Sakamoto Days Episode #2 Release Date and Time

Sakamoto Days is off to a great start with its series premiere, and it leaves a lot to be excited about with episode #2 and beyond. Despite the criticisms it’s been receiving since before it even started, with some more justified than others, the anime appears to be a great watch for old and new fans alike, and it’s sure to have plenty to offer, going forward.

Sakamoto Days stars Taro Sakamoto, a man who was once the world’s greatest assassin until he fell in love, started a family, and put on a ton of weight. Five years later, a retired Sakamoto is content with just running a convenience store with his family, the return of allies and enemies alike from Sakamoto’s old life nonetheless forces him to fight once more to protect the people he cares about. It’s a tried and true premise for a story that’s as fun as ever, and episode #2 will surely be a great continuation.

What Time Sakamoto Days Episode 2 Releases

Sakamoto Days streams exclusively on Netflix, which can be accessed through the app or directly through the website. Assuming there are no delays, Sakamoto Days episode #2 will premiere on Saturday, January 18 at 6:00 AM Pacific Standard Time (PST), 9:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST), and 2:00 PM Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and it will be available for streaming in both English and Japanese as soon as the series premieres.

What Happened In Sakamoto Days Episode 1?

Produced By TMS Entertainment; Directed By Masaki Watanabe

Sakamoto Days episode #1, “The Legendary Hitman”, opened with a brief summary of the life of Taro Sakamoto, the world’s greatest assassin. Sakamoto was once as ruthless and committed to his work as someone could be, but one day, he met a woman named Aoi and fell in love at first sight. After that, Sakamoto retired from being an assassin to marry Aoi, leading to the two of them having a daughter, starting a convenience store together, and Sakamoto putting on a ton of weight.

Five years later, Sakamoto has fully adjusted to retirement when Shin, a telepathic assassin he used to work with, shows up to get Sakamoto to come out of retirement. Shin, naturally, was unsuccessful in his attempts, and that was a problem because Shin was ordered to kill Sakamoto for leaving their organization if he couldn't get him to return. Shin reluctantly tried to kill Sakamoto so no one else could, but even being out of practice, Sakamoto effortlessly beat Shin in their brief fight.

Sakamoto spared Shin’s life and he and his family fed him dinner, and Shin was so touched by their kindness that he turned against his superiors to protect Sakamoto. While Shin’s psychic abilities initially gave him an advantage, the sheer number of enemies he was dealing with quickly overwhelmed him, and he was soon on his last legs. Fortunately, Sakamoto, having bugged Shin’s gun earlier, arrived just in time to save him, and rather than turn Shin away again, Sakamoto offered Shin a place to stay and a job at the family convenience store.

Sakamoto Days’ Premiere Shoots Down The Anime’s Biggest Criticism

Even before Sakamoto Days premiered, many people were criticizing the series for what they perceived as lackluster animation. The Sakamoto Days manga is famous for its dynamic and all-around gorgeous fight choreography, so people were expecting that to translate into fluid animation. Unfortunately, thanks to some lackluster trailers and an equally lackluster theme song, the animation for Sakamoto Days has been criticized for having simplistic animation that does a poor job of capturing the manga’s appeal, and people were quick to write the anime off as a bad adaptation because of that.

Fortunately, the actual anime is nowhere near as bad as people made it out to be. While some action scenes don’t feel nearly as expressive as they should and the opening is still as lackluster as when it was first released, Sakamoto Days has plenty of engaging action scenes that perfectly capture the manga’s charm, even enhancing it in some aspects. It’s not the best-looking anime someone can watch, but it’s far from being one of the worst, and anyone who’s been looking forward to it shouldn’t let the bad press the anime’s been receiving deter them.

Sakamoto Days Is On Its Way Toward Becoming One Of 2025’s Best Anime

Sakamoto Days only has one episode out right now, but it’s already off to a great start. Between the great action and the stellar comedy writing the show is exhibiting, Sakamoto Days has had one of the strongest premieres of any anime in the winter 2025 anime season, by far, and it’s bound to only get stronger with each passing episode. It has yet to be seen if the rest of the series will live up to the premiere, but at least for right now, there are few anime someone will have more fun with than Sakamoto Days.

Be sure to watch Sakamoto Days episode #2 when it releases on Saturday, January 18.