the animation is just not that great at the start. the first episode has some infamous cgi effects that put people off from watching the story. it also cuts a few good arcs and some story beats (some of the protagonist's backstory stuff, weirdly).

THIS BEING SAID, i started with the anime, watched 3 seasons of it and HAD A BLAST then shifted to the manga. and if you've got a strong will and power through the cgi in the first episode, it gets you hooked in the story very easily and it IS worth it. it also gets better with every season. i would say season 3 is easily the best in terms of direction. excellent voice actors too.

thing is, its a decent adaptation but it's not spectacular, and animes are what tend to make stories blow up in the west. think dungeon meshi. golden kamuy has a troubled production because of the death of a director (iirc), season 4 suffered from pacing issues as a result, etc. its just not the best it could be. but it's still a fun time and good introduction into the story. i hope you give it a try or at least keep reading!