Netflix Hitman Comedy Anime Is Your Next Favorite Binge
Anime is more popular than ever before, and while the biggest names at the moment embrace the classic Shonen tradition, like Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and My Hero Academia, that’s all changing thanks to an out-of-shape retired hitman. Sakamoto Days is another story of a legendary killer forced back into the criminal underworld, but what the anime and the manga it’s based on get right is embracing the absurdity of the situation. Taro Sakamoto is a dangerous man, even years into his retirement, but he won’t break the promise he made to his wife to not kill anyone.
Just When Taro Thought He Was Out
Creator Yuto Suzuki was inspired by the action movies of the last decade, including The Equalizer and John Wick when he penned the story of Taro Sakamato deciding to hang up his guns to date Aoi, a clerk, who made it a condition of their relationship that he never kills again. In Sakamoto Days first episode, Taro’s quiet, ideal life of running a convenience store is shattered by ghosts from his past, forcing him to take up arms, but he’s joined by the store’s employees, which happens to include his former hit man protege, Shin. Shin has the odd ability to be able to read minds, in particular, Sakamato’s, which is helpful as the former hitman doesn’t have much to say and prefers to keep to himself.
In practice, Shin’s mind-reading is similar to Anya’s from Spy x Family, when she reads the minds of Loid and Yor to learn what they’re thinking but would never say out loud. Sakamoto Days gets a lot of mileage out of Taro’s expressionless stare, with the other, far more expressive characters bouncing off of him, especially his family, who are oddly accepting of his past life. The way Aoi, Shin, Hana (Aoi and Taro’s six-year-old daughter), and in the second episode, Lu, a young woman on the run from assassins, play off of Taro is the perfect mix of characters, and already, it turned the series into a hit.
Anime’s Next Great Hero
Sakamoto Days is being released weekly on Netflix, with new episodes premiering every Saturday. Right now, it can’t be binge-watched, but once you start watching, you’ll want to keep going until you hit the end. Millions of viewers agree that the first episode achieved the impressive feat of debuting as the third most popular show on Netflix for the day, an unheard-of accomplishment for the first episode of an original anime. It makes sense, given the manga has sold over 7 million copies worldwide.
My Hero Academia is coming to an end soon, Demon Slayer is going to theaters, and Jujutsu Kaisen is getting ready for its final season, which will leave a huge hole to fill in the anime schedule. Sakamoto Days is an unlikely successor, but the humor, gunplay, and well-executed characters mean it has all the parts to become a massive hit. It remains to be seen if the first season will keep the momentum going, but with the second cour, adapting an even more action-packed story arc, already planned for July, we’ve only begun to see Sakamoto’s true power.
Sakamoto Days is now streaming on Netflix, with new episodes every Saturday, and a second season coming in July.
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