Manga
The manga that were hits in Japan in the 2010s.
2010S HITS
About
In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush in the wilderness of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it! Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers, Sugimoto will need all his skills and luck—and the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa—to survive.
Character analysis
Sugimoto survived the brutal Russo-Japanese War and earned a reputation for shrugging off wounds that should have killed him, and he goes after a fortune in hidden Ainu gold for a specific, grounded promise rather than greed alone.
Asirpa grew up hunting and living off the land, and her practical expertise, not Sugimoto's war experience, is what actually gets the two of them through Hokkaido's wilderness. The story treats her Ainu culture and knowledge with real specificity rather than as background color.
Hijikata was a real historical figure reimagined here as having survived into this story's gold-hunting plot, bringing with him decades of hardened command experience and his own private reasons for wanting the treasure.
Tsurumi commands intense loyalty from his men through charm and apparent generosity, which makes it all the more unsettling when the story reveals how calculating and unpredictable he actually is underneath.
Ogata is one of the most dangerous fighters in the story thanks to his sniping skill, and his detached, faintly amused attitude toward killing sets him apart from Sugimoto's more conflicted violence.
Status evaluation
Detailed Hokkaido wilderness backdrops and carefully researched period and cultural detail give the art real texture.
The gold-hunting plot pulls in a huge cast of former soldiers and competing factions without losing its momentum.
Absurd survival-food detours and Sugimoto's indestructibility provide surprisingly frequent comic relief.
Character backstories, especially around the war and Ainu culture, add real weight without being the story's main focus.
Some antagonists and gruesome survival scenarios create real tension and unease.
Violence, hunting, and injury are shown in blunt, often graphic detail.
A large cast of factions and former soldiers with overlapping goals takes real attention to follow.
This figure has not been verified against a current source and should be treated as approximate.
“A war veteran nicknamed Immortal teaming up with a girl who can outsurvive him in the wild. I did not expect a gold hunt to also be this good a survival guide.”