DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

ONE SHOT ActionSAKAMOTO
ONE SHOT ActionGaraku
NOVEL ActionSAKAMOTO DAYS: Koroshiya no Method
ONA ActionSAKAMOTO DAYS
MANGA ActionSAKAMOTO HOLIDAYS
ANIME ActionSAKAMOTO DAYS Part 2
NOVEL ActionSAKAMOTO DAYS: Koroshiya no Blues

REVIEWS

• 

  saulgoodman

  80/100
  It's big boy season

  #__Spoilers ahead. Skip to to the end for a short, spoiler-free review.__

  ---

  A golden egg

  In this bloody era riddled with juvenile corpses bludgeoned by the axes of the Weekly Shonen Jump's editorial department, little hope welled in me when another potential statistic had released. Spy x Family had established itself the de facto assassin comedy series at that point in time, so low expectations in hand, I prematurely dropped it after its debut and picked it up about a year after out of passive curiosity and boredom.

  This is a review of Sakamoto Days, detailing my pleasant surprise at its solid development is unwarranted. Nonetheless, Sakamoto Days goes off without a hitch. Perhaps the primary factor to the series' potent entertainment value is how easily digestible it is, due to its lack of a power system and fantasy world-building. My personal bias holds that the aforementioned aspects can bog down enjoyment, if executed too rashly and boldly. In trade-off for deep lore or mechanics, Sakamoto Days is appreciatively straight-forward with its action and plot.

  Detailing the reluctant Sakamoto's departure from assassin retirement, it would've routinely predictive to keep the plot episodic in different assassins attempting at his peaceful life only to end at their comedic failure. However, Yuuto Suzuki does excellent in effortlessly adding in new characters and factions to give deeper flavor, while sustaining a consistent pace. Characters serve their purposes well, such as the 4 prison escapees advancing plot and boosting screen-time for side characters, akin to that one Baki arc. Perhaps what came as the most pleasant surprise to me was how well-sustained and developed the side cast was. Shin, for instance, was seemingly on the path of an irksome sidekick chasing after Sakamoto's shadow, yet has persisted in fights with grit and wit of his unique ability. Others who don't get such character development or even deep characterization nonetheless make themselves known and recognizable, such as Nagumo and Gaku, thanks to both their quirks and the relevant factions they belong to.

  Speaking on factions, it's another point of good writing in how Sakamoto isn't part of one. Rather than to champion his beliefs or position, as the JAA or Slur's group act on, Sakamoto fights to persist his mundane convenience store life. This in mind, the fights bog down to who's stronger, not who's just or unjust. The added fact that both factions are comprised of iron-blooded assassins oft kissing Death makes for quick desensitization to murder and dissipation of sympathy, leaving good, ol' adrenaline and hype behind.

  Progression-wise, I'm currently situated between being confident in the plot progression thus far and questioning curiosity to its future progression. Many characters have been well-characterized or well-known, faction relations and motives established, perhaps their courses of actions still a bit up-in-the-air, which is the most exciting aspect presently. Slur's attack on the JAA was a fantastic catalyst for the current progression-of-events and their growing presence as the antagonist aiming at Sakamoto makes readers come back every week. New characters are still being added, as well, hopefully to not be discarded as forgettable side characters, but the series has yet to have a major issue with that. Everything has and continues to look bright.

  ---

  ___ #__Sakamoto the Professional__

  Good fight scenes boil down to paneling, vector lines and impact panels. Differing opinions are welcome, that's fine. However, these three aspects are undeniably vital to how digestible and easy-to-follow fights are to readers. Clean and tidy art-styles be damned, because Yuuto Suzuki can do just fine without it. With its cast of experienced assassins in mind, he takes care with portraying both small and large body movements with vector lines to show both precision and power. It's not uncommon for there to be The Crazy 88-esque fights, and coupled with the intensity of many characters' powers, it'd be easy for an artist to lose and convolute the line-of-action. However, the paneling smoothly guides the readers' eyes, generously showering us with great impact panels supplemented by simple transitions that contrast the chaotic vector lines at times. Technical aspects aside, the fights are great. Phenomenal, even. They strive for entertainment value and damn well achieve it every time.

  Yuuto Suzuki trades detail for impact in his fights, and this applies to his characters designs, as well. Most characters are fairly distinct in appearance, the elephant-in-the-room being Sakamoto's chubbiness, which play into their characters along with their quirky personalities. Not much else I can discuss or analyze in regards to design, they're fun, diverse and make characters stand out.

  ---

  ___ #__Conclusion__ Sharing the belt with [*The Fable*](https://anilist.co/manga/94490/The-Fable/), *Sakamoto Days* is the reigning champion in the action-comedy assassin niche. As beaten-of-a-dead-horse as this statement is, it does nothing profound nor revolutionary, but executes good-to-god action and gags just as well as its cast of assassins executes their targets. Story and art share a trait of fluid consistency that maximize entertainment value and disallows the audience's attention disengagement for even a moment. Fights are generously allocated, impressive on a technical level, making the oft chaotic fights easy on the eyes with smooth transitions and hard impact panels. The adrenaline keeping you engaged, the plot progression never falters, adding new casts of characters, while not being overbearing and sustaining sufficient screen-time for its main cast. In many regards, Yuuto Suzuki takes great care in making *Sakmoto Days* a smooth rollercoaster without any bumps. I've yet to have been afflicted with the slightest thorn in my side to discuss, making it one of my most entertaining *Weekly Shonen Jump* series in the recent years.
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• 

  Benkei

  95/100
  Spoiler-free review on Sakamoto Days. More than just killing.

  ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Considerations ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ● __This is a spoiler-free review__ ● As this work is still being released, I would like to start off by saying that at the time that I'm writing, we are at __chapter 88__. If things change drastically with time, I will come back and rewrite or edit this review. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Story ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The story is centered around Sakamoto. A top-grade hitman who decided to retire for the sake of love. With retirement, he puts all the killing behind him, gains a lot of weight, and starts to run a convenience store. Five years later, all his hopes for a normal life are crushed as he sees that he can't run away from his past. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Art Style ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The art style on Sakamoto Days is just absurdly good, and I doubt you will be disappointed with it. There are many points that I can raise here. First and foremost, as there's a lot of action in this manga, I want to talk about the amazing work when drawing fast-paced scenes. The distortion in the background and the distortion in the extremities just makes you feel like things are going extremely fast. There's also the choreography of CQC (close-quarters combat), which is amazing as well. You can get a real feel for how the combat is evolving, how the body moves, and you can really understand how the characters nail down an immobilization or evade certain attacks.  The backgrounds, characters, and shadows are also very well made. As you can see from all those panels, there is nothing to complain about. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Characters ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ There are a really nice number of characters in this manga. Each one has their own style, their own design, and a different mentality. Some background characters have it a bit less dense, which is expected, but the core characters are really well made.  Sakamoto himself is amazing as a main character. At first, he looked a bit strange to me, not being talkative and extroverted as many manga MC's are, but as the story evolves and you get to know more about him, you just start to really understand him. Besides all that, Sakamoto also brings the core lessons that we expected from previous generations of shonen. Of having friends, someone to protect, and how strong you can get when you're fighting for others. No complaints on this matter. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Conclusion ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ If you're like me, you skip everything and read only the conclusion because you don't want to get spoiled with other themes. So I will try to be brief on this point: __Read it.__ Sakamoto Days has pretty much everything a top-grade manga needs. Beautiful art, amazing combat, nice characters, and an amazing story. At the same time, you get a hero-model to look up to. Someone who values the lives of those close to him more than his own. 
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• 

  baba13

  70/100
  Wholesome Assassins, Found Family and Brilliant Action!

  Sakamoto Days is part of the new trend of Shonen where it’s more comedic in nature. Similar to Spy x Family which is a parody of the espionage genre and doesn’t pretend to follow the laws of physics. In the case of Sakamoto Days, it’s more focused on Assassins and Conspiracy with an evident Family Life and Found Family theme to it. I don’t think it’s as well executed as its influences like Gintama, Spy x Family or even The Way of the Househusband, however, it’s an entertaining ride. I would say the tone in the latter half of the series (102 chapters in) can be a tad inconsistent. The storyline does become a tad too serious at moments, but it’s not too big of a deal. It ultimately isn’t so significant, as the action becomes more prominent and outrageous. Furthermore, the author knows when it's becoming too serious, so he will have more fun with it.

  The cast is very fun with Shin, Sakamoto, Lu, Akira, Shishiba, Osaragi and others. They don’t have an immense amount of depth, but it isn’t necessary for this type of series. It’s enough to be interested in what’s on screen. The characters are likable, and you want them to succeed in whatever ordeal they have stumbled upon. I think Sakamoto as a character is generally very good, his interactions with the other cast often emphasise messages that are staples of the medium. The basics such as friendship, family, found family themes and so forth. Finding purpose in the little things in life.

  The main highlight of the series would be the art style. It’s stylish, slick, dynamic and extremely varied. There are even scenes that remind me of Hiroaki Samura which is a high compliment. The character designs are very varied, which serves as a good contrast to the simplicity of Sakamoto's design. Furthermore, the use of colour in spreads and volume covers is fantastic. You can immediately tell the author had a lot of fun drawing them. It's not dull and muted colours, but colours that pop and catch your attention.

  The action is pretty incredible across the board, and it shocks me that this is a weekly manga. The manga artist is incredible at depicting momentum, and the choreography of close-quarters combat is brilliant. Battles often have that sense of weight as you see in old-school Hong Kong flicks where a punch is impactful. It’s unlike some modern Hollywood action flicks where it can look good but doesn’t contain that sense of weight. The backgrounds are very nicely drawn, which complements the action quite immensely.

  In Conclusion, I’ve been mixed about this new wave of Shounen, but Sakamoto Days manages to stand out from the crowd. It's entertaining, contains a nice message and has a likable cast who kicks ass. If you are looking for some light-hearted entertainment that has a lot of heart this is for you!

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