Webtoon Spotlight

Spotlight#134: Sakomoto Days

Have you ever wanted to strap your Adidas hoodie and tie up some black Air Force? If so, Yuto Suzuki's Sakomoto Days will give you the extra push you need to spin some blocks.

Summary

In the assassin underworld, no name has been more feared than Taro's Sakomoto. Enemies saw death in his presence, and on a global scale, assassins revered his prowess, as he was lauded overall as the perfect killing machine. Or at least he did until about five years ago, when Sakomoto fell in love, got hitched, popped out a kid, and retired from the game.

Now the reformed mercenary seeks to live out his days as a humble convenience store owner. But, unfortunately, if you're good at their job for any period, people will naturally come out of the woodwork to trouble you. Whenever he has to protect his store, family, and employees from certain death, any poor soul must deal with the legendary assassins' nonlethal wrath.

Characters

Sakomoto: Our titular character, Sakomoto, is a 27-year-old family man who's adjusted pretty well to the easy life. Don't let his pudgy frame fool you, though, as, beneath it, we have a man who is entirely no-nonsense and suppressing pinnacle bloodlust. Still, it doesn't change the fact of meeting his wife, Aoi. He adopts a more humanitarian approach. Of course, he'll still fuck you up, but at the very least, it'll be nonlethal, dashed with honor and compassion for his more honorable foes.

Shin: The famed deuteragonist, Shin is Sakomoto's honest, collected, loyal, and managed employee. A former member of the Japanese Assassin Association and current telepath, Shin is a newbie combatant with lots of promise. However, after getting beaten by his idol Shin, he decides to stick around, becoming Sakomoto's rival and subordinate towards greater strength.

Lu Xioatan: Being the heiress to a Chinese triad family, Lu is a bit of a spoiled brat. She can be easily excitable and confrontational toward especially Shin. However, her cheery confidence is backed up pretty heavily by her skill in Tai chi and the drunken fist she'll regularly employs to protect her found family.

Overview

Unlike this cluster's last entry, Sakamoto Days were unlike anything I expected. I heard from a few manga-centric Youtubers like Broken Ronin and the Masked Man that this series is one long action movie. So jumping in, I expected super stylized John Wick scale action. But, instead, what I got were borderline super soldiers making smoothies out of living people.

It's been a while since I've seen balls-to-the-wall action as insanely good as Sakomotos, and I think that unique blend comes from the slice-of-life aesthetic. As a largely action-based writer, I feel one of the less talked about aspects of having baller fights is environmental usage. Whether they're users to set a tone, display a character's tool kit and abilities, or create symbolism, having them play an active role is a treat.

Juxtaposed with superhuman feats, mundane locations like rollercoaster rides, highways, and construction stores become slugfest. While Suzuki doesn't have the most detailed art style, his action always manages to detail the move, so it's dynamic but readable. Synchronize all that within a world of fantastical martial artists, crazy cyborgs, modified humans, and Sakomoto's a blast.

Nearly 100 chapters worth of action have gone by, and so far, I've never been bored, and I think that comes from the characters. Since our leading man is a character partially at his narrative and physical peak, a lot of the more traditional development is saved for Shin. At the same time, he interacts with the more casual characters. However, there's a powerful found family aspect between them that's endlessly endearing.

Filling out the cast, even more, are the villainous Slur, filled with dangerously unique mercenaries whose goal is to destroy the Assassin Association. The latter two groups still get the most focus, though, as we see their head honchos, the Order, Sakomoto's past associates. Through these two groups, we get a lot more lore worldbuilding and bloodier battles if you wish.

Across the first couple of arcs, Sakomoto was a villain of the week, a slice-of-life adventure with consistent comedy all around. However, later angles seem to be working to establish more characters' backstories and more consistent plot elements. So, combined with not knowing much about Sakomoto's past, there's still plenty to explore.

Epilogue

All in all, Sakomoto Days was one of the more entertaining binge-reads. It's a straightforward series, but it knows what it is at its core and does it very well. However, given Black Clover and My Hero Academia are in their final arcs, combined with Fire Force and Dr. Stone's recent ends, I think there will be a significant shakeup in Shonen Jump soon.

Especially with the rise of adaptations like Mashale, Kaju No. 8, and Mission: Yozakura Family, I think shonen's in good hands from what I've heard. Either way, Sakomoto Days is destined to get an adaptation soon, if not already confirmed, and I want to check out some of its newer brethren soon. Until then, let's see where the spotlights take us next.