Even for viewers who are familiar with the world of anime, it's still surprising how the genre can bring something new to the table years after it's been established. Just recently, DanDaDan became a surprising hit not only because of its approach to mixing supernatural and extraterrestrial stories, but also its unique animation style. On a similar path, the new Netflix series Sakamoto Days, based on the manga series created by Yuto Suzuki, quickly establishes its own identity, and it might just be one of the year's best shows — depending on how it's handled in the coming weeks.
Since Netflix is dropping episodes weekly, as has become common for both anime and K-dramas on the platform, this review covers only the first two episodes of Sakamoto Days. Despite not revealing much of where the story is going, these episodes provide a pretty clear picture of what we can expect in terms of the series' tone while also introducing a threat that will likely play out in the weeks to come.
What Is 'Sakamoto Days' About?
Sakamoto Days follows the titular character, Taro Sakamoto (voiced by Tomokazu Sugita in the original subtitled series and Matthew Mercer in the English dub), a professional and ruthless killer who is feared by criminals and admired by his peers. His life changes drastically when he meets a woman at a convenience store and decides to retire from the assassins' world in order to settle down and start a small business. Five years later, Sakamoto has put on a lot of weight and established a family, but enemies from his past start to resurface, threatening his new quiet life.
It can sometimes be difficult to find the balance between extreme violence and comedy without undermining either of the two. More often than not, stories that try to walk that particular tightrope tend to make their violence so excessive that it's hard to take them seriously. Make no mistake, in Sakamoto Days, the violence is over the top, but it's all along the same lines as franchises like John Wick, which exaggerate their more brutal scenes without sacrificing the potential for audience investment.
'Sakamoto Days' Makes It Clear That Its Protagonist Is a Dangerous Guy
Image via Netflix
From the get-go, Sakamoto Days understands that it needs to establish its protagonist as a dangerous figure. So, we get a sequence in Episode 1 ("The Legendary Hit Man") that makes it clear why Sakamoto became such a legendin the assassin world while also demonstrating that the anime takes its action sequences pretty seriously. Despite being exaggerated, the violence can be pretty gruesome at times, and aside from working in the context of the series, it also renders the action scenes pretty distinct from the comedic ones.
However, the show's humor also works pretty well. The only setback is that some of its subjects of comedy have become outdated through a contemporary lens. More than once, Sakamoto Days makes a point of playing how fat Sakamoto is for laughs, with parts of his body bobbing up and down so you never forget how big he's become in his retirement years. The good thing is that the show doesn't linger too much on those jokes, and, at least for the first two episodes, it doesn't suggest that Sakamoto's shape has affected his deadly abilities at all. This is one good counterpoint to the fatphobic jokes: Sakamoto's enemies underestimate him because of his weight, and it's always great fun to see them learn their lesson the hard way.
Of course, two episodes isn't much for a definitive evaluation of an entire season. But, from its initial premise, it feels like Sakamoto Days has enough promise to deliver a highly entertaining batch of episodes. By the end of Episode 2 ("Vs Son Hee And Bancho"), you have a pretty clear vision of what the structure of the show will be, as well as the villains who get into motion to take Sakamoto down. Whether the series continues to repeat its enemy-of-the-week format or evolves to something else, it'll be a win-win for viewers either way.
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'Sakamoto Days' Could Earn a Spot on Best Anime Lists
Image via Netflix
If it remains as good as its initial two episodes, Sakamoto Days will be yet another title to join the wave of excellent stories that Japanese creators have been bringing to audiences. In the last decade alone, the shounen subgenre has been flipped on its head several times with titles like Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia and Chainsaw Man — just to name a few.
In that sense, it's also impressive how Sakamoto Days is able to join said wave of shounen stories while still doing its own thing. And it's great that the show seems primed to have a lot to offer in the upcoming nine episodes: we've barely seen the Sakamoto family together, there's certainly a lot from the lead's assassin past to be unveiled and, as the title sequence has already spoiled, more characters are set to join the main cast. A good start for the year in anime, indeed.
Netflix releases new Sakamoto Days episodes on Saturdays.
Sakamoto Days, which follows a retired hitman who is forced back into action, is already off to a promising start.
Pros
The series knows when to illustrate violence seriously and when to joke around.
The anime's action sequences help us to understand just how dangerous Sakamoto is.
The story is engaging right from the start.
Cons
The fatphobic jokes don't add anything to the story.
Taro Sakamoto, a legendary hitman who retired to run a small convenience store, finds his quiet life interrupted by former associates and enemies from his past. As threats emerge, Sakamoto must rely on his extraordinary combat skills to safeguard his family and maintain his peaceful existence. The series blends action and comedy, following Sakamoto as he navigates the dangers of his former life while trying to lead a normal life in the present.
Release Date
January 11, 2025
Creator
Yuto Suzuki
Cast
Matthew Mercer
, Dallas Liu
, Rosalie Chiang
, Rosie Okumura
, Xolo Mariduena
, Aleks Le
, Alexa Bliss
, SungWon Cho
, Dushaunt Fik-Shun Stegall
, Toru Uchikado
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
English (US) ·