Sakamoto Days’ Anime Proves Its Best Trio Is a Missed Opportunity

Sakamoto Days’ anime made its debut as part of the Winter 2025 lineup. The show is based on Yuto Suzuki’s Weekly Shonen Jump following a former assassin Taro Sakamoto. Once feared as the greatest hitman of all time, Taro retires after getting married. Five years later, he lives a peaceful and ordinary life with his wife and daughter. However, he is forced into that dangerous life again when someone places a bounty of one billion on his head.

The anime has aired three episodes so far, introducing several major characters, including Taro, Shin, and Lu, as the central trio of the story. Shin, with his psychic abilities, and Lu, with her exceptional fighting skills, help Taro in any way they can. Fans already love the dynamic between the three characters as Taro invites them to live under his roof. The Sakamoto family is growing bigger, and he should have more people to help around the store. However, anime fans aren’t aware, but the manga slowly phases out Lu from the story, leaving only Taro and Shin as the main duo. Despite her interesting introduction, Lu becomes a filler character not long after.

Warning: Spoilers from the Sakamoto Days manga ahead!

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The Sakamoto Days Manga Sidelines Lu Later in the Story

Lu Xiaotang starts off as a quirky character and capable ally, bringing unique skills to the group. However, as the story progresses, her role becomes less prominent compared to Sakamoto and Shin. By the time the fourth story arc, the JCC Transfer Exams Arc, begins in Chapter 55, Lu’s role in the story is significantly reduced. Taro and Shin infiltrate the JCC as students and take the exam in hopes of obtaining more information from Slur.

Since then, the story heavily focuses on Taro and Shin as the main duo, forgetting about Lu almost completely. Additionally, with new arcs, new and more powerful characters keep getting introduced, and they continuously crowd out Lu. Moreover, Taro and Shin have distinct backstories and personal goals. In contrast, Lu’s character development hasn’t been as deeply explored, so her lack of personal narrative reduces her importance in the overarching plot.

The story begins with a lighter tone and episodic nature and soon involves larger conspiracies and dangerous organizations. As the story gets darker, Lu’s comedic and fighting talents take a backseat since she doesn’t have much to offer when the stakes are so high. Even so, the show not having an original trio anymore and stopping Lu’s progress is somewhat unfair to her. The trio provides a certain charm to the story that could have led to better character development, balance, and overall engagement for readers.

Important and powerful female characters in Shonen manga are often appreciated, but this is one thing where Sakamoto Days slightly falls behind other manga. While there are characters like Osaragi and Kumanomi, who will be introduced later in the anime, they don’t play a major role in the show. Lu, on the other hand, had room for development but she didn’t get a chance for that. She now mainly helps Aoi with the store, even when Taro and Shin are training or going on missions.