There are many new manga and anime that yearn to be like Jujutsu Kaisen. The impact that series has had is something not many can compete with. Rivalry may be hard to find too, considering the amount of work and effort put into the making of Gege Akutami’s masterpiece. There are many who try to rival but fail. However, one manga in particular has the possibility to do so.
Yuto Suzuki’s Sakamoto Days has finally announced an anime adaptation to be in the way and fans are more than excited for it. The manga, a mixture of many worlds, has the capability of rivaling Jujutsu Kaisen’s action sequences with ease. So to see TMS Entertainment adapting it is an anticipation-filled wait.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s Action Rival’s Initial Plans
During a 2023 interview with Jump Giga (via X), Yuto Suzuki talked about how Sakamoto Days came to be. The idea wasn’t one he planned on dragging for too long. In fact, were things going according to his first place, it would have simply been a one-shot.
Back then, I just wanted to publish a one-shot, so I emphasized on making an impact. I wasn’t expecting it to turn into a series. There wasn’t anyone I modelled the character after, but I learned about this movie called Enter The Fat Dragon and thought the setting was similar.
He admitted that his entire goal was to simply make a story that had a lasting impression in one go. Nothing that would gradually build up. So he did not think of basing the character of Sakamoto on anyone. However, Suzuki acknowledged that Donnie Yen’s Enter The Fat Dragon had a similar premise.
Another thing he found astonishing was how despite his initial attempts, the story ended up getting picked up for serialization. That wasn’t something he had seen coming and thus it caught him off guard.
The Work of Contrasts
Yuto Suzuki had a particular plan in mind when creating Sakamoto Days. Playing into contrasts and contradictions. Oxymorons lead to paradoxes that create unusually ironic situations. Incorporating that idea into his series, Suzuki wanted to bring together elements that might not seem like a good pair.
I like characters who possess strong gaps, so I combined several elements from two extreme opposites such as the strongest old man, and the strongest fat guy. Consequently, the one I found more interesting to draw was the strongest fat guy.
He had many different ideas but ultimately settled on the proposition of a fat yet powerful guy as the protagonist. Shonen takes things in many different ways but the protagonists always have some patterns they usually follow.
Sakamoto Days counters that trope and brings together a protagonist unlike any other. It makes the character more interesting and unique.
Sakamoto Days anime will premiere in 2025.
