Sakamoto Days – Season 1 Episode 4 Recap & Review

Hard-Boiled

Episode 4 of Sakamoto Days begins with two Dandenkai agency members named Boiled and Obiguro chatting with each other. Then, Lu applies eye drops to Shin’s eye. After that, our heroes interrogate the culprit who poisoned Shin. They want to know who hired the culprit. After Lu threatens the culprit, he tells her, Taro, and Shin everything. 

Shin brings up the JAA. He tells Lu that JAA stands for the Japanese Association of Assassins. He says the JAA manages professional hitmen. Shin tells Lu that he and Taro were former JAA members. Aoi and Hana meet with our heroes and the culprit. Shin doesn’t disclose the culprit’s true intentions to Aoi, much to the culprit’s curiosity. 

Taro and Lu follow Aoi and Hana to an eating area. Shin tells the culprit that he and the others will take care of his poisonous weapons. He tells the culprit that he and the others won’t kill him. Hana applies a band-aid on the culprit’s wound and returns to her family. The culprit frees himself and plans to ride a roller coaster before departing. 

While Hana and Aoi grab food, Shin tells Taro and Lu that he can’t read minds (as of now). Shin claims the antidote gave him a headache. Concurrently, the culprit is washing his hands in the men’s restroom. Obiguro and Boiled confront the culprit and we learn his name is Tatsu. Boiled and Obiguro tell Tatsu that they’re here to eliminate Taro. 

Tatsu informs the audience that Boiled and Obiguro are a formidable duo. Meanwhile, Shin and Lu tell Aoi he, Lu, and Taro aren’t hiding anything from her. Aoi understands. She suggests they go on another theme park ride and enjoy the remainder of their time here. Before they go, Aoi and Hana suggest they attend Sugar Park’s Haunted House attraction. 

An attraction worker lectures them about the place and helps them navigate it. Meanwhile, Boiled and Obiguro monitor them from an undisclosed room. Taro, Shin, and Lu protect Hana and Aoi from the assassins lurking in the haunted house. At the same time, Obiguro monitors Taro’s group. Obiguro wants to get the hit on Taro, but Boiled tells her he wants to do it. 

Boiled reveals why he dislikes Taro. We enter a flashback set at the Hit Man Training Center or the Japan Clear Creation (JCC). There, a young Boiled interacts with a young Taro. Boiled tells Taro he doesn’t dislike him for beating up his companion. Boiled says he and Taro were semi-companions. 

However, Taro’s fangirls convinced Boiled that Taro wasn’t as hard-boiled as he assumed. Then, we return to following Taro’s group. Shin belittles Lu for being afraid. Lu drinks alcohol to calm herself down. Taro’s group hears something coming from a door. Lu opens the door and many zombies storm out of it. 

Boiled knocks Taro through a wall during this skirmish. The two find themselves in a different location and plan to fight. Meanwhile, Shin finds Aoi and Hana lying on the ground. Shin learns they’re unconscious. Obiguro confronts Shin with her horde of fake zombies. Lu arrives and plans to use her drunken fist technique to fight Obiguro. 

Concurrently, Taro wants Boiled to tell him where his family is. Boiled refuses. He’s more fixated on making Taro remember him. Meanwhile, Obiguro forces Lu to the ground. Obiguro orders her comrades to strap Shin to a table. Then, Obiguro turns to Lu and places an hourglass on the table. Obiguro tells Lu she must hit her every 10 seconds. 

If Lu fails, Obiguro claims her ally will use his chainsaw to dismember Shin. At the same time, Taro seemingly struggles against Boiled. Boiled informs Taro about his equipment’s abilities. He claims he looked up to Taro in the past, but has gotten soft since they last met. Concurrently, Taro recalls a memory of Boiled informing him and Nagumo about his weapons. 

In the present, Boiled and Taro continue fighting and the former knocks the latter into a wall. Taro emerges from the smoke and is thin again. He lists the materials Boiled used for his weapons. Taro tells Boiled he remembers him. The episode ends with Taro telling Boiled he’ll show him what he can do. 


The Episode Review

This episode of Sakamoto Days introduces Boiled and Obiguro into the story. While some will find Boiled’s reasons for disliking Taro childish, others may not mind it. At the same time, it’s great seeing someone push Taro to rely on his true skills. It helps differentiate Taro from other series with allegedly powerful lead characters. 

I’m excited to see how their fight goes. These two aside, Obiguro feels like a promising antagonist. Obiguro hasn’t shown true individual feats yet, but we’re certain fans are ecstatic to see where her battle with Lu goes in the next chapter. It’s neat to see the author make subtle action-flick homages here. 

The drunken fist technique Lu showcases in this episode is a great example. Not only will it appeal to fans of martial arts films, but it adds depth to Lu’s potential as a character. On top of giving viewers intel on the JAA and touches of comedy, this was a fun episode of Sakamoto Days.

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  • Episode Rating -
    (3.5)
3.5