Sakamoto Days

Sakamoto Days (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuto Suzuki [ja]. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since November 2020, with its chapters collected in 21 tankōbon volumes as of March 2025. It is simultaneously published in English by Viz Media and the Manga Plus online platform.
The story revolves around Taro Sakamoto, a retired legendary hitman who has settled into a quiet and mundane life as a family man. However, his peaceful life is disrupted when former enemies and colleagues from his hitman days come seeking revenge. To protect his family and loved ones, Sakamoto must use his exceptional combat skills to face off against a variety of adversaries while trying to maintain his ordinary facade.
An anime television series adaptation produced by TMS Entertainment aired from January to March 2025, with a second cours set to release in July of the same year.
By March 2025, the manga had over 8 million copies in circulation.
Taro Sakamoto used to be an unrivaled hitman, earning legendary status in the criminal underworld by being feared by some and idolized by others. One day, however, Sakamoto fell in love at first sight with Aoi, a convenience store clerk. In order for them to date, Aoi gave him the ultimatum that he must quit being a hitman and never kill again. Sakamoto agreed, and after his retirement they started dating, got married, had a daughter named Hana, and eventually opened a family-run convenience store of their own in the suburbs of Tokyo.
Several years later, Sakamoto has settled into his humble life, but also grown portly as a result of his relative inactivity despite still being immensely powerful. The world of hitmen eventually locates him, and many soon attempt to target the Sakamoto family, either seeking revenge or resenting his retired status. Now, with the help of three other former criminals who become employed at the store under Sakamoto—clairvoyant hitman Shin Asakura, orphaned crime boss daughter Lu Xiaotang, and sniper Heisuke Mashimo—Sakamoto must protect his family (or die trying) against the criminal underworld, all while maintaining Aoi's no-kill policy.
The idea of pairing up Taro Sakamoto with a character that can read minds allowed for insight into the character's motivations and for comedy to flourish since Suzuki intended for Sakamoto to be a more quiet and reserved character. According to editor Soushiro Ishikawa, Suzuki focuses on readability while creating action scenes and his background in Nihonga style of painting allows him to create interesting layouts. Suzuki and Ishikawa would hold meetings every week in person in order to discuss how to progress the story, but after the COVID-19 pandemic they hold meetings online. Suzuki is influenced by manga artists Katsuhiro Otomo, Takehiko Inoue, and Hiroya Oku, and by the works of director Christopher Nolan. He draws inspiration from action films such as The Equalizer and the John Wick series.
Suzuki originally drew dark one-shot stories. However, when creating Sakamoto Days, he opted for a more lighthearted tone to better suit the demands of weekly serialization. For the concept of Sakamoto being a retired hitman, Suzuki said he was fascinated with the idea of a fat person being incredibly strong, thinking as well about the reasons that led him to that state; "Why is he fat? Because he retired. Why is that? Maybe because he got married? That's how I made it." He was particularly intrigued by the idea of a strong, obese fighter, a notion that was partly influenced by the comedic action film Enter the Fat Dragon. Regarding action scenes, Suzuki strives to captivate readers by incorporating unexpected twists and surprises. He employs an analog pen for character illustrations and works with a team of assistants. The character Shin emerged from Suzuki's interest in exploring the potential of an esper who interacts with Sakamoto through telepathy. Meanwhile, Lu was conceived as a Chinese assassin heroine, reflecting Suzuki's desire to diversify the cast. Although Suzuki acknowledges that his characters can sometimes be difficult to distinguish visually, he found Gaku to be the easiest to draw due his independent personality. Suzuki commented that he had already planned the ending of the series by 2022.
For the animated adaptation, Masaki Watanabe [ja] served as the director. Watanabe noted that Sakamoto's design reflects the original manga's expressiveness while distinguishing his two forms; the fat version has a symbolically deformed face, while the skinny version is more realistic. Watanabe highlighted Sakamoto's distinctive personality and calm daily life, which create a striking contrast during action sequences involving his obese physique. The director also emphasized the unique sound effects and vocal performances for Shin, which were carefully crafted under his guidance. Reflecting on the narrative, Watanabe noted that despite its comedic foundation, the series occasionally delivers unexpected moments of violence, an aspect he found particularly commendable. Despite his experience with shōnen manga, Watanabe found Sakamoto Days to be a unique challenge, as he aimed to balance intense action sequences with the lighthearted tone established by Suzuki. One of the most demanding scenes in the early episodes involved a rollercoaster fight, which required extensive time to create a detailed 3D model and manage the scene's vibrant color palette. The animation was done using Clip Studio Paint and Adobe, incorporating a paper texture to enhance the visual style of the action sequences. Additionally, the team conducted research on real firearms to ensure their accurate depiction in the anime.
Tomokazu Sugita voices the protagonist Taro Sakamoto, having previously been familiar with the original manga series. Initially cast as Kashima, he was later asked to voice Sakamoto instead, appreciating the character's relationships with family and friends. Nobunaga Shimazaki voices Shin Asakura, who noted that the character's perceived weakness and lack of skill, despite being over 20, creates a deliberate contrast with the stronger, more experienced characters, enhancing the cast's balance and making the dynamics more engaging. Lu Shaotang is voiced by Ayane Sakura, who enjoyed exploring the character's dynamic interactions.
Sakamoto Days is written and illustrated by Yuto Suzuki [ja]. Suzuki first published a one-shot titled Sakamoto (SAKAMOTO-サカモト-) in Shueisha's Jump Giga on December 26, 2019. Sakamoto Days debuted in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on November 21, 2020. Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on April 2, 2021. As of March 4, 2025, 21 volumes have been released.
The series is simultaneously published in English by Viz Media and the Manga Plus online platform. Viz Media started releasing the volumes in print on April 5, 2022.
A spin-off manga by Tetsu Ōkawa, who has worked as an assistant on the main manga, titled Sakamoto Holidays, started in Shueisha's Saikyō Jump on July 4, 2024. The first tankōbon volume was released on January 4, 2025.
A novel adaptation with an exclusive story by Renka Misaki, titled Sakamoto Days: Koroshiya no Method (SAKAMOTO DAYS 殺し屋のメソッド, Sakamoto Deizu: Koroshiya no Mesoddo, lit. 'Sakamoto Days: Killer's Method'), was released under Shueisha's Jump J-Books imprint on April 4, 2023.
A spin-off novel with exclusive episodes also written by Renka Misaki, titled Sakamoto Days: Koroshiya Blues (SAKAMOTO DAYS 殺し屋ブルース, Sakamoto Deizu: Koroshiya Burūsu, lit. 'Sakamoto Days: Assassin Blues'), was released on December 4, 2024.
In May 2024, it was announced that the series would receive an anime television series adaptation produced by TMS Entertainment. It is directed by Masaki Watanabe [ja], with scripts by Taku Kishimoto, character designs by Yō Moriyama, and music composed by Yuki Hayashi. The series runs in two split season cours, with the first cours aired from January 11 to March 22, 2025, and the second cours premiering in July of the same year, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. The first opening theme song is "Hashire Sakamoto" (走れSAKAMOTO, lit. 'Run, Sakamoto'), performed by Vaundy, while the first ending theme song is "Futsū" (普通, lit. 'Normal'), performed by Conton Candy [ja]. The special ending theme song "Somebody Help Us", performed by Vaundy, is used for Episode 7. Netflix licensed the series for a worldwide streaming release simultaneously with its weekly Japanese broadcast.
A promotional video for the manga's eighteenth volume, starring Saori Izawa [ja] in the role of a store clerk, was released on August 2, 2024.
A smartphone game developed by Goodroid, titled Sakamoto Days: Dangerous Puzzle (SAKAMOTO DAYS デンジャラスパズル, Sakamoto Deizu: Denjarasu Pazuru), is set to be released on April 2, 2025.
By October 2022, the manga had 2.2 million copies in circulation; over 4 million copies in circulation by November 2023; over 5 million copies in circulation by May 2024; over 5.5 million copies in circulation by August 2024; over 7 million copies in circulation by December 2024; and over 8 million copies in circulation by March 2025.
The series ranked sixth on the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2022. Manga author Hiromu Arakawa recommended the series with a comment featured on the obi of the sixth volume. Sakamoto Days was nominated for Best Print Manga at the 2021 Next Manga Awards. It placed sixth out of 50 nominees, but won the U-Next Prize. The series was nominated for the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2022.
In a review of the first volume, Katherine Dacey of The Manga Critic recommended the series, praising its art and fight choreography. She ended her review with: "If some of the later chapters aren't as tightly executed as the first, Sakamoto Days nonetheless achieves a good balance between character development and karate-chopping." In a positive review of the first volume, Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network wrote that the "first volume is, for the most part, a lot of fun", and that "[i]t establishes a good cast of characters [...] has an entertaining premise, and it's executed well." Sheena McNeil of Sequential Tart commented that the series' premise could appeal to fans of Kousuke Oono's The Way of the Househusband and its tone to fans of Akira Toriyama's earlier works, known for their blend of action and comedy. She found the story's content particularly engaging due to the protagonist's endearing relationship with his family and the dynamic he shares with Shin.
Reiichi Narima of Real Sound [ja] commented that, despite the protagonist's comic appearance, Sakamoto Days is an entertaining action series with well drawn action scenes, comparing them to the ones from Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira. Although Narima stated that the series was initially focused on comedy, he noted the shift in focus toward battles, making it a more standard Weekly Shōnen Jump series as it develops.