Sakamoto Days

Episode 7

Given the nature of Sakamoto Days' universe, it was easy to take for granted that Shin's clairvoyance was nothing unusual. After all, this is a world where assassin high schools exist, and being a hired killer is another 9-5. Characters with strange gimmicks just come with the territory. Given all that, you could be forgiven for assuming Shin was just born psychic, but it turns out he was made that way, and when his past comes crashing back, he and Sakamoto find themselves in the middle of their biggest crisis yet.

Sakamoto decides to leave Shin and Xiaotang in charge of the shop while he goes to Hana's school play, and it doesn't take long before they start butting heads. But when Xiaotang comments on how creepy it is that Shin can read minds, she touches a sore spot and causes him to storm off. That's when a bunch of guys in hazmat suits show up looking for Shin so they can take him back to the laboratory that gave him his psychic powers. They mistake Xiaotang for him and end up abducting her instead. It doesn't take long for Shin and Sakamoto to realize something's wrong, and when they decide to chase down her pursuers, a surprisingly good car chase ensues. Watching Sakamoto and Shin chasing the kidnappers on a motorcycle and leaving a few exploding cares in their wake was one of the best action showcases we got out of the show so far, and I'm happy to get cool stuff where we can get it.

However as the chase continues, and the kidnappers escape, Shin begins to suspect something is wrong. Partially because the kidnappers seem to have an unusually talented assassin on their side capable of keeping him at bay, but also because he knows that the people who ran the facility he grew up in were never this aggressive. Eventually, Sakamoto and Shin track them down to a museum hiding the lab, but before they can get inside the facility, they have to get past its security system. At first, it seems fairly standard as some of the bear statues in the museum have guns in them (leading to Sakamoto making the incredible offhand remark that he has fought bears as part of his standard training). When Sakamoto destroys them with relative ease, he ends up staring down a much bigger threat: a moving T-Rex statue.

While Sakamoto Days certainly hasn't been afraid to be over the top, this is probably the most absurd thing we've gotten out so far. However, that kind of absurdity is what I'm here for, and makes for the high point of an already solid episode. I'll admit that it's a bit less visually impressive than what we got with the motorcycle chase, but it's functional enough, and I would still put it among the show's better-looking action sequences. Plus, when you see Sakamoto drop-kicking a T-Rex, it's hard to complain too much about the finer details.

Once Sakamoto and Shin make their way inside, they learn that the lab has been taken over by a group of violent assassins looking to get their hands on more powerful weapons. This group of assassins is also led by a guy who walks around with a deer mask on his head. It doesn't take long before Sakamoto and Shin find themselves in a fight with one of his subordinates, but it turns out that they aren't the only ones interested in what Mr. Deer is up to. A couple of the members of the Order also make their way to the museum, looking for clues about Slur, and the deer guy might have ties to the mystery man they've been chasing.

On that note, this episode also gives us a new ED song showing off the members of the Order. It's nothing too fancy and I'm not gonna complain about getting another Vaundy song, so it's a nice little surprise. Even for as wild as this show has been up to this point, this made for one of its most bombastic episodes yet. It's proof that Sakamoto Days is at its best when it leads to absurdity

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Sakamoto Days is currently streaming on Netflix on Saturdays.