Sakamoto Days

It is recorded as the work of Yuto Suzuki. Publication is recorded by Jump Comics and Panini Comics. The recorded date of publication is 2021. It is associated with Japan. Recorded genres are action anime and manga, comedy anime and manga and slice of life anime and manga.

• Type — manga • Author — Yuto Suzuki (manga artist) • Publisher — Shueisha • Imprint — Jump Comics • Magazine — Weekly Shōnen Jump • First — November 21, 2020 • Volumes — 28 • Volume List — List of Sakamoto Days chapters

• Type — Novel • Title — Sakamoto Days: Assassin's Method • Author — Renka Misaki • Illustrator — Yuto Suzuki • Publisher — Shueisha • Imprint — Jump J-Books • Published — April 4, 2023

• Type — manga • Title — Sakamoto Holidays • Author — Tetsu Ōkawa • Publisher — Shueisha • Magazine — Saikyō Jump • First — July 4, 2024 • Volumes — 3 • Volume List — List of Sakamoto Days chapters#Sakamoto Holidays

• Type — tv series • Director — * Masaki Watanabe (director) (S1 Season 1) • Daisuke Nakajima (S2 Season 2) • Writer — Taku Kishimoto • Music — Yuki Hayashi • Studio — TMS Entertainment • Licensee — Netflix • Network — TXN (TV Tokyo) • First — January 11, 2025 • Episodes — 22 • Episode List — List of Sakamoto Days episodes

• Type — live film • Director — Yūichi Fukuda • Writer — Yūichi Fukuda • Studio — * Credeus • Avex Pictures • Released — 2026 04 29

• Portal — yes Sakamoto Days (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuto Suzuki (manga artist). It has been serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since November 2020, with its chapters collected in 28 tankōbon volumes as of August 2026. 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 aired from January to March 2025, with a second cours aired from July to September of the same year. A second season is set to premiere in January 2027. A live-action film adaptation premiered in Japan in April 2026. By August 2026, the manga had over 18 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. One day, however, Sakamoto fell in love at first sight with Aoi, a convenience store clerk. For them to date, Aoi gave him the ultimatum that he must quit being a hitman 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 the suburbs of Tokyo. 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 three other former criminals who become employed at the store under Sakamoto—clairvoyant hitman Shin Asakura, orphaned crime boss daughter Lu Xiaotang, and sniper Heisuke Mashimo—Sakamoto must protect his family (or die trying) against the criminal underworld, all while maintaining Aoi's no-kill policy.

Editor Soushiro Ishikawa stated that pairing Taro Sakamoto with Shin, a mind-reading character, provided insight into Sakamoto's motivations and allowed the manga to flourish with comedy, since the author, Yuto Suzuki (manga artist), intended for Sakamoto to be a quiet, reserved character. According to Ishikawa, Suzuki focuses on readability while creating action scenes, and his background in Nihonga style of painting allows him to create interesting layouts. Suzuki and Ishikawa would hold meetings every week in person to discuss how to progress the story, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, they hold meetings online. Suzuki was influenced by manga artists Katsuhiro Otomo, Takehiko Inoue, and Hiroya Oku, and by the works of director Christopher Nolan. He was also inspired by action films such as The Equalizer and the John Wick series. Suzuki originally drew dark one-shot stories. However, when creating Sakamoto Days, he opted for a more lighthearted tone to better suit the demands of weekly serialization. For the concept of Sakamoto being a retired hitman, Suzuki said he was fascinated with the idea of a fat person being incredibly strong, thinking as well about the reasons that led him to that state; "Why is he fat? Because he retired. Why is that? Maybe because he got married? That's how I made it." He was particularly intrigued by the idea of a strong, obese fighter, a notion that was partly influenced by the comedic action film Enter the Fat Dragon. Regarding action scenes, Suzuki strives to captivate readers by incorporating unexpected twists and surprises. He employs an analog pen for character illustrations and works with a team of assistants. Shin emerged from Suzuki's interest in exploring the potential of an esper who interacts with Sakamoto through telepathy. Meanwhile, Lu was conceived as a Chinese assassin heroine, reflecting Suzuki's desire to diversify the cast. Although Suzuki acknowledges that his characters can sometimes be difficult to distinguish visually, he found Gaku to be the easiest to draw due his independent personality. Suzuki commented that he had already planned the ending of the series by 2022. The series started its "final battle" on August 4, 2025. On July 21, 2026, it was announced that the series was heading to its climax.

For the animated adaptation, Masaki Watanabe (director) served as the director of the first season. Watanabe noted that Sakamoto's design reflects the original manga's expressiveness while distinguishing his two forms; the fat version has a symbolically deformed face, while the skinny version is more realistic. Watanabe highlighted Sakamoto's distinctive personality and calm daily life, which create a striking contrast during action sequences involving his obese physique. The director also emphasized the unique sound effects and vocal performances for Shin, which were carefully crafted under his guidance. Reflecting on the narrative, Watanabe noted that despite its comedic foundation, the series occasionally delivers unexpected moments of violence, an aspect he found particularly commendable. Despite his experience with manga, Watanabe found Sakamoto Days to be a unique challenge, as he aimed to balance intense action sequences with the lighthearted tone established by Suzuki. One of the most demanding scenes in the early episodes involved a rollercoaster fight, which required extensive time to create a detailed 3D model and manage the scene's vibrant color palette. The animation was done using Clip Studio Paint and Adobe, incorporating a paper texture to enhance the visual style of the action sequences. Additionally, the team researched real firearms to ensure their accurate depiction in the anime. Tomokazu Sugita voices the protagonist Taro Sakamoto, having previously been familiar with the original manga series. Initially cast as Kashima, he was later asked to voice Sakamoto instead, appreciating the character's relationships with family and friends. Nobunaga Shimazaki voices Shin Asakura, who noted that the character's perceived weakness and lack of skill, despite being over 20, creates a deliberate contrast with the stronger, more experienced characters, enhancing the cast's balance and making the dynamics more engaging. Lu Xiaotang is voiced by Ayane Sakura, who enjoyed exploring the character's dynamic interactions.

Yuto Suzuki (manga artist) first published a one-shot titled SAKAMOTO-サカモト- in Shueisha's Jump Giga on December 26, 2019. Sakamoto Days debuted in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on November 21, 2020. Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on April 2, 2021. As of August, 2026, 28 volumes have been released. The series is simultaneously published in English by Viz Media and the Manga Plus online platform. Viz Media started releasing the volumes in print on April 5, 2022. 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. The first tankōbon volume was released on January 4, 2025. In June 2025, Viz Media announced that it will start publishing the volumes in both physical and digital format starting in Q2 2026.

A novel adaptation with an exclusive story by Renka Misaki, titled Sakamoto Days: Assassin's Method, was released under Shueisha's Jump J-Books imprint on April 4, 2023. In October 2025, Viz Media announced that it had licensed the novel for English-language publication, which was released on July 28, 2026. A spin-off novel with exclusive episodes again written by Renka Misaki, titled Sakamoto Days: Assassin's Blues, was released on December 4, 2024. Viz Media licensed the novel and it is set to release on November 24, 2026.

In May 2024, it was announced that the series would receive an anime television series adaptation produced by TMS Entertainment. It was directed by Masaki Watanabe (director), with scripts by Taku Kishimoto, character designs by Yō Moriyama, and music composed by Yuki Hayashi. The series ran in two split season cours, with the first cours aired from January 11 to March 22, 2025, and the second cours aired from July 15 to September 23 of the same year, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. The first two episodes of the second cours received an advanced screening in Japan on June 15. Netflix licensed the series for a worldwide streaming release, which was released simultaneously with its televised broadcast in Japan. In December 2025, at the Jump Festa '26 event, a second season was announced. Daisuke Nakajima will direct the second season, with first season director, Masaki Watanabe, serving as supervising director. It is set to premiere in January 2027. The first opening theme song is "Hashire Sakamoto", performed by Vaundy, while the first ending theme song is "Futsū", performed by Conton Candy. The special ending theme song "Somebody Help Us", performed by Vaundy, is used for episode 7. The second opening theme song is "Method", performed by Kroi, while the second ending theme song is "Dandelion", performed by Go!Go!Vanillas.

A promotional video for the manga's eighteenth volume, starring Saori Izawa in the role of a store clerk, was released on August 2, 2024. A smartphone game developed by Goodroid, titled Sakamoto Days: Dangerous Puzzle, was released on April 2, 2025.

By October 2022, the manga had 2.2 million copies in circulation; over 4 million copies in circulation by November 2023; over 5 million copies in circulation by May 2024; over 5.5 million copies in circulation by August 2024; over 7 million copies in circulation by December 2024; over 8 million copies in circulation by March 2025; over 12 million copies in circulation by June 2025; over 15 million copies in circulation by August 2025; and over 18 million copies in circulation by August 2026. The series ranked sixth on the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2022. Manga author Hiromu Arakawa recommended the series with a comment featured on the obi of the sixth volume. 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. The series was nominated for the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the category in 2022. Katherine Dacey of The Manga Critic recommended the first volume, praising its artwork and fight choreography. She noted that while some later chapters were not as tightly executed as the initial ones, the series successfully balanced character development with action. Anime News Network's Rebecca Silverman gave a positive review, describing the first volume as highly entertaining, with a strong cast, an engaging premise, and effective execution. Sheena McNeil of Sequential Tart observed that the premise could appeal to fans of Kousuke Oono's The Way of the Househusband, while its tone resembled the action-comedy blend of Akira Toriyama's earlier works. McNeil found the protagonist's familial relationships and dynamic with Shin particularly engaging. Reiichi Narima of Real Sound (website) noted that despite the protagonist's comedic appearance, he called Sakamoto Days an entertaining action series with superbly illustrated action scenes, which he compared to those in Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira. He observed that the series began with a comedic focus but gradually shifted toward battles, aligning it more with a standard Weekly Shōnen Jump title.

Allen Moody of THEM Anime Reviews praised the anime adaptation for its humorous premise and execution, highlighting Sakamoto's exaggerated skills and the energetic contrast provided by supporting characters Shin and Lu. The villains were also well-received, though Moody noted the season ended on an unresolved note, expressing anticipation for a second part. Sakamoto Days was Netflix's global most-watched anime in the first half of 2025, garnering 24.4 million views according to the platform's mid-year report.

• Award — Date of ceremony — Category — Recipient(s) — Result • 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards — May 23, 2026 — Best New Series — Sakamoto Days • Best Voice Artist Performance (Arabic) — Tariq Obaid as Taro Sakamoto • Moataz El-Shazly as Heisuke Mashimo — rowspan="5" • Fatima Zakaria as Osaragi • Astra TV Awards — June 10, 2025 — Best Supporting Voice-Over Performance — Xolo Maridueña as Heisuke Mashimo • August 15, 2026 — Best Anime Series — Sakamoto Days • Music Awards Japan — June 13, 2026 — Best Original Score for Animation — Yuki Hayashi

In September 2025, it was announced that the manga would receive a live-action film adaptation. It premiered in Japan on April 29, 2026. The film was written and directed by Yūichi Fukuda, with Keiya Tabuchi directing the action, and stars Ren Meguro as Taro Sakamoto. Credeus produced the film with Avex Pictures and was distributed by Toho. The film's theme song is "Bang!!", performed by Snow Man.

The live-action film adaptation premiered fourth at the Japanese box office, selling 346,000 tickets and earning 478 million yen in three days. During the Golden Week holidays, it sold 1.14 million tickets, earning 1.5 billion yen.