Golden Kamuy: The Abashiri Prison Raid Review
Director: Kenji Katagiri
Date Created: 2026-07-14 03:11
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Golden Kamuy: The Abashiri Prison Raid Review: Directed by Kenji Katagiri, ゴールデンカムイ：網走監獄襲撃編, continues the live-action adaptation of Satoru Noda’s acclaimed manga with confidence and scale. Kento Yamazaki once again leads the film as the relentless Saichi Sugimoto, while Anna Yamada returns as the resourceful Asirpa. They are joined by Gordon Maeda, Yuma Yamoto, Asuka Kudo, Ryohei Ohtani, Taishi Nakagawa, Shuntaro Yanagi, and others.
Golden Kamuy: The Abashiri Prison Raid Review
The Japanese film Golden Kamuy: Assault on Abashiri Prison plot takes an interesting turn as Sugimoto and Asirpa get close to discovering the truth about Noppera-Bo, who knows the key to finding out the secret of the Ainu gold that is kept hidden somewhere. The adventure brings our heroes to the Abashiri Prison, which is well guarded and where all these parties are coming together with their interests being quite different. Thus, while Sugimoto looks for answers and Asirpa wishes to find peace after facing her past, Hijikata has plans about the treasure, and Lieutenant Tsurumi keeps on controlling everybody from the back.
The other point that I liked about the Netflix movie Golden Kamuy: The Abashiri Prison Raid was that there was no element of the treasure hunt turning out to be an uninteresting quest for treasure alone. Each of the important characters was pursuing some objective that was uniquely their own, thus giving the conflict added complexity. The objective of Sugimoto had long ceased to be that of gathering treasures, and that comes through brilliantly in the movie. His concern for the safety of Asirpa becomes all that matters once he gets close to catching Noppera-Bo.
The prison infiltration part was easily the most entertaining part of the entire movie for me. Unlike many Hollywood action movies, which just keep upping the ante through the use of continuous explosion scenes, this movie continuously switches gears depending on the newly acquired information. As soon as Sugimoto’s group thought they were finally getting somewhere, there was another problem that threw all the plans out the window. The script writers made sure that the viewer did not know what would happen next, while at the same time not making anything completely unpredictable.
Kento Yamazaki just keeps showing how suitable he is for Sugimoto. While physically he can handle those action-packed moments without any trouble, the thing that really caught my eye was his ability to restrain himself emotionally. One scene stands out, when Sugimoto finally gets to talk to the person he had been looking for all these years, and instead of talking about the treasure, he lets out years of frustration. This one scene captures Sugimoto’s personality perfectly. And what I like about it is that Yamazaki does not make a scene about it, since it is born out of concern, rather than out of anger.
In the same way as Anna Yamada had made Asirpa the emotional centre of the previous movie, she once again accomplishes this feat here. She may not command every single action scene in the movie, but she is an integral part of most significant decisions being made. There was an interesting aspect to see how Asirpa tries to balance learning about her father’s identity while also figuring out who she can really trust. It was also nice to see that the movie does not make Asirpa a damsel in distress waiting to be saved.
Among others, Lt. Tsurumi still ranks among the most invaluable members of the franchise. He never seems to come off as a straightforward antagonist since his cool appearance masks a highly lethal brain. Everything that he does is calculated, and even when his initial plan fails, he is able to adjust without losing himself. Hijikata is another character who is intriguing as his approaches always cross the boundaries between friend and foe.
The other thing that should also get some credit is the way the Japanese film Golden Kamuy: The Abashiri Prison Raid complicates the mystery rather than resolving the answers to the questions already put forward. As people come closer to the treasure, the story behind it gets more and more complex. With new mysteries regarding Noppera-Bo, Kiroranke, and the massacre, the larger question that remains is who is really speaking the truth. This did not make the story frustrating for me, but rather made it more interesting.
On the visual front, the Netflix Japanese film Golden Kamuy 3 keeps up its impressive streak. The period depiction of Hokkaido in the early twentieth century, the outfits of the soldiers, the interiors of the prison, and the snow-laden landscape all create a world that draws you into it. While the battle sequence in Abashiri prison does have a lot of characters in it, it never gets too chaotic. It’s also worth noting the action sequences since each one has a unique pace based on who is participating in it.
Netflix Golden Kamuy: The Abashiri Prison Raid Review: Summing Up
The 2026 movie Golden Kamuy 3, overall, is everything I was hoping to get out of the next part in this franchise. It gives you an amazing action sequence, well-developed characters, and a sufficient number of new mysteries to be genuinely excited about the upcoming story. However, it always keeps in mind that what is really important in the story is the relationship between Sugimoto and Asirpa.
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