The Sakamoto Days Anime Won Me Over When the Manga Could Not - Review

There's an age-old otaku saying that goes: "The manga was better!" I'd agree that this is usually the case for me, despite being a bigger fan of anime as a medium over manga. But every once in a while the manga doesn't cut it, and it isn't until you watch the anime adaptation that you start to understand the appeal of a series. This happened to me with Yuuto Suzuki's Sakamoto Days.

I want to quickly get something out of the way. I noticed about halfway through the airing of the anime adaptation of Sakamoto Days, the internet was full of opinions about how the anime isn't living up to the manga. This confused me as, only four episodes in, I was already sold on finishing the season, even though I had dropped the manga just a couple of volumes in. I don't want to undermine the opinions of hardcore Sakamoto Days fans who may have treasured the manga since its release in 2020. I just want to share why the anime got me hooked when I couldn't get into the manga.

Sakamoto Days stars Taro Sakamoto, a former hitman who terrified even the strongest of villains - that is until he meets a charming girl at a convenience store, falls in love, gets married, has a child, and completely retires from the life of an assassin. On top of all this, he becomes seemingly unfit, now sporting the "dad bod." Even though Sakamoto now aims to live a peaceful life for the sake of his wife and daughter, there are still those who seek to kill him due to his bloody past.

When I first read the manga, I found the premise to be barely interesting enough for me to read a couple of volumes on the Shonen Jump app. It reminded me a bit of the premise of SPY×FAMILY, which I love, so I dove in. To be honest, I'm pretty picky about the manga I spend my time on, so if something gives me a red flag or an "ick" early on, I drop things rather quickly.

The first thing I didn't like about reading Sakamoto Days was that Sakamoto himself looked like a 50-year-old man, but he is canonically only 27! I originally thought based on the cover of Volume 1 that he was going to be way older than 27, and I thought following someone much older in the story would have been fun. I've been into anime and manga long enough to know that shonen 14-year-olds often look to be in their 30s (thanks YuYu Hakusho), so it's not like this was a new phenomenon for me. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to believe that Sakamoto was only in his 20s when to me he so clearly looked 50 or older.

Sakamoto's age wasn't enough to have me drop the manga, but I needed another character to cling to. Shin Asakura is a mind-reader, who, despite my adoration for mind-reader Anya from SPY×FAMILY, I didn't find too special. Anya is a mind-reader, but it's her personality that shines. Shin, as the first supporting character introduced, quickly bored me. The next supporting character introduced was Lu Shaotang, and while her Chinese background and looks had a bit going for her, I was ultimately not pressed to keep reading Sakamoto Days after feeling zero connection to the main trio of characters.

I felt underwhelmed by the manga, but I ended up deciding to try the anime, animated by studio TMS Entertainment. I watched the first three episodes in one sitting as I was a bit late to start the season, and those 70 minutes flew by!

Now I'll admit, maybe I went into Sakamoto Days' manga with "action shonen" expectations. But I went into the anime adaptation expecting more of a comedy. I felt that if I lowered my expectations for the anime, I'd like it better, and it worked. That isn't to discredit the anime, but my expectations were already tapered beforehand. The 11 episodes of the Winter 2025 anime had two key aspects that made me love the series when the manga had left me wanting something more.

First, I love the ongoing gag that the general public in the anime is very unaware of the violence or excessively chaotic events happening all around them. This wasn't something that I noticed as much in the manga - but in the anime, it was so much clearer and more hilarious to watch outrageous shenanigans happening all around "NPCs" who were completely oblivious. This helps to suspend your disbelief a bit when something utterly ridiculous is happening in Sakamoto Days. I tend to hate it when standby characters in an anime don't properly react to their surroundings, yet the anime adaptation Sakamoto Days turns this into a satisfying gimmick. The visual timing with these gags is vital, and that's just something that manga didn't or maybe can't do as well.

Second, I feel so much more impressed by Taro Sakamoto's supersonic speed and witty thinking in the anime adaptation. This also has to do with precise visual timing. For example, in episode 11 Sakamoto is playing poker at a casino and using his incredible grip to keep a certain card in his hand from being picked. He then swiftly, albeit ridiculously, switches the card with another one, forcing the opponent to pick differently. Another running joke is Sakamoto using his chubbiness to get him out of dangerous situations, and, as weird as this sounds, seeing him jiggle around in the anime makes for some hilarious moments. Whether it's Sakamoto throwing a popsicle stick to attack a baddie at breakneck speed, or using a dinner fork to catch a bullet, these visual scenes are so much more satisfying in the anime.

One thing is certain about diving into Sakamoto Days, whether it be the manga or the anime: don't take it too seriously. Jump in for the laughs and ridiculously impossible ways that Sakamoto engages in conflict.

Anime is a great marketing tool for manga and light novels since many watchers will pick up the source material of a beloved anime series. Many series don't get complete adaptations, so fans flock to the original material. In my case with Sakamoto Days, the anime adaptation is what helped me decide to go back to the manga, despite starting with it in the first place. The anime did its job. Plus, it's very possible that if I go back to the start of the Sakamoto Days manga, I'll have a better time with it now that I know what the series is capable of.

Sakamoto Days aired this past Winter 2025 season on Netflix. The second cour will premiere on Netflix this July.
©Yuto Suzuki/SHUEISHA, SAKAMOTO DAYS PROJECT