MANGA REVIEW | "Sakamoto Days" - Vols. 10 & 11
If you ever find yourself trying to remember something, ask a janitor. With their way around buildings and with an ear to the ground, janitors are perhaps the best to recall even the most trivial of memories. So perhaps it’s appropriate that this database that Shin and the rest of the Sakamoto Days gang are seeking is such an individual. What we didn’t count on is his connection to someone Shin and Sakamoto have gotten to know quite well.
Infiltrating the JCC, Shin and Sakamoto are in the midst of locating the database. Shin duels with a couple of teachers, while Sakamoto embarks on a chase. The target is currently Natsuki Seba, the brother of Mafuyu, who is in touch with X’s Kashima. And throughout all these fights and chases, the truth comes out over where the database is located.
But before this info gets out, Shin and Sakamoto have to fight for it. Shin goes one-on-one with a teacher that Sakamoto knows all too well, with their fight playing with matters of time and strategy. Even with Shin’s ability to see half a second into the future, the brawl is one that takes even him by surprise. After all, who’d guess that such a seemingly feeble person could kick the ass of a top-tier assassin!
The chase between Sakamoto and Natsuki is also very entertaining. On top of the impressive aerial dynamics, there’s the humorous aspect of Sakamoto being in disguise as his wife the entire time. Even more funny is how the disguise is slowly starting to wear off, as his giant belly is becoming more difficult to hide. (It brings to mind the climax of Eddie Murphy’s The Nutty Professor, with the slim Buddy Love fighting with the plump Professor Klump over control of their body.)
Once things slow down in Sakamoto Days, the big database reveal occurs. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the database is a “who”, and not a “what”. The JCC would be foolish to make such a thing a mere item that can be broken or manipulated. Instead, the database is a seemingly mild-mannered janitor who spends his days cleaning the vicinity with a keen eye to detail. What is surprising is how the janitor is connected to Natsuki and Mafuyu.
However, once the database is found, there’s no time to waste. X is on location, trying to gain control and wipe out the database. Club Jam shines here with his hypnotic powers, as he takes control of the entire student body. Not only do Sakamoto, Shin, and Natsuki have to protect the janitor, but now they also have to neutralize the entirety of the JCC. Thankfully, there are two lucky things on their side: their skills, and the fact that the janitor isn’t helpless in the slightest.
It’s a good thing that the janitor is no pushover, as he’s been influential to Natsuki. The guy is trying to seek out his father, who killed his mother ages ago. Any normal person would be bloodthirsty for such a thing, but the janitor’s words have calmed Natsuki’s intentions, giving way to the truth of what his father was truly like. While revenge is still logged in deep in his brain, there’s at least a sliver of hope that this can all be solved with a father/son chat.
Spending two volumes to lead towards a family talk isn’t exactly the forte of Sakamoto Days, so it’s good that we end things with a brutal fight between Shin and Club Jam. A battle between hypnosis and clairvoyance powers would seem like a chance to go supernatural here. Instead, it’s that trademark John Wick-styled combat we’ve come to love here. Not only does it end with bloodshed, but it also gives Club Jam a chance to enjoy a little play that’d raise some eyebrows from his fellow X comrades.
The mission is far from over, but the light at the end of its tunnel can be seen. Volumes Ten and Eleven of Sakamoto Days gets to the meat of the assignment, delivering great fights, killer chases, and a little physical humor here and there. They’re not the perfect formula towards what has made Yuto Suzuki’s series one of the highlights of Shonen Jump, but both volumes still find ways to keep its readers on their toes.
VOL. 10 RATING:
VOL. 11 RATING:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
