‘Sakamoto Days’ Episode 10 review: “Bathhouse Mode”

With another story arc in the can, Sakamoto Days Episode 10 takes an earned detour back into slice-of-life fun. This week’s episode is the kind that evokes memories of the second season of Spy x Family in more ways than one. Primarily this is in how “Bathhouse Mode” is actually two stories combined into one episode. However, by not having to resolve both of those stories Sakamoto Days finally gets a chance to breathe. 

Rock the bathhouse

First, the family takes a trip to a local bathhouse to shake off the stress of The Lab. There’s no pressure beyond Shin’s self-imposed training. It’s wholesome to see just how much he continues to look up to Sakamoto all while Sakamoto tells him not to read into it. The setup for gags comes together as yet another low-rent hit man just so happens to be working a shift at the bathhouse. 

Right down to the use of a “mission” assignment on screen, this section is really giving Spy x Family. That’s hardly a negative, we love that anime around here. Some of the lightheartedness could be even more light – Hana remains ever benched – but the simplicity of Sakamoto’s near limitless power does the heavy lifting. It’s overall fun enough but never really nets a big belly laugh. Nonetheless, it’s nice to see some of the manga’s self-contained “average” days adapted. The anime has been going at such a pace that there’s fair concern of cuts being made. 

It’s Lu’s turn to get an arc

With that in mind, the second half of Sakamoto Days episode 10 begins the next story arc. Just as Shin got to see some further exploration in The Lab, Lu now gets her time to shine. This makes perfect sense. Lu is the daughter of a mafia family and is effectively royalty. So of course her former retainers come to retrieve her. Lu Wutang (Masaaki Mizunaka/Howard Wang) has been creepily obsessive with her since childhood and he challenges the Sakamoto’s staff to a gambling showdown. 

Yes, if the first half of this episode was Spy x Family, then the second half is basically a Ranma ½ plot. It’s actually kind of fun to see Sakamoto Days wear these inspirations on their sleeves and how the various elements change with the context. The real laugh of the entire episode comes from Sakamoto and Shin immediately deciding to use the former’s telepathy to cheat only for Shin to enthusiastically add he has no idea how to actually win. Of course, the episode as a whole ends as soon as the gambling gets going. 

Even with a blunt cut off just as the next plot was getting going, the relaxing moments of “Bathhouse Mode” are a worthy trade off in this week’s episode. The choice gives the series a second to breathe out and helps reinforce the casual life the cast wants to protect. Folks might be inclined to call parts of this episode filler, but with a story arc also starting here, this is a pretty solid way for Sakamoto Days to split the difference.

Sakamoto Days airs Saturdays on Netflix.

Featured image ©Yuto Suzuki/SHUEISHA, SAKAMOTO DAYS PROJECT, Netflix

Travis Hymas

Travis Hymas is a freelance writer and self appointed Pokémon historian out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Known to be regularly obessive over pop culture topics, gaming discourse, and trading card games, he is a published critic featured on sites such as Uppercut and The Young Folks.