Sakamoto Days v.1 (Review)

Apr 6, 2022

A retired hitman, telepath, and the daughter of a Triad walk into a convenience store. Sakamoto Days delivers thrilling action and humor for this first volume of hitman turned convenience store clerk. Yuto Suzuki’s series started releasing chapters to Shonen Jump in 2020. Now Viz has released the first seven chapters as volume 1 in English.

Author & Art: Yuto Suzuki
Publisher: Viz
English Release: April 5, 2022

Sakamoto’s Extended Family

Yuto Suzuki creates a charming hitman turned family man in Mr. Sakamoto who’s promised his wife not to kill again. Unfortunately, trouble seems to find Sakamoto. The attacks and situations lead to a series of inventive fight scenes as Mr. Sakamoto delivers non-lethal attacks to protect his family and others.

Shin, a hitman and telepath, joins Sakamoto along the way. However, one hitman contract after another provides Mr. Sakamoto and Shin with plenty of opportunities for action.

Suzuki’s fluid art style adds a sense of movement to the panels. Occasionally though, the art moves a little too fast and limits the enjoyment of the creative fight scenes Suzuki has devised. The addition of side characters plays nicely into genre expectations, but each still finds their own voice over the course of this first volume. Suzuki portrays Lu, the daughter of a Chinese Triad family, at first through genre stereotypes. However, Lu develops her own strengths that start to chip away at expectations.

Excellent Action Manga

Overall, Sakamoto Days is an enjoyable read for anyone looking for a fast-paced action comedy. Manga fans have a lot to like in this first volume if they haven’t already been reading the series. However, fans of action movies and comics will find themselves sucked into the high intensity fights and recognizable characters. Fortunately, the second volume is scheduled to release in June of 2022.

Score: 8.5