Sakamoto’s Return to Being a Hitman, Explained

Sakamoto's Return to Being a Hitman, Explained



Summary

  • Taro Sakamoto quit being a hitman to protect his family and start a normal life with his wife and daughter.
  • Despite his reluctance to return to violence, Sakamoto is forced back into the underworld to defend his family.
  • Interactions with former colleagues and orders from the past threaten Sakamoto’s peaceful life, forcing him to use non-lethal methods to protect his loved ones.

Many of Taro Sakamoto’s colleagues and friends were shocked when he announced suddenly that he would be quitting his assassin career in Sakamoto Days. After meeting his wife, Aoi, and having a daughter with her, Taro Sakamoto’s main and only priority in life was keeping them safe and living a normal life. However, those who join the Order aren’t allowed to just leave.

Though Sakamoto certainly doesn’t want to return to a life of action as a hitman, he is unfortunately dragged back into the underworld, alongside colleagues including Shin and Lu. Sakamoto no longer wants to lead a life of violence, but unfortunately needs to find a way to protect his family in Sakamoto Days.

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Why Did Sakamoto Quit as a Hitman?

Protecting His Family Life

Taro Sakamoto’s decision to leave a life as a hitman was more than just wanting to take on a new profession. While he had been working in this field since he was only 14 years old, along with other skilled assassins, and that was all he had known during that time, he ended up meeting his future wife, Aoi, while working at the Order and quickly fell in love with her. As she was just a normal girl working at a convenience store, it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to continue his life as a hitman while with her.

After years in a dangerous field where he often had to take other people’s lives, Aoi wanted to change things for their future. She no longer wanted Sakamoto to participate in a profession where he killed others, as it was completely against her own morals. As Sakamoto was completely smitten with Aoi at this point and only wanted to continue his life with her, he decided to step away from his life as a hitman and live a normal and loving existence with her. Sakamoto also wanted to ensure that Aoi had a life of safety, away from being constantly threatened by enemies in the underworld.

Life is full of unexpected turns. I may have been an assassin before, but now I find joy in cooking, cleaning, and taking care of my family. It’s a different kind of adventure. — Sakamoto

Sakamoto’s career as a hitman was starting to take a toll on him, as well, so leaving the profession behind was a way for him to live a life away from misery and death. After Aoi and Sakamoto have a daughter, Hana, his priority lies in ensuring she has a normal upbringing with her parents. Sakamoto is finally able to follow his own priorities and morals in life while spending time with his new family, away from the dangerous hitman life. However, his former mentee, Shin, soon reenters his life, thrusting him back into the world he was trying to avoid.

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Why Has Sakamoto Returned?

Sakamoto’s Return to a Life of Danger

sakamoto stops bullets

When Shin meets with Sakamoto again, he is tasked with taking out the legendary former hitman, as instructed by the Order. However, Shin looks up to Sakamoto as he used to be his mentor, so the task is not something that he wants to do, but he feels he needs to do it out of necessity. However, in their showdown, Shin is easily defeated by Sakamoto, and is taken to his home and bandaged up. Realizing Sakamoto’s changed ways and care for his family, he chooses to leave his family alone, but Sakamoto decides to take him in and allows him to work at his convenience store.

Despite taking Shin in and working with him at the store, however, the hit that the Order placed on Sakamoto still remains. Since the organization is still after him for leaving, he is therefore thrust back into a world of violence, but only to defend himself and his family from danger. Even though he left this life behind, traces of it still remain, especially since the Order does not allow people to leave. He is also a legendary hitman, so going into hiding is not something that can be done easily for him.

Strength comes in many forms. Being able to protect what’s important to you is the true measure of a man. — Sakamoto

Though Sakamoto doesn’t necessarily return as an actual hitman, he is forced to interact with those in the underworld that he used to work with and must defend himself in a way that he used to. Outside not being allowed to leave the Order, many are after him due to the fact that his legendary skills remain, making him a possible threat, and that he might have secret information that no one else holds. Many also just want to spar with him to compare their own skills, or recruit him to join their own team, which he refuses as he continues to attempt to keep his peaceful life with his family.

Now that he has reconnected with past allies, including Lu and Shin, it is difficult for Sakamoto to completely avoid the life of a hitman, even though he isn’t directly involved in the underworld. As he works towards protecting a normal life for those around him, he uses new non-lethal methods to put an end to those who are after him, but they are always nearby, constantly on the hunt for him.

Sakamoto Days is available to stream on Netflix.

sakamoto-days-anime-poster.jpg

A 2025 anime, Sakamoto Days is an action-comedy based on Yuto Suzuki’s shonen manga, which debuted in 2020. The series follows Taro Sakamoto, a retired hitman who has been enjoying the family life for years. He spends his days running a small store alongside Shin, but his peaceful existence is regularly interrupted by ghosts of the past.

Release Date

January 11, 2025

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1

Character(s)

Taro Sakamoto
, Shin Asakura
, Lu Shaotang
, Aoi Sakamoto
, Heisuke Mashimo
, Obiguro
, Boiled
, Son Hee
, Bacho

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