Synopsis
Set in the far northern lands of Japan known as Hokkaido, this is the tale of Sugimoto. Once a soldier in the Russo-Japanese war of the Meiji era, he had gained the nickname "Invincible Sugimoto.” Now in hopes of saving the widowed wife of his now deceased comrade from the war, he seeks the riches promised by the gold rush. In his hunt for gold, a drunk man tells him the tale of a hidden stash of gold by a group of criminals.
Partnering up with an Ainu girl (Ainu being a group of people who were said to store large stashes of gold to fight the Japanese) who saved him, the two set out in search of former prisoners who bear tattoos that lead to the gold while also facing against others who also seek the hidden stash.
First Impression
In terms of introduction, the episode left a strong impact when presenting the story and the characters. This especially applies to how the episode just about exploded into action in the first few minutes. That left quite the memorable mark for the series for sure. So far, there are no prominent issues in the episode but the whole graphics with the bear things is rather strange with how it contrasts with the style of the anime. Basically, Sugimoto and the mystery was well established and the only thing that could be said against the episode is the whole weird thing with the bear being computer generated.
General Impression
With the premise of the series, it was expected that it would be an action mystery work with a good level of grittiness mixed in. It was this but there was so much to the story than expected. Along with the mystery of the gold hunt, the series gave an interesting survival guide portion and some solid military moments that gave a unique tone to the series. The only problem with this is that the transitions between the characters and their stories could have been done better. Still, the character development is nicely done and the action scenes are still a highlight to watch. Other than the transition work, the series has a bit of a hit or miss comedy with the way that the art plays with the characters’ expressions and the pacing could have been done a bit better.
Conclusion
There’s a lot of story and character points with the series. It was expected that the series would be an action mystery work but the fact that the series explored more than this was a pleasant surprise. This mainly pertains to the whole survival guide portion as well as the stories of different characters and how they connect to one another. Transitions could have been done better along with pacing and the comedy is a tad weird but overall its an interesting series that may surprise you
Rating: 7.5/10