The following contains spoilers for SAKAMOTO DAYS Episode 9, “All Aboard”, available onNetflix.
Summary
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The ninth episode ofSAKAMOTO DAYSwas an “all’s well that ends well” conclusion to The Lab Arc, which explored Shin’s unique childhood and how he got his powers, with a final battle between Sakamoto and Kashima taking place parallel to the showdown between Kashima’s lackey in the invisible suit, Seba, and the trio of Shin, Heisuke and Piisuke. It was a decent way to end the arc, but there were some odd moments during the episode that really hurt the experience, because noticing the issues immediately takes one out of it.
The most striking part of the episode came after Team Sakamoto’s triumph, when Shin had to directly experience the thick bloodlust of the series antagonist, creating quite an aura around the individual known to us as “Slur”.
Continuity Errors or Unclear Mechanics?
Shin & Heisuke vs Seba Went in a Strange Direction
Picking up from where the previous episode left off, Sakamoto has to deal with the unpredictable attacks of the weapon-man, Kashima, but seems to be under no pressure whatsoever over the course of their bout. Shin, on the other hand, had a very close call in his fight against Kashima’s minion, Seba, but timely intervention from Heisuke after a very important big-brain decision by Shin tipped the scales in their favour, albeit minimally. Heisuke’s arrival was thedramatic final moment ofSAKAMOTO DAYSepisode 8, not just because he got to the Okutabi Science Museum just in time to help Shin, but because Shin had just sustained a nasty slash from Seba, who keeps spamming invisibility, and used his own blood as a marker that Heisuke could then use as a target. However, for some reason, inSAKAMOTO DAYSepisode 9, the blood that Shin so painstakingly smeared on Seba’s invisibility suit was gone, not to mention his own blood stains were nowhere to be seen despite having just taken a bullet to the shoulder.
Naturally, because the invisibility that should have been affected was not, Heisuke struggled to get a clear hit on his moving target, who brilliantly came up with a plan to critically injure the sniper: wrapping his invisibility jacket around a broken piece of pipe before hurling it at him at high speed. Now pinned to the ground with an injured shoulder, Heisuke uses his brilliant ricocheting rounds to hit Seba again, but he’s strangely unfazed after having another bullet buried in his other shoulder. Despite the injury, he manages to stab Heisuke just fine before zipping up his jacket, which is clearly still bloodied, and going invisible once more. It’s a strange situation: why did the blood make a difference when Heisuke arrived, but is totally negligible now? It could be that the suit can recontextualize stains as part of itself after a certain duration, but it wasn’t really explained.Heisuke, using Shin’s power to his advantage, makes a last-ditch effort, firing a single round delivered to him by Piisuke which ricocheted several times before lodging itself in the sprinkler above Seba’s head, unleashing a torrent of water that rendered his invisibility useless. With that, Shin defeats him with an impressive flying scissor leg takedown.
Kashima vs Sakamoto Brings on the Comedy
A Battle as Funny As the Enemy is Weird
One of the best parts of the recent episodes ofSAKAMOTO DAYShas to be the moments when Kashima is in the spotlight, and episode 9 was no different, with the clash between him and Sakamoto also bringing out a lot of humour, a lot of it situational, and some of it slapstick, like when their fight took them on a train ride anda slimmed-down Sakamoto appearedbehind an oblivious Kashima, or after duking it out and thinking he was safe when he sent Sakamoto flying into the next train, Kashima sat down calmly next to an oblivious old woman as if to catch his breath, only for Sakamoto to appear ominously almost out of thin air like some demon. There was also the fact that, despite seeing that this lavender-haired man very clearly hadseveralblades for hands on each wrist, they didn’t show a hint of fear or concern beyond checking if he’s okay.
There has never been a more oblivious set of extras. The actual fighting was just decent. There wasn’t much to write home about when it came to Sakamoto vs Kashima, but the latter kept it very entertaining with his strange abilities and choices in combat, as well as the environmentadding to the comedic atmosphereof an otherwise serious fight. Their battle takes place mostly on the train, ending when it finally makes its stop, with Sakamoto beeping Kashima out using his own train card, which was a nice way to wrap-up their fight, as strange as it was. There was also a little bit more revealed about Kashima’s apparent fealty to the individual known only as “Slur”, which was to set up Shin’s eventual meeting with the series antagonist later in the episode.
Shin Encounters “Slur” Himself
Escaping the Lab Could Have Been Fatal
Here’s where the serious aspects of the episode reach a fever pitch, as Shin shows up just in time to save Lu from falling, finding her with Asakura and Tanaka,that stupid guy who kidnapped Lubecause she was wearing Shin’s apron and name tag. With the facility starting to come apart because it was set to self-destruct, Shin and Lu don’t have the leisure to make up, but Lu’s emotions quickly spill over as they finally patch things up. There’s also the reunion of Shin and his father figure that also needs to be fast-tracked because they have to save the remaining people in the facility. Using his psychic powers, Shin manages to locate the remaining scientists, and heads to them together with his father figure.
On their way there, Asakura is overcome with emotion as he sees just how big and dependable he’s become, and the guilt he’s felt for years almost falls away completely when he sees just how much Shin has honed his power since the last time they saw each other. Elsewhere, Osaragi and Shishiba are watching the facility’s surveillance tapesto get a lead on their target, but the one unfortunate enough to meet him is none other than Shin. While rescuing some of the remaining scientists, Shin bumps into him. The sheer killing intent emanating from “Slur” nearly immobilizes him, but he merely tells him to pass his regards on to Sakamoto. It was quite a striking introduction to the main antagonist ofSAKAMOTO DAYS, and his effect on Shin, combined with his eerie personality, really played up the threat of “Slur” in the mind of the viewer.
All’s Well That Ends Well
Hana Finally Gets to Talk About Bring Your Parents to School Day
Shin and the others manage to safely evacuate everyone and rendezvous outside the museum, where the scientists collectively thanked Shin for saving their lives. There was a touching moment as Shin heard the flurry of positive thoughts about him from his former family. The encounter with Slur is quickly forgotten as the Sakamotos have a big dinner at home after an eventful day, where Hana finally gets to talk about her Bring Your Parents to School Day experience, and despite their constant bickering,Shin and Lu are cool again. All in all, it was a decent episode ofSAKAMOTO DAYSthat was definitely much funnier than the previous episode, and the introduction of the series antagonist might have been the best debut in the series yet.
Sakamoto Days
Cast
A 2025 anime, Sakamoto Days is an action-comedy based on Yuto Suzuki’s shonen manga, which debuted in 2020. The series follows Taro Sakamoto, a retired hitman who has been enjoying the family life for years. He spends his days running a small store alongside Shin, but his peaceful existence is regularly interrupted by ghosts of the past.
