Summary
- Skipped chapters in Sakamoto Days anime were labeled as “filler,” but were part of the original story’s vision, adding slice-of-life and comedy tones.
- The skipped content in the anime may not be relevant to the main plot but originated from the author’s original vision.
- While the skipped content may not enhance the main plot, it could have been included to balance the action-heavy focus and maintain the original story’s integrity.
Sakamoto Days Part 1 ended and, while it was a success in terms of viewership on Netflix, it sparked lots of debate among fans, especially due to the way the series has been adapted into anime.
One of the things that manga fans didn’t like about the anime was that some manga chapters were skipped. But was it a good decision in the end? Would Sakamoto Days have been better if those chapters had been included?
Which Chapters Were Skipped In The Anime?
While many fans complained that the anime skipped content from the manga, it was actually only a few chapters. Those who have read the manga will notice that the anime skipped Chapters 2 (some of it was adapted, but most of it was cut), Chapter 3, Chapter 16 and Chapter 33. Chapters 2 and 3 introduce Officer Nakase, but she hasn’t reappeared in the story yet.
Other chapters may have been rushed and partially cut. While the skipped content is mostly irrelevant to the main plot, it is part of the original author’s vision of the story. Also, most of these chapters functioned as small pauses that added to the slice of life and comedy tones of the series.
Why Are They Called “Filler Chapters”?
Fans started calling them “filler chapters” because, as previously mentioned, they are not relevant to what could be considered the main plot of the story. However, there are two important things to note here: first, Suzuki didn’t necessarily want to develop the story in the direction it is going now, so while these chapters may look like fillers in retrospect, they may have been produced when Suzuki had a different development in mind.
Second, even if they don’t add much to the main plot, they are not technically “fillers”. They are part of the original story, whilst a “filler” is usually new content added to adaptations — this word is usually used in a negative way to refer to episodes that just make the story go back and forth as the anime catches up with the manga.
This kind of content is more common in anime series that run for years straight, rather than taking breaks between seasons. So anime like One Piece or Naruto have full filler arcs that were meant to take the story nowhere while the manga advanced. Thus, in a strict sense, it is the anime that lacks content, not the manga that has filler chapters.
Original stories will never contain filler. However, they may contain parts that don’t take the story anywhere for many fans, but those are not technically fillers.
Does It Make Sense To Skip These Chapters?
Sakamoto Days fans have been discussing the direction of the anime adaptation even before it started airing. Many manga fans are disappointed with the quality of the animation, which is not up to par with the original story in the opinion of most of them.
The anime production apparently decided to cut a few chapters to focus on the action part of the story. However, the quality of the animation doesn’t match what most good action anime deliver today, with many scenes feeling too stiff.
If budget was an issue, it would actually have made more sense to focus on the slice of life part of the story, especially during Part 1, as the following arcs will focus even more on action-packed scenes. Slice of life segments are generally easier to animate because they don’t require too much movement (or the sensation of movement). So even with a limited budget, it is possible to deliver satisfying animation.
Anyway, the skipped chapters could still be adapted in the future — they could, for example, be featured as bonus content in DVD/BD editions or even spawn a spin-off series made of skipped chapters (in this case, if more chapters are skipped in the next seasons). It would be nice to include them in the series, as they are part of how the author sees the story (or saw it at some point).
Sakamoto Days Part 2 Release Date
Sakamoto Days Part 2 is set to premiere in July 2025, but the exact release date has not yet been announced. It will cover the rest of the Death Row Prisoners arc, and it will probably also cover the JCC Transfer Exam arc as well. It may even begin to adapt the JCC Infiltration arc before concluding broadcasting, especially if it follows a similar pacing to Part 1.
