If you’re a manga reader, the incredibly large shadow of Weekly Shounen Jump is hard to ignore. With series like One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, and My Hero Academia in the current roster of its print version, it truly means something to be on the cover of Jump.
Recently, I’ve noticed one particular manga gracing the cover of Jump with surprising regularly: Sakamoto Days. Despite only debuting in November 2020, Yuto Suzuki’s Sakamoto Days has already had a dedicated Jump cover 12 times (as of May 2024). In my head, just from the Jump covers alone, Sakamoto Days has gone from “What’s that?” to “Wow, this must be a super popular manga.”
In fact, there’s been a lot of discussion about how Jump’s current big three—the aforementioned One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, and My Hero Academia—are all in their final sagas. One Piece has some years left, but My Hero will probably be over before 2024 is out. “Who will lead the way once they’re gone?” the people cry. A common response nowadays is “Well, Sakamoto Days.”
So yes, Sakamoto Days is wildly popular. An anime felt inevitable, and in late May 2024, the anime adaptation was finally announced. TMS Productions, the same incredibly dedicated studio behind Dr. Stone, is helming the production, which will stream exclusively on Netflix.
Let’s dive into more details about this major adaptation.
What’s Sakamoto Days about?
Sakamoto Days is the tale of the titular Taro Sakamoto. He was known as the greatest hitman of all time, but he abruptly decided to leave that world. He got married, had a kid, became a manager at a convenience store, and … gained some weight.
So yeah, the amount of emphasis placed on the weight gain, especially in the anime trailer, isn’t ideal. Also, despite looking for all the world like an adorable middle-aged middle manager, this man is 27 years old. But it turns out the underworld doesn’t leave you behind so easily. An associate from his past shows up and tells Sakamoto that he must once again become an assassin, or be killed. And so begins our story!
Sure, the plot summary contains several tried-and-true action series tropes. But it’s a comedy. And the series plays its darker, more brutal moments against a slice-of-life streak that can only be described as “wholesome.” Yuto Suzuki’s manga is also very well known for its remarkable panelling and excellent fight choreography.
Who’s helming Sakamoto Days?
The Sakamoto Days anime is being produced by TMS Productions, one of the oldest and most reputable studios in Japan. TMS Productions has been behind class series ranging from Lupin the Third to Detective Conan to Anpanman. More recently, their works have included the 2019 version of Fruits Basket and Dr. Stone.
Masaki Watanabe, the director of the Battle Spirits series, will be directing the Sakamoto Days adaptation. Taku Kishimoto—the creator of BUCCHIGIRI?! who has worked on everything from Ranking of Kings to Blue Lock—will be writing the series. Yo Moriyama is behind character design, after working with TMS on Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujimoto.
As excited as we all get about voice casting around these parts, Sakamoto Days has only announced one cast member so far. Fortunately, it’s one heck of a casting pick. The main character, Taro Sakamoto, will be voiced by Tomokazu Sugita. Sakamoto Days’ irreverent comedic strain sometimes gets its compared to Gintama, which makes it incredibly fitting that Sugita is most well-known for voicing that show’s protagonist, Gintoki Sakata. He also plays Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira, in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, freaking Joseph Joestar in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and everyone’s crush Charlotte Katakuri in One Piece.
When and where can you watch Sakamoto Days?
We still have a little while to wait before the anime adaptation of Sakamoto Days graces our screens—but not that long. The anime series is set to begin in January 2025. Sakamoto Days has been included in a list of Netflix upcoming releases, so we know for certain that it will be available to watch on Netflix upon release. However, the promotions for the show don’t have that telltale “N” on them, which means it’s probably not a Netflix original series like Dungeon Meshi.
More information on Sakamoto Days will surely trickle out as we get closer to its premiere.
