Saichi Sugimoto, known as “Invincible Sugimoto” and the hero of the Russo-Japanese war, has headed to Hokkaido in order to get his hands on a massive amount of gold for a certain purpose. It is an enormous amount of gold that was stolen from the Ainu people. This has suddenly presented itself to Saichi as a way for him to make a killing quickly.

The stolen gold has been concealed by the imprisoned men of Abashiri Prison and the clues for the location of it are tattoos that have been carved into the bodies of 24 prisoners within the prison.

On such an occasion, Saichi is attacked by a brown bear and is saved by a single Ainu girl. Her name is Asirpa, and the man who stole the gold killed her father. In response to Saichi’s movements, the strongest division of the north, the Seventh Division, has already been working for some time in the shadows to steal the stolen gold for themselves. And at the same time, the actions of the tattooed prisoners has also come to fruition.

Saichi Sugimoto

Voice Actor: Chikahiro Kobayashi

Saichi is a former member of the First Division of the Japanese Imperial Army. Due to his remarkable military exploits during the Russo-Japanese War, he became known as “Invincible Sugimoto” for his fierce, god-like fighting style. The “invincible” part comes from his uncommon amount of courage to always find a way out of any near-death situation and he had astounding resilience. In order to carry out the dying wish of his best friend who was slain in battle, he heads to Hokkaido excited about the Gold Rush there. When he arrives, he learns about the existence of buried gold that has been stolen from the Ainu people. There, this competition between himself, the Seventh Division of the Army which boasts of its overwhelming power, and fiendish prisoners who have escaped from their prison, begins to expand.

Asirpa

Voice Actor: Haruka Shiraishi

Asirpa is an Ainu girl whom Saichi meets in the great north. She understands Japanese, and is knowledgeable about living in the mountains and how to hunt. She has been given a name that means both “New Year” and “Future,” and she refers to herself as a “New-era Ainu woman.” Rather than strictly adhering to old customs, she has a pragmatic way of thinking. Her father was killed by the person who stole the Ainu gold, and so in order to avenge him, she begins to travel with the Saichi whom she recognizes as an excellent fighter. Whenever she finds herself in danger, Retar, a Hokkaido wolf, comes running.

Yoshitake Shiraishi

Voice Actor: Kentarou Itou

Yoshitake is a genius fugitive who is also known as the “king of escaping.” Because he is constantly escaping from prison after being locked up again and again, he is incredibly skilled at hard labor since both inside and outside of prison, that is/was his duty. He has an idiosyncratic ability to freely dislocate his joints which is very helpful if he ever finds himself suddenly tied up. For this reason, he has tools like nails and wires hidden all over his body as a countermeasure. Yoshitake is one of the 24 escaped prisoners that has the location of the stolen gold carved into his back in the form of a tattoo. However, he sees that joining Saichi in his search for the gold as a profitable plan, and thus joins them in their search.

Lieutenant Tsurumi

Voice Actor: Houchuu Oozuka

Lieutenant Tsurumi is a first lieutenant in the Seventh Division of the Japanese Imperial Army. He is an intelligence officer excelling in information gathering and his analytical abilities. His intuition is so sharp, that his superiors regard it as dangerous. During the Russo-Japanese War at the Siege of Port Arthur, he lost many of his fellow fighters due to the faulty judgement of his superiors. So, he has hatched a scheme to take over the Seventh Division in order to dispel his regrets. He is harboring an ambition full of madness to implement the command of his own military excursion to seize the stolen Ainu gold for his own military funding. The strange protector that he wears covering his forehead and gives him a very strange appearance, is to protect the grave injury he received during the Battle of Mukden.

Hyakunosuke Ogata

Voice Actor: Kenjirou Tsuda

Hyakunosuke is a private first-class in the Seventh Division of the Japanese Imperial Army. His father was the former commander of the same division and he himself, too, has an aptitude that transcends that of a normal soldier. He excels at precise shooting and as long as his target is within 300 meters, he can shoot clean through their head with precision. The soldier rifles that the Imperial Army has been utilizing for the last 30 years have excellent firing range and accuracy, but their ability to penetrate is terrible. However, with his excellent ability, he is able to take down even far away enemies. Since he is able to cunningly change his future course of action based on the circumstances, he is referred to as the ‘bat bastard.’ He is squaring off against the independent actions of Sugimoto.

Kenjirou Tanigaki

Voice Actor: Yoshimasa Hosoya

Kenjiro is a private first-class in the seventh division of the Japanese Imperial Army. Born a Matagi, a traditional winter hunter in Touhoku that makes a living off of hunting, he is knowledgeable in how to survive in the mountains. He is well-accustomed with the customs of the Matagi which prohibit sneezing and even coughing in the mountains. This makes him a rather quiet individual who does not speak much. He threw away his life in his hometown in Akita for a certain reason and volunteered to become an agriculture soldier, and even after the Russo-Japanese War, he remained with the army. After a chance encounter with Asirpa’s wolf who can sense danger, Retar, his Matagi blood has seethed.