I’m going over a little list of films I’m excited for in 2026, and that includes – but certainly isn’t limited to – Kenji Katagiri Golden Kamuy: Attack On Abashiri Prison. NYAFF’s Best From The East Award-winning actor Kento Yamazaki is back at the firing line next to Anna Yamada for the newest chapter of the franchise that began with the inaugural Golden Kamuy (2024) and the WOWOW sequel series, “Golden Kamuy: The Hunt Of Prisoners In Hokkaido.”
Saichi Sugimoto, a hero of the Russo-Japanese War and nicknamed “the Immortal Sugimoto,” learns of the existence of a huge amount of gold stolen from the Ainu people. The man who stole the gold, “Nopperabo,” hid it just before his capture. After his imprisonment, he tattooed the location of the gold on the bodies of 24 prisoners, leading them to escape.
The tattoos are said to form a single code for all 24 prisoners. Sugimoto then meets an Ainu girl named Asirpa. Asirpa’s father was killed by the gold robbers, and she teams up with Sugimoto to avenge his death.
Also eyeing the gold is Lieutenant Tsurumi of the Imperial Japanese Army’s 7th Division, who plans to conquer Hokkaido for the division members who risked their lives in the Russo-Japanese War but were not rewarded. And another is Hijikata Toshizo, the “Demon Vice-Commander” of the Shinsengumi, who was supposed to have died in the Boshin War.
In order to fulfill their respective missions, a fierce battle breaks out for the tattooed prisoner. Who is friend and foe…?!
The battle takes place in Abashiri Prison, where “Nopperabo,” the man who knows all the mysteries, is incarcerated.
Katagiri directs from a script by Tsutomu Kuroiwa (Kingdom franchise), with Ainu language consultation by Hiroshi Nakagawa, and Debo Akibe who co-starred in the first film, and music by Yutaka Yamada.
I’ve actually been bingeing a little bit of the Kingdom franchise this weekend not knowing if Golden Kamuy: Attack On Abashiri Prison was gonna make some headway going into the week. Yamazaki continues to be one of the most exciting stars to this day, and Katagiri’s latest looks all the more exciting for it if the official short and long trailers are any hint.
Check them out below!
