Sakamoto Days, the new anime adaptation of Yuto Suzuki’s manga by TMS Entertainment is continuing its dominating run on Netflix by breaking a record for the streaming service. The new anime debuted just a few weeks ago (with three episodes streaming at the time of writing) and has quickly risen up the streamer’s Top 10 most popular shows of the week, currently sitting in fourth place. But the series has achieved a much more impressive feat in just three episodes.
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Sakamoto Days follows the titular Taro Sakamoto, a retired hitman who only dreams of running a convenience store with his wife and daughter. But, after a run-in with the mob, Sakamoto must use non-lethal methods to take out the assassins looking to claim the 1 billion yen bounty on his head. Sakamoto Days has divided the fan base with its anime adaptation. But, that hasn’t stopped the show from breaking a major Netflix record.
Sakamoto Days Is Netflix’s Most Successful Anime Launch Yet
According to data released by Netflix, and independent reporting by journalist @Real_Kilometers, Sakamoto Days is Netflix’s most-watched original anime since the streamer started reporting weekly viewership figures. The new anime has raked in 8.6 million views since its debut on January 11. This makes it Netflix’s most popular original anime to date, beating Season 2 of Baki Hanma, which earned 6 million views. By contrast, Season 2 Part 2 of Record of Ragnarok, which beat Demon Slayer for viewership on the platform in 2023, debuted in Summer 2023 with 3 million views. It is important to note that Sakamoto Days beat both these shows, which have built loyal fan bases with their own debut seasons, thanks to its own built-in fandom with a widely successful manga.
Sakamoto Days is currently the second most popular non-English series on Netflix, behind the second season of Squid Game, which carries a whopping 13.2 million views over on the same week of January 13th-19th. Netflix’s formula for total “views” is “hours watched over hours of content available.”
[RELATED – Sakamoto Days’ Anime Proves Its Best Trio Is a Missed Opportunity]
Why Is Sakamoto Days Dividing the Fan Base?
Despite its apparent popularity on Netflix, Sakamoto Days isn’t such a hit with fans of Yuto Suzuki’s manga. Before the series was released, fans took issue with the promotional material, criticizing TMS Entertainment’s animation style and quality, as well as the OP by Vaundy, and the voice cast.
While many have been won over by the show’s premiere, as the show boasts a modest 7.96 rating on MyAnimeList from 26,128 users, there are still some fans of the manga who feel hard done with the anime adaptation. Despite their grievances, expect Sakamoto Days to have a long shelf-life on Netflix. With the tremendous popularity of Season 1, a second season is expected to be quickly greenlit after the second cour of episodes is released this July.
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