Sakamoto Days: The Lab Arc, Explained

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Sakamoto Days Episode 9, “All Aboard”, now streaming on Netflix.

The Lab Arc in Sakamoto Days picks right off where the previous arc left. Even though Sakamoto and the others survived their grueling adventure in Sugar Park during the Sakamoto Days Amusement Park Arc, their problems aren’t over. They beat the Dondenkai assassins, and Slur indirectly helped them by murdering the Dondenkai’s heads, but they weren’t the only people after Sakamoto because he still has a 1 billion yen bounty on his head, so he still has to watch out for incoming hitmen.

The Lab Arc mostly focuses on Shin Asakura, the ex-hitman clairvoyant who now works in Sakamoto’s Store. It will explore his past and, specifically, how he got his telepathy powers. Of course, there’s still also the matter of Slur himself, the madman killing assassins all over Japan. He hasn’t really gone after Sakamoto or shown signs that he wanted to in the previous arc, but the Lab Arc does reveal a connection between the two. They don’t directly clash in this arc, but Sakamoto does face off against one of Slur’s lieutenants here.

Related

The Result Of Sakamoto Days’ Popularity Poll Is Out And There Is One Major Shock

Sakamoto Days announced the result of its newest popularity poll.

Introducing Heisuke Mashimo

Sniping *IS* A Good Job

Even though a majority of the Lab Arc is about Shin, it still takes an episode to introduce a new character that will join Sakamoto’s team, Heisuke Mashimo. Heisuke’s skills are similar to Deadshot’s from DC Comics. They’re both sharpshooters who use ricocheting bullets and have an insane talent for calculating projectile ricochet trajectories. Unfortunately for Mashimo, that seems to be all he’s good at. He’s fairly stupid and is terrible at every other aspect of combat and life, which gets him fired from his previous assassin gig. Unable to find anyother source of income, Heisuke eventually ends up depressed and homeless. However, it seemed like his luck might finally turn around as he learned about the bounty on Sakamoto’s head.

After having some difficulty trying to find Sakamoto, Heisuke eventually identifies him in an airsoft competition. The airsoft battle soon turns into a deadly gun battle as Heisuke brings out a real sniper rifle to kill Sakamoto. Ultimately though, he failed and lost confidence in himself once more. Thankfully, Sakamoto told him he was the best sniper he’d ever met, which slightly cheered him up and turned him into a regular at Sakamoto’s Store. Also, this hasn’t happened in the anime yet as of episode 9, but Sakamoto will hire Mashimo to be the delivery boy for Sakamoto’s Store.

Related

Sakamoto Days: The Biggest Differences Between Season 1 & The Manga So Far

How does the Sakamoto Days anime adaptation compare to the manga?

Breaking Into the Lab

Lu’s Accidental Kidnapping

Now that Mashimo’s introduction is over, it’s time to actually head to the lab. Sakamoto and Aoi were at some kind of bring-your-parents-to-school event with Hana, leaving Shin and Lu to man the store. However, the two had an intense argument over Lu using Shin’s apron without his permission, which led to Shin storming out of the store. Shortly after, a group of mysterious men dressed in white hazmat suits entered the store and accidentally kidnapped Lu, thinking she was Shin, thanks to the nametag on the apron she had on.

The group turned out to be people from a place known as “The Lab”, where Shin grew up and obtained his powers. While it was once a legitimate place for research, a group of assassins led by a man wearing a reindeer mask took over, forcing the scientists to develop advanced weapons for them. The assassin group became interested in Shin’s telepathy, which is why they sent a group to kidnap him. Shin and Sakamoto eventually return to the store, only to find signs of a struggle. Fortunately, Sakamoto had trackers on the store’s apron nametags, so they quickly rushed to Lu’s rescue. The kidnappers managed to just barely escape from Sakamoto and Shin, but the latter heard one of them mention the Lab, which led to him taking Sakamoto to his past home, the Okutabi Lab.

Shin’s Past Revealed

While imprisoned, Lu met the Okutabi Lab’s director, Asakura, whom the assassins have also locked up due to his being uncooperative. After learning that Lu knew Shin, Asakura began to tell her about his past. Asakura was Shin’s adoptive father, who practically raised him in the lab because he was constantly tied up at work. He was developing a chemical that would give people telepathy, and a young Shin accidentally drank it. Shin did indeed develop telepathy, but this led to the people around him staying away from him because they found his powers creepy and intrusive. The last straw was when Asakura himself told Shin he’d find a cure for him. Shin actually liked his powers because they came from the efforts of someone he respected, Asakura. So, seeing him regret his life’s work upset Shin, causing him to run away from the lab.

The Battle Against Kashima and His Top Assassins

A scientist Sakamoto and Shin encountered in the lab told them that Kashima had his deadliest lieutenants set up on each of the lab’s floors. Sakamoto and Shin faced the first lieutenant, an assassin named Mad Horiguchi, who used chemicals to mess with his opponents’ bodies while increasing his own strength. With some effort, the two of them beat Mad Horiguchi but were then split up by a trap door.

Shin encounters another lieutenant, Natsuki Seba, who he had previously briefly fought when trying to rescue Lu. Seba had a high-tech jacket that could turn itself and anything it wraps itself around invisible. Fortunately, Shin’s clairvoyance and Heisuke’s unexpected arrival were enough to defeat Seba.

As for Sakamoto, the trapdoor led him directly to the reindeer man himself, Kashima, as well as two members of the Order, Shishiba and Osaragi. Shortly after though, the two Order members leave Sakamoto and Kashima alone since they had a different mission. Kashima was focused on Sakamoto because he apparently worked for Slur, and Sakamoto was the only person to have ever wounded his boss. Kashima turned out to be incredibly strong, having modified his body with several weapons. It even made Sakamoto use his Prime Form, but eventually, Sakamoto achieved victory. The mystery behind Slur grows deeper, but for now, Sakamoto and the rest of his squad are safe.

Related

Understanding the Appeal of Sakamoto Days

Sakamoto Days follows the life of a retired assassin, but what exactly makes this anime so entertaining?

Sakamoto Days is now available to stream on Netflix. The release date for Sakamoto Days episode 10 is set to be March 15, 2025, at 6:00 AM PT.

A