════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Considerations ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ● This is a spoiler-free review ● As this work is still being released, I would like to start off by saying that at the time that I'm writing, we are at chapter 205. If things change drastically with time, I will come back and rewrite or edit this review.
● Note from the future: It's 2025 now and I can tell everyone that Sakamoto Days remains as my favorite action manga. If anyone reading this just finished the lackluster anime, go on friend, read the manga, enjoy.
════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Story ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The story is centered around Sakamoto. A top-grade hitman who decided to retire for the sake of love. With retirement, he puts all the killing behind him, gains a lot of weight, and starts to run a convenience store. Five years later, all his hopes for a normal life are crushed as he sees that he can't run away from his past.
════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Art Style ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The art style on Sakamoto Days is just absurdly good, and I doubt you will be disappointed with it. There are many points that I can raise here. First and foremost, as there's a lot of action in this manga, I want to talk about the amazing work when drawing fast-paced scenes. The distortion in the background and the distortion in the extremities just makes you feel like things are going extremely fast.
There's also the choreography of CQC (close-quarters combat), which is amazing as well. You can get a real feel for how the combat is evolving, how the body moves, and you can really understand how the characters nail down an immobilization or evade certain attacks.
The backgrounds, characters, and shadows are also very well made. As you can see from all those panels, there is nothing to complain about.
════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Characters ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ There are a really nice number of characters in this manga. Each one has their own style, their own design, and a different mentality. Some background characters have it a bit less dense, which is expected, but the core characters are really well made.
Sakamoto himself is amazing as a main character. At first, he looked a bit strange to me, not being talkative and extroverted as many manga MC's are, but as the story evolves and you get to know more about him, you just start to really understand him. Besides all that, Sakamoto also brings the core lessons that we expected from previous generations of shonen. Of having friends, someone to protect, and how strong you can get when you're fighting for others. No complaints on this matter. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Conclusion ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ If you're like me, you skip everything and read only the conclusion because you don't want to get spoiled with other themes. So I will try to be brief on this point:
Read it. Sakamoto Days has pretty much everything a top-grade manga needs. Beautiful art, amazing combat, nice characters, and an amazing story. At the same time, you get a hero-model to look up to. Someone who values the lives of those close to him more than his own.
