Is Ogata ACTUALLY a Psychopath? | Golden Kamuy

[@Hortenseyounka]

Great video, it's the best take on Ogata's character ! I would like to add that he doesn't kill randomly or is a death machine as some people says. In one of his early scenes, he clearly doesn't want to kill Ashirpa's grandma and cousin if he can help it ("I love my grandma, so I don't want to kill others", rough translation of french translation). He doesn't even kill that much in the story. In the last arc he didn't murder anyone (edit : yes he kill one of Koito's men to take a horse), Noda even went out of his way to alter a scene in the manga release, where instead of shooting the train pilots, he commands them to leave. It surely means that Noda thought killing two random people like that was out of character for Ogata. The only senseless death he commits is the one of the beggar he uses as a decoy in the Sapporo brewery arc. It's not to redeem his character or to say he doesn't do anything wrong, but I think people greatly exagerate Ogata's trigger happiness.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I actually didn't know that about Noda altering that scene, very interesting, and thanks for the lore nugget! I agree I think Ogata is mostly just desensitized to killing, but so is true for many of the GK characters since they are war veterans. This is why it kind of irks me when people make Ogata's relationship with killing seem like something very unique to him, most of the characters are remorseless killers. (or seemingly remorseless at least)

[@Hortenseyounka]

​​@@BigBrainMongooseyeah, I was surprised when I read the manga release. I thought I remembered the scans wrong ! It's kinda sad since more people read the scan than the volumes, so it's overlook. Sugimoto is also very violent, and even if he regrets his killing in the war, sometimes he is very close to murder in cold blood and it's frankly disturbing. It's kinda strange when people view Sugi as some kind of wholesome pure man and villify more than necessary Ogata haha

[@BigBrainMongoose]

@@Hortenseyounka Yes!! I know there are multiple moments like that between scans and offcial volumes, it definitely messes with over arching interpretation for certain bigger scenes. And 100% about Sugimoto. His violence is brutal and there are dark parts of him that seem to take pleasure in violence. I love Sugimoto and I think his morals torment him in more obvious ways than Ogata so perhaps this is all reason that contribute to these differences in interpretations across fandom. Also Koito and Tsukishima are portrayed to be similarly remorseless when they kill (pre-character development), even Tanigaki who is arguably one of the kinder characters is consumed by bloodlust in moments, Shiraishi our comic relief, is still more than happy to take people out to secure his own safety, and of course our leaders Hijikata and Tsurumi are very comfortable with killing and destruction for the sake of their respective bigger picture - really i could keep listing characters but I guess I should stop here 😂

[@Hortenseyounka]

​​@@BigBrainMongooseyeess !! I think exactly the same about the violence of other characters. And people seem to forgot that the theme of remorse and guilt (of killing) are only in Sugimoto and Ogata's character arc haha You should really do other character studies, or even a study of the themes of Golden Kamuy, I love your takes ! I'll wait patiently for your next video 😊

[@helpsnonehurtsnone]

Maaaannn this video took all of my disjointed thoughts about his character and put them all together for me in such a beautiful package. Thank you for your insight it was great!!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

ahh! I'm glad you liked it! Means a lot when other fans agree with my takes. ngl it was a challenge to put it all together, but definitely worth it!

[@possummagic3571]

While I disagree with some of your conclusions, I fully agree that Ogata is definitely not a "True psychopath". One of Living Deadman's main argument for why Ogata was a psychopath was because he doesn't feel guilt. Yusaku was literally the manifestation of Ogata's gulit, plain as day!! Excellent video. I hope you do a Tsurumi one in the future 🙂

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Agreed! Differences is in interpretation is inevitable in a story like Golden Kamuy, but the grander point of Ogata’s journey is spelled out rather clearly in my opinion 😫

[@aluminiumcan8566]

whoa an ogata analysis that doesn't make me wanna write an entire essay in dissagreement? 0.0 so tragic, I can no longer say everybody is wrong about this character I'm upping the number of fans who understand ogata to 3 (/light hearted) but all jokes aside, this was very good analysis (and hillarious too, i've been quoting this entire video to my friend who's never seen GK but knows i love (and love to bully) this loser cat)

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Lol!! This comment cracked me up. I’m so sorry about ruining you one liner. But also I’m glad you enjoyed the analysis! Hopefully if more people watch my video the number will keep going up 🤣 Thank you for watching and the support!

[@fluorescentgreys]

finally some good food. I’m a Sugimoto girl to the core but I was soo happy to see some GK analysis in my recommendations

[@BigBrainMongoose]

you're so real for being a Sugi girl, he's perfect! I'm also excited to know it came up in your recommendations, thank you algorithm! And thank you for the support!

[@juliusbutnotlikethat]

Incredible job!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

🥹 Thank you so much for your support 10000 x THANKS

[@grillmer2812]

this was so detailed. i sometimes think, where do you even fit all those thoughts of yours. truly your magnum opus

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Head empty other than Golden Kamuy lore, this super power is so useless haha… but it did help me right this analysis!

[@half_asleep0451]

the smartest golden kamui fan i saw on the internet! no joke! Really cool analysis now im your fan!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Ahhh!! Thank you so much 💕💕

[@ilo276]

I love how Satoru Noda writes characters so deeply on a psychological level. This was an incredible analysis!! Hope to see more of your work in the future!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I'm such a big fan of his work!! Thank you for your support!

[@sodafizz8205]

No lies were told in your video😤But in all seriousness this was a very detailed look at Ogata’s character that had so many good points. Also I know the exact video you were criticizing at the start of your vid. Because I watched it before I got into the series. Since it didn’t spoil everything about the story or Ogata, I decided to read the manga after watching it. And no hate to the creator of that video, but boy was I not prepared for how much it misinterprets this man. You are totally right about how Ogata does not fit the psychopath bill at all. Of course Ogata has serious issues, but he’s not this cold emotionless robot that feels nothing. I mean the end of his character arc and journey is about him finally accepting all his guilt, and realizing he didn’t have to choose the path he did. His guilt over the things he’s done and the life he has lived, and the horrible realization that it’s far too late to take it all back. If he was a total “psychopath” like a lot people say, those feelings of intense guilt and regret would have probably never come up for him. Alright yapping over lol. I will now wait patiently for your Usami analysis video👀😂

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I will give kudos to the creator of that video if only because his video seems to have attracted new fans, but also the mass popularization of such an incorrect interpretation drove me a little crazy gkjhdkf (crazy enough to learn video content lol) but fr thank you for the praise! I'm glad you enjoyed my analysis, and found it to be more true to the character! I will cook about Usami analysis haha

[@relaysoul5520]

I was looking forward to this video, and it totally lives up to to expectations! Your analysis shows a lot of love, care, and understanding for both the character and the narrative itself. Noda is such a great storyteller and it was very satisfying to see all of this foreshadowing/symbolism/parallels/etc picked out and explained! I'm HERE for analyses of any other GK (or otherwise) characters, if you decide to make any! (USAMI??)

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I’m endlessly thrilled to know you enjoyed it!! Noda is my god, his writing is so exciting and fun to piece through so in many ways it really was my pleasure to make this analysis. Thank you for the support!!! Hehe I will consider making future analysis after taking a little break

[@royalgutz]

thank you for making this video, i hope more people see it and understand his character with more clarity. i think some confusion of the claim that people make labelling him as a "psychopath" comes from how unwavering his facial expression is as well and conflating this with a perceived lack of emotion and connection towards situations and people alike. while it can be difficult understanding true intentions behind a deadpan expression he's certainly full of emotions, his dead stare isn't an inherent sign of apathy. i'm glad you also included the relationship between ogata and koito, i feel like it's a bit of an overlooked dynamic despite being important to each character and narrative, especially in koito's backstory where, as you mentioned, we see a rare moment of empathy from ogata. such a subtle moment that adds more depth to his character. i hope you make more like this as it's evident you put in a lot of love, effort and time into it ^_^

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Man, I totally agree with you about the emotions he feels, and he handles them poorly, leading to one bad choice after the next. Also maybe people miss the point of Ogata's character because it takes paying attention to subtext to pick up on the hints about him, and also you have to make it to the end of the manga where Noda really spells it out. I guess due to anime being more popular than manga not a lot of current fans understand everything that's going on there... But boy does it tick me off to see the psychopath take get so much traction when I feel it is so wrong T.T

[@jeffscrungle5432]

This video is so good!!! I can’t wait to see what you make in the future!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Omg thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

[@buttsmgutts]

Usami analysis when?????

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Oh god… Sounds like I’m really gonna have to do it 😨

[@watabevi4182]

PLSSSS

[@KaregoAt]

​@@BigBrainMongoose PLEASE that's my boy

[@mboseman2895]

Awesome analysis! Especially with Usami and Koito. Look forward to your future videos.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Usami and Koito are two of my favs outside of Ogata hehe so im glad you liked those parts. Thank you for the support!

[@teetea7734]

This was a very well thought out and put together analysis of one the best antagonists of Golden Kamuy!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@nic558]

Commenting to boost haha. This was really good!! This is probably my fav dissection video of a character. I’m soo excited for the final season. I just wish they gave us SOME kind of update by now

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thanks fr fr!! I also cant wait I’m both scared and excited at the same time! Hopefully we will get some news soon

[@dinapekkere5732]

Wow, such a great job! A perfect analysis with funny, artistically made visuals. Enjoyed it so much and ready for the next one to come!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thank you

[@perotekku]

Aight, now we need an hour long video for each character, they're all so unique and nuanced. Always happy to see any Golden Kamuy content, definitely slept on in the West.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Haha man how id love to do this if I had the time for it! Thanks for watching and for the support!

[@birdmaster1008]

This was so good! It sums up ogata's character and why he's my fav pls do the other characters im begging you 🙏

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thank you so much!! I also love Ogata, knowing other Ogata lovers approve makes me feel extra good! Hehe I will think on making more analysis! It’s a lot of work but also very fun

[@ifLifeWereAnAnime]

That conflict of Ogata, are we really free or are we simply a result of our circumstance is so human...he chose to accept he was made into who he was so in a way anything you accept become your identity. If he was born like this or not is in a way irrelevant, the moment he decided he was born broken he became that. I feel very close to Ogata in this sense...sometimes I cannot see clearly what was me and what made me before I even became concius of it.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Agreed he’s a very human character at his core! Golden Kamuy is a story about flawed people and I love it do much for that

[@Rooshimi]

thank you for making this and being the smartest GK fan on youtube

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Hehe thank you so much!!

[@relaxedayax437]

What a video omg!! I would 100% trust you with making a character analysis of anyone on Golden Kamuy

[@BigBrainMongoose]

thank you so much! I may end up doing more one day because Golden Kamuy is all I think about lol!

[@katenikii]

Thank you so much for this! What a beautiful character dive in ❤

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thank you for watching!!

[@tenshidotexe]

AMAZING ANALYSIS!! I'm so privileged to have been there to see this vid slowly get put together !!! loved the tsurumi propaganda.... it's what he would have wanted ♥ great video and I loved the editing and your voice!! mwah!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Im glad you enjoyed it! Seriously and thank you for the support T.T

[@houseplant284]

Splendid!! Well analyzed and i think you packed in everything that was necessary!! When i read the manga parts about him trying to get attention from his mom the dots started to connect

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Yes! It all starts with mommy issues... But in all seriousness thank you!

[@soupyflapjack]

yayyyy i finally watched it, and it was worth all the waiting and the hype hahsahhsah you did a fantastic job! so glad that we as a fandom now have one (1) good video essay 😅

[@BigBrainMongoose]

thank you for watching

[@PokeMasterKelly]

wait now that i think about it tsurumi literally played on everyone’s daddy issues. ogata, koito, asirpa, kirishima 😭😭😭 bruhhhh

[@BigBrainMongoose]

He’s the master!! Daddy issues abound, might as well use them >:)

[@ChrisSummers-AlienFaeRE]

-•-__-•-

[@hteteaindraykyaw996]

Who is Kirishima?

[@ChrisSummers-AlienFaeRE]

@hteteaindraykyaw996 k irish ima 🍀👁

[@Meronpan41141]

Absolutely perfect analysis, I have no points to disagree, and the video itself was super cool and funny haha also USAMI ANALYSIS WHEN

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I’m really glad you liked it!!! Usami analysis (starts sweating like Kadokura…) I will have to think about it but maybe!

[@Buruzaitama]

You did an amazing job! Analyzing part by part of the manga and his relationship with the other characters (I do need an Usami analysis now xD). I like your narrative too! It's easy to understand for someone with poor English like me. ♥

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thank you so much!! I’m really glad you liked it and happy to hear that it was easy enough to follow along - I was worried I wouldn’t be as good in that respect because performance is not my strong suit! Hehe I accidentally teased an Usami analysis, sounds like I may have to commit LOL

[@mryen5767]

This is one of the best gk character analysis I’ve seen, in my opinion. Your video helped me understand Ogata more. I was able to make my own conclusive thoughts about him as a character. Even the, in hindsight, very glaring themes of his guilt throughout the story. I’m sorry if this was confusing to read 😭😭 I’m just very grateful for the things you decided to cover in this video. Excitedly waiting for your Usami analysis!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Im honored to know my video led you to new conclusions about the character! Thank you for watching!

[@buttsmgutts]

10/10 video. Wish there was more tsukishima

[@BigBrainMongoose]

“Wish there was more Tsukishima” a universal truth…

[@seallover108]

loved this vid, very well said.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thank you!!

[@Surffley]

THIS IS AMAZING PLS CONTINUE TO MAKE VIDEOS !! 🙇🙇🙇🙇

[@BigBrainMongoose]

thank you! I will do my best!

[@PokeMasterKelly]

yayyyy i’m one of the 12 fans !!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Yay! What a fun club haha

[@im2lazyy]

"Ogata wants tsurumi to be his mommy" bruh this got me good such a nice video with details I have missed while reading the manga, memes and art im glad someone made a vid on ogata and appreciating this masterpiece of a story waiting for the next one :)

[@BigBrainMongoose]

@@im2lazyy haha im glad you liked that one, I make myself laugh but dont expect anyone else to agree with my stupid humor 😂😂 Seriously thank you for the praise all around!! It means a lot 💕💕

[@im2lazyy]

@@BigBrainMongoose I love it, keep it up

[@2channelfudanshi]

Been wanting golden kamuy analysis on yt! This is so good and for your first vid the editing is pretty good 👍 keep it up! Ill definitely be subscribing.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thanks for the positive feedback! I definitely learned a lot while making this video :)

[@Grinyachito]

fantastic analysis!! thank you so much for this video you‘ve done an amazing job at putting together everything important about his inner workings

[@BigBrainMongoose]

He is a looser and we love him for it! I’m glad you liked it! It was important to me too 😂😂

[@angellover02171]

I really like that Ogata is out for himself, and he can clock when he's being played.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

he's a sneaky one, I enjoy independent characters

[@guneshtoprak3355]

Took a big sigh of relief and went thank god a smart person when the vid started. Ty u get it. Even the little blurb at the begging explaining the plot was so on point

[@BigBrainMongoose]

THANK YOU! I'm very happy to be considered a smart person (first time ever) haha

[@brittle_petals]

This was excellent, I want to kiss your giant huge brain! ❤❤ Very interested in an Usami analysis if you're feeling it 👀

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Hehe thank you for the smooch! I feel like enough people have asked for an Usami analysis now I have to commit 😂😂

[@Iekunk]

YOU COOKED AND SAID IT ALL WHAT I WAS THINKING !! ogata whole story is about guilt

[@BigBrainMongoose]

He feels guilt and there is no way around that! I believe it should be apparent to anyone who’s read the entire manga! I’m surprised that some people don’t agree. Thank you for watching my video!

[@Geuelthefool]

Well, I came to this video looking for some validation. I watched the infamous "Ogata, the Perfect Psychopath" and kinda agreed with it for a while until I thought about him and it stopped making sense. Actually, I'm pretty sure that video got me to read Golden Kamuy, but I don't think I had watched it fully, I eventually came back and watched it again after finishing reading. Ogata has got to be my favorite tragic character; I did not expect that ending for him at all. His ending really hit like a truck that got me to see that he was suppressing his real feelings. He just became so much more interesting, understandable and relatable (not literally) after that, for most of the story I viewed him as a wildcard and was hard to get emotionally attached to. I think going into the story with the idea that he was a psychopath kind of messed my vision up. Pretty sure it was one of those you only see what you're looking for, power of suggestion type of things. I saw alot of comments under the "perfect psychopath" video about Ogata, I can't help but feel these guys are missing the picture, I guess it is up to interpretation though. Nice video!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

It's interesting to hear your journey with Ogata as a character considering how you learned about him. You're not the only person I've talked to that had a similar experience of watching that video, getting into the story, and changing their mind about what the character represents -- for that I gotta tip my hat to the psychopath video bc it at least is doing a job of getting more people into GK! I'm glad you ended up reading the story for yourself. Ogata is also one of my favorite characters from the story although I love the whole cast a great deal. I have to agree I think a lot of people see what they wanna and miss the point, I sand my truth in this vid though, the rest is up to the viewer to decide haha

[@meredythalbright6521]

Dude this made me want to watch the show so badly

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thank you! You should definitely watch the show 😏😏

[@buchelaruzit]

when the person starts the video mentioning their beef with the word 'psychopath' you know it's gonna be good and they're trustworthy. anyway PLEASE usami video whenever

[@BigBrainMongoose]

haha thank you for saying! The Psychopath/Sociopath debate is definitely a huge pet peeve of mine. I will work on that Usami analysis since it seems people are really interested!

[@civilprotectionofficer858]

I'm pretty sure he still a psychopath, the medical term for this is aspd or antisocial personality disorder, we don't know much about his father, but judging from his antisocial behaviour towards ogata and his mother he probably a psychopath too, aspd is mostly genetic, but how it manifests is largely depends on childhood, Ogata defenetly got bad childhood. One neurobiologist described 2 types of psychopathy. Frontal lobe anomaly and nucleus anomaly. Tldr frontal lobe one is probably usami, armchair psychologist usually call them "sociopath", and nucleus one is more genetic in nature and more calculated and cold, armchair psychologists call them "psychopaths" but they still feel emotions, usually very primitive ones, they have hard time understanding sadness, they usually bored all the time because of their condition, most of them very talkative because they usually have decent childhood. Ogata is very complex character, he is defenetly fearless, even when captured by sugimoto he doesn't loose his cool, but at the same time he smiles when asirpa shoots him in the eye and laugh like crazy when escaping from others. I don't want to disappoint you guys but I think the author himself doesn't know what is going on in Ogata's mind, still one of my favourite characters

[@cornflowersky316]

I'm smiling watching the video along with listening to you (normally im a video essay in the background person) I'm four mins in and I'm hooked (look at the run time) oh thank you and thank god I now have something to watch while I eat❤. (ngl that image of freud pops up every time anybody says he's unfeeling 'psychopath' bastard)

[@BigBrainMongoose]

The way Freud unintentionally became my avatar in this analysis is... a bit concerning hahaha. But enjoy! and enjoy your meals 😂

[@fan4every1lol89]

One of my favorite antagonist in manga

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Same here, I love him

[@akemip13]

First of all, English is not my first language, so I apologize if anything is grammatically strange in this comment. Secondly; thank you very much for the video, and I couldn't agree more with you on everything you said, since I watched/read/followed Golden Kamuy, I had some reservations about the idea of Ogata being a representation of a "psychopath", since there are so many layers to the character that go against that idea. So seeing such a well-informed, well-explained and informative video about a subject that I've only been thinking about in my head is so refreshing! I'd even like to point out an addition, Because I remember (I'm too lazy to search exactly for the page and the interview) that in two official materials of Golden Kamuy, Ogata was presented with an interesting trait about himself, Which is the fact that he has a certain "resentment" towards hurting/killing elderly people, as he has a fondness for his grandparents. (Spoiler ahead) I remember that he gives Nikaido a speech that the only reason he doesn't kill Arsipa's grandmother in that part where he is trying to kill Tanigaki, is because he is fondness for his grandparents, and even added something along the lines of "don't make me do this". Which wouldn't make sense for a "psychopath", since in theory it was advantageous for him to just kill everyone here and fleet. And I also remember that there is an interview that says that Ogata left a gift for an old man who took care of him during the period he was recovering after having run away from Sugimoto and his group. Which was, if I'm not mistaken, just dried fish that he caught himself, the same thing he did for the captain of the ship he used to return to Hokkaido. What kind of psychopath is this who has a need to pay a favor instead of just leaking without measuring efforts to a stranger? Anyway... Ogata is nothing more than a family issues boy who needed a lot of therapy, But he ended up only hearing advice from people like Usami and Tsurumi.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful and supportive comment! I’m happy that you enjoyed my video, and I’m glad to read those points you added to support the argument. These are great points! Also your English is great, so don’t worry. Thanks again 💗

[@kainetashi1571]

I REMEBER telling someone on tiktok to make a charcter analysis on how ogata was just a dude who wanted Tsurumi to be locked in his basement

[@Margotsecretlaundromat]

i hope this ratio the perfect psychopath video, cinema perfection

[@BigBrainMongoose]

haha thank you!

[@atpsoldat6108]

This video is all but an explicit response to Living Deadman's video on how Ogata is a perfect psychopath. I liked that video but disagreed with its conclusion that Ogata feels no guilt or remorse in his action. It's funny since in that video, I made a comment on how Ogata actually does feel guilt and that he's only taking the path of a "defective" because he feels he has to; this video basically mirrors my sentiment on Ogata as a character. If you really going to make an Usami analysis, make sure to title it "Usami, the ACTUAL Perfect Psychopath" as a fun riff on the other video.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Yes, I won't pretend that video wasn't my main motivation for my own analysis. I'll give Mr Living Deadman credit since it seems his video has introduced Golden Kamuy to many new people. But as far as most of his takes went I really couldn't agree with them, and it motivated me to release a more official version of my own interpretation. I'm glad you agree with my thoughts! Haha as for the Usami analysis I will have to cook a little bit! But since people seem interested in that, I'm happy to try my hand at it.

[@PauloGarcia-sp5ws]

Love Ogata, he's an interesting character.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

100% he is! I really love him too

[@zk1914]

I kinda agree with the "perfect psychopath" video because Ogata really does see things as wrong or right by his own judgement. He does manipulate for his own gain, but that doesnt mean he has to be good at it. In certain moments where he fails manipulation are during tense moments and he has to pull things out of his ass. If Asirpa wasnt told Sugimotos dreams, she wouldn't have known he was lying. He manages it most of the time, but goes so far he digs himself in a hole he doesnt realise because of his pride. But i like the fact he craves attention from his mom, his dad and even his brother (as he wanted his brother to be as fucked up as him so he could relate with someine who is blood related) Also i felt like his su1c1de was also a final "fuck you" to the main cast, because to him, there couldnt possibly be anyone who coukd take him down but himself But i love both videos talking about my meow meow boy!!!

[@nicholasbodo4327]

Hope we videos on Tsurumi & Usami too

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I have been seriously considering Usami at least! Tsurumi would be a real challenge mode analysis haha not sure if I'm ready...

[@nicholasbodo4327]

@@BigBrainMongoose It’s ok, Tsurumi himself is a beast

[@snowblind9551]

It's worth mentioning that Noda confirmed that Ogata was smiling behind his mask when he was consoling Noito. So it was empathy, but also a very twisted and selfish empathy.

[@picklerick8785]

I'm an Iraq War veteran, as well as a professional historian so this is obviously my favorite manga and anime of all time, partially because it does not make war, warriors, and veterans into stale victim stereotypes, especially in the context of Meiji era Japanese culture. Presentism is the worst thing you can shoehorn into a story, and this one avoids that so well. This is the most important point I can make about Ogata. The war didn't make Ogata, the 27th Regiment's Carlos Hathcock, the monster he is, any more than it made Lt. Tsurumi, Sgt. Tsukishima, Nikaido, and Usami into monsters-they were ALREADY monsters before 203 Meter Hill. Lt. Tsurumi is choosing his misfit toys before his brain gets damaged and before they all go to war. Wilk is a monster, and he never went to war. One could argue that the least mentally damaged character is Hijikata, who has seen more war than all the other characters combined. Mental illness runs in families, and Ogata's mother was cursed with it, so Ogata likely was indeed born that way. I knew dudes like Ogata in the Marine Corps. Loners, misanthropes, weirdos, the ones you sense you can't trust. You can smell there's something wrong with them, and they are generally excluded from the close as brothers bond in a good combat unit, which, of course, exacerbates their general assholery and creepiness.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I truly can’t tell if you’re agreeing or disagreeing with my take, though I’ll say I agree for the most part with what you’re said here. As I’m more fluent in literature analysis and psychology, I can’t speak as conclusively on the historical element, though I thank Noda for teaching me so much about this time period and the cultures involved in it. I definitely agree projecting modern and also western values onto this story and its characters is a sure fire way to misinterpret intent, but since this is a work of fiction released in modern times, I don’t think it’s wrong to compare familiar themes (such as discussions of mental illness) with the ones at play in the story. I’d agree Ogata inherited his mother’s mental illness though we can only speculate that since the text doesn’t explicitly confirm this idea, it is still a fairly logical assumption. I think there are many disorders out there that could explain Ogata’s (and his mother’s) behavior a lot better than antisocial personality disorder, same with some of the other characters you mention, but it’d still be only speculation- besides I’m not sure how actually relevant a specific diagnosis is to appreciating the plot and interactions. Where I’d disagree with you however is the notion that any of the characters are “monsters” even Wilk though I know he is detested by many fans - most likely for the perceived hypocrisy of his actions - quite a human flaw, I’d say. Where I think GK excels is providing incredible dimension to all those characters who commit heinous atrocities by showing us their vulnerabilities (aka humanizing them). Not to be confused with trying to redeem them, of course but every single character on your list shows signs of humanity that makes me feel for them no matter what. I’d say this about Usami as well who is more or less inarguably a psycho by most fan’s interpretations. And beyond that for the more heroic characters in the plot, like our beloved protagonist Sugimoto, he is still quite unhinged and bloodthirsty, which makes for a very compelling character but I’d hesitate to call him a good person outside of the lens of the narrative that depicts him as a selfless hero. Anyway it’s always fun to theorize what the hell is wrong with the cat man. I’d emphasize that the time and culture are not to be detached from his actions and making assessments on what the hell is wrong with him.

[@catsdontalwayslandontheirf9369]

The first video I watched about this anime was the “ogata is a psychopath” one and after reading/watching the manga it felt so wrong to call his character that. I feel like a lot of the nuisance of the character is lost in the fact that it’s just easier to assume he is from his actions and not look into his motivations.

[@catsdontalwayslandontheirf9369]

Anyways thank you so much for this video!!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I will again thank the original video maker for introducing GK to people but also feel validated knowing someone who was introduced to the material in this chronology feels the way you do! I agree with what you’re saying and it’s part of why I made my own video! I’m glad you found my video and that you liked it!!

[@3284es]

let her cook 🔥🔥 but seriously I don't understand the psychopath take at all, his whole story is about guilt. Thanks for the great dive in

[@BigBrainMongoose]

You and me both! Thank you for watching!

[@veiby-hevn]

この御意見が好きです

[@HellBreaker]

he's just like me fr

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Gomen oomfchan 😭jk I also relate to parts of him. Like being hot for Tsurumi for example

[@HellBreaker]

@@BigBrainMongoose you're so real for that

[@wolverinesass6766]

thank u. oh great Big Brain Mongoose, for this fantastic breakdown

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Ur welcome, my child 😌

[@BG-xn5tu]

Peak.

[@seizurecandy]

YEAHH THE KITTY MEOW MEOW

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Good kitty… hehehe

[@nessancia]

make another golden kamuy video this was a banger

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I’d love to make more in the future!

[@kr1spyfish]

aah this was such a great analysis! ogata's a total dick and i hate him but he's such an interesting character, it's irked me for awhile that people just simply define him as completely remorseless and unfeeling because that's something that i'd say was pretty clearly disproved later on

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Hehe glad you liked it!

[@heath7586]

WHOOOHOOOOO

[@pePs_Kab4ch0g]

FANTASTIC ANALYSIS!!! I'm a proud Ogata hater but the way ppl misunderstand his character makes me foam at my mouth. You did such a great job breaking him down I'm honestly speechless- just WOW. Hate this stinky cat man but have to admit Noda did an incredible job writing his character, and u did an amazing job explaining it all!! Would love to hear your thoughts on my precious bby Usami too, but no pressure ❤

[@BigBrainMongoose]

this video caters to Ogata haters bc it's 50 mins of me dunking on his ass LOLOL Honestly it's all thanks to Noda's incredible writing skills that the character seems so complicated (when he's really not that complicated). im being tempted with precious bby Usami analysis fr

[@animationunlimited2958]

Don't you just love characters so deep that people actually debate one who they really are?

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Haha i will go to war for blorbo

[@mary-kd4pv]

I AM SEATED

[@ifLifeWereAnAnime]

Loved it. Made me think a lot of different ways about Ogata. However I'm not even sure having no guilt can make one a "psychopath" or not. Many serial killers have surrender themselves to police. Some showned guilt , the guilt might not make them stop their crimes but they are not emotionless equally for all living beings . Ted Bundy was a pretty fun uncle but not a great boyfriend....also unlike the myth srlund him he was notoriously akward and almost got caught many times trying to "fool" his victims with silly stories and costumes ..psychopaths are not charming except may be in movies . Same with other cases of serial murderers ...Some were very capable of living their families but being quite ruthless with everyone else like Kuklinsky "The iceman" etc... There isn't one line that can be drawn imo except your actions speak for themselves. Some serial killers spare some victims and kill others. Some sore pets but kill him and etc... There isn't a perfect psychopath except imo one go the most clear examples of remorseless was Richard Ramirez the night stalker. However if one guy kills feels bad but keeps killing then his emotional conflicts are meaningless he is a "psychopath" in any meaningful sense.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Im glad you enjoyed the video, I suppose it’s challenging to discuss (given my thoughts on the word psychopath and its validity). I don’t necessarily think all serial killers are “psychopaths” as the word is understood- I also wouldn’t describe Ogata as a serial killer as I understand the word. But I think I understand your point 🙌

[@ifLifeWereAnAnime]

@@BigBrainMongoose I really liked your take very nuanced and the "psychopath" trope is more of a literary resource in the shared conciusness than any serious medical category, it's difficult to even speak of it in a way that makes sense outside of its protrayal in media ....I mean I really lack the medical expertise to even begin to tackle the topic in a medical setting...But I must say however one categorizes these horrible behaviours it's always a bit intriguing how people who seem normal can act with such cruelty...crime, psychology and moral ambivalence and hypocrisy in our society are topics that I really enjoy delving into and this video really hit a sting for me. I have some videos related to these topics on my channel if you ever want to check them out.

[@sunwukong6917]

I keep coming back to this video . The Usami vs Ogata dichotomy. Feeling remorse proves Ogata is capable of compassion vs Usami wjo is a total nut. However I still think by many many records all type of seriou serial murderers have show mercy selectively. Have shown selective regret and have shown to be able to direct their aggressions to selected targets while sparing others ... Again if it quacks it's a duck it doesnt matter if the duck regrets it. However I do absolutely agree Ogata is not "The perfect psychopath " whatever that may mean. The perfect psychopath imo is probably some CEO or politician. That is the highest degree of remorseless cruelty in real life.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I definitely think despite his remorse Ogata is a psychological nightmare, just not psychopath since stereotypically the defining feature of a psychopath is lack of remorse, like you say Usami is a character for a reason! Haha Anyway, i think since “psychopath” isnt a respected psychological diagnosis, it’s not easy to compare real life people to this criteria as we understand them. But as far as Ogata and other fictional characters go I guess people can do whatever they feel

[@sabakujov6832]

Golden Kamuy character analysis, guys make a wish🙏

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I wish for more Golden Kamuy character analysis 😂

[@hteteaindraykyaw996]

23:49 Tsukishima's face. 😂

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Bigtojobutt’s art is always a winner

[@mushiaushi]

Manga Spoilers! I was going to comment on how you definitely need to make an Usami video but looking through the comments I see you have already got the message. Instead I would like to say that the only time I shed a single tear when binging the entire manga was the one panel of Vasily's painting at the end. I think part of the reason this made me so emotional was because I had grown to love Vasily despite what little we knew of him and I refused to believe he had been killed so easily, especially since we never saw his body. Another reason I liked this panel was because Im a big fan of the dynamic between two snipers obsessing over each other as prey, and Vasily dropping everything to travel across a foreign country to hunt Ogata down. I loved Ogata's ending in the manga and I think it was a perfect ending for him, however, I was disappointed that we didn't get a final showdown between the two snipers. The panel of the painting made me happy because not only did it prove Vasily was still alive, it also showed the audience that he continued to think of him for the rest of his life (how could you forget the man who permanently disabled you?). And of course I love the fact that even though Vasily couldn't understand Japanese and therefore never knew Ogata's nickname or reputation as a cat, he still depicted him as one in the painting. Vasily also refused to ever sell the painting. Sorry for the little ramble, Im probably the only person who even cares about that singular panel, but for some reason Vasily ended up being one of my favourite characters so i'm not going to be ashamed to say I cried a little knowing he is alive.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

The panel with the painting is definitely a powerful one!! Thank you for watching my video and for the support! Haha im glad you are so passionate about Vasily, I love when characters move us like this, I know the feeling

[@Geuelthefool]

I don't know how I didn't notice the 1940 date under the painting or the reference to Ogata's corpse. I thought it was a painting found on his body, so when he died it was found on his corpse kinda thing. I thought he died in the sniper fight. That makes the painting so much more important/meaningful than I originally thought. Its an interpretation of Ogata's corpse😔. I thought it was just a desire of Vasily so he drew him dead. Also did Ogata's body really end up in the train? Or did vasily just find him on the ground with a bullet through his head? Did he have any idea that he shot himself?

[@Geuelthefool]

Looking at it now, I guess I also ignored the famous painter description.

[@veiby-hevn]

尾形はサイコパスじゃないってば😂 サイコパスの定義があやふやだけどさあ😂 サイコじゃなくファムファタールなのよー 動画ありがとう❤

[@BigBrainMongoose]

😂😂はい同意します！ ありがと具材ます！！💗💗

[@kek-w9w]

I quite enjoyed your video, however i have a few criticisms. The first is that you don't mention Living deadman anywhere in your video, what I find a bit disingenuous. Everyone who's watched this video has probably seen his video, and you implicitly refer to him by way of asking whether Ogata is “perfect psychopath”. While I understand that this is a broader essay on Ogata as a character, it's also a response to people like living deadman and not mentioning him seems like a sly jab at him. Especially if he ever finds this video where someone essentially response to him while not naming him even once. On that note: I think that you took the “perfect” in “perfect psychopath” a bit too serious. I don't think Living deadman meant that psychopaths are perfect manipulators, but instead are just more prone to lying compared to normal people. But I might be misremembering. It's been 9 months since I say the video, so please correct me if he really said that psychopaths are just naturally good at lying. Because I wouldn't agree with that whatsoever. A bit of constructive criticism: Your tone is a bit flat and jokes like “I'm the smartest Golden Kamuy fan on KZbin” can go over peoples heads due to this and if you want that people read the manga pages you put on screen, you shouldn't move them so much imo. This is more a question than criticism but still: Is it possible that you are not a big fan when people glorify these “literally me” characters like Kiyotaka Ayanokoji from Classroom of the elite, Joker or, well, Ogatat. Because you called Ogata a "Incel" which baffled me a bit because I don't he is one in the slightest. Maybe a bit when it comes to Asirpa, but that's most likely not because she's a woman. Then it made me think that people like Incels are fans of characters like Ogata. Which promted me to write this section. Because I don't like that, too. Aside from that, I really think you nailed it. When Living Deadman's video first came out 9 months ago (how time flies...) I wrote a giant wall of text which unfortunately got buried in the comment section where I brought up a lot of the points you mentioned in your video, so I'm happy to see people disagreeing with this incredibly popular video. And I honestly find it baffling that Living Deadman didn't mention anything that went against his interpretation. Like, you know, the character you claim to be a psychopath saying that he felt immense guilt over killing his brother, while you claim in your video that psychopaths can't feel empathy or remorse. Another thing I want to mention about Ogata is that if he really was a psychopath, then it would make him a worse written character. Because this would mean that Ogata doesn't change over the course of the story. He would keep being a psychopath over the entirety of the story while, in your interpretation, he would be humanized more and more and our interpretation of him would change. It's funny what you said at the end of Ogatas backstory because this was exactly what I thought of him when I came to this point in the story. The way Ogatas story is structured is actually very similar to Johann in Monster, if you've read that. Over and over again, the question is raised what made Johann “the Monster” and over and over again these revelations are revealed to be false. Until we get to the last few pages of the story, where it's actually revealed what made Johann the way he became. Tl;dr Very good stuff, a few issues though.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Hey there, I'm glad you liked my video, I agree that if Ogata were a psychopath he'd be a much less interesting, development and change is part of what makes characters dynamic and compelling. I'm in the middle of watching the Monster anime, so I don't have the full story yet, but I know Johann is a popular mention on the subject of psychopath characters (can't say conclusively for myself yet, I'm still in the early stages of the story). For your criticisms - livingdeadman is not mentioned because I'm not really trying to rag on him (he like everyone is entitled to his opinion), and he's not the only person who feels this way about Ogata. But i did watch his video and I'm fairly confident about the arguments he made in his essay. Regarding my tone, I will just hope people will understand when I'm joking, and if they don't best of luck to them XD About me calling Ogata an incel, it was also just a little joke because I think it's funny to talk about him like that. He has a weird relationship with women: Asirpa, his mother, and even makes some odd comments about Inkarmat. That combined with his negative charisma, I just took it and ran. You're sort of right though, it's not that I don't like characters like that -clearly, I do love Ogata - but I get a bit annoyed with certain perceptions of this type of guy.

[@Geuelthefool]

How would Ogata have known that Sugimoto's favourite food was dried persimmons?

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I don't think he would know unless Sugimoto told him, but if you're talking about the scene with Asirpa, I think it would have been smarter of him to just say "Sugimoto never mentioned any food"

[@Geuelthefool]

You something I just realized is that Ogata's name is the cat in Portuguese. O = the, Gata= cat. Pretty sure it's just a coincidence cause Gata is the female form of the word for Cat. Is Ogata his first name or last name anyway?

[@NessaLUV8174]

This video made my heart hurt 🥺💔

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Im sorry 😭❤️‍🩹

[@jaqueknight6625]

"Just like me incels" Ive been attacked...

[@Ramjambam]

Wow so many views! Still staying up all night refreshing the page?

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Better than cable

[@Bonibello]

The gall to call Ogata the perfect psychopath when Johan Liebert is right over there.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Im still in the middle of a Monster so I can’t say conclusively! But I think you may have a point 🤣🤣

[@qaztim11]

I think one of the problems that is stumping GRRM with Winds and Spring is that the story wants to have a turn to the meaningful and transcendant, but there is such a pre-conceived notion (among critics and fans, mostly due to the show) that the story is "nihilistic, grimdark, etc" that there is no higher meaning. And this central dichotomy is a huge hurdle, how do you transition into a more classical "tolkien-esque" storytelling when most of what has come before spits in the face of tolkien? It sure can be done, other series have done it amazingly (The second Apocalypse, Book of the new sun, etc) but i can see how these 2 drastically opposite world views would make writing the conclusion of this story extremely hard, without even taking into consideration the staggering ammount of main,side and terciary characters and factions that have schemes and complex relationships with each other.

[@theFatticat]

Cooked so hard you turned my Ogata hater buddy into an Ogata hater (who gets it finally)

[@BigBrainMongoose]

now this is the highest form of praise LOL

[@kainetashi1571]

28:35 me too ogata me too

[@sprectra4344]

Shin pfp peak..

[@BigBrainMongoose]

😎

[@ChrisSummers-AlienFaeRE]

Not that Ogata needs charitable light but the lack of it is banal and snoozeworthily mundane. Reducing characters to banal archetypes to hold a story together is just foolish. In REALITY Ogata WAS dealt a shitty hand and rather than play it he played none at all. Truly living moment to moment not falling in with one cadre or another. Truly following his own path and destiny while subtly inspiring Aspira to learn of the benefits of that path while not forcing his lessons to become the same archetype construct many fall prey to and become predictable. Yuusaku sucks. He is the path Ogata would have taken if he was the lap dog his father made him into. The Lt. While seeing and using Ogata for his own ends came the closest to the role model Ogata wanted, not a "mommy" figure but a true independent individuated self actualization model human being that he could realistically use to make something of himself given the fucked up hand he was dealt. Its competing worldviews at the end of the day. Subservience to the Order of how things are and the perpetuation of that order and the will to be something else, something "other". The reason Ogata was so "bad" at manipulations throughout the whole ordeal wasn't due to lack of ability, far from it, it was his worldview. Not to force himself OR others down any one path but to give them the respect of choosing their own path, something he was robbed of up until this point. Rebellion for it's own sake is petulant and juvenile. Rebellion against order with clear intent and motive only known to yourself and acting on that is true freedom. No one barring the Lt. In his limited capacity within the army showed this off more than Ogata. Rant over lul_●

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I know more about American Girl dolls than you do

[@chupashnyapa]

литерали ми

[@NekoOmg]

Is Ogata a psychopath? Answer: yeah. Most real, registered psychopaths are losers who are only hindered by their psychopathic traits in life. Also, many psychopaths are able to experience empathy and emotions, or can even turn them on and off. So in this sense, the video only serves as additional confirmation of this theory :) However, if we take the image of a stereotypical psychopath from the movies - then Ogata, as expected, does not fit here. And this speaks to how good he is as a character! I also agree that this term is outdated and has many myths surrounding it. Therefore, most likely, the author of the video is refuting a certain set of these myths rather than a more modern scientific analogue, which fits Ogata's. Anyway, it was nice to watch a review of my favorite character, and I will gladly watch the next review of Usami!~

[@valthourne628]

I have to disagree. The thing with empathy might be true, yes, the ability to feel empathy doesn't have to be completely left out. But that alone doesn't confirm the original theory at all, because the other key points goose already went over are still not exactly fitting into the term of psychopathy. plus personally, I'd argue being seen as a form of a psychopath is what the character wants you to think of him. aside from that, psychopathy usually 'only' refers to very strong forms of other diagnoses- so even the 'real' definition of psychopathy is very outdated.

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Hey, you know, like I say in my video if that’s your take there’s not really anything wrong with that, especially since Noda doesn’t make any explicit claims one way or the other in the narrative. I’m still inclined to stick with my interpretation in the context of the nature vs nurture debate. Ogata is pretty conclusively a combination of his background and the willful choices he makes to fulfill the role of a “defective person” as he understands it. I feel he more so cosplays a psychopath than actually is one, but regardless as they say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” so is the “psychopath” 😂 hope you will find my eventual Usami analysis as entertaining

[@BigBrainMongoose]

@@valthourne628 I vibe with this! It’s a discussion that breaks my brain since I don’t see value in the term psychopath at all - the definition over time has become so contradictory it feels impossible to even talk about seriously. But I do agree, it’s not that “psychopaths” as we define them don’t feel empathy or don’t have emotions, sure ofc they do they are human beings after all. But as you say Ogata is faking it (he doesn’t know it for most of his life, but he is), i think there are many other disorders that would explain his whole thing way better than “psychopath”

[@valthourne628]

@@BigBrainMongoose yeah, that's what i think as well. In the end, if the term is already outdated even IF being used 'correctly' and not in the fictional type, I still end up thinking 'but that's just a strong form of multiple possible personality disorders'; it doesn't really define or mean anything. so what is left is breaking down the 'stereotypical psychopath' theory, which he doesn't really fit into. And from that point on still calling him a psychopath (imo) just doesn't make any sense with what I mentioned earlier. So at best he'd fall into the category of one or multiple personality disorders, since psychopathy isn't even a disorder by itself but only used as a descriptor for many possible disorders, which also makes things so much more confusing and obscure than necessary. And that's also just my own take, I think he's less 'faking' it, but rather a case of where he, consciously or not, uses his own behavior towards others to further validate his own beliefs on himself. I remember the one panel where he went something like 'the world is telling me I'm right', but thinking like that goes in both directions, usually. He'll also take negative experiences as 'proof' of him being 'defective'. At least, that's what I think.

[@serenaushy]

FIRST

[@BigBrainMongoose]

I cant believe!!!

[@jamilahs5650]

u cooked here…

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Thank you 🙏

[@McJaews]

Why Sugimoto hate? Because Ogata is a bastard man! Correct!!!

[@BigBrainMongoose]

Indeed!

[@nudgemepapi]

so he's more like a schizoid person

[@BigBrainMongoose]

he could be! really he's whatever personality disorder your heart desires

[@ondrejvasak1054]

Ahhh, the righteous fury when someone makes dumb claims about a character from your favourite anime. 😀

[@BigBrainMongoose]

It’s a mental illness really, I couldn’t resist the siren call 😭