But Sakamoto's days as a hitman aren't done with him yet... and after 5 years of peace, his past catches up to him...
Sakamoto Days is a comedy/action manga about an ex-assassin who tries to juggle his placid family life with the revenge attempts of the Hitman Association. It can be read legally in English here
, and Viz Media began releasing the physical volumes in spring 2022.
Compare The Way of the Househusband.
This manga provides examples of:
- Aborted Arc: At one point, after their facility was taken over by a criminal cabal of assassins, the scientists responsible for giving Shinn his powers show up and try to kidnap him on their boss's orders. The same people who ordered the kidnapping never show interest in figuring out his powers after the arc is concluded even though they're still at large as of chapter sixty.
- It's later revealed that Kashima personally wanted to use Shinn's power to read Slur's mind.
- Apathetic Citizens: You're either an assassin, or you're blithely going about your day while assassins commit mass property destruction. The noncombatants hardly react to anything that goes on around them, aside from the occasional deadpan "oh no!" even as people pull out heavy-duty sniper rifles or rip out lampposts.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Pretty much the entire cast of assassins is comprised of wacky characters with some odd quirk or silly personality trait, but all of them are extremely good at what they do.
- Carnival of Killers: Sakamoto has a hit put on him for leaving the JAA, which attracts all kinds of assassins to try and make a name for themselves by taking him down.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: Assassins have shown immense physical feats with the primary example being Takamura, an old man capable of cutting buildings.
- Cartridges in Flight: The first volume cover◊ shows an entire cartridge coming out of Shin's pistol. The pistol also doesn't have any kind of muzzle flash coming out the barrel, making it look as if an unspent cartridge was simply thrown in front of the gun.
- Defeat Means Friendship: The first hitman that tries to off Sakamoto, Shin, is hired by him to lend a hand in the store and pretty much becomes his underling afterwards.
- Given that Sakamoto no longer kills, this becomes his main way of adding members to his team, with Heisuke also joining the main group in this way and even calling forming a brief alliance with one of the serial killers sent to take him out.
- Fingore: Gaku tries to kill the old swordsman with his hammer, but the old man blocks with the katana’s handle and draws it while slashing, cutting off Gaku’s ear, ring finger, and pinkie. It’s a rather understated injury, considering the same attack destroyed the wall behind them.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: The instant Gaku gets his arm cut off, he comments "Don't need this." and kicks it at his opponent.
- Guns Do Not Work That Way:
- Heisuke's rifle is often drawn in detail without a charging handle, even though he tends to cock it between most shots like a bolt-action.
- The volume three cover◊ draws the same rifle with the charging handle, but it has both a scope and a front ironsight; the latter would simply get in the way of the former's view.
- Henpecked Husband: The only one Sakamoto is afraid of is... his wife. Aoi is actually a really sweet person, but she won't tolerate Sakamoto going back to his old ways.
- Hidden Supplies: Sakamoto's convenience store has a warehouse full of weapons of all kinds. It is activated by a code on his POS.
- Hunting the Rogue: Taro Sakamoto was the world's greatest hitman before retiring. Once they find out he's still alive, the Hitman Association tries to take him out.
- Indulgent Fantasy Segue: It becomes something of a Running Gag for Sakamoto to suddenly kill someone for being a nuisance (often Shin), only for it to just be his imagination.
- Implied Death Threat: When Shin starts a cigarette and says that Sakamoto is a shadow of his former self. He notices his cigarette has been cut and that Sakamoto is holding a box cutter while pointing to a no smoking sign. Shin takes the message "I may be out of shape but I can kill you in an instant" loud and clear.
- I Know You're Watching Me: In chapter 6, Sakamoto talks to a hidden camera the Hitman Association planted in his store, warning them to leave him and his family alone before shooting out the camera.
- Judgment of Solomon: Sakamoto solves a problem with two kids only having one ball by ripping it in two.
- Mafia Princess: Lu is a Triads and Tongs version of this trope.
- Murder, Inc.: The Hitman Association is pretty well organized for an illegal group. They even issue licenses for contract killing and sells stocks.
- Perfect Disguise, Terrible Acting: Sakamoto is The Stoic. He's not given to speaking much and even his thoughts are taciturn, as seen through Shin's. Thus, it's immediately clear that something is off when Sakamoto holds an actual conversation with Shin and Lu. It's not until the real Sakamoto arrives and quickly deals with the situation that it's discovered the other Sakamoto is Nagumo, able to change appearance in the blink of an eye, stopping in for a visit.
- Pull Yourself Down the Spear: Dump pins Osaragi to the wall by the hand using an expendable spear coming out of her own hand, but Osaragi pulls herself up it to grapple Dump to the ground.
- Punched Across the Room: As Gaku raids a JAA office, he kills one opponent by smashing him in the head with his club, knocking him out the window and into a parking garage, where he bounces off the ground and into a truck window, landing face-first on the steering wheel’s horn.
- Resignations Not Accepted: The penalty for leaving the Hitman Association is death.
- Serious Business: A group of terrorists took over a bus because they discontinued their favorite manga series.
- Stylistic Suck: To demonstrate how naive Heisuke is, the thoughts Shin scans in him are all shown as childish stick drawings.
- Thou Shall Not Kill: Since retiring, Sakamoto lives by this rule, in no small part thanks to his wife. After Shin and Lu become his employees, they adhere to the rule too.
- Tournament Arc: The JCC Exam starting Chapter 56. The first round consists of finding an exam admin holding a JCC bullet among 360 people on a plane. Weapons are given at complete random, from genuine weapons like guns and knives, to impractical weapons like spatulas and pens (though getting a pen didn't slow down Sakamoto).
- Unflattering ID Photo: After a JAA guard pulls a gun on Slur and Gaku for not showing their identification, Slur explains had a license but he threw it away because he didn't like the photo. Gaku agrees they never give you enough warning to get a photo as he violently murders the guard.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Kanaguri assumes that Sakamoto is just a has-been extra in his film project capturing the ongoing conflicts in the assassination world, but he's the actual main character so Sakamoto shows he has far more to his repertoire to outwit and defeat Kanaguri.
