The Debut of Sakamoto Days Is Potentially Another Triumph for Netflix

Netflix kickstarted the year of 2025 with potentially another hit anime series in Sakamoto Days. Manga shōnen that sold over 7 million of its copies around the world just debuted on Netflix with the first episode, and there is a lot to discuss.

Solid Animation After Some Doubts

After the success of Dandadan, Netflix has been banking on another hit series on their platform, and that's Sakamoto Days, which has already become popular with the audience across the world. The story of an ex-hitman turning family man started decently with its first episode, but what was first noticeable was a better-than-expected animation of the anime. Before the release of the first episode, Netflix released a series of teasers that made some question the quality of the series' animation. It was mostly from Japanese fans who had many other things to criticize, but the Western fans caught on after the Netflix opening trailer for Sakamoto Days.

The animation looked strange, with textures looking a bit blurry and noticeable lines on the edges of animated characters that looked like it was done by amateurs. The final trailer by Netflix 'saved' the situation, and finally the first episode showcased solid and decent animation. After watching Dandadan, everything looks less good, but with all of the criticism, Sakamoto Days served us a solid animation that reminds us of pencil-drawn manga panels. Nevertheless, Sakamoto Days debuted its first episode with solid animation that can get better as the series' goes on.

Intriguing and Interesting Storyline

Sakamoto Days already showcased its cool storyline in the hit manga series, but the newcomers can definitely appreciate it, even with the first episode. The debut episode of Sakamoto Days gave us a glimpse of what to expect from the show: great action, funny interactions, and bloody fights.

It introduced us to Taro Sakamoto, an ex-hitman who retires after he meets the love of his life. Sakamoto opens up a convenience store with his wife, and they later welcome their dear daughter. We even have the opportunity to see some glimpses of Sakamoto's past life and meet Shin, a young assassin and a former student of the older man. Their interactions are interesting, entertaining, and, most of all, engaging enough for fans to already appreciate what Sakamoto Days showed and will showcase in future episodes.

Strong Lead Characters and Cool Action

As already mentioned, the characters, even in the first episode, proved to be strong enough to carry the storyline. It's just one episode, but what fans expected from Sakamoto Days, they received it—cool interactions, hilarious convo between the characters, and the establishment of the same individuals. Taro Sakamoto is a retired, overweight dad who still can beat and annihilate everyone in a fight, while Shin is there to voice his former mentor's inner thoughts with his psychic abilities and provide his 'youthful' energy to the dynamic.

The side characters, who included mostly Sakamoto's family and a kid that regularly hangs out around the store, are solid enough but will showcase their worth in the future episodes even more. Moreover, Sakamoto Days has always been good with its action aspect of the storyline in manga, and anime adopts it quite well. Now, one could argue that slightly less sterile animation could do wonders here, but action scenes still have amazing choreography and great representation of Sakamoto's and Shin's abilities. We can only hope it gets even better as the series goes on.

Conclusion: Decent Debut and the Potential of Becoming a Hit Anime Series

It's difficult to judge this series so close to the debut of the Dandadan anime that took everyone's breath away with its composition and, most importantly, incredible animation that left everyone in awe. Moreover, it seems that Netflix wants this hit manga series to have an amazing anime adaptation, including the fans, and despite sometimes 'dodgy' animation, Sakamoto Days had a solid debut.

From storyline and characters to action-packed scenes, Sakamoto Days proved that previous failure doesn't necessarily have to continue onto the final product, meaning there is still hope this series gets even better with the next episodes. Maybe not in the same way as Dandadan, but still enough to be one of the 'hottest' anime series of the year—it definitely has the potential.

Watch Sakamoto Days on Netflix.