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It’s about damn time, if you ask me. The shonen landscape has been looking a bit stale lately, with the same old tropes and recycled plotlines.
Every season, viewers are treated to an array of young men with improbable hairdos and even more improbable powers, battling it out to save the world, or their school, or their band, or whatever the sacred entity of the month is. The formulas have been followed so religiously that you could almost play Bingo with the plot points. However, with the upcoming anime of anime adaptation of Sakamoto Days, the shonen genre is about to get a much-needed adrenaline shot to the heart.
The Sakamoto Days manga by Yuuto Suzuki has been serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 2020. Fast forward to 2024, the manga has made it through the clutter to stand as one of the decade’s top 10 best-selling. And with 16 volumes already released and Volume 17 set to drop next month, there’s no shortage of content for the anime to pull from.
Sakamoto Days anime release window
On May 27, it was officially announced that Sakamoto Days is slated for a January 2025 release date. This came after some confusion and buzz caused by a Netflix executive who listed the series in a lineup of Netflix’s anticipated 2024 releases. However, it turns out that Netflix’s involvement isn’t in the cards, at least for now. And frankly, this might be for the better.
The anime will be produced by TMS Entertainment. The studio has been around since 1946 and has produced some of the most beloved anime series of all time, including Detective Conan, Lupin the Third, and ReLIFE. So, based on their track record, I think we are in good hands.
We don’t have an exact date yet, but we can certainly make some educated guesses based on typical anime release patterns. Historically, the first week of the year is often a bit of a slow start for new anime releases. Typically, the winter anime season really starts to heat up in the second and third weeks of January. This is when many of the heavy hitters and most anticipated series make their debut. So, if I had to make a prediction, I’d say the most likely release window for Sakamoto Days would be sometime in the second or third week of January 2025. We won’t know for sure until TMS Entertainment gives us an exact release date.
Voice casts and production cast details
Not only is the series backed by TMS Entertainment, but it also boasts a talented cast and crew. First and foremost, it’s been announced that Tomokazu Sugita will be lending his voice to the main character. Sugita is a veteran voice actor with an impressive resume, having played iconic roles such as Gintoki Sakata in Gintama, Kyon in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Joseph Joestar in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. As for the rest of the voice cast, details are still under wraps. However, with a talent like Sugita already on board, it’s safe to assume that the producers won’t disappoint us.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the production staff working behind the scenes to bring Sakamoto Days to life:
| Position | Staff | Other contributions |
|---|---|---|
| Director | Masaki Watanabe | Code Geass, Fruits Basket |
| Series Composition | Taku Kishimoto | Blue Lock, Magi, and Haikyuu!! |
| Character Designer | Yo Moriyama | Vinland Saga, Mob Psycho 100, Attack on Titan |
What to expect from the Sakamoto Days anime?
If you’ve seen the PV trailer for the anime adaptation, you know the premise is already unique. Sakamoto used to be a legendary assassin, feared by all in the underworld. After tying the knot and having a kid, dude goes from being a lean, mean killing machine to a chubby, happy shopkeeper running a little convenience store.
Of course, his past keeps knocking on his door in the form of old rivals and new enemies who just can’t get over the fact he’s out. The fun part? Sakamoto still has his killer moves. When trouble comes, he switches from friendly shopkeeper to badass assassin in a heartbeat. In short, the story offers a mix of comedy and slices of everyday life— a former hitman juggling family, retail, and dodging bullets all at the same time.