Despite an action-packed two-episode, staggered premiere, Sakamoto Days Part 2 continues to suffer from its greatest weakness: the strength of its source material. In any other situation, this Netflix adaptation might avoid the undeniable criticisms solely based on the strength of its characters and the pop-art style effect of its colorful animation. But the manga, written and illustrated by Yuto Suzuki, is so good, so fluid in its illustrations, capturing distinct motion and movement that it makes the anime feel stagnant in comparison. Yes, there will always be details that get missed when adapting a manga into an anime. But for an action series where the source material emphasizes the constant flow of motion in battle, the series loses steam in contrast.
Which is a shame because there are some steps up in animation quality in the first fight between Shin (Nobunaga Shimazaki), Lu (Ayane Sakura), and the death row inmate, Saw. Sakamoto Days Part 2 brings us straight back to where Episode 11 left off, with the two plus Sakamoto (Tomokazu Sugita) learning about the threat posed by the serial killers Saw, Dump, Apart, and Minimalist. Team Sakamoto and The Order are on high alert, with the former training as they ready themselves for any inevitable conflict.
Episode 12 gives us more time with The Order, a subgroup of the JAA comprising its strongest members. While we got peaks of them throughout Part 1, Part 2 will deal with them much more heavily beyond the appearance of perennial favorite, Nagumo (Natsuki Hanae). The sequence of them all stuffed into a van as the deadpan (and hilarious) Osaragi (Saori Hayami) drives establishes their personalities while moving the plot forward. The serial killers are less of an immediate threat to them and more of a nuisance. Or, as Osaragi will go on to say in Episode 13, like a bug in her home that she needs to squash.
Sakamoto Days Part 2 plunges us straight into the drama and action.
Because even if Sakamoto retains his power and skills in combat, his team – while strong – doesn’t yet measure up to the very best. Though Sakamoto Days Part 2 is already showing the signs of a plot on fast forward. A lot happens – and quick. Shin is the most noteworthy example. While he and Lu both “level up” in their brutal and bruising fight against Saw, Shin’s is the only one that actually matters. Lu, meanwhile, continues to be pure comedic relief. Her update to her drunken master skit is her ability to emulate a mobster now. More than anything, it’s a way to let Sakura’s dynamic voice shine.
Meanwhile, Shin is actually hitting his power-up moment. In his fight against Saw, he unlocks the ability not just to use his clairvoyance to read Saw’s thoughts – he’s able to predict his next moves. His ability to read Saw’s subconscious decisions allows him to stand his ground in the fight, even if he soon learns the limits of just how much he’s able to use this skill.
Ultimately, it takes both Lu and Shin to defeat him. And even then, Saw walks away before being annihilated in a single punch from assassin Hyo. While the anime doesn’t lean into the more PG-13 and above action as the manga, it doesn’t completely ignore it. And the rush of blood splatter engulfing the car, and shot from a distance, is a perfect example of its effectiveness.
The fight between Shin and Saw is a central standout for the adaptation.
The fight between Shin and Saw is one of the best moments of action in the series. There’s clear, distinct power in Shin’s stance and hits, and the direction follows the two as they move throughout the store, fluid and dynamic. Yes, there’s still an overreliance on freeze-frame effects, where characters float through the air in a singular pose. But there’s movement too – tactility when it often lacks. So often it feels as if the characters themselves have been transposed onto the backgrounds, two mediums meeting in the middle and slightly ajar. In Episode 13, the two styles and the effects of the action begin to gel momentarily.
It’s what lets down the fight towards the end of “Just Desserts” between Osaragi and Dump. It’s promising at first, as Osaragi demonstrates her considerable power through a fantastic and funny sequence where she brutally walks Dump through Japanese prayer at the shrine they’re fighting in. However, the longer it goes on, the more it loses its kinetic nature. There’s one scene in particular, as Osaragi is mid-air, where there’s no weight or motion to her character.
Directed by Tomoko Hiramuki and Yoshihiro Nishio, the sequence is flat and lacks any depth. The animation is shallow, losing any personality beyond the simple aesthetic of Osaragi’s characters. Her weapon of choice is so cool – so fun with endless possibilities for how to animate it. And somehow, the series manages to dull its effect.
The series is still worth watching. But it could be better.
And, perhaps, this is all due to being an avid fan of the manga. The manga, which, better than most, can capture fluid, careening motion through gleeful panels in which cars plummet out of skyscrapers and characters are plunged into bodies of water or hundreds of feet in the air. For all of the action in Sakamoto Days that is inherent to the plot – hello, world of assassins – the series is so peculiar in its stillness.
That said, the charm of the adaptation remains due to the strength of the characters, physical comedy, and the genuine intrigue surrounding the big bad, Slur. Episode 13 leaves us on a significant cliffhanger, too, with Aoi in seeming danger as Slur pulls some strings behind the scenes. Sakamoto Days is hardly a bad series. It’s, for the most part, an entertaining adaptation that honors the source material without deviating from the plot.
That said, considering the bulk of incredible anime out this season and, paired up against other popular adaptations such as DanDaDan or, even, Gachiakuta, it’s hard not to wish that another studio had grabbed the adaptation first. Because Sakamoto Days has everything going for it on paper. It’s just that, so far, it’s yet to do anything onscreen that the manga hasn’t accomplished – and better – on the page.
Sakamoto Days Part 2, Episodes 12-13 are available now on Netflix.
Images courtesy of Netflix.
REVIEW RATING
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Sakamoto Days Part 2 Episodes 12-13 - 6.5/10
6.5/10
Based in New England, Allyson is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of InBetweenDrafts. Former Editor-in-Chief at TheYoungFolks, she is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Boston Online Film Critics Association. Her writing has also appeared at CambridgeDay, ThePlaylist, Pajiba, VagueVisages, RogerEbert, TheBostonGlobe, Inverse, Bustle, her Substack, and every scrap of paper within her reach.
