English Dub Review: Sakamoto Days “Welcome to Sugar Park”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
After learning of the huge bounty on Sakamoto’s head, the crew tries to enjoy a family outing at the amusement park while fending off assassins.

Our Take:
There’s nothing like going to an amusement park to take our minds off of the outside world.  Unfortunately, even that wondrous place isn’t enough to protect us from incoming assassins, especially when you’re with Taro Sakamoto and his new employees.  With Sakamoto now having a target behind his back, according to his old colleague Yoichi Nagumo, the former hitman will have many more problems on his hands while attempting to maintain Aoi’s no-kill rule.  Of course, one of them starts during a seemingly harmless family trip to the amusement park, with another batch of assassins trying to spoil their fun.  This left Shin and Lu with the task of protecting Sakamoto’s family from the disguised killers, including those dressed up as a pizza delivery guy and a janitor.
The episode’s plot seemed like another typical scenario involving the characters keeping the fun going while maintaining their cover or, in this case, restraining themselves from murdering people.  Fortunately, “Welcome to Sugar Park” managed to prevent the formula from growing stale by giving Shin Asakura a chance to shine.  Admittedly, we’ve seen Shin’s skills in action in the first episode, especially with his clairvoyant abilities, but the third episode further showcases Shin as a formidable hit-man to be reckoned with.  This is due to the highly intense and fun battle between him and the silver-haired assassin, with the latter poisoning him with his blades.  This results in Sakamoto mentally giving Shin a helping hand as the latter fights the assassin in a bunny costume.  It not only displays Sakamoto and Shin as the anime’s most satisfying duo but also makes for one heck of an entertaining showdown regarding the animation style and Masaki Watanabe’s direction.