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 20 tankōbon volumes as of January 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 premiered on TV Tokyo in January 2025. Netflix has licensed the series for worldwide streaming release.
By December 2024, the manga had over 7 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. However, one day, 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 hitman work 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 a small suburban town.
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 former hitman Shin Asakura and crime boss daughter Lu Xiaotang, who also begin working at the store, Sakamoto must protect his family—or die trying—against the criminal underworld, all while maintaining Aoi's no-kill policy.
Production
The series' editor, Soushiro Ishikawa, holds meetings with Suzuki every week during which they discuss how to progress the story. Suzuki's aim with Taro Sakamoto was to create a character with a duality of being quiet and reserved but strong while pairing him up with a character that can read minds allowed for insight into the character's motivations and for comedic elements. According to Ishikawa, Suzuki focuses on readability while drafting action scenes and his background in Nihonga style of painting allows Suzuki to create interesting layouts. Suzuki is heavily inspired by action films such as the John Wick and The Equalizer series.[2]
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.[3]Sakamoto Days debuted in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on November 21, 2020.[4][1] Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on April 2, 2021.[5] As of January 4, 2025, 20 volumes have been released.[6]
The series is simulpublished in English by Viz Media and the Manga Plus online platform.[7] Viz Media started releasing the volumes in print on April 5, 2022.[8][9]
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.[10][11] The first tankōbon volume was released on January 4, 2025.[12]
Novels
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.[13][14]
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.[15][16]
Anime
In May 2024, it was announced that the series would receive an anime television series adaptation produced by TMS Entertainment. The series is directed by Masaki Watanabe, with scripts by Taku Kishimoto, character designs by Yō Moriyama, and music composed by Yuki Hayashi. It premiered on January 11, 2025, on TV Tokyo and other TXN stations. It will run in two split season cours, with the second cours premiering in July 2025.[17][18][19][20] The opening theme song is "Hashire Sakamoto" (走れSAKAMOTO, lit.'Run, Sakamoto') performed by Vaundy,[20] while the ending theme song is "Futsū" (普通, lit.'Normal') performed by Conton Candy.[21]Netflix has licensed the series for a worldwide weekly streaming release in the same month.[22][23]
"Vs. Son Hee and Bacho" Transliteration: "Bāsasu Sonhi・Bachō" (Japanese: VSソンヒ・バチョウ)
Akihiro Saitō, Masaki Watanabe & Yoshihiro Nishio
Taku Kishimoto
Masaki Watanabe
January 18, 2025 (2025-01-18)
Other media
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.[26]
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 in Q2 2025.[27]
Reception
By October 2022, the manga had 2.2 million copies in circulation;[28] over 4 million copies in circulation by November 2023;[29] over 5 million copies in circulation by May 2024;[30] over 5.5 million copies in circulation by August 2024;[26] and over 7 million copies in circulation by December 2024.[31]
The series ranked sixth on the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2022.[32] Manga author Hiromu Arakawa recommended the series with a comment featured on the obi of the sixth volume.[33]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.[34] The series was nominated for the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2022.[35]
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."[36] 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."[37]
Notes
^ abcProduction staff information is taken from the ending credits of each episode
^Each episode after the first is released on Netflix Japan one week ahead of its original televised broadcast and international streaming release
