Sakamoto Days stands high as one of the best shonen manga to date, more so for its splendid fight scenes and storytelling. Based on the manga by Yuto Suzuki, Sakamoto Days quickly rose to one of the top anime releases in 2025.
Sakamoto Days delivers a thrilling blend of action, comedy, and heartwarming slice-of-life moments, capturing the manga’s essence. Despite the excitement, concerns have arisen over the anime’s production, with debates about its animation quality and fight choreography.
While Sakamoto Days has solidified its popularity in the manga scene, anime fans find solace in a silver lining as they navigate the shortcomings of its much-anticipated adaptation.
How Sakamoto Days fans are coping with the Anime Letdown
From the perspective of assassin-tastic manga, Yuto Suzuki brings his story into the bright light of a world full of quirky killers. The first cour of the Sakamoto Days anime premiered on January 11, with the second cour set to air around July 2025.
Hailed as the next big-gen shonen alongside Dandadan and Kagurabachi, Sakamoto Days dominated the Winter 2025 anime rankings, even surpassing Solo Leveling with its premiere episode.
However, the hype quickly faded as criticism poured in over the studio’s poor execution. Yuto Suzuki’s manga was hyped for its thrilling action, humor, and dynamic fights, but the anime adaptation fell short.
Fans were let down as the first five episodes struggled to capture the manga’s spark, leaving expectations unfulfilled.
1st teaser of "Sakamoto Days" anime series by Masaki Watanabe & TMS Studio.
— Catsuka (@catsuka) May 27, 2024
Based on the manga by Yuto Suzuki.
Coming in January 2025.
Full video >> https://t.co/vpqDRoCJi9 pic.twitter.com/mDIuTA2ktp
The task of adapting a popular manga like Sakamoto Days into an anime is always something perilous, and fans are gradually coming to accept this fact.
A big problem with Sakamoto Days is its huge production team—23 studios worked on a single episode. While this is common in the industry, this scale gives the impression that there are too few core staff, possibly due to industry-wide labor shortages, tight deadlines, and overworked animators.
Every anime has its flaws, and Sakamoto Days fans are gradually coming to terms with them. While the expectations were sky-high, most people were thrilled just to see their beloved manga come to life, a milestone moment for any manga fan.
Not even 2024’s blockbusters Dandadan and Solo Leveling, which have gained tremendous popularity, are exempt from the criticisms. Dandadan got an abrupt ending, Undead Unluck suffered from poor pacing, and Solo Leveling had to cut much of the manhwa’s content.
Fans are always expecting perfection in a debut season, expecting the best of the best in every anime. Sakamoto Days is no different, but the fans have gradually learned to accept its flaws and mediocre animation as part of the package.
Although the animation quality and fight choreography are of concern, most fans are happy to see Sakamoto in action. All the excitement for the anime is still well-kept by most viewers, even if it hasn’t been a flawless adaptation of fans’ expectations.
Sakamoto Days fans raised animation concerns before Episode 1 even aired
The fact that global accessibility is highly emphasized in Sakamoto Days is a testament to the focus of the studio. The series clearly targets worldwide appeal by putting the anime series on Netflix streaming.
Sitting proudly among one of the top shonen mangas of its generation, no doubt some level of anxiety surfaced for fans to await the premiere of the series’ 2025 anime adaption.
When Netflix posted a preview trailer of Sakamoto Days on YouTube, fans quickly filled the comment section with criticisms concerning the animation quality.
Rather than trying to calm the storm, TMS Studio made things worse by deleting negative comments, which only increased doubts. Just like Solo Leveling, Sakamoto Days has raised understandable fan concerns, considering the manga’s popularity in the Weekly Shonen Jump scene.
The Sakamoto Days manga is available to read on Viz Media and the anime is available to stream on Netflix.
Frequently asked questions
Why were Sakamoto Days fans disappointed with the anime’s animation?
Many fans felt the early episodes of TMS Entertainment’s adaptation didn’t fully capture the manga’s dynamic, fast-paced action and humor, with the first batch of episodes criticized for lacking spark and inconsistent fight choreography. The article points to the production reportedly being spread across an unusually large number of studios per episode, which fans connected to stretched resources, tight deadlines, and overworked animators across the industry.
What is the ‘point of consolation’ the article mentions?
The consolation is emotional rather than technical. Despite the animation complaints, fans say they are simply thrilled to finally see their favorite manga brought to life, treating it as a milestone. The article notes that most viewers are happy just to see Taro Sakamoto in action on screen and are gradually accepting the flaws because the adaptation exists at all.
Who created Sakamoto Days and where can you watch the anime?
Sakamoto Days is based on the Weekly Shonen Jump manga by Yuto Suzuki, following Taro Sakamoto, a legendary retired hitman now running a convenience store, alongside the mind-reading former assassin Shin. The anime is produced by TMS Entertainment and streams on Netflix, with its first cour premiering in January 2025 and a second cour following in July 2025.
