins. That is, the fakes were made to be of "higher quality" than the real ones, but the stuff Edogai used to tan his fakes makes it so that they become stained when they touch iron or steel. This, combined with the key, makes identifing the fakes much easier.]]
** It's more a ChekhovsGun ''by absence'', but in chapter 174, [[spoiler: when Kadokura is confronting Sekiya on the frozen lake and has stripped himself naked to prove he's unarmed, the paneling takes pains never to actually show Kadokura fully from the back, including when Sekiya points out that he's holding a concealed knife between his buttcheeks, it's given a close-up that obscured the upper half of kadokura's back. It turns out that Kadokura is actually the 24th Tattooed 'inmate' that Noppera-Bou placed his clue onto in desperation when time was running out for him, as revealed during the subsequent fight in the Sapporo brewery.]]
** Added to the volume version of Chapter 211 (but absent from the original magazine version) [[spoiler: is a scene wherein Tsurumi, upon seeing how Asirpa's eyes so greatly resembles her father's, has a minor [[VillainousBreakdown loss of compose,]] [[LaughingMad chuckling to himself]] as he flashes back to digging out the bullet that killed Fina and olga out of their bodies, with an image of Wilk notably present as well. It's later revealed that he [[TragicKeepsake kept the bullet, alongside Olga and Fina's finger bones]] and shows it to Asirpa and Sophia as proof- based on the calibre of the bullet, and the firearms everybody was using during the shootout, Olga and Fina were likely killed by a stray shot from Wilk, for which he blames him and is implied to [[SinsOfTheFather be willing to take his vengeance out on his daughter]] [[RevengeByProxy as proxy, now wilk is dead.]] His loss of composure, with brain fluid gushing from his wound during the same scene-- something he noted only happened when he was greatly agitated-- also unnerves all his men, hinting that none of them are aware of what truly drives Tsumuri during the gold hunt, nor what his actual intentions are once it's finally located.]]

** Tsukishima's put on the receiving end of [[spoiler:a rare case of it being an InvokedTrope]], as part of [[ManipulativeBastard Tsurumi's]] plan to save him from death row. Tsurumi (headed to Russia to act as an intelligence oficer) stated that his trusted subordinate and talented interpreter Tsukishima's fluency in Russian made him vital for negotiations, so he was [[TradingBarsForStripes taking Tsukishima off death row to go with him]]. [[spoiler:Tsukishima knew not a word of Russian, and was told to learn it ''right away'']].

* CirclingVultures: A stray vulture tries to abduct Asirpa. ArtisticLicenseBiology as vultures' claws, unlike eagles or raptors, can't carry weight nor grab prey.[[note]]Eagles are hunters and use their hand-like claws, with long talons and prensile fingers, to catch and hold prey; vultures are highly specialised carrion-eaters and use their feet-like claws, with short talons and barely prensile fingers, to hold themselves steady while they use their beaks to eat.[[/note]]

* ConcealmentEqualsCover: Despite the realistic way in which guns are treated, a rifle isn't able to pierce through any form of cover. Somewhat justified in that 6.5 mm Arisaka round is quite weak for a rifle round,[[note]]In fact, undepowered rounds were kind of traditional for ''most'' Japanese firearms, including pistods and machine guns.[[/note]] and is better compared to the modern intermediate rounds, and these ''do'' have problems with penetration unless using specialized bullets. In fact, this round was used in a prototype of all modern assault rifles, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedorov_Avtomat Fedorov Avtomat]], specifically because of its light weight and reduced power.

* TheConspiracy: [[spoiler:Ogata theorizes that Noppera-bo is a Russian partisan whose goal is to fight for the independance of east Russia]]. Other partisans are hiding among the population of Hokkaido to support this movement from the shadows.

* DenserAndWackier: At the beginning, the characters were played quite seriously. However, Nihei's introduction became the landmark signalling the beginning of a more eccentric cast, with characters, especially the Abashiri convicts introduced thereafter, becoming more and more wacky in their mannerisms and mindsets, although the serious undertone of Ainu persecution and reflection about violence is kept intact.

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Tsurumi, oddly enough, is so charismatic that enamoured young men positively flock to him. Even the mangaka has called him the handsomest man in the series. [[spoiler:This is intentional on his part; the backstories of each of the main 7th Division officers show how Tsurumi manipulated them to make them fiercely devoted to him.]]

** Sugimoto, Ogata, Tanigaki, Shiraishi, Cikapasi, and Kiroranke are ambushed by a group of blind robbers during a [[HotSpringsEpisode late night soak in a hot tub]]. They then have to battle buck naked, with SceneryCensor for the most part in place.

** Sugimoto just wants to help Asirpa get the gold and pay for Ume's eye surgery, but he's ''fiercly'' protective of Asirpa and will cooperate with or take down either side to make sure she's safe.

** Noppera-bo tattooed the sections of map in such a way that people would need to skin its wearers to read it properly. The protagonists and their enemies actually carry around the skins of the dead convicts.

* GoldFever: Hokkaido has gold in its soil, so many people are prospecting on the island; also a big stack of gold worth hundreds of millions of (modern day) yen is sought after by many people.

** Sugimoto is a trained judoka and can rely on his fist in a pinch, in fact he's at his most dangerous up close and can match, at least briefly, Ushiyama in a brawl.
** By extension, all soldiers know hand-to-hand combat. In Chapter 144, we see Sugimoto, Tanigaki, Koito and Tsukishima beat a bunch of Russian wrestlers with their own hands.

* GottaCatchThemAll: There are 24 escaped Abashiri convicts at large throughout Hokkaido, all of whom have tattoos that when brought together, form a coded treasure map leading to a massive hoard of gold. Naturally, a major focus of the series is the characters' attempts to collect the tattoos, whether by making copies or by killing the convicts and skinning their bodies. [[spoiler:However, most characters realise it's not strictly necessary to gather all 24 tattooed skins; if they have enough to crack the code, then they can just fill in the blanks themselves. In fact, thanks to one of the convicts covering himself with more tattoos to obscure his part of the map, collecting them all isn't even possible anymore]].

* UsefulNotes/HorseRacing: The plot takes a detour to present the world of Japanese horse-racing and the gambling around it.

* IfIWantedYouDead: When Tsurumi reveals to Sofia [[spoiler:that it was Wilk, not her, who fired the shot that inadvertantly killed his wife and daughter]], she asks if he's going to kill [[spoiler:Asirpa as a form of [[RevengeByProxy revenge on her father]]]]. Tsurumi responds that if that was his goal, he'd had plenty of opportunities to do so already. However, [[spoiler:killing her would jeopardise his plans to turn Japan into a military superpower, and he has no intention of throwing that away for the sake of his personal feelings]].

** Sugimoto has survived: tuberculosis, one of the bloodiest battles of the Russo-Japanese war, encounters with multiple angry bears, falling into rivers and lakes in freezing weather, a gas explosion underground, several fights with elite military personnel, and multiple gunshot and stab wounds, including in the abdomen, chest, neck and ''head''. Specific mention being made of him recovering of wounds almost overnight.
** Ushiyama also qualifies for this distinction, although he doesn't cheat death like Sugimoto and more shrugs off any damage. He's resisted stabbing attempts, even breaking the blade with his muscles, and tanks falling debris and explosion like no one else.

* MilitaryCoup: A splinter group of the 7th division led by First Lieutenant Tsurumi plans to take over Hokkaido. Heavily resenting the higher ranks and the government, not only the soldiers, but some officers of the army and the navy have been convinced by Tsurumi to participate in an upcoming revolt, and make Hokkaido their territory.

* MoreDakka: The 7th Division are naturally well-armed but Tsurumi gathers more and more guns for his upcoming revolt. It results in the outrageous use of overwhelming firepower against the 7th's enemies. More the weapons used are a Hotchkiss machine gun against one man, and a full artillery bombardment coming from war ships against the walls of Abashiri Prison. Later, Tsurumi uses a Nambu Type 3 heavy machine gun on the prisoners at Abashiri when they try to overwhelm his troops. Predictably, Tsurumi wins.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: All three of Gansoku Maiharu's ''stenka'' teammates resemble famous real life MMA fighters. Gansoku himself is a reference to the notorious British criminal and brawler Charles Bronson.

** An example particularly noteworthy because of RealityIsUnrealistic reasons would be [[spoiler:Sugimoto]]'s aftermath for brain damage: instead of commonly depicted highly visible results (like, losing mobility or speech), he's shown without any apparent effect. However, one of the many possible results of brain damage in the area he was [[spoiler:shot]] is [[spoiler:mild dyslexia, and an exaggerated emotional answer]]. And next chapter, he's actually shown [[spoiler:consistently taking out [[NakedpeopleAreFunny the wrong]] [[HoYay photo]], getting all teary-eyed at having found Asirpa's track, and being ''much'' quicker to anger, even for his usual standards]]. Do the math.
* SideQuest: A non-videogame example, Sugimoto and Asirpa spend as much time hunting various local animals for food as they spend looking for treasure. A longer arc involves them trying to kill three bears in order to reclaim a sealskin wedding garment that belonged to Asirpa's aunt.

* SoMuchForStealth: In Chapter 128, Sugimoto's group meet with a patrol the minute they enter the Abashiri prison grounds.

* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: Shiraishi sticks out like a sore thumb among his group made up of war veterans, expert hunters and seasoned murderers. The one reason they bother with him is that everyone knows that to get the treasure, infiltrating Abashiri prison to directly interrogate Noppera-bo is better than fighting openly against the 7th Division, and thus Shiraishi's specialized set of skills will be essential.

** {{Invoked|Trope}}. Ainu children are given disgusting names to ward off ilness until they're six year old. Asirpa's first name is Ekasiotonpuy, meaning "Grandpa's butthole".

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Invoked. [[spoiler: Koito and Tsukishima, both of whom are struggling with their secret doubts that [[ConflictingLoyalty Lieutenant Tsurumi's true goals in searching for the Ainu gold are not as benevolent for the war-ravaged comrades in arms of the Japanese army as he's claimed,]] and so they eavesdrop in on his private conversation with Asirpa and Sophia to get the truth of his intentions. They're overjoyed when Tsurumi apparently confirms that, despite having a personal issue with Wilk for the deaths of his wife and child, and being indirectly responsible for the Ainu massacre that kicked off the story, he still holds the overall goals of his dream above his personal ones, claiming that all he wants is a personal memorial to Find and Olga on the path to their dream together. However, it's {{subverted}} afterwards when Koito realises that, thanks to him and Tsukishima getting soaked in beer during their sight with Sugimoto in the brewery, they were reeking of alcohol, but had become so used to the smell that they didn't notice, meaning it was entirely possible for Tsurumi to tell they were in the room he checked despite not actually seeing them, and he could have been putting on an act for both his captives and them at the same time. Regardless, since the 'confession' cemented Tsukishima's UndyingLoyalty to Tsurumi, Koito decides to bury his suspicions for his sake for the moment.]]

** [[spoiler:Chapter 280 reveals the location of the Ainu gold: Fort Koryokaku; the site of the last battle of the Boshin War (to Hijikata Toshizou's amusement.)]]

* TheReveal: [[spoiler:In Chapter 30, it's revealed that Noppera-bo had deliberately and vastly understated the amount of gold hidden away; instead of "only" 75kg of gold, it's actually 75,000kg, an amount equivalent to ''a third'' of Japan's national budget, explaining why both the 7th Division and Hijikata's group are so eager to find it.]]

* MistakenForBadass: When Boutarou the Pirate and his gang attempt to rob a postal riverboat, the postmaster pulls out a gun and starts firing wildly right as Vasily, hiding in a different boat, snipes some of Boutarou's men. The postmaster assumes he's responsible and starts spouting a bunch of one-liners.

** Boutarou the Pirate encourages Asirpa's crush on Sugimoto.

* DeathFromAbove: Wolverines in Karafuto climb to trees so they can jump down on preys and attack their spine.

* TheChewToy: Nikaidou [[TraumaCongaLine lost his brother at the hands of Sugimoto,]] [[MutilationConga had one ear torn off by a bear and the other one sliced off by Tsurumi,]] [[AnArmAndALeg lost a leg to Hijikata's katana, and had his hand blown away]] ''[[LegCannon with his own prosthetic leg]]'' (again by Sugimoto). Both the trauma and the opium addiction caused by the injuries are consistently PlayedForLaughs.

* AgainstMyReligion: The Ainu's particular view on the world make them think that an animal who has killed a human is cursed, and thus its meat shouldn't be eaten. Asirpa refuses the meat of an orca, believing it's killed a man, but Sugimoto reassures her that he did the killing instead, so the orca didn't turn evil.

* ChekhovsGift; Asirpa's makiri, a gift from her father, Wilk, is used by Sugimoto to [[spoiler:convince Noppera-bo to openly talk about the gold. However, he's interrupted by a bullet to the brain, courtesy of Ogata]].

* ArtImitatesArt: Occurs frequently. Besides the Last Supper and Pieta parodies mentioned below, the 7th Division recreates Bouguereau's "Song of the Angels" upon discovering O-gin's baby.

** Nihei Tetsuzou wants to be killed by a beast stronger and meaner than he is. [[spoiler:A wolf tears his throat out.]]

** Tsurumi entrusts the Japanese orphaned baby of Keiichirou Sakamoto and O-Gin to Asirpa's Ainu grandmother.

* KillTally: Nihei Tetsuzou's gun has seven notches on the barrel. The gun used to belong to Nihei's son, a soldier in the First Sino-Japanese war, and the notches are likely a kill tally.

* RaisedByNatives: Tsurumi entrusts the Japanese orphaned baby of Keiichirou Sakamoto and O-Gin to Asirpa's Ainu grandmother.

** After Sekiya Waichirou poisons Ushiyama and leaves him to die, Ushiyama emerges from his grave, delirious, and ends up befriending a bullied child in an homage to ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''. One of the opening pages of this subplot even uses the movie's font.

* AppleOfDiscord: In chapter 268 we learn that [[spoiler:the deaths of the seven Ainu revolutionaries were caused by infighting after [[ManipulativeBastard First Lieutenant Tsurumi]] sowed dissent amongst their ranks. Upon learning that Wilk had become their unspoken leader, uniting [[WeAREStrugglingTogether the uncooperative group]] with his natural charisma, Tsurumi told one of the revolutionaries about Wilk's history as a guerilla in Russia, suggesting he wanted to steal their gold to fund a coup against the Russian Empire. The Ainu, split over whether or not they could trust Wilk anymore, turned on each other]].

* CerebusRetcon: Asirpa is surprisingly adept at hunting and survival in the mountains for a little Ainu girl, especially in a culture where women are expected to StayInTheKitchen. It is mostly presented in a lighthearted way to expose the most interesting parts of Ainu culture, and seemingly give Sugimoto a competent KidSidekick. When Sugimoto meets the real Noppera-Bou/[[spoiler:Wilk]] in Abashiri Prison, the disfigured prisoner confesses that [[spoiler:he had been secretly grooming her into becoming a freedom fighter waging war against the Japanese government for the Ainu, using hunting and survival training as a pretext]]. TheReveal is all the more shocking since Asirpa is a BadassPacifist and a follower of ThouShaltNotKill, yet Wilk planned [[spoiler:for her to eventually become a martyr through violence]].

* EnemyMine: Sugimoto and his group has to ally themselves to either Hijikata's own group of convicts or Tsurumi's 7th Division on two occasions, the first in order to reach Noppera-Bou before the 7th Division reach Abashiri Prison, the second time because Sugimoto wants to find Asirpa and needs the help of the 7th Division.

** By extension, all soldiers know hand-to-hand combat. In chapter 144, we see Sugimoto, Tanigaki, Koito and Tsukishima beat a bunch of Russian wrestlers with their own hands.

* InnocenceLost: Asirpa was always pretty mature but as the hunt for the Ainu gold continues, she grows more disillusioned by how the Japanese and the Russians oppress the local tribes. By chapter 215, Asirpa is implied to seriously consider [[spoiler:killing people to attain her goals as she thinks to herself that she's "ready to plunge into hell alongside Sugimoto"]].

* TheReveal: [[spoiler:In chapter 30, it's revealed that Noppera-bo had deliberately and vastly understated the amount of gold hidden away; instead of "only" 75kg of gold, it's actually 75,000kg, an amount equivalent to ''a third'' of Japan's national budget, explaining why both the 7th Division and Hijikata's group are so eager to find it.]]

* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:First Lieutenant Tsurumi gives a ''bombastic'' one to Asirpa in chapter 271]]:

* TheWestern: The series has many elements reminiscent of the genre, even though it's set in Hokkaido in the Meiji era. The cover of chapter 59 is designed to look like a Western poster.

** Nihei Tetsuzou wants to be killed by a beast stronger and meaner than he is. [[spoiler: A wolf tears his throat out.]]
** Henmi Kazuo wants a violent end where he desperately struggles for life. [[spoiler: He gets mauled to death by an orca after Sugimoto stabs him with a bayonet.]]
** Anehata Shiton dies of a heart attack while achieving his dream of [[spoiler: having sex with a bear.]]
** Ueji Keiji [[spoiler: sees his own disappointed face reflected in a window as he falls to his death, reminding him of his father and making him laugh.]]

* AppleOfDiscord: In chapter 268 we learn that [[spoiler: the deaths of the seven Ainu revolutionaries were caused by infighting after [[ManipulativeBastard First Lieutenant Tsurumi]] sowed dissent among their ranks. Upon learning that Wilk had become their unspoken leader, uniting [[WeAREStrugglingTogether the uncooperative group]] with his natural charisma, Tsurumi told one of the revolutionaries about Wilk's history as a guerilla in Russia, suggesting he wanted to steal their gold to fund a coup against the Russian Empire. The Ainu, split over whether or not they could trust Wilk anymore, turned on each other]].

* BlockingStopsAllDamage: Averted with Second Lieutenant Koito. His Jigen-Ryu sword style includes a brutal overhead strike which Japanese swordsmen agree mustn't be blocked, but dodged, since the strength of the strike will just drive your own sword into your forehead.[[spoiler: The only one to successfully block him is Kiroranke, and the blade is still driven almost halfway through the stock of his rifle.]]

* BodyDouble: When Sugimoto reaches Noppera-bo, he realizes that it's a double whom Inudo has planted after the breakout. [[spoiler: Hijikata's group was aware of this and purposely left Sugimoto in the dark. They leave Sugimoto and Shiraishi alone as bait for the guards and head toward Noppera-bo's real cell]].

* TheCaper: Sugimoto's group and Hijikata's group ally to infiltrate Abashiri prison so that Asirpa can directly talk to Noppera-bo. Several chapters are dedicated to their preparations, such as an infiltrated ally feeding them intel, or the digging of an entrance tunnel. [[spoiler: As soon as they enter the prison grounds, the plan pretty much falls apart]].
* CarpetOfVirility: Highly unusual for Japanese manga and anime, multiple characters are sporting full (and drawn with meticulous detail) chest hair, which only enhances their masculine badassness. Needless to say, this has made the series very popular with a [[BaraGenre certain audience]].

* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:Nihei's single shot rifle comes in handy during Tanigaki and Ogata's SniperDuel.]]
** [[spoiler: Kumagishi Chouan's FinalSpeech in Chapter 90 finally became relevant in Chapter 274 for identifying the fake skins from the real ones. That is, the fakes were made to be of "higher quality" than the real ones but the stuff Edogai used to tan his fakes makes it so that they become stained when they touch iron or steel. This, combined with the key, makes identifing the fakes much easier.]]

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Tsurumi, oddly enough, is so charismatic that enamoured young men positively flock to him. Even the mangaka has called him the handsomest man in the series. [[spoiler: This is intentional on his part; the backstories of each of the main 7th Division officers show how Tsurumi manipulated them to make them fiercely devoted to him.]]

* GottaCatchThemAll: There are 24 escaped Abashiri convicts at large throughout Hokkaido, all of whom have tattoos that when brought together, form a coded treasure map leading to a massive hoard of gold. Naturally, a major focus of the series is the characters' attempts to collect the tattoos, whether by making copies or by killing the convicts and skinning their bodies. [[spoiler: However, most characters realise it's not strictly necessary to gather all 24 tattooed skins; if they have enough to crack the code, then they can just fill in the blanks themselves. In fact, thanks to one of the convicts covering himself with more tattoos to obscure his part of the map, collecting them all isn't even possible anymore]].

* IfIWantedYouDead: When Tsurumi reveals to Sofia [[spoiler: that it was Wilk, not her, who fired the shot that inadvertantly killed his wife and daughter]], she asks if he's going to kill [[spoiler: Asirpa as a form of [[RevengeByProxy revenge on her father]]]]. Tsurumi responds that if that was his goal, he'd had plenty of opportunities to do so already. However, [[spoiler: killing her would jeopardise his plans to turn Japan into a military superpower, and he has no intention of throwing that away for the sake of his personal feelings]].

* LukeIAmYourFather: Noppera-bo is purported to be Asirpa's father. The ambiguousness is kept until Asirpa can finally see him. [[spoiler: Noppera-bo really is Wilk, Asirpa's father]].

* MeaningfulEcho: At the very start of the series, Asirpa explains how a bear that kills humans is destined for Hell, and Sugimoto, reminded of all the lives he took during the war, thinks to himself "I guess they'll be rolling out the red carpet for me!" Much later into the series, [[spoiler: as Sugimoto is fighting Warrant Officer Kikuta, he screams that he's sending him straight to Hell, to which the latter smiles and says "Go ahead. They'll be rolling out the red carpet for me." As we quickly learn, the two of them knew each other long ago, and Sugimoto most likely picked up the phrase from Kikuta]].

* PietaPlagiarism: Tsurumi cradles [[spoiler: the dying Usami]] in a parody of this.

** Shiraishi's backstory: The artist Kumagishi Chouan draws him a picture of a nun, mentioning that she was beautiful, but the drawing looks like a child's scribble with no nose and extremely tiny eyes and mouth. In order to find the real nun, Shiraishi breaks out of every prison in Japan and earns the title "Escape King." Finally, after being imprisoned in Abashiri, he gets a chance to meet the nun...[[spoiler: who looks exactly like the drawing. Shiraishi concludes the story by saying that Chouan is a really good artist after all.]]

* ShooOutTheClowns: As the story escalates into its final part, Cikapasi and Ryu stay in Karafuto and Tanigaki and Inkarmat [[spoiler: leave Hokkaido with their child.]]
* ShoutOut: The title page for almost every chapter references a movie, old advertisement, book, anime...the list goes on.

** Tanigaki gets into one with Ogata. [[spoiler: Tanigaki wins.]]
** Another one happens later between Ogata and Vasily, a Russian border guard. [[spoiler: Ogata wins this time.]]

* SpottingTheThread: During their confrontation on the Karafuto ice floes, [[spoiler: Ogata lies to Asirpa that he witnessed Sugimoto dying and received his last words. Asirpa figures out it's a lie because Ogata quotes Sugimoto as wanting to go home and eat anglerfish hot pot, when in reality Sugimoto mentioned to Asirpa he wanted to eat dried persimmons if he ever made it back home – anglerfish hot pot is ''Ogata's'' favorite food.]]

* RunningGag: Asirpa thinking that miso is "osoma." Shiraishi getting bitten on the head by various animals, or his face being used as censor patch. Whichever animal Asirpa is hunting that chapter getting a cover page where it's friends with her. Ogata refusing to say "citatap". Tanigaki repeatedly saying "boner". Lewd photos of Tanigaki and/or his shirt popping open. Showing the wrong photo to people (usually one of the aforementioned ones of Tanigaki). Koito screaming like a monkey, in or out of combat. Also, villains talking about what a nice guy Sugimoto is when he's kind to them.

* TitleDrop: First Lieutenant Tsurumi gives a ''bombastic'' one to Asirpa in chapter 271:
--> '''Tsurumi:''' For the Ainu, gold wasn't something they needed in their daily lives... '''[[WorthlessYellowRocks It was useless to them]].''' In fact, it was '''worse''' than useless. When the Ainu panned the rivers for gold, the rivers became polluted and the Ainu starved. You said that ''Kamuy'' reside in all things, correct? (...) So if '''gold''' were to have a ''Kamuy...!!'' Would it not be an evil god? One that brought misfortune to the Ainu people? Those who touch it meet a horrible death... It would be a ''Kamuy'' more hideous and brutal than any other... A ''Kamuy'' so beautiful as to be dazzling... One that shines with a golden light. What you could call... '''''A Golden Kamuy,''''' so to speak.

Satoru Noda's award-winning ''Golden Kamuy'' manga has been serialized in [[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Young Jump]] magazine since 2014, and is still ongoing. An anime adaptation began airing in Spring 2018; it can be viewed on Website/{{Crunchyroll}} with the appropriate regional subtitles, with Creator/{{Funimation}} doing the English dub track.

* AppleOfDiscord: In chapter 268 we learn that [[spoiler: the deaths of the seven Ainu revolutionaries were due to infighting after [[ManipulativeBastard First Lieutenant Tsurumi]] sowed dissent among their ranks. Upon learning that Wilk had become their unspoken leader, uniting the uncooperative group with his natural charisma, Tsurumi told one of the revolutionaries about Wilk's history as a guerilla in Russia, suggesting he wanted to steal their gold to fund a coup against the Russian Empire. The Ainu, split over whether or not they could trust Wilk anymore, turned on each other]].

* GambitPileup: Having the 7th Division's , Hijikata's, and Sugimoto's plans overlapping is a lot to keep track of, even without the multiple [[DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent double agents]] and characters with ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.

* IfIWantedYouDead: When Tsurumi reveals to Sophia [[spoiler: that it was Wilk, not her, who fired the shot that inadvertantly killed his wife and daughter]], she asks if he's going to kill [[spoiler: Asirpa as a form of [[RevengeByProxy revenge on her father]]]]. Tsurumi responds that if that was his goal, he'd had plenty of opportunities to do so already. However, [[spoiler: killing her would jeopardise his plans to turn Japan into a military superpower, and he has no intention of throwing that away for the sake of his personal feelings]].

* MeaningfulEcho: At the very start of the series, Asirpa explains how a bear that kills humans and is destined for Hell, and Sugimoto, reminded of all the lives he took during the war, thinks to himself "I guess they'll be rolling out the red carpet for me!" Much later into the series, [[spoiler: as Sugimoto is fighting Warrant Officer Kikuta, he screams that he's sending him straight to Hell, to which the latter smiles and says "Go ahead. They'll be rolling out the red carpet for me." As we quickly learn, the two of them knew each other long ago, and Sugimoto most likely picked up the phrase from Kikuta]].

* CoincidentalDodge: Tanigaki barely avoids a bullet meant for him as Osoma pulls on his ear.

* EatTheDog: The Ainu eat squirrels, which Sugimoto thinks are cute.

* FullFrontalAssault: Sugimoto, Ogata, Tanigaki, Shiraishi, Cikapasi, and Kiroranke are ambushed by a group of blind robbers during a [[HotSpringsEpisode late night soak in a hot tub]]. They then have to battle buck naked, with SceneryCensor for the most part in place.

* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Asirpa threatens Shiraishi with her poisoned arrows so that he helps her free Sugimoto.

* LanguageBarrier: Downplayed. Sugimoto doesn't speak Ainu, but continuous exposure to the GratuitousForeignLanguage makes him able to understand a few words. Later in the manga, Sugimoto hears his name, "ohaw" for "soup", and "osoma" for "poop". Putting two and two together, he correctly deduces that once again Asirpa is telling someone that he is eating poop, or rather miso.

* ReducedToRatburgers: Right before the battle of Hill 203, we see Sugimoto eating a stray ''ant''. A good indication of the living conditions of the soldiers at the time, and justification of why every dish he eats after the war is FoodPorn for him (save the raw brains).

* ShaggyDogStory: The circus arc. Sugimoto spends the entire arc trying to put on a circus act so spectacular it'll get into the newspapers and Asirpa will hear about it, only for the newspaper to misspell his name as "Sugimoto the Immoral".
** Also Shiraishi's backstory: The artist Kumagishi Chouan draws him a picture of a nun, mentioning that she was beautiful, but the drawing looks like a child's scribble with no nose and extremely tiny eyes and mouth. In order to find the real nun, Shiraishi breaks out of every prison in Japan and earns the title "Escape King." Finally, after being imprisoned in Abashiri, he gets a chance to meet the nun...[[spoiler: who looks exactly like the drawing. Shiraishi concludes the story by saying that Chouan is a really good artist after all.]]

* SniperDuel: Between Tanigaki and Ogata. [[spoiler: Tanigaki wins.]]

* UnfortunateNames: Ainu children are given disgusting names to ward off ilness until they're six year old. Asirpa's first name is Ekasiotonpuy, meaning "Grandpa's butthole".