Image via TMS Entertainment, Netflix
Psychic Shin Asakura joins Taro Sakamoto’s family in his store.
After months of waiting, the first episode of the Sakamoto Days anime is finally out, and it didn’t disappoint. The story of former assassin Taro Sakamoto, who leaves the life of a hitman to get married, and his ex-junior Shin, who is a psychic, translated really well into anime. Although some of the viewers thought the animation to be too stiff, it worked in favour of the cutthroat action scenes of the show, which were dusted with moments of hilarity.
Spoiler alert: Major spoilers for the Sakamoto Days anime ahead.
Shin as seen in the anime (Image via TMS Entertainment, Netflix)
The inaugural episode of the anime, titled ‘The Legendary Hitman’, begins with an introduction of Sakamoto. In a short clip, we see how Taro Sakamoto used to be one of the best assassins in the country, feared by his enemies and respected by his followers. But one day, he met a beautiful woman named Aoi in a convenience store and fell in love. Overnight, Taro left the life of being a hitman behind to become a loving husband to Aoi. The two eventually had a daughter together, and now live above their family’s own convenience store. Moreover, Sakamoto has also gained a lot of weight due to his now laid-back lifestyle.
Shin is the young deuteragonist everyone loves
Sakamoto hits Shin when he attacks (Image via TMS Entertainment, Netflix)
After the introduction of Sakamoto and his incredible transformation, we meet a young guy named Shin Asakura. We learn that Shin is a psychic who can read the minds of people in closer vicinity and used to be a part of Sakamoto’s group. He asks Sakamoto to return to the life of crime, but the protagonist refuses. After watching him helping around the neighbourhood, Shin is angry about how Sakamoto is wasting his talents.
Some underground gangster calls Shin and tells him to kill Sakamoto as whoever leaves the life of a hitman behind isn’t allowed to live. Shin tries to shoot Sakamoto the next day but is thoroughly defeated by him. Sakamoto doesn’t kill him but causes him to pass out. When Shin wakes up, the whole Sakamoto family invites him to eat with them. After seeing how warm and happy they are, Shin is moved and promises to never harm them. Unfortunately, the underground mafia doesn’t agree with him.
Sakamoto welcomes Shin into his shop and his life
Shin becomes an employee at the Sakamoto store (Image via TMS Entertainment, Netflix)
The group of gangsters meet with Shin, and he pleads with them to not hurt Sakamoto, and take his life instead. The leader agrees, but Shin reads his mind and realizes that he’s lying. He immediately starts fighting with them and easily kills some of them due to his psychic powers. However, he’s still outnumbered and gets shot in the leg. Thankfully, Sakamoto planted a bug on him before he left. The protagonist finds Shin pretty quickly and takes care of the rest of the gangsters.
Once he’s better, Sakamoto offers Shin a job at their convenience store, easily accepting him into their lives. However, there is one condition- you can never kill anybody. We learn that Sakamoto didn’t injure anyone fatally while rescuing Shin. The deuteragonist is thankful to the whole family and promises to serve them well. Although there were some ups and downs in the quality of the animation, the battle scenes were quite smooth and well-paced. The storytelling of the series is also amazing. Fans are hoping to see some improvement in the animation, which will make the show a phenomenal watch.
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