Saichi Sugimoto

Sugimoto is aggressive, stubborn, protective, and capable of terrifying violence when someone he cares about is threatened. His battlefield experience taught him that hesitation can mean death, and when combat begins he can switch rapidly from ordinary conversation to a willingness to injure or kill an opponent.

Outside battle, he is considerably warmer. Sugimoto is curious about Ainu food and customs, listens seriously when Asirpa explains them, and quickly becomes comfortable accepting instruction from a child who knows far more about the environment than he does. Their meals become one of the clearest signs that he is not merely using her as a guide.

His nickname hides significant psychological strain. Surviving battle after battle has left him able to function under extreme violence but has not made the experience harmless. Sudden aggression, a willingness to expose himself to lethal danger, and his intense reactions when friends are threatened all reflect a soldier who returned from war physically alive without simply leaving the war behind.

Sugimoto has a powerful sense of obligation. His original reason for seeking money is a promise connected to Toraji and Umeko, and he repeatedly takes promises seriously even when fulfilling them becomes dangerous or inconvenient.

His relationship with wealth changes during the journey. The gold begins as a solution to a personal problem, but Asirpa's involvement forces him to consider that the treasure belongs to a larger Ainu history and that helping her understand what happened is more important than treating it as a private fortune.

Sugimoto possesses no supernatural ability. His "immortality" comes from an exceptional constitution, extremely high pain tolerance, fast recovery, combat experience, and a near-pathological refusal to die. The official anime describes both his astonishing recovery and his ability to find a route through life-threatening situations as the basis of his reputation.

He is an experienced infantry soldier trained in rifle use, bayonet fighting, hand-to-hand combat, field movement, and battlefield survival. His service during the Russo-Japanese War included the fighting around 203 Meter Hill, where close-range attacks and enormous casualties helped create his reputation.

Sugimoto is extremely dangerous in melee combat. He uses punches, headbutts, throws, knives, bayonets, rifles, and improvised weapons with little concern for elegance. His fighting style prioritizes incapacitating an opponent before the opponent can do the same to him.

His durability is exceptional even within the exaggerated physical standards of the series. Gunshot wounds, stab wounds, broken bones, animal attacks, severe cold, and blunt trauma repeatedly fail to keep him down for long. Fanbook commentary attributes part of this to an unusually high metabolism and unusually rapid healing.

Sugimoto is also an effective battlefield tactician. He understands ambushes, fields of fire, cover, morale, deception, and when an apparently reckless charge can break an opponent psychologically. His wartime instincts make him especially dangerous to criminals who initially mistake him for an ordinary prospector.

Hokkaido wilderness survival is initially a weakness compared with Asirpa's expertise. He improves considerably under her guidance, learning to track, prepare game, recognize dangers, and function in conditions very different from the organized military environment in which he was trained.

Sugimoto serves in the Russo-Japanese War and becomes notorious for surviving circumstances that kill soldiers around him. The official anime identifies him as a former 1st Division soldier whose ferocious fighting earns him the name Immortal Sugimoto.

After demobilization, he travels to Hokkaido looking for money. He eventually hears a story about a cache of Ainu gold stolen after the murder of the men who collected it. The thief is said to have tattooed the location's code across a group of prisoners at Abashiri.

Sugimoto initially dismisses the story until evidence convinces him that the tattooed prisoners are real. A brown bear attack then brings him together with Asirpa, whose father was among the Ainu connected to the stolen gold. Their agreement turns the treasure hunt into a partnership.

The search soon brings Sugimoto into conflict with the 7th Division under Tsurumi, Hijikata's faction, escaped murderers, hunters, and opportunists seeking the same treasure. His reputation for surviving impossible fights grows as he repeatedly confronts people who are stronger, more heavily armed, or more numerous.

His relationship with Asirpa becomes the emotional center of his journey. Sugimoto initially speaks about earning money for Umeko, but he increasingly prioritizes helping Asirpa uncover the truth and returning her safely to her family.

The Abashiri investigation reveals that the treasure hunt is intertwined with the history of Asirpa's father and political movements extending beyond Japan. Subsequent separation forces Sugimoto north toward Karafuto, where finding Asirpa becomes more important than the gold itself.

After returning from Karafuto, Sugimoto, Asirpa, and Shiraishi reunite as the central trio and resume the gold hunt. The official Final Season synopsis follows them into Sapporo while Tsurumi's 7th Division and Hijikata's faction pursue the same remaining clues.

The final search brings Sugimoto into the last confrontation between the factions over the decoded treasure and the future Asirpa intends for it. Even after suffering injuries that would kill an ordinary man, he continues fighting to protect her and prevent the gold from being seized for purposes she rejects.

After the climactic struggle, Sugimoto survives and remains connected to Asirpa. He also returns to the obligation that originally brought him to Hokkaido, ensuring that his promise concerning Umeko is not forgotten even after the treasure acquires a much larger meaning.

Asirpa is Sugimoto's closest partner and the person around whom much of his postwar life becomes organized. Asirpa teaches him how to survive Hokkaido, while Sugimoto protects her against soldiers and criminals. Their agreement begins as practical cooperation but develops into profound mutual trust.

Yoshitake Shiraishi is Sugimoto's unreliable but persistent companion. Sugimoto regularly threatens or strikes Yoshitake Shiraishi when he lies or creates trouble, yet Shiraishi's escape skills and criminal connections repeatedly prove invaluable. The official fanbook describes Shiraishi as Sugimoto's hidden partner.

Torajii is Sugimoto's childhood friend and fellow soldier. Sugimoto carries a powerful sense of obligation toward Torajii, and the promise associated with his family becomes the original reason Sugimoto seeks a fortune in Hokkaido.

Umeko is Toraji's widow and someone Sugimoto has known since childhood. His desire to obtain money for Umeko's medical needs provides the personal motive behind the gold hunt before his partnership with Asirpa changes its meaning.

Tokushirou Tsurumi is one of Sugimoto's principal rivals in the treasure hunt. Tokushirou Tsurumi recognizes Sugimoto's combat value and occasionally finds temporary common ground with him, but their ultimate aims for the gold are incompatible.

Toshizou Hijikata leads another competing faction. Sugimoto respects Toshizou Hijikata's fighting ability but never forgets that Hijikata's group wants the same tattoo code and treasure. Circumstances nevertheless force cooperation when the 7th Division becomes a greater shared threat.

Hyakunosuke Ogata repeatedly moves between ally and enemy. Sugimoto distrusts Hyakunosuke Ogata's emotional detachment and willingness to kill, and their conflict becomes especially personal once Asirpa is endangered.

Genjirou Tanigaki first encounters Sugimoto as a member of the 7th Division's orbit. Their relationship changes considerably after Genjirou Tanigaki spends time among Asirpa's family and increasingly separates his own choices from the military pursuit of the gold.

Wilk never becomes a simple ally or enemy in Sugimoto's eyes. Sugimoto's primary concern is what Wilk's history means for Asirpa, and he becomes determined that she should be able to decide what to do with the legacy her father left behind.