620https://i.ur.com/J4Kvn4l.png Spoilers ahead. Skip to to the end for a short spoilerfree review. A golden egg In this bloody era riddled with juvenile corpses bludgeoned by the axes of the Weekly Shonen Jumps editorial department little hope welled in me when another potential statistic had released. Spy x Family had established itself the de facto assassin comedy series at that point in time so low expectations in hand I prematurely dropped it after its debut and picked it up about a year after out of passive curiosity and boredom. This is a review of Sakamoto Days detailing my pleasant surprise at its solid development is unwarranted. Nonetheless Sakamoto Days goes off without a hitch. Perhaps the primary factor to the series potent entertainment value is how easily digestible it is due to its lack of a power system and fantasy worldbuilding. My personal bias holds that the aforementioned aspects can bog down enjoyment if executed too rashly and boldly. In tradeoff for deep lore or mechanics Sakamoto Days is appreciatively straightforward with its action and plot. Detailing the reluctant Sakamotos departure from assassin retirement it wouldve routinely predictive to keep the plot episodic in different assassins attempting at his peaceful life only to end at their comedic failure. However Yuuto Suzukihttps://anilist.co/staff/155900/YuutoSuzuki does excellent in effortlessly adding in new characters and factions to give deeper flavor while sustaining a consistent pace. Characters serve their purposes well such as the 4 prison escapees advancing plot and boosting screentime for side characters akin to that one Baki arc. Perhaps what came as the most pleasant surprise to me was how wellsustained and developed the side cast was. Shin for instance was seemingly on the path of an irksome sidekick chasing after Sakamotos shadow yet has persisted in fights with grit and wit of his unique ability. Others who dont get such character development or even deep characterization nonetheless make themselves known and recognizable such as Nagumo and Gaku thanks to both their quirks and the relevant factions they belong to. Speaking on factions its another point of good writing in how Sakamoto isnt part of one. Rather than to champion his beliefs or position as the JAA or Slurs group act on Sakamoto fights to persist his mundane convenience store life. This in mind the fights bog down to whos stronger not whos just or unjust. The added fact that both factions are comprised of ironblooded assassins oft kissing Death makes for quick desensitization to murder and dissipation of sympathy leaving good ol adrenaline and hype behind. Progressionwise Im currently situated between being confident in the plot progression thus far and questioning curiosity to its future progression. Many characters have been wellcharacterized or wellknown faction relations and motives established perhaps their courses of actions still a bit upintheair which is the most exciting aspect presently. Slurs attack on the JAA was a fantastic catalyst for the current progressionofevents and their growing presence as the antagonist aiming at Sakamoto makes readers come back every week. New characters are still being added as well hopefully to not be discarded as forgettable side characters but the series has yet to have a major issue with that. Everything has and continues to look bright. 620https://i.ur.com/50Tave1.jpg Sakamoto the Professional Good fight scenes boil down to paneling vector lines and impact panels. Differing opinions are welcome thats fine. However these three aspects are undeniably vital to how digestible and easytofollow fights are to readers. Clean and tidy artstyles be damned because Yuuto Suzuki can do just fine without it. With its cast of experienced assassins in mind he takes care with portraying both small and large body movements with vector lines to show both precision and power. Its not uncommon for there to be The Crazy 88https://www..com/watch?v=ecimuK20dSAesque fights and coupled with the intensity of many characters powers itd be easy for an artist to lose and convolute the lineofaction. However the paneling smoothly guides the readers eyes generously showering us with great impact panels supplemented by simple transitions that contrast the chaotic vector lines at times. Technical aspects aside the fights are great. Phenomenal even. They strive for entertainment value and damn well achieve it every time. Yuuto Suzuki trades detail for impact in his fights and this applies to his characters designs as well. Most characters are fairly distinct in appearance the elephantintheroom being Sakamotos chubbiness which play into their characters along with their quirky personalities. Not much else I can discuss or analyze in regards to design theyre fun diverse and make characters stand out. 620https://i.ur.com/yuN1TSg.png 620https://i.ur.com/5mzsOrB.png 620https://i.ur.com/Ou6dvaO.png Conclusion Sharing the belt with The Fablehttps://anilist.co/manga/94490/TheFable/ Sakamoto Days is the reigning champion in the actioncomedy assassin niche. As beatenofadeadhorse as this statement is it does nothing profound nor revolutionary but executes goodtogod action and gags just as well as its cast of assassins executes their targets. Story and art share a trait of fluid consistency that maximize entertainment value and disallows the audiences attention disengagement for even a moment. Fights are generously allocated impressive on a technical level making the oft chaotic fights easy on the eyes with smooth transitions and hard impact panels. The adrenaline keeping you engaged the plot progression never falters adding new casts of characters while not being overbearing and sustaining sufficient screentime for its main cast. In many regards Yuuto Suzuki takes great care in making Sakmoto Days a smooth rollercoaster without any bumps. Ive yet to have been afflicted with the slightest thorn in my side to discuss making it one of my most entertaining Weekly Shonen Jump series in the recent years.