So yeah, in the second episode, during a fight sequence,
they input, like, in the BGM, someone being like,
SAKAMOTO!
And really, it doesn't even sound like that Japanese, right?
It sounded a little bit like a white dude being like,
SAKAMOTO!
Konnichiwa! I am your host Mayu for 2AM OTTACK!
In this podcast, we talk all about anime, manga, movies, music, and history
through our distinct perspectives.
As a born and raised Japanese non-otaku,
that's me, and an American anime fan, Cisco.
That's me!
So, Anime Sakamoto Daze is finally on air.
Yeah, on Netflix, anyway.
And in Japan, too.
Oh, I guess it's being broadcast in Japan.
Which channel is it on?
I have no idea.
TV Tokyo?
Something, I have no idea.
Yeah.
Good enough.
I mean, I know, the only thing I know is it airs, like,
in the middle of the night, like, at night time.
Because it's so violent.
I think so.
It's much more rated in America.
Right, right, right.
I think Japan's pretty sensitive about that kind of stuff, you know?
Even cartoon violence is, like, really...
Is it?
Yeah, I mean, like, part of this is, there's, like, a long-running debate here
about whether this is, like, really about the content or not.
But if you play video games in Japan, they're all rated, right?
Like, I think they're rated A through Z.
Like, Z being super mature, like, adults only, that kind of rating.
And A being, like, whatever, everyone can play this.
And almost all American video games kind of automatically get a Z rating,
especially ones that involve guns and shooting people.
And so I think part of the reason this one's, like, considered such a mature anime,
even though, yeah, it's, like, not particularly more, like, grotesque
in terms of the killing than Demon Slayer or something,
is it involves guns and a lot of people getting shot.
So I think that's why it's seen as sort of intensely violent.
Yeah.
I mean, the words-wise, in Japanese, it's not, it doesn't sound so bad
because Japanese never be, like, really that bad.
Japanese just doesn't have very good swear words, it's true.
Yeah, but in the English subtitles, I was like, oh, okay.
Yeah, the subtitles are definitely full of profanity, we'll say that.
Yeah.
So we watched two episodes of Sakamoto Days.
I think it's only in Japan.
Well, it's definitely not in U.S. Netflix yet.
U.S. Netflix only has the first episode.
I don't know, I don't know how it's-
Spoilers ahead.
Yeah.
Yeah, you've been reading Sakamoto Days manga on Shonen Jump app.
Yeah, since it came out.
I remember reading the first episode a long time ago.
Long time ago.
Not episode, the first chapter, excuse me.
Yeah.
So let me tell you a little bit about Sakamoto Days.
Sakamoto Days is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuto Suzuki.
It has been serialized in Shueisha's Shonen Manga Magazine Weekly Shonen Jump since November 2020,
with its chapters collected in 20 tankobon volumes as of January 2025.
By December 2024, the manga had over 7 million copies in circulation.
Netflix has licensed the anime series for worldwide streaming release.
It will run for two cores, with the second premiering in July 2025.
Okay.
Well, not looking forward to getting through this core in like April and then having to wait a couple months,
but that's not as bad as it could be, you know?
I feel like other animes do kind of the same.
Yeah, two cores a year, sort of split up throughout the year.
That's true, yeah.
Okay, before we dive into Sakamoto Days,
make sure to subscribe and follow 2AMO Talk on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and on YouTube.
We actually have another podcast called 3AMO Talk,
which we talk about the same topic as 2AMO Talk, all in Japanese.
So if you're learning Japanese, listen to both channels and brush up your Japanese.
But don't listen too hard to what I say, because it's probably not as good as what you're saying.
By the way, our 3AMO Talk ranked 13th on Apple Podcasts in Japan for manga and anime category.
Yeah, so it's really popular over there.
You should definitely listen to it.
I'm proud. I'm really proud.
I'm proud too, but also I'm like, what? How is that possible?
I know. I don't know how the system works.
Whatever, we'll take it.
But yeah, so yeah, we're doing great.
For those who are new to Sakamoto Days, here is a plot from Cisco.
Okay, so the story revolves around Taro Sakamoto, a retired legendary hitman
who has settled into a quiet and mundane life as a family man.
However, his peaceful life is disrupted when former enemies and colleagues from his hitman days come seeking revenge.
To protect his family and loved ones, Sakamoto must use his exceptional combat skills
to face off against a variety of adversaries while trying to maintain his ordinary facade.
So Sakamoto was a legendary hitman, but he retired because he found his life, love life?
No, wait.
The love of his life?
Love of his life, that's what I wanted to say.
Yes, I think that's accurate.
And then he got a child.
Yep.
And he...
He had a child. He didn't just pick one up off the street and bring it to you.
Sounds very spy family.
Right, and then he got a little bit big?
Yeah, he got fat. That's like very explicitly part of the premise.
Okay, so what do you think? Can you relate to this, Cisco?
Yes, I can.
Having a child makes you put on some extra weight for some people.
For some people, yeah.
For some dads, you put on some extra weight.
That's very funny, you know?
Yeah. No, I mean, I was also a legendary hitman, so I totally understand.
Yeah, I relate to him becoming a dad and putting on some weight part of the show
a little bit harder than I relate to the hitman part.
No, it's a good show. It's fun.
I think the anime sets up his story pretty quickly as well.
He works in a convenience store that his family owns,
and they all seem to work there together.
And that's kind of the focal point of his new life.
And over the course of time, we'll get to know more about his hitman background.
Although the second episode sort of tells you why he quit.
It's not like you have to wait a really long time to find out
the sort of backstory of how he got to be a family man.
But for a long time, I think the show isn't going to reveal
that much more about his previous life.
Interesting. He doesn't talk much.
Yeah, so one of the things that really struck me was that in the beginning of the...
Yeah, he doesn't talk very much in any of the episodes.
And that's true in the manga too.
He's just a very tight-lipped character.
But in the second episode, in the beginning,
the voice actor's voice is super distorted.
I think they're actually having him talk through a voice machine
or are digitally manipulating his voice
in a way that just sounds bizarre in the beginning.
And I couldn't figure out why.
And then I was like, oh, he's actually not talking at all.
Shin is reading his thoughts,
and that's how they're communicating as opposed to him actually speaking.
So in a way, it's like very psyche.
Yeah, yeah, totally.
It's really leveraging Shin's ability to read people's thoughts
to communicate telepathically with him, essentially.
But yeah, he doesn't talk that much,
and that's part of who he is as a character.
I'm glad you brought up psyche because Shin Asakura
is voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki.
He did a voice for Kaido Shun.
Really?
Yeah.
The black kurui tsubasa, that guy, the black wings.
That's so awesome.
Dark reunion.
Dark reunion.
It's one of my favorite characters.
Oh, that's cool that he's Shin now.
Now he's got real powers.
Good for him.
Exactly.
That's what I was thinking while I was looking.
Oh, his dream came true.
And his name is really Nobunaga?
The voice actor?
Yeah.
That's his first name?
Yes.
Wow.
Yeah.
I mean, I guess there's people in America who are named like
Washington Irving and stuff, right?
So taking the last name of a famous general from history
and putting it into somebody's first name.
That's a lot of pressure.
Yeah, that's a pretty intense name to be given by your parents.
Okay.
Also, he did a voice for Keitaro from Dark Gathering.
Oh, I didn't realize that.
Okay.
So he's been a lot of stuff.
I want to go back to Sakamoto Taro.
Yeah.
It's by Tomokazu Sugita.
We recently introduced Sugita as Taro in Dandadan.
Oh, so he's another Taro here.
I know.
Taro, the running human figure.
Oh, interesting.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Also, he was in 2.5 Dimensional Seduction as the photographer Ogino.
Ogino.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That makes sense.
Okay.
Or in Ranma 1.5 as Kuno.
Finally, I remembered something.
Right, right.
Or like Jojo or Gintama and a lot of stuff.
So he's just been in a lot.
Yeah.
Okay, good for him.
Yeah.
So to me, Sakamoto Taro looks old.
I think it's because he has silver hair.
Yeah, he has white hair even before he becomes a family man.
So that's not actually a marker of him being old.
To me, the thing that really makes him look super old in his sort of like fat form is his mustache.
Which just looks like a super old dude mustache.
That's true.
And I think in particular, the combination of the mustache and the glasses makes him look
like he's about 55.
The birthday is 1993.
Okay.
First year, yeah.
So I think part of the deal there, and this is a little bit spoilerish, but I guess I'll
take out the spoiler and just say, later on in the show, I expect that his age will make
more sense.
If that makes sense.
Okay.
I don't think there's not really a good explanation for why he looks so old in his regular fat
form.
But other than it's meant to be as intense a visual contrast as possible with his other
form.
Okay.
I was thinking if you're old, you can't move like that.
Right.
Well, they kind of incorporate that into the plot eventually too.
Okay.
So the first thing I noticed when I started watching the first episode of Sakamoto Days
was the narrator.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Who was it?
My favorite guy.
His name is Otsuka Hoju.
He did a voice for, he's been doing a lot of stuff.
Like to me, his voice resonates with me as Bob Saget.
That, I just would never be able to accept that.
Because for me, he's Tsurumi Taisa, right?
I know.
Yeah.
He's been-
Tsurumi Chui.
Tsurumi Chui.
Yeah.
From Golden Kamui.
Yeah.
To me, it's Bob Saget on Full House.
But his voice, the actual Bob Saget doesn't sound anything like that.
It's like, yeah, no.
Actual Bob Saget has a really high, like, hey guys.
Like, not really that high.
Well, I guess in RIP Bob Saget, right?
But he had a really safe, unthreatening dad voice, right?
Yeah, he sounded like that.
Like kind of like neutered dad.
That's what Bob Saget's voice sounds like.
Otsuka-san sounded like that too.
Did he just drastically change his voice later in life?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
He was really nice and kind, sweet voice.
Okay.
All right.
So he's just a really great voice actor.
Yeah.
But in this one, he's doing the voice of Tsurumi Chui.
Right.
Right?
Like he sounds exactly like that character.
Sets it up in like a really dark way.
Right.
He's gonna appear later in the show as a character.
Yeah.
Can you tell me which character?
It's Takamura.
Like an old guy, elderly guy.
Oh, the really old guy with the sword?
I don't know if she has-
Oh, if it's that guy, that's gonna be dope.
Okay.
Yeah.
He doesn't talk at all.
That's the problem.
Maybe that's why he got the narrator gig as well.
The narrator gig?
They were like, we're already paying you.
We might as well actually have you say something.
Right, right.
Yeah.
That guy like barely talks, but okay, cool.
Okay.
So that's good.
And I want to go on with the voice actors.
On the second episode, there is Lu Xiaotan.
Xiaotan.
Xiaotan.
Yeah.
That's by Sakura Ayane.
Okay.
She's been a lot of stuff.
Do you remember?
No.
Recently, we started watching Ameku Takao's Detective Karte.
Oh yeah, we did.
We did.
Yeah.
And she's doing the main character, Ameku's voice.
And she's like a lot of stuff.
Well, in this one, she's doing like a Chinese accent,
like a Japanese-Chinese accent a little bit.
I feel like, I think what Japanese people think,
what Chinese people talk like in Japanese kind of accent.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
It's kind of old school.
Just says ne at the end of literally every sentence.
Yeah.
I didn't know how I should feel about it.
Does it feel like a little low-key racist?
I mean, yeah.
Nobody speaks like that, right?
I mean, I wouldn't want to say nobody.
Nobody, yeah.
But it is like playing really hard into a stereotype.
Stereotype, yeah.
Of Chinese people in a way that doesn't seem cool, especially.
I mean, we don't really get enough of her backstory to know.
Is she a recent immigrant to Japan?
And she's still learning and mastering the language?
Or was she brought up there and this is pretty unacceptable?
Yeah.
But yeah, I mean, it seems kind of, frankly, unnecessary to have her do the accent.
I don't know.
I also just finished reading a book called Interior Chinatown,
specifically about the experience of Chinese immigrants in the United States,
including in entertainment, being forced to do accents and stuff.
So it's like a specific thing for me right now where I'm just like,
yeah, why would you do that?
Anyway.
I see.
Well, there will be more characters later, I guess.
Yoichi Nagumo.
Yep.
Nagumo.
Yeah.
It's going to be by Natsuki Hanae.
Oh, Luffy, right?
No, Tanjiro.
Tanjiro.
Yeah.
Again?
Again, yeah.
He's been everything.
I mean, you know, why not?
But OK.
Yeah.
Like, I don't know.
I have no problem with like talented voice actors being in a lot of stuff.
But at the same time, like we've talked a lot about shows about making anime,
like Shirobako and stuff on this podcast.
Like they can't give the roles to like anybody else.
Yeah.
I don't know.
Maybe they are popular right now.
OK.
I mean, I don't know.
I don't think anybody was like needed to be sold on Sakamoto days.
But I'm like, I'm not going to watch that.
They're like, oh, yeah.
Hanae Natsuki is a character.
And then you're like, oh, just kidding.
It's going to be, you know what I mean?
Like.
I think nowadays voice actors are becoming more like idol.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then they're more and more in the fan of voice actors.
Yeah.
I mean, like more power to them.
You know what I mean?
I don't want to like suggest that I begrudge voice actors like glamorous careers.
It just feels like, you know, they could stand to take some risks on some like
unknowns or like newer faces every once in a while.
And like, I don't know how much the voice actors are making.
And probably it's not very much.
And like they do kind of need the work.
But like, you know, in America, it's like really like we could get some more actors and
like it would be okay.
Right.
And I feel like a little bit like that about voice acting in anime also.
Okay.
More famous voice actors follow.
Osaragi, do you know the person?
Will be Saori Hayami.
Nope.
Spy Family.
Which one?
Not Yuri.
Your?
Your.
Oh, that's cool.
She doesn't have a lot of lines either, but okay.
Kocho, right?
Yeah.
Cool.
She'll be great.
Yeah, I guess that's it.
That's it.
Okay.
So there's at least a couple other characters who are sort of.
I mean, that's it for like the people.
Oh, people have been announced.
I see.
No, no, there are more people, but I didn't record on it.
Okay, great.
Well, so you know what?
So props for giving like Heisuke, who will get a lot of lines later in the show.
Like, I can't.
Just think about your grandpa every time I say it.
Yes.
I don't think your grandpa was like a sniper wielding like, you know, pigeon speaker or
something.
So funny.
Okay.
All right.
So let's talk about the opening and ending songs.
All right.
The opening theme is Hashire Sakamoto, Run Sakamoto, right?
Yep.
Performed by Boundy.
Yeah.
While the ending theme is Futsuu Normal, performed by Konton Candy.
Right.
So what did you think about the opening?
Well, I think so.
My real take on the opening is just like, one, the title is lame.
Like that.
We just got to say that, like that was a bad title.
Like, come on, you can do better.
Secondly, the music, the actual music, I think is awesome.
Like, I really like the melody and like the instrumentation and like all of those things.
And like, I saw Bondy perform on Red and White this year.
And like, he was fine.
Like, I actually like that other song a little bit more, I think.
And so like, and it's okay.
But I will admit, like, I wished it was a different singer.
And that, like, the vocals were slightly different.
Like, I would have been really down for this to be a Bees song or like, even a Spitz song,
you know, like, would have been like, very cool.
And like, Bondy is like, it's all right.
Like, but I just keep like, wishing it was like, a little bit harder of like, a vocal
and a little bit less like, Gen Z, like, emo, like, singer.
Like, that like, isn't a match for Sakamoto Days in my mind.
But like, maybe, you know, people can disagree.
That's okay.
Yeah, different.
We are like, different generations.
Maybe I'm just old.
Yeah, just an old crotchety, like, you know, wow.
In my day, music was better.
Right, exactly.
The ending theme song, I like, though.
Yeah.
Oh, so about Bondy, Bondy, right?
I think it's spelled in English with a V.
So, Bondy, I think is, yeah.
I don't know.
I think in Katakana, Boundy.
Okay, whatever.
I don't know which pronunciation is right.
I am not sure if you know, Boundy did ending theme song.
The first, very first episode of Chainsaw Man.
Huh.
Just the first one and not the rest.
Yeah, I guess not the rest.
They had all had different ones.
Yeah, that's right.
Okay, I didn't realize maybe that was where he got his break in like, anime music.
Yeah, title was Chainsaw Blood.
It's a cool title.
It's a better title than Hashire Sakamoto.
Yeah, and they also did ending theme song for Spy Family Season 2, Todome no Ichigeki.
Really?
I don't remember.
Have we not seen that?
We watched the Gun Season of Spy Family.
And like, I can't even tell you like, what it sounded like, though.
Yeah.
That's not great.
Okay.
Oh, and then the ending theme song is Futsu no Mobai.
I misread it first.
I thought it was cotton candy, but it's actually konton candy.
Yeah.
Do you know what konton means in Japanese?
No, I'm just getting like, you know, oxycontin vibes from it.
Interesting.
Sure, that's not what it means.
But yeah, what does it mean in Japanese?
Konton.
Konton means chaos.
Chaos candy?
Yeah.
That's kind of cool, actually.
Yeah.
But you brought up oxycontin.
Oxycontin, yeah.
Because like, oxycontin has an N in it that's like, almost silent in most people's pronunciation.
Like, I thought for a long time it was oxy cotton with like, literally C-O-T-T-O-N.
And then saw it spelled and was like, wait, it's kontin?
So that's why I think like, you know, it's this like, slightly different spelling that's
got an N where you don't expect one.
That's what brought it up for me.
I see.
Also, like, we know this about BGM.
Yeah.
Okay, this I really want to talk about, actually.
For some reason, whoever the composer is on this decided that like, the optimal BGM for
this show would be like, lo-fi jazz.
Which like, I don't know.
Like, I actually love it.
Like, I really enjoy listening to lo-fi music in general.
And like, am totally into it, even though it totally fits in that category of like,
Gen Z emo person.
But like, I just slammed by being like, Vandy is not my...
But you know, whatever.
It's really good.
It feels like, again, just a weird match for this particular show.
Like, I would totally like, get it in another show.
And like, in this show, you're kind of like, really?
Like, that was your choice?
But like, it's good.
But like, I don't know.
It's good.
But to me, it feels like a little bit like, just an interesting choice.
Also, when Sakamoto was fighting, there was like, music.
And then like, Sakamoto!
Oh, yeah.
That part was hilarious.
So yeah, in the second episode, during a fight sequence, they input like, in the BGM,
someone would be like, Sakamoto!
And really, it doesn't even sound like that Japanese, right?
It sounded a little bit like a white dude being like, Sakamoto!
And you were like, why did you...
Why?
Why did we add that?
It's like, it's funny, but it kind of like, broke the moment like, a little bit for me.
Even though I didn't hate it.
I don't know.
It was strange.
Okay, so let's do word of the day.
All right.
What is today's word of the day?
You're really going to ask me this right now with zero time spent thinking about it?
I can give you a suggestion.
Yeah, let's hear it.
Hitman.
What about hitman in Japanese?
殺し屋?
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, so yeah, I guess like, a lot of words are constructed in Japanese by just adding
屋 to the end, which means...
屋 means like, seller or, you know, place usually that sells something.
And so 殺し屋 is someone who sells killing.
And I guess that's often what's used.
Are there any other words for assassin?
I guess like, there's the old word from like the, you know, Edo Jidai or Bakumatsu, ひときり.
One who, like a person who cuts, who cuts, literally.
Here, Sakamoto kills people using like, every method imaginable.
He's definitely more of a 殺し屋, someone who is paid to kill people.
Are there other words for assassin that I'm not thinking of here?
I don't know, 殺人鬼.
殺人 is just a murderer, right?
I feel like there's at least one more, but 殺し屋 is the one that's used in the show, right?
Yeah, that could be our word of the day.
Why not?
I really kept expecting them to call Sakamoto でぶ, but they don't.
Is that because it's like, too derogatory?
Like, they just say he like, 太った, he got fat.
I think he would be really, really mad.
Oh, he would be like, offended by でぶ?
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
When I was living in Japan, I guess really technically before I got there,
the guy I replaced had a friend whose name was Dave.
And everybody called him でぶ because he was overweight.
And I think he like, I mean, maybe it's because he like, didn't speak Japanese
like well enough or didn't know to be offended or whatever.
But like, he just kind of like, went with it.
Really?
That's what like, that was his nickname.
Everybody called him that.
He knew the meaning.
I think so.
But I don't like, I, and so this is part of my confusion about it is like,
how derogatory is it to be called でぶ?
Because like, that seems like a word that would fit like,
where Sakamoto's at in terms of his weight.
But no, it's like really insulting.
I think it's insulting.
I don't want to be called でぶ ever.
I mean, do you want, you don't want to be called 太った either, right?
No.
But that's more like, because like, Japan is like a really intensely like,
fat phobic culture as opposed to like,
because one of those words is like a worse word than the other though, no?
I feel like, yeah.
でぶ.
Is worse?
Yeah.
Than 太った?
Yeah.
Okay.
So then I guess that's like a good word of the day too, to like, don't call anyone でぶ.
Ever.
It's not okay.
Ever.
Yeah.
Also, it's kind of hard to find でぶ in Japan.
Is it?
I feel like in the last 20 years, like, you know.
Westernized food.
Yeah.
The diet has changed and like a lot of people, you know, way more than before.
I mean, obesity is probably not the epidemic in Japan that it is in America,
but I don't think of it as like being hard to find someone who's overweight.
Maybe we shouldn't talk about that.
Okay.
All right.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Uh, I'm interested to see where the series goes.
Um, it's got like pretty good animation.
The fight sequences have been fun.
It's still at this point feels like more comedic than serious.
And I'm interested to see how like the anime manages that tone in terms of like how it goes,
because the manga definitely becomes sort of more serious, it feels like over time,
but then like retain some really comedic elements all the way through also.
And so I'll be curious to see which direction they take that in the anime.
Okay.
Like, I've never read the manga before.
And so I don't know how the story is gonna go.
Right.
But he has a good family.
I like the aspect that he decided to retire from Hitman because he had,
he got his wife and a child and then that was like a rule, family rule.
What does he call the family rule in Japanese?
Kakun.
That's a word that I think even most people who study Japanese probably don't know.
Interesting.
So there's nothing.
I've never heard it before.
And the ka is family.
Yeah.
And then the kun is what?
I don't know.
Kunren no kun.
Practice.
Yeah.
Okay.
And it means family rule.
Okay.
Well, so that's like, I think that's a good word too.
You can come up with kakun, but kakun sounds like more serious and there's something
like people inherit from like ancestors.
Oh, like it's like your particular family always does this.
So it's not like the uno rules in your house.
No, no, no.
It's like in our family, we don't eat pork.
Right, right.
Something like that.
But you can also make up.
Like a new one?
New one.
Like I think like they do.
What would be the kakun for our family?
No lying.
Okay.
I can get behind that.
That sounds good.
Or I don't know.
Respect.
Yeah.
These are kind of like basic, like nothing like more like, I don't know, like quirky or weird.
What about you?
What's on your mind?
Um, I don't know that I had one.
Speak more Japanese.
All right.
Cool.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Okay.
Um, check your local library.
If you're interested in reading Sakamoto Days, you can borrow, physically borrow.
Check in.
Check out.
Check out.
Check out the manga.
You can check out the manga.
You can check the manga.
Out from the library.
Out from the library for free if you have a library card.
Yep.
So right now, like we live in Los Angeles and we've been through like crazy, crazy days.
But we are fortunate to live in a place where there's no evacuation warning or mandatory yet.
We're going to keep an eye on what's going to happen next.
And then we're going to be ready whenever we have to leave.
Or we won't have to leave.
Hopefully we won't have to leave.
But yeah, our thoughts are with everybody who has had to evacuate and especially with
people who have lost their homes.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode.
If you like this week's episode, please give us five stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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