Who is Golden Kamuy’s Main Antagonist, and Why?

Golden Kamuy is without a doubt one of the best Seinen series available. Aside from being well-written and engaging, what distinguishes Golden Kamuy are its characters, particularly its antagonists.

With season 4 of Golden Kamuy still in progress, anime-only viewers are only now starting to discover who the show’s main enemy might be.

Tokushiro Tsurumi, the 1st Lieutenant of the Hokkaido 7th Division, is the major antagonist of Golden Kamuy. He is the main antagonist of protagonists Sugimoto and Asirpa, as well as the master manipulator who impacts the entire plot. He is the ultimate antagonist and the final boss.

Because there are no innately “good” characters in the book, Golden Kamuy is overpopulated with “villains.” Everyone is pursuing the Ainu gold, regardless of their own objectives.

What distinguishes Tsurumi from the other morally problematic characters? What about the other antagonists, like as Ogata and Hijikata? Tsurumi’s villainy outshines theirs in what way?

Tsurumi is the major adversary in Golden Kamuy for what reason? What makes him such a wonderful antagonist?

Tsurumi is the main enemy in Golden Kamuy since his goals and tactics for accomplishing them directly contradict and oppose Sugimoto’s.

During the last battle for the gold, he claims to be Sugimoto’s personal Shinigami and reveals to be his worst foe.

1. Unpredictability

Tsurumi is the most perilous character in the series. He’s a psychopathic visionary, driven by vengeance like any other villain, but nobody knows for what.

Tsurumi’s major motivation seems to be obtaining the gold needed to acquire Hokkaido in order to finally assist Japan grow.

However, the Russo-Japanese War also resulted in the deaths of his Russian wife and kid, whom he sincerely loved, and his purpose could have been to avenge them.

In fact, he retained the finger bones of his late wife and child as a keepsake. Tsurumi is frightful, creepy, and completely insane.

He’s genuinely insane, having had a portion of his brain blown away by shrapnel during the Battle of Mukden.

He attributes his wrath and cruelty to his brain damage and wears a porcelain enamel head plate to prevent cerebrospinal fluid from spilling down his face.

Tsurumi, in reality, is deeply rooted in the past, and it is this, more than his mental impairment, that makes him so unpredictable.

His fondness for torture and suffering demonstrates that he is unconcerned about causing pain and death, however he does appear to have some pity for his subordinates. He attempts to get Nikaido to eat and even presents him with artificial limbs.

But this is Tsurumi, so there’s always the possibility that he has ulterior motivations.

Tsurumi’s moral compass is not just distorted, but also erratic and chaotic. He is frigid, witty, violent, psycho, and occasionally even likable.

But, at the end of the day, this is a man who routinely chews and dresses in human flesh while slaughtering many prisoners. He may know what is right and wrong, but he doesn’t care because, well, he’s nuts.

2. Manipulating Mastermind

His brilliance, charisma, and grasp of human behavior are the worst and finest aspects of his crazy and warped nature. Tsurumi is equal parts insane and cunning.

He spent years manipulating Tsukishima, rescuing him from death row and lying to him that his loved one, whom Tsukishima thought was dead, was still alive, all so he could use him as a tool.

Tsukishima subsequently discovered that his girlfriend was genuinely dead, and was duped into believing that she was still alive, and that Tsurumi had simply faked her death to get him off death row.

Tsukishima is ultimately content with the fact that Tsurumi has given him a feeling of purpose, regardless of whether or not his love is alive.

Tsurumi also kidnapped Koito and then claimed to save him, so Koito owes him money. As a result, Koito, who is genuinely a nice guy, gets duped into killing people in order to repay Tsurumi.

Tsurumi was also able to immediately deduce who Sugimoto is and what his aims are by tricking him into exposing his identity.

He’s also astute enough to hire taxidermists to create phony convict skins in order to deceive anyone searching for money using the skin maps.

Tsurumi is aware that he is not a strong physical fighter, but he uses his charisma and eloquence to influence and brainwash powerful individuals.

In fact, his speech in chapter 31/episode 7 is eerily similar to Hitler’s speech, Triumph of the Will. As we all know, Hitler had a great personality despite being utterly insane; Tsurumi’s likability and charm are similar to Hitler’s.

3. Overpowering Determination + Chaotic Evil

Will is frequently linked with heroes, yet it may also be an evil trait. Tsurumi wouldn’t be as good a villain if he didn’t have the determination to pursue his aims and the ability to do so.

Tsurumi has a complicated past, as shown by numerous individuals’ flashbacks. He’s been a spy, lost his family, lost a portion of his skull, indoctrinated soldiers, and planned multiple coups and ploys, to name a few things.

Tsurumi’s pragmatic insanity is revealed in these flashbacks. Even if we don’t know why he does what he does, we can’t help but see some logic in it.

Tsurumi’s tenacity and eccentricity are most visible in his interactions with Asirpa.

From their first meeting, Asirpa knows Tsurumi is insane and that dealing with him is impossible.

Tsurumi makes Asirpa the object of his vengeance when Ogata murders Wilk, Asirpa’s father and the person Tsurumi blames for his family’s death.

His ambition to psychologically and physically harm her is clear as he wears Wilk’s skin as a face mask to torment her and subsequently obsesses over her rather than focusing on defeating Sugimoto in the end.

Tsurumi is the polar opposite of Sugimoto, who, while he may kill, is otherwise lawfully good. This group also includes Asirpa and Shiraishi.

Tsurumi, on the other hand, embodies chaotic wickedness. He clearly becomes more nasty and brutal as the plan unfolds around obtaining the gold, and he only loses in the end because his passion to revenge his family trumps his desire to obtain the riches.

Why aren’t Ogata and Hijikata the main villains?

Ogata and Hijikata are excellent villains, yet they do not qualify as key antagonists. Tsurumi is a more well-rounded figure with a more complex personality, whilst the other two appear to be one-dimensional.

Ogata is a deserving candidate with a compelling past. The difficulty is that he loses control, his ambitions becoming only an excuse to prolong the narrative struggle rather than the source of his inner purpose.

In comparison to Tsurumi, who presents himself as a revolutionary leader, Ogata and Hijikata appear to be ordinary puppets.

Furthermore, both Ogata and Hijikata come to see Tsurumi as the enemy, and it is evident that Tsurumi succeeds when it comes to villainy.

Golden Kamuy

Golden Kamuy is built on Satoru Noda’s manga series, which has 22 volumes so far. Two seasons of anime have already been produced based on the manga, with a third on the way.

The plot revolves around Saichi Sugimoto, a battle veteran of the Russo-Japanese war.

He is desperate for money and decides to go on a quest after hearing a legend about secret Ainu gold. A young Ainu girl named Asirpa joins him.