In a sea of cinematic assassins, Duke Togo stands a cut above the rest. Operating under his trademark codename Golgo 13, Togo is an elite killer who possesses near-superhuman sniping skills, making him a hot commodity on the international scene.
The 2008 Golgo 13 TV series drew elements from the manga series and the animated films to create a modernized take on the franchise, mixing a smooth detective-style narrative with a level of James Bond intrigue. Through the series' run, Golgo 13 pulled off an elaborate number of high-profile assassinations, and we've gathered the 10 best, right here! This list ranks each kill from excellent to God-like! Eat your heart out, Agent 47!
Love Is A Knife (Episode 30)
A brilliant knife-throwing expert decides to make a name for himself by killing Golgo 13 so he can assume his notoriety. To do so, he orchestrates a hit to lure Golgo 13 in and set him up for a stealth kill.
During a stage performance, Golgo 13 prepares to shoot his target, prompting his would-be assassin to hurl a knife at him for a killing blow. Sensing the incoming attack, Golgo 13 blocks it with his rifle, then turns sights on his aggressor, executing him with a single shot to the head.
The Masterpiece Assault Rifle (Episode 3)
This episode finds Golgo 13 squaring off against two highly trained ex-Foreign Legion soldiers carrying highly modified assault rifles equipped with an advanced digital scope. As a field test, the soldiers stalk Golgo 13 to prove the scope's efficiency and viability for sale around the world.
The ensuing battle takes place against the backdrop of a rally race where the soldiers hold a range advantage over Golgo 13's M-16 rifle. To compensate, he changes position several times to get in front of the rally race, using a car's headlight glare to blind one of his foes long enough to score a head shot. As the second soldier pursues with vengeance in mind, Golgo 13 dives down a hill and puts his opponent on higher ground. The soldier's gunfire misses Golgo 13 entirely due to a flaw in the scope's design when used on a slope, as opposed to flat ground, giving him an open kill-shot.
Angry Waves (Episode 31)
This episode takes place on the high seas after a group of criminals hijack a U.S. oil tanker and take the crew hostage. With time running out until they move the tanker into international waters, the authorities hire Golgo 13 to prevent their escape.
After testing the superior sniping skills of one of the criminals, Golgo 13 makes his move. He infiltrates the tanker and executes most of the criminals, leaving his sniper for last. He uses a pulley to add another level of movement onto an already rocking boat, and sets up a blind spot which proves to be a lethal combination for his enemy.
Florida Chase (Episode 25)
One of Golgo 13's most grisly kills occurs in this episode featuring an armored van used to spring an international drug lord from custody. Unable to stop the van, the U.S. hires Golgo 13 to take out the drug lord before he can escape over the Mexican border.
After analyzing the van's schematics, he acquires a specialized gun with armor piercing rounds and kills his target by shooting through the van's underbelly. The bullet travels vertically through the length the target's spinal column, before exiting out the top of the head.
At Pin-Hole! (Episode 1)
The pilot episode of the series finds Golgo 13 in hot water after a brawl in Texas lands him in the local jail. Meanwhile, a corrupt CIA informant hijacks a domestic flight and holds the passengers hostage on an airport tarmac, prompting both the FBI and CIA to spring Golgo 13 from jail in return for taking out the threat.
To pull off the job, Togo acquires a heavily modified .308 Winchester rifle, and sets off to snipe his target. However, a change in the plane's positioning forces him to adapt on the fly. From 2 kilometers out, Golgo 13 snipes his target through the cockpit window of the plane, earning him both respect and fear from the CIA.
On Large Mouth Lake (Episode 42)
Golgo 13 shows off his long-game tactics in this episode which takes place in Canada. The CIA have hired him to take out a double agent before he can escape, and uses his female accomplice to lure him out. After kidnapping her, burning her clothes and imprisoning her in a log cabin, he gifts a red coat to a woman in exchange for cleaning the kitchen.
It's all a setup to allow his female prisoner a chance to escape, using the red coat for clothing. When she attempts to make her escape with her double agent boss on a snowmobile, Golgo 13 snipes both of them with a single, difficult long-range kill-shot.
The Night of the Murder Play (Episode 34)
Golgo 13 is hired to kill a wealthy real estate mogul by a vengeful competitor. He capitalizes on his target's love of theater by infiltrating his birthday party, which includes a stage play. After setting off firecrackers which coat everyone in gunpowder residue, Golgo 13 sets about crafting a makeshift disposable gun for the final kill.
The stage performance commences, and the story progresses to a scene involving a fake gunshot using a blank, which Golgo 13 uses to mask his own shot. After striking his target dead, Golgo 13 drops the disposable gun in a soup pot, where it proceeds to melt away, denying the police a murder weapon to pin to their killer.
Deadly Shadow of the Setting Sun (Episode 14)
The American government hires Golgo 13 and another assassin of equal skill known as AX-3 to take out a secret criminal research facility attempting to weaponize poisons and toxins from deadly animal species. After accomplishing the task, both assassins prepare to go their separate ways, until AX-3 receives a call from his handler with a bounty on Golgo 13.
With one bullet left in each of their rifles, the two assassins engage in a standoff with Golgo 13's back to the facility's entrance, where deadly snakes and spiders may emerge at any moment. He uses the incoming tide to stall until sunset, which prompts a flock of bats to emerge from the cave's entrance, creating a moment of opportunity. Both assassins leap into action and score grazing rifle hits on one another before Golgo 13 finishes off AX-3 with a knife-throw to the chest.
Armored Suit SDR2 (Episode 49)
The anime's penultimate episode features Duke Togo's plane crashing into a small island being used by the U.S. military to conduct trial runs on a new kind of armored power suit with highly advanced weapons and defensive capabilities. Golgo 13 plays against the pilot of the suit by testing its weaknesses several times, before determining the appropriate kill-shot.
When the pilot becomes mentally unstable and terrified of his opponent, it gives Golgo 13 the chance to fire a single round into the barrel of its shoulder-mounted flamethrower unit, setting off an explosion that destroys the armored suit, and kills its occupant.
The Glass Fortress (Episode 19)
Arguably Golgo 13's most outrageous and incredible kill occurs in this episode featuring a villain named Vargas Walton, a millionaire who keeps young women on his island fortress for the purpose of harvesting their organs to generate funds for terrorism. The fortress was designed specifically to thwart any assassination attempts, including ricochet shots that could strike a target.
Supremely confident regarding his safety, Walton is nevertheless executed by Golgo 13 after he fires a single shot from a helicopter which ricochets off of the waves created by the women frolicking in a pool, significantly changing the angle of the shot. If that weren't impressive enough, Golgo 13 immediately accomplishes a second, identical ricochet shot to take out Walton's henchman J.J., a Olympic medal sniper!