English Dub Review: Sakamoto Days “Hard-Boiled”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

With the poison-wielding hitman taken out, the Sakamoto’s head to their next attraction, where they’re ambushed by Dondenkai Ltd’s ultimate assassin duo.

Our Take:

A seemingly normal day at an amusement park quickly turned into a battle of wit and survival when Sakamoto had a bounty placed on him by Dondenkai Ltd.  While he and his allies managed to subdue one of the bounty hunters, Tatsu, in the previous episode, that doesn’t mean they’re safe to continue their peaceful day at Sugar Park.  If you wonder why I’ll never become an assassin, there’s your answer.  Continuing where the third episode left off, the group is now confronted by another pair of assassins who are also after the bounty, Boiled and Obiguro.  With the family now taken hostage at the haunted hospital attraction by Obiguro, Sakamoto would have to do the impossible to battle a grudge-inducing Boiled and save his family.

Sakamoto Days is another show where the stakes have gradually become higher earlier than anticipated, notably because of the backgrounds of specific characters.  Like the second episode, “Hard-Boiled” explores more of the protagonist’s history with his former assassin buddies interfering with his strive to leave his past with the legendary “Order” behind.  In this case, Boiled is vowing revenge against Sakamoto for not being the man he once looked up to long ago.  It’s not without a few instances of action and light-hearted humor to balance out its character depth, including Lu’s drunken state.  But the moments in between, especially Sakamoto’s confrontation with Boiled, are what made this show more than just a typical slice-of-life comedy that rips off “John Wick”.  Not to mention that Boiled’s rocket-powered gauntlet and explosive balls make him the most formidable and dangerous opponent we’ve seen so far, next to Son Hee and Bacho.  But, at the very least, he has a noticeable soft spot when it comes to his deadly yet easily flustered partner, Obiguro.  Fortunately, Sakamoto has another trick up his sleeve, meaning that next week’s episode is going to be twice as fun as riding a roller coaster dozens of times.