I’ve seen a decent amount of comedic anime throughout the years, but I find that they often don’t really land for me. I’ve seen the craze for Mashle and although I know quite a few people who think it’s a hilarious show, I felt insulted by its stupidity. That’s not to say I’m above stupid humor or I’m too smart to enjoy a show like that. It’s very much the opposite. One of my favorite comedy anime is Granblue Dreaming which I would argue is the dumbest show I’ve ever watched. There’s a comedy show airing this season that I really like, and I think there’s a particular decision made by the author that changed this show from what would have probably been a bad show to a good one. Again, all of this is subjective, if you like Mashle and dislike this show, then that’s perfectly fine too.
Sakamoto Days tells the story of Sakamoto Taro, a retired hitman who quit the business because he fell madly in love, got married, had a daughter and started a convenience store. Of course his past comes back to haunt him in the form of Shin – his old sidekick – as well as a 1 billion bounty that is still on his head. We get some cool action scenes like you would expect from a show like this, but up until now the stakes have always felt quite low. Protecting the sanctity of daily life is causing more problems than the actual dealing with hitmen. And like I said earlier in this post, there is one decision the author made that I think causes this show to work much better than it otherwise would.
Sakamoto’s wife is well aware of Sakamoto’s past and also understands that sometimes it comes back to haunt him. She made him promise not to kill anyone, so he doesn’t, but she does get mad when problems arise. I strongly think that if his wife was unaware of his past and that was the main source of comedy, this show wouldn’t work. That sort of “hiding in plain sight” that shows like Spy x Family do just doesn’t appeal to me as comedy. That’s not to say I don’t like Spy x Family, it has some fantastically silly moments and the soundtrack carries it on its back, but it’s not nearly as funny as Sakamoto Days.
As someone who generally doesn’t like comedy anime that much, it’s been nice to find one that works for me. Even a show like One Punch Man got old after a while. Luckily we then got Mob Psycho 100 by the same author which I think was a much better show. If you haven’t checked out Sakamoto Days yet, this is your call to do so. And let me know if there are any funny anime I should check out that will make me laugh for sure. Thanks for reading!
Opal Kaharis 