I first heard about Sakamoto Days from a friend who got their hands on an early copy and said it was absolutely hilarious. Having just finished the first season of The Way of the House Husband anime, I was eager to experience more ridiculous yakuza vs mundane everyday life situations. So, when I found out the Sakamoto Days manga was up for grabs, I hopped on the opportunity to review it. Both series are comedies that center around an ex-criminal who is trying to adjust to a regular civilian’s lifestyle but end up in ludacris scenarios. I was sure to like it, right?
Well… while Sakamoto Days is filled with organized crime absurdity, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had expected. Initially, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. House Husband and Sakamoto Days have a similar synapsis – where did the difference come in? And then I realized it was the level of ridiculousness. There was a little too much of it in Sakamoto Days for my taste.
Before I dive any further into comparisons, let me go into more depth about Sakamoto Days. We follow Taro Sakamoto, an ex-hitman who decides to quit killing because he falls in love. He marries his newfound sweetheart, has a child with her, and manages a convenience store as his new career. During his retirement, Sakamoto becomes extremely soft (or so it seems) to the point that no one would suspect that he was a hitman. But of course it doesn’t take long for his infamous past to catch up with him, and soon former rivals show up at his shop. Insanity ensues as he tries to protect his family, and during the chaos, he makes some new allies a.k.a. future employees for his convenience store.
It’s a fun concept. Unfortunately, it is not executed in the best way – at least in my humble opinion. What bothered me about Sakamoto Days, once I finally figured it out, was that it is a little too crazy for me. In previous reviews, I’ve mentioned that I like absurdist humor, but there’s a limit. I prefer when there’s a little logic, reason, or explanation about the unbelievable events happening. The thing that made me incredulous about the manga is Sakamoto himself. Yes, he’s supposed to be a legendary assassin, but his skills are preposterous. For instance, when a gun is fired at him, he’s able to deflect the bullet by spitting a cough drop at it. This is just one example of many. Don’t get me wrong; there were some parts where the absurdity was funny. But most of the time, I felt it was too much.
Sakamoto’s insane skills made me wonder if he has superpowers or something. Shin Asakura, another character, is a psychic, but it’s unclear if superhuman abilities are common in this world or if Sakamoto is an exception. Maybe I’m just overthinking it. I probably am. I know it’s supposed to be silly and fun, and no explanation is needed because it’s a comedy manga after all. It just bugged me for some reason. And there’s another theme I did not like. They kept making jokes about Sakamoto’s weight (he’s on the pudgy side) and how he had “let himself go.” Based on research I’ve done, I’m aware that Japanese culture is much stricter about weight, and there’s a lot of pressure to be thin. However, the overweight jokes still rubbed me the wrong way.
You’re probably thinking – was there anything I did like about the manga? Like I said, it’s fun and I did have a few good laughs. Plus, as things progress, the story picks up and becomes a little more interesting. But overall, the manga just didn’t provide the amount of hilarity I expected after hearing rave reviews and also watching a similar series. I’m sorry if this review is coming across as a bummer. I’m bummed as well! I really wanted to like Sakamoto Days. But that’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
I’m sure fans of House Husband, yakuza, silly comedies, or absurdist humor will enjoy this Sakamoto Days. As for me, I’m going to look for organized crime lunacy elsewhere.