Superhuman abilities are strangely common in Sakamoto Days, although this popular shonen comedy anime doesn’t really touch on magic, nor does it place a direct focus on supernatural powers. Regardless, with the number of characters that possess ridiculously remarkable (and humanly impossible) quirks, it might as well be another anime about superheroes.

Most of the superpowers seen in Sakamoto Days thus far result from a character’s innate talent and hard work, as most of them are prodigies with insane gifts or have been trained at Japan Clear Creation (JCC) to hone their skills until they become assassins capable of going toe-to-toe with My Hero Academia’s All Might.

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Taro Sakamoto is Sakamoto Day’s Hilarious Superman

There is Nothing That Sakamoto Can’t Accomplish

Taro Sakamoto is Sakamoto Days’ strangest enigma regarding powers. He excels in every skill that is required of an assassin and more. He holds a frightening level of strength and agility that can only be described as superhuman (even after being “out of shape” for years), as well as a physical durability that allowed him to survive the force of Boiled’s point-blank explosives practically unscathed.

Another notable power Sakamoto has is his resistance to Shin’s telepathic powers. Somehow, Sakamoto is able to block Shin from reading his mind at will, as seen when Shin attempted to kill Sakamoto during the anime’s first episode. He also has an ability—although it’s more of a strange side effect than a skill he uses—in which he instantly loses an unbelievable amount of weight (along with his mustache) if he overexerts himself, allowing him to appear exactly as he did during the days of his prime.

Shin Asakura Possesses Psychic Abilities

There is No Other Character in Sakamoto Days Like Shin

Shin Asakura takes his last name from his adoptive father, who is simply known as Asakura—the head scientist at Okutabi Lab, where Shin spent most of his childhood. Asakura’s research is the very reason Shin has psychic abilities. After Asakura developed a serum that could give people superhuman powers, a young and sleep-dazed Shin walked in and mistook the concoction for water. At first, Asakura didn’t find any lasting symptoms resulting from Shin’s consumption of the serum, but Shin eventually displayed the ability to read minds.

So far, Shin is the only character in the series who controls a legitimate paranormal ability without the aid of body modifications, drugs or other equipment. He uses his clairvoyance to accomplish several tasks, such as detecting oncoming threats and providing eerily stellar customer service. However, he mainly uses it to communicate with the main character, Taro Sakamoto, who is a man of very few words.

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Yoichi Nagumo is a Master of Flawless Disguises

Nagumo’s Shapeshifting Ability is one of Sakamoto Days’ Biggest Mysteries

Yoichi Nagumo is an old friend and colleague from Taro Sakamoto’s days as a hitman, although he initially introduces himself as an 18-year-old acquaintance to mess with Shin and Lu upon their first meeting in episode 3 of the Sakamoto Days anime. The beginning of the episode is also where Nagumo displays his oddly impressive ability to instantly switch in and out of scarily accurate disguises.

How Nagumo’s talent works and where he got it from remains a mystery, but it’s an ability that borders on shapeshifting. He requires no additional forms of clothing or makeup to become a near-perfect copy of a person in every manner aside from personality, such as when he mimics Sakamoto’s appearance and voice to a tee, but ends up making the mistake of being too talkative when the real Sakamoto normally speaks in as few words as possible.

Heisuke Mashimo is a Bird Whispering Marksman

Heisuke’s Strength as a Hitman Lies in his Rifle and Piisuke

Heisuke Mashimo was the main antagonist in Sakamoto Days Episode 6 but became a major supporting character after his defeat at Sakamoto and Shin’s hands. While Heisuke appears to be a completely talentless assassin and too simple-minded for the profession, he possesses an insane level of sharpshooting accuracy (made even deadlier with his special Ricochet Rounds) that both impressed and caught even Taro Sakamoto by surprise.

Heisuke could injure Sakamoto (if only slightly) from a distance and without his weapon or his feet stabilized. Despite his impressive talent, however, Heisuke was eventually fired from his position at a nameless hitman agency, which left him and his bird, Piisuke, without stable income. Strangely, Heisuke can also perfectly understand and communicate with Piisuke, who helps improve the former’s visibility across the battlefield when he takes flight.

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Natsuki Seba’s Genius Led to his Invisibility

Seba’s Super Power is his Innate Talent for Creation

Natsuki Seba is a young assassin hired by Kashima and the other executives who took over Okutabi Lab in the “Lab Arc” of Sakamoto Days. He first appears as nothing more than a lackadaisical underling until he removes his hazmat suit to fight off Shin and Sakamoto in their attempt to save Lu Shaotang in episode 7. It is this scene where he first displays the ability to turn completely invisible to the naked eye.

At first, Seba’s ability to turn invisible appeared to result from his time working with the scientists at Okutabi Lab. In actuality, he is capable of such a supernatural feat because of the special invisibility suit he developed himself. Seba’s true prowess lies in creating advanced technology and weaponry, a talent in which he is a prodigy, and his invisibility suit is his most successful invention thus far.

Mad Horiguchi Toys With the Limits of Science in Sakamoto Days

Science and Technology Enables Horiguchi to Accomplish Powerful Feats

Mad Horiguchi is the name of a higher-ranking member within the organization that took over Okutabi Lab. Fitting his name and character design, he is a mad scientist who relishes in using science and technology to push humanity to greater heights. Because of this, any superhuman feats he’s capable of directly result from the drugs and technology that he developed himself.

In episode 7 of Sakamoto Days, Mad Horiguchi injected both Shin and Sakamoto with electrodes that scrambled their brain signals. These electrodes then allowed Horiguchi to control the pair almost like puppets. He also used strength-enhancing drugs he concocted to give himself a monstrous strength and appearance reminiscent of the My Hero Academia villain, Muscular.

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Kashima is Frankenstein-Esque Cyborg Full of Lethal Weaponry

The Scariest Sakamoto Villain Thus Far Comes in the Form of Kashima

Kashima is a character with one of the most unsettling appearances among the Sakamoto Days villains. Beneath the taxidermied deer head he often wears, he dons a series of patchwork markings across his face and his limbs. The threads of some of these stitches can be undone to unveil weapons hidden inside his own body, such as a bundle of swords in his arm or a laser gun in his mouth.

With the heavy cybernetic modifications done to his body, Kashima appears to be more of a macabre cyborg than a human. It also seems nearly impossible to kill him by normal means, as he could survive his neck being twisted 180 degrees by Shishiba. The disturbing nature of his abilities is only made even more unnerving with his cult-like devotion to Slur.

Sakamoto Days

Release Date

January 11, 2025

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  Matthew Mercer

  Taro Sakamoto

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