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.
General Impression
Thgr series was expected to be an adventure filled with grittiness and a good amount of action. It does give that, but it mostly explores the survival of the characters in their journey to searching the gold stash. It’s interesting that the series placed in this survival segment while mixing in the different character stories. The problem with this however is that it results in a rather awkward transition between character stories. On one hand, there is the characters who are having their little survival adventure, on the other is the military working in the shadows and forming their own plans. Other than this, the comedy is also a bit off at times. Still, there is a solid story and the characters do have some solid development to them.
Ending Thoughts
It didn’t really feel like things were building up to and ending but the conclusion of another chapter frankly. It’s rather clear that the series is rearing up for a second season but the path towards it seemed all over the place. There were some answers given to the mystery that has been panned out throughout the story and new and interesting characters have been introduced but things just got rather chaotic. However the way the final episode managed to pan things out and tie things in the end made up for the chaos. The final scene gave a solid end to the series while also showed that there was more to come.
Conclusion
There’s a good amount of action and mystery with this series but there is also some parts of the series that come off as a mess. The transition between the main characters and the military could have been done better and personally, the comedy is plain weird. Still, there is the interesting points of the mystery and the characters that keep the story going. What’s more, while it does go off tangent at times, there is a good build up in the story. Overall, this a solid action series that has a surprisingly interesting survival guide and mystery,
Rating: 7/10