The way John Wick built an entire action empire out of a stolen car and a dead puppy is nothing short of legendary. Across four mainline movies, Keanu Reeves turned the Baba Yaga into the gold standard for modern action, with bone-crunching gun-fu and an assassin underworld fans couldn’t get enough of. However, with Reeves’ future in a fifth movie still uncertain after John Wick: Chapter 4, and his brief appearance in the Ballerina spin-off leaving fans wanting more, the franchise has left a pretty big void. Fortunately, Netflix’s 22-episode assassin anime, Sakamoto Days, might be the perfect series to fill it.
What makes TMS Entertainment’s adaptation such an easy recommendation for John Wick fans is that manga creator Yuto Suzuki built the story around his love for Hollywood hitman movies. According to his Weekly Shonen Jump editor, Sousuke Ishikawa, Suzuki took direct inspiration from John Wick and The Equalizer when creating his lead character, Taro Sakamoto.
That influence is hard to miss. The Japanese Association of Assassins (JAA) has shades of the High Table, professional cleaners casually handle bloody crime scenes, and the close-quarters gunplay and improvised weapon fights bring plenty of the same creative action that made Reeves’ movies so popular. But Sakamoto Days is far from a cheap John Wick knockoff. Instead of another brooding assassin chasing revenge, it flips the formula by giving the world’s deadliest hitman a very different life to protect.
Sakamoto Days Completely Flips The Retired Assassin Trope With A Hilarious Comedy Edge
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Sakamoto Days follows Taro Sakamoto, a legendary hitman who once stood among the Japanese Association of Assassins’ (JAA) deadliest members as part of its elite unit, the Order. Back in his prime, he was the kind of assassin other killers thought twice about crossing. But much like John Wick leaving his violent past behind after falling in love with his wife Helen, Sakamoto walked away from the business after meeting Aoi, a convenience store clerk who would eventually become his wife.
Five years later, Sakamoto is running a quiet neighborhood store with Aoi and their young daughter, Hana. The catch is that peaceful family life, and endless bowls of instant ramen, caused Sakamoto to pack on a ton of weight, giving the anime a hilarious action-comedy edge. Even while following Aoi’s strict no-killing rule, he can turn everyday items like pens and store supplies into weapons that would make John Wick proud. And when a fight gets serious, Sakamoto can briefly return to his leaner, prime form by burning off the extra calories.
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Of course, the underworld isn’t willing to let him enjoy retirement. When a one-billion-yen bounty is placed on his head, assassins start coming after him, dragging his family life back into the chaos he left behind. With help from Shin Asakura, a former hitman who can read minds, and Lu Shaotang, a young woman with ties to a Chinese crime family, Sakamoto faces a growing list of threats.
Among them is Kei Uzuki, better known as Slur, a former classmate from the assassin training days who wants to bring down the JAA. It’s a familiar setup for John Wick fans, but Sakamoto Days has a much sillier, more unpredictable way of handling it.
Sakamoto Days Becomes The Perfect Action Binge Until The Caine Spinoff Brings John Wick Back
Part of the fun of watching Sakamoto Days is spotting the John Wick influences scattered throughout the series. From sharply dressed hitmen and underworld cleanup crews to Sakamoto turning cough drops and everyday store items into weapons, the similarities are hard to miss.
The one major thing separating the two legends comes down to a single rule. While John Wick wouldn’t think twice before pulling the trigger and leaving a room full of bodies behind, Sakamoto is strictly forbidden from taking a life because Aoi threatened to divorce him if he ever killed again. That restriction actually makes the fights more fun, forcing Sakamoto to find increasingly ridiculous ways to disarm and take down killers without breaking his promise.
Nothing will truly replace Keanu Reeves as the Baba Yaga, but Sakamoto Days is a great pick for anyone craving that same mix of creative action and larger-than-life assassins. Until John Wick returns in upcoming projects, this retired hitman on Netflix is more than capable of keeping action fans entertained.
Sakamoto Days
Sakamoto Days centers on Taro Sakamoto, a former top-tier hitman who has traded his life of crime for a peaceful existence running a convenience store. Despite his attempts to leave the underworld behind, Sakamoto’s past catches up with him as old rivals and dangerous enemies reappear, threatening his newfound tranquility. Forced to defend his family and business, Sakamoto must draw on his lethal skills while navigating the humorous and unexpected challenges of balancing his ordinary daily life with the chaos of his former profession.
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