The Animated Balancing Act of 'Sakamoto Days'
The plot based on the life of Tarou Sakamoto ex-hitman who had a last mission to break up his impressive criminal record after having the chance to start anew because of falling in love. Yamamoto currently works as a convenience store clerk where his preliminary enemies cannot accept that he has finally retired. His once quiet life is put at risk and Sakamoto must wits it out and neutralize threats to his newfound family.
The character driven anime ‘Sakamoto Days’ combines themes of being an assassin and doing the impossible along with comedy and family elements. The series is full of fast-paced action comedy with philosophical overtones and devoted to trying to come to terms with quitin g a life of crime for family responsibilities.
Tomokazu Sugita is starring as Sakamoto in the Japanese version and does an amazing job, varying from charming to funny at certain points. The characters are notable with depth provided to main and supporting ones, with skipping roles contributing to each vital episode’s advancement.
Amazingly, director Masaki Watanabe manages action and intimate scenes; the contrast between brutal activity and family-focused domesticity is perfect while the series tone maintains consistency.
The music in Sakamoto Days is perfect for high-intensity sequences and sweet family flashes. It adapts well to playing the high-octane moments as well as the more contemplative quieter scenes that present the alive life of Sakamoto.
It has vibrant and dynamic colours and effectively uses its graphical setting to the advantage of telling the story. A few specifically, it perfectly combine the Viking battle and a Korean known as day to day life.
Story’s cinematography and production design is successful; Everything ranging from the convenience store to the intricate criminal under world. The visuals are very important to create an atmosphere of the two worlds of Sakamoto.
The anime, while not having many effects, does use some that make the action scenes more complicated and appealing to the audience.
Pacing is well done and remains consistent in the whole series, switching between action and sometimes slower moments effectively.
The pacing is great throughout the show. Violence, and more exactly action, is never too far, while the family drama is developed progressively.
Like any other shonen anime series, the dialogs in Sakamoto Days are clver and humorous, though the characters have their dramatic and darkest sides. Characters are dynamic and subtexts are embedded in lines to showcase characters’ inner traits and to keep the story moving.
Much as Sakamoto Days stands tall in the narrative and character building dimension, a section of episodes are somewhat recurrent, because of the cat and mouse game. Nonetheless, it must be said that it is a small drawback compared with all the advantages of the series. The series opens doors to a world in which life and death are at par with family affection and betrayal, but the audience gets a feeling of hope for redemption.
