Outside of his participation related to One Piece and other one-shots, Sakamoto Day to date is Yuuto Suzuki's most known work. What started back in 2020 became a sensation as we follow the everyday life of Taro Sakamoto. As a retired hitman with a reserved personality, Sakamoto is protrayed as a fat man in stereotypical fashion of having the 'Dad Bod'. This is exmplified to show that he has ditched his former life as a hitman in favor of raising a family with his wife Aoi. It's not soon after that hitmen from his previous life puts his family in danger where Sakamoto has to rely on his skills to protect what he loves.
Drawing from influences such as the John Wick franchise, Sakamoto Days' story typically revolves around Sakamoto's daily life, his family, and friends. When imminent danger is absent, the anime can feel like a sitcom. The colorful cast adds flavor to this show with its diverse range of personalities. I confess to say that among its cast, the character chemistry feels natural and flourishes through their conversations and weekly segments. While Sakamoto himself is a man of few words, others such as Shin, Aoi, and Shaotang brings out the best out of him and each other. Shin Asakura is especially important to pay attention with his status of an ex-hitman. As someone who is loyal and confident, he remains an important ally and friend to Sakamoto. The term of loyalty also symbolizes the relationship between Sakamoto and his wife Aoi. Through background storytelling, we learn why Sakamoto quit being a hitman and settled down with a humble family. Make no mistake however, as Aoi herself is a strong willed woman who isn't afraid to take risks. Despite having different personalities, the two are fated seems to be with each other.
Even with its weekly sitcom segments, this anime does have an overall plot. It fundamentally tells how Sakamoto lives his life while we see events from the underworld and gangs. The contrasting protrayal of his character going from an obese man to a will-fit hitman is a recurring plot element used throughout the story. It also cleverly mixes in lighthearted moments of humor while adapting shocking violence, done just right. It doesn't explicity glorify violence to stay in touch with gang and hitman related themes. It respects its plot themes while always focusing on Sakamoto's double life. The maindraw back of this season is its attempt to stay consistent. By that means, there are over 200+ ongoing chapters and one season of 11 episodes is far from reaching its full potential. This adaptation only touches the tip of the iceberg and fundmentally adapts the overall tone of the series. Luckily, we do have another cour already announced and through this franchises' popularity, we should expect more.
On the technical front, Sakamoto Day adapts a stylish way of action sequences and fast paced combat. At times, it looks like a comic book coming to life when flipping its pages. Rather than giving characters powers, characters fight with superhuman-like movements. Sakamoto's transition is the most fascinating as if he's built like a lab experiment. Indeed, the early episodes of this series especially impresses with its battle chereography. The layers of body movements and expressions captures the beauty of this show.
It's the perfect storm for a show with an adult cast featuring our title character Sakamoto. There's no one better to protray him and when we watch carefully, his life is quite normal outside of the hitman shenanigans. Anime like this often takes a more mature approach at storytelling but this show keeps it light and simple. It really can be enjoyable when you know what you see.
