The following article contains a few spoilers for Sakamoto Days Part 2.
Summary
- The anime has started covering the Death Row Prisoners arc, focusing on action and new characters.
- Slow-paced chapters like Sakamoto’s love trip may be cut in favor of the action-packed main story.
- Sakamoto Days Part 2 will likely cover the rest of the Death Row Prisoners arc and possibly the JCC Transfer Exam arc.
Sakamoto Days has already finished airing in Japan, and the anime is just about to begin covering one of the most popular parts of the manga. The Death Row Prisoners arc is the best arc and a turning point in the story (so far) for many Sakamoto Days manga fans.
From this arc on, the story leaves behind much of its slice-of-life elements to focus much more on stunning action, introducing new characters and delving deeper into the intentions of those who are targeting Taro Sakamoto and his peers.
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Death Row Arc Is Already Being Covered in the Anime
Death Row Prisoners is one of the most popular arcs so far, and the anime has already started to adapt it. The first episode to cover this arc is Episode 10, titled “Bathhouse Roughhouse”. In the manga, this arc, which starts right after the Lab arc, takes place from Chapter 32 to Chapter 54.
In the Death Row Prisoners arc, many prisoners who have received the death penalty are freed by X (Kei Uzuki), who then asks them to kill some people, including members of the Order, Sakamoto and some of his friends. Things escalate quickly, and this arc is all about action.
How would anyone benefit from my death now?
Unfortunately, the anime has cut Chapter 33, which is almost a side-story, showing a love trip with Sakamoto and his wife. Since the story gets much more action-packed from this point on, it’s likely that they’ll continue to cut slow-paced chapters that don’t add much to the main story (fans are calling these chapters “fillers”, even though they are not exactly fillers, just small breaks in the story).
Lu’s Past Sub Arc Is Almost the Character’s Goodbye
The Death Row Prisoners arc could be divided into the following sections:
- A Day in the Spa (Episode 10/Chapter 32)
- Sakamoto’s Wedding Anniversary Surprise (Chapter 33/skipped in the anime)
- Lu Shaotang’s Past (Episodes 10–11/Chapters 35–37)
- Death Row Prisoners Chaos (to be adapted in Part 2/Chapters 38–54)
Thus, the anime has finished covering Lu Shaotang’s past and will now focus on the hitmen who escaped from prison and are now targeting Sakamoto. While Lu will stay in the story for some time, her appearances will become rarer in the following JCC Transfer Exam arc — one of the reasons for this is that manga sales dropped considerably when the story focused on her.
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What to Expect from Sakamoto Days Part 2
Sakamoto Days Part 2 will debut in July 2025 (the exact date has not been revealed yet), and will cover at least the rest of the Death Row Prisoners arc. Given the pace of the first part, it is likely that it will also cover the JCC Transfer Exam arc (Chapters 55–72) — it could even start covering the following JCC Infiltration arc, especially if it is as fast as the first part. However, fans might think the anime is too rushed if it adapts too many chapters once again.
Will Manga Fans Be Satisfied With the Next Episodes?
The next episodes will have a lot of action, which will probably please anime fans, but manga fans have complained about the quality of the animation — and action-packed scenes require more effort to not look too stiff or poorly animated. This means that if there isn’t a change of course in the adaptation, manga fans will likely be disappointed with this arc, which may lead to even more heated discussions, as this is one of the most beloved arcs in the story (so far).
Unfortunately, that seems unlikely to happen in the next cour, as Part 2 has probably been in production for a while, and deadlines tend to be tight, not allowing for too many changes.
For many fans, the anime should have focused more on the slice-of-life episodes instead of cutting some of them, as it is easier to maintain the quality in this kind of episode. However, it may not be the end for these cut chapters — depending on how the story goes, they could later produce a “side-story series” that covers the skipped chapters (like Horimiya: The Missing Pieces).
Sakamoto Days is available to stream on Netflix, subbed and dubbed in many languages.
