Sakamoto Days is a delightful new anime series blending action and slice of life through its main duo: Taro Sakamoto the convenience store worker and his new friend/employee, Shin. Sakamoto is an unusual and memorable shonen anime protagonist. Taro is an ex hit man who got married, settled into domestic life, and even got a “dad bod” to distance himself from his vicious past. Even then, Taro Sakamoto has all the skills of an elite fighter, and sometimes, lets those skills shine through his humble facade.
Sakamoto is practically unique in the world of anime, but there are some characters out there who share some broad similarities with him. These characters share Sakamoto’s general vibe, from elite fighters who voluntarily gave up their violent lifestyle to become peaceful members of society, to warriors who can handle themselves in a brawl but vastly prefer peace – and encourage others to embrace peace and love, too.
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10
Tatsu, Like Taro Mobster Turned Homemaker
Tatsu Uses Gangster Slang to Describe His Errands
One of the best comparisons for Sakamoto is the protagonist of The Way of the Househusband, a certain ex-mobster named Tatsu. Like Sakamoto, Tatsu was once a violent maniac in the underworld, but after he narrowly cheated death, he met the love of his life and settled down as a homemaker. Now Tatsu lives a clean and law-abiding life, though he still has the face and speech of a Yakuza brute.
Tatsu is happy to be an innocent homemaker and support his breadwinner wife Miku, who finds Tatsu’s Yakuza mannerisms equally funny and annoying. And while Tatsu still remembers his past life, he refuses to go back, even when current mobsters try to intimidate him. Rather than get baited into a fight, Tatsu will defuse the situation with food, advice, or acts of service to keep the peace.
9
Yor Went From Assassin to Doting Foster Mom
Yor Can Still Fight, But She Prefers Domestic Bliss
For years, Yor Briar terrorized Berlint’s underworld as the Thorn Princess, a viciously skilled woman who could stab anyone to death with her oversized needles on behalf of any paying client. Now, Yor is married to Loid and has become Loid Forger, and more than ever, Yor is questioning her ongoing career as an assassin in Spy x Family‘s story.
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Like Sakamoto, Yor has new stakes, fighting not for money or her clients but to protect the found family she built with Loid and Anya. Now, Anya’s safety and happiness are more precious to Yor than any mission, and even if Yor’s domestic skills are questionable, she would much rather be a foster mom than a killer. However, Yor must keep that secret from her husband and daughter, just the way Loid can’t let Yor know he’s a Westalis spy.
Spy x Family
- Release Date
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April 9, 2022
- Directors
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Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Takahiro Harada
- Writers
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Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Ichirō Ōkouchi
8
Toru Kirishima Went From Assassin to Mafia Babysitter Who’s Surprisingly Sensitive
Being Around Yaeka Brings Out the Best in Him
Toru Kirishima is one of several mafia/assassin types in anime who, for the sake of comedy and slice of life antics, ended up embracing an innocent lifestyle. The story of The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting began when Toru’s mob boss asked Toru to babysit his young daughter, Yaeka. Now Toru must face a whole new challenge, the kind where martial arts skills and beating up rival gangsters means nothing.
Toru also grappled with his own insecurities as he looked after Yaeka, quickly facing the fact he didn’t know what he was doing. Toru tried his best, but insecuruties and self-criticism soon surfaced, with Toru fearing he was a monster who didn’t deserve happiness. Still, no matter Toru’s fears, he and Yaeka formed a meaningful friendship that brought out the best in Toru.
7
Demon King Claude Isn’t the Monster Everyone Thinks He Is
Claude Only Fights to Protect Those He Cares About
The isekai anime I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss features a powerful demon lord named Claude who was feared as the prince of darkness, but in reality, he was a loving kuudere who just needed a partner. Claude showed his best side when the beautiful heroine Aileen met him and agreed to be his lover, showing he was more of a protector than a destroyer.
Like Sakamoto, demon king Claude may have his scary side and can certainly fight, but he greatly prefers peace and love, even if he’s too emotionally detached to make a speech about it. Just the way Sakamoto is everyone’s protector from hit men, Claude will always rush to Aileen’s side to protect her if need be, and Aileen is grateful for the help.
6
Sullivan the Demon Would Rather Build a Happy Family Than Dominate the Netherworld
Sullivan is a Doting Foster Grandfather
A few characters in Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun have gap moe qualities to rival Sakamoto’s own, with the high-ranking demon Sullivan being one of them. He may be a powerful figure in the demonic Netherworld who could even become demon king, but Sullivan wants none of that. Instead, Sullivan ached for a family, so he was overjoyed to welcome Iruma Suzuki into his household.
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Sullivan may have horns and claws as a demon, but he would never use them to harm anyone. Instead, like Sakamoto, Sullivan is a doting foster grandfather to Iruma, similar to how Sakamoto dotes on his wife and young daughter, and that is primarily what defines them. The main difference is that Sullivan is more outgoing, gladly bragging to his friends about his wonderful new foster grandchild to anyone who will listen.
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun
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Ayumu Murase
Iruma Suzuki
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Ryohei Kimura
Asmodeus Alice
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Daisuke Ono
Naberius Callego
5
Rimuru is the Ultimate Isekai Power Trip Who Prefers Peace
Rimuru Knows the Best Power is the Strength He Doesn’t Have to Use
Rimuru Tempest ranks among the most OP isekai heroes of all time, but that isn’t quite the point of this character in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Rimuru is less about action and more about constructing and protecting something new for everyone, only fighting if he absolutely must. That makes Rimuru a scaled-up Sakamoto in another world.
Both characters are indisputably the strongest in almost every fight, so there is little suspense about whether they will win their battles. Instead, these characters inspire viewers by fighting to defend their friends and associates from villains, and once the fighting ends, Rimuru and Sakamoto gladly return to their peaceful pursuits. They are examples of anime characters who can fight, but would much rather not.
4
Wiz Can Cast Terrifying Magic But Enjoys Her Shop Most of All
Like Sakamoto, Wiz Enjoys Running a Business
Even a goofy comedy anime like Konosuba can have a few characters with some slice-of-life elements to them, such as Wiz the shopkeeper. Wiz’s charming appearance and personality may not suggest it, but she was once a wizard who became a lich, and she is quite powerful in battle. Most importantly, Wiz left behind a life of action to open her own shop.
All that gives Wiz a character arc similar to Sakamoto’s own, albeit in a high fantasy world of demon lords and giant toads. Just like Sakamoto, Wiz might help out in a fight if the protagonists are in trouble, but overall, Wiz vastly prefers her peaceful life running a shop, a clear parallel to Sakamoto happily running his convenience store.
KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!
- Release Date
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2016 – 2024
- Directors
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Takaomi Kanasaki
- Writers
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Natsume Akatsuki, Aoi Akashiro, Touko Machida, Kojiro Nakamura, Makoto Uezu, Alexander Von David
3
Mr. Yoshimura is More Peaceful Than Most Ghouls
Yoshimura Taught Ken How to Make Coffee
Many ghouls in the seinen world of Tokyo Ghoul are total punks who enjoy preying on humans, but the elderly Mr. Yoshimura has a different and kinder point of view. He runs a cafe called Anteiku, a middle ground where humans and ghouls may enjoy coffee and pastries in peace. Mr. Yoshimura is an idealistic ghoul, not unlike the half-other protagonist Ken Kaneki.
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Mr. Yoshimura is similar to Sakamoto because he is a capable fighter, but if he has his way, humans and ghouls will never have to fight. Instead, like Sakamoto, Mr. Yoshimura has tapped into the down-to-earth wisdom of living a constructive life of peace and joy, doing away with slaughter and bloodshed.
Tokyo Ghoul
- Release Date
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2014 – 2013
- Network
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Tokyo MX
- Directors
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Shin Matsuo, Taiji Kawanishi, Seo Hye-jin, Masayuki Matsumoto
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Natsuki Hanae
Ken Kaneki (voice)
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Sora Amamiya
Touka Kirishima (voice)
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Shintaro Asanuma
Nishiki Nishio (voice)
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Takahiro Sakurai
Uta (voice)
2
Vash the Stampede Doesn’t Like to Kill With His Shots
Vash is Totally Unlike Millions Knives
On the face of it, Trigun protagonist Vash the Stampede may seem quite different than Sakamoto, but the two of them still have some meaningful overlap. Vash may not own a convenience store or other endeavor, but he still prefers peace to war, urgently trying to distance himself from the bloody world of violence and death he has seen before.
That led to Vash becoming a fearsome fighter who is terribly reluctant to hurt anyone, dearly hoping he will never have to use his pistols again. Similarly, Sakamoto is done with killing and uses non-lethal means to take down violent opponents, with Vash doing something similar with his well-placed but non-lethal shots.
1
Izumi Curtis Calls Herself a Housewife Above All
Izumi Only Fights to Keep the Peace
The side character Izumi Curtis in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood may not be as subversive as Sakamoto, but she does have some overlap with him, making them easy to compare. Both of them know how to fight, and most critically, they hope they never have to. Izumi and Sakamoto both enjoy simple domestic bliss, finding more meaning in that than in any battlefield victory.
Sakamoto has a wife, daughter, and convenience store, while Izumi has a similar setup with her husband Sig and the butcher shop they run together in Dublith. Amusingly, both Sakamoto and Izumi have a blond young man whom they mentor, with Izumi being Edward Elric’s coach and Sakamoto teaching Shin how to work at a convenience store as a proper employee.
