Cover Image: Sakamoto Days, Vol. 2

Sakamoto Days, Vol. 2

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Another solid volume, I love how this series balances both action and comedy, making it such a great read! I'm interested to see if it can keep this momentum up in future volumes, and look forward to seeing where this series goes!

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I liked the additional characters and the set piece set in an amusement park, but some of the assasins are just too silly.

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While I enjoyed this volume, I didn't love it as much as the first one. The first volume had more hints towards Sakamoto's life before getting married and how it affects his life now, but this volume seemed more random in the series of events that happened. It's still a good series, and I do recommend it, but the second volume was a but weak. Hopefully it will continue to improve as there is a lot of promise.

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Mr. Sakamoto, his family, and his two employees enjoy a day at the theme park while dodging assassins who are trying to cash in on the bounty on Sakamoto. The three former assassins try to keep Mrs. Sakamoto and daughter Hana oblivious to the violence going on around them while still trying to keep Sakamoto Family Rule #1: No Killing. An assassin named Boiled and his assistant come after Mr. Sakamoto within a haunted house, and the two taunt Mr. Sakamoto for gaining weight and losing his assassin skills. This prompts Sakamoto into instant weight-loss again, a superpower we first saw in volume 1. Then, another assassin reveals that someone has been killing assassins systematically, and it started about the same time a bounty was put on Sakamoto’s head. Could the two things be related?

There is more hilarity and crazy fight scenes in volume two, but we’re also introduced to a mystery that might become an overarching plot that spans multiple volumes. This mystery might be intriguing to some readers who want to know if there is a connection to Mr. Sakamoto, but I could have used a few more details or a couple more panels of suspense. I appreciate that Sakamoto keeps adopting people that are now reforming their lives and his circle of people to protect is getting larger. That also means we keep getting new and interesting characters, which keeps the story fresh.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

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Another fantastic installment! This one is just so fun. The art style is clear and the story is so over the top that you just get drawn in.

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Another great mix of action and humor as Sakamoto continues to deal with those trying to take him out. The characters are really being developed well and the action panels are awesome.

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Sakamoto, his family, and friends are at an amusement park where they keep being attacked by assassins. Sakamoto and some of his associates have retired from the assassin game, but someone is taking that personally! Can Sakamoto and his crew manage to keep his family in the dark regarding the danger while still enjoying the park? And why is the mystery person so gung ho on getting a man who has been retired for 5 years? The feel of the book reminds me of Spy X Family with its quirky characters and mysteries to be solved while trying to live a normal life. A fun read!

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title!

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I receieved an eARCh of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Volume two brings the theme park brawl to a conclusion but adds more to the story. Why after all this time are assassins coming after Sakamoto?

The action is fun and quirky, very similar to One Punch Man. Each character faces challenges which test their limits and abilities, however, it is done with wit and humor.

I think the second volume brings the same energy of the first while adding new depth and character to the story. Still worth a read. I recommend to check it out.

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This is a really great gag manga of one of Japans deadliest assassins (Fictionally) Taro Sakamoto. Sakamoto has found love and has made a promise to never kill again. Seems simple enough right? Well you would think until the organization Sakamoto use to work for doesn't take quitting the business lightly and puts a price on Sakamoto's head. If you enjoyed The Way of the House Husband you will most likely enjoy this.
Thank you to Netgalley and VIZ Media for allowing me to read a digital copy in exchange my honest review.

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Sakamoto Days Volume Two sees assassins coming after Taro Sakamoto in order to collect the bounty that’s been placed on his head.

Sakamoto Days Volume Two
Written by: Yuto Suzuki
Publisher: Shueisha Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: June 14, 2022

Most of the volume takes place at the amusement park trip that Sakamoto is taking with his family, along with Shin and Lu. The volume starts out with Shin going up against an assassin that uses poison while on a rollercoaster track. Even though Shin is poisoned, he’s still able to keep up with his attacker. Their fight culminates with them crashing into a stage show. Shin puts on the costume for the rabbit character and takes down the assassin in front of an audience (which includes Sakamoto and his family).

After this assassin is defeated, the story introduces two more assassins: Boiled (who’s known Sakamoto since they were teens and has a personal grudge against him) and Obiguro (Boiled’s female partner). These two become important when Sakamoto and the others go into a haunted house. Lu and Shin end up against Obiguro, while Sakamoto takes on Boiled.

Before their arrival, Lu drinks some strong alcohol… and during the fight with Obiguro, it’s revealed that she uses “drunken fist.” Ah yes… the technique that somehow works while someone is drunk but is usually played more for laughs than anything else. By the end of the fight between these two women, they become friends.

Meanwhile, during the fight between Sakamoto and Boiled, and it ends up that Sakamoto burns enough calories that he slims down and goes all out. The two of them end up falling outside, with Sakamoto sending Boiled flying into a ferris wheel and causing damage. Leading up to their fight, though, the reader gets to see some flashbacks from Boiled to help set up why he has such a grudge against Sakamoto. While his grudge is rooted in some rather petty reasons, at least the reader has a better understanding of Boiled. Even though the reasons are petty, they ultimately work in a manga like Sakamoto Days since the manga is more on the comedic side.

The best part of the story at the amusement park, though, is when Sakamoto’s wife learns that the former assassins have been hiding the fact that Sakamoto has a bounty on his head and that they’ve been trying to secretly protect Sakamoto’s wife and daughter so they could enjoy their outing. Sakamoto’s wife shows how tough she is when she whips out the family rulebook and points out that one of the rules is that there are no secrets in the family. I was really amused when Boiled (who at this point is now hanging out with Sakamoto and the others at the amusement park) acts like Sakamoto’s wife also scolded him. In some respects, Sakamoto’s wife is almost more frightening than any of the assassins the reader has been introduced to up to this point in the story.

Sakamoto’s wife insists that her husband find a way to get the bounty taken off of his head. Sakamoto takes Shin and Lu with him to a location where he can get the information he needs to find where the organization that placed the price on his head is. I have to say that the cover for the location providing the information was quite amusing. But with what he gleans, Sakamoto and the others make it into the location… only to discover that the people they were looking for were all murdered by Nagumo, another assassin that Sakamoto knew from his assassin days. Nagumo is part of an investigation that’s trying to find the culprit who has been murdering assassins since around the same time the bounty was placed on Sakamoto. But this is as far as this plot point goes in this volume. I suspect that this will be a running theme in future volumes of Sakamoto Days.

The volume ends on a more light-hearted note, when Sakamoto’s daughter says she wants a particular backpack for when she starts school. It turns out this is a limited edition backpack and that parents are swarming to get them for their kids. It shouldn’t be surprising what Sakamoto does in order to obtain one, especially when it’s the last one in the whole store. Not only was this a lighter way to end the volume, it also illustrates just how much Sakamoto cares about his daughter. This story also includes a flashback of when Sakamoto’s daughter was born and the interactions he and his daughter have while in the hospital. I liked the addition of this flashback, and to be honest, I found it to be sweet.

Overall, I thought that Sakamoto Days Volume Two was a strong continuation from the first volume of the series. With the main characters being established by the end of the first volume, the second volume could spend more of its time progressing the story forward. The potential I saw in the series after reading Volume One was still present when I read this volume.

If you read and enjoyed Sakamoto Days Volume One, then I think you will also appreciate how the story continues in Volume Two.

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This was another fun instalment in this series!

I must admit I'm not super invested like I have been with other series, but I'm still having fun reading them (not every series can be a favourite I suppose!)

Still would recommend in the shop for sure :)

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Sakamoto Days Vol. 1 was a great setup and the story is continued in Vol. 2, where we learn more about the assassin industry in the story. We learn more about both the Sakamoto family rules and the legend that was Sakamoto at his peak assassin form. We also get the plot that will get us through the rest of the books: There is a bounty on Sakamoto's head and they're going to find out who set the bounty and why. A+ action scenes and story development, topped with gags from Yuto Suzuki.

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This title continues to be a fun mix of action and humor! Each new character introduced is interesting and entertaining. The standout character in this volume is Mrs. Sakamoto. She's a very refreshing change from the usual clueless spouse in these kinds of stories. My one gripe with the series is the joke about Mr. Sakamoto's fluctuating weight, but it's a small gripe compared to the rest of it..

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Another great installment to this series! The story picks up where the first volume left off and Sakamoto discovers there is a more sinister force behind the bounty on his head and the constant attacks from assassins. I really enjoy where the plot is going and the characters are super fun! I am looking forward to reading the third volume.

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I first started reading this series because the whole ex-hitman thing reminded me of Way of the Househusband, which I love. If you like that series, you'll definitely like this one too, but they're two pretty different series. Where Househusband is a series of short vignettes that focus on translating Tatsu's yakuza tendencies into everyday life for humorous affect, Sakamoto Days is a more cohesive plot, showing the life Taro Sakamoto has built for himself after retiring when he married his wife. This is very much a silly series, with a cast of wild characters, including one who's a clairvoyant. Volume two picks up in the middle of the Sakamoto family's trip to an amusement park, where Shin and Lu are tagging along to run interference with the hitmen that are coming after Taro. There's some fun fight scenes, and overall the tone remains light, with a focus on the comedy aspect. The chapters are short and engaging, and I like how the plot is building towards something without dropping the humor. I'm a big fan of comedy in shonen series, and this one definitely does it right. I'm looking forward to seeing where the series goes, and hoping for an eventual anime adaption.

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