Sakamoto Days will be returning to Netflix this week with the second half of its debut season, and ComicBook got to speak with the director behind it all about some of the changes to the production they have made for the new episodes. Sakamoto Days was already a hotly anticipated series as Yuto Suzuki’s original Weekly Shonen Jump manga has some of the biggest set pieces in the magazine. But unfortunately, the response to the anime thus far hasn’t exactly been positive as fans feel like something has been lost in translation for its anime adaptation. But those behind the scenes are aware of that response too.
Speaking to Sakamoto Days director Masaki Watanabe during Anime Expo 2025 earlier this month, ComicBook got to ask about how he felt with fan response to the anime thus far. As Watanabe explained, the staff behind the series is fully aware of the critiques that have been lobbied at Part 1 of the season and has revealed some of the changes that the production has made for fans to look forward to with the upcoming episodes in reaction to that fan response.
Sakamoto Days Director Reacts to Anime Fan Backlash
When asked about the fan response to Part 1, Sakamoto Days director Masaki Watanabe revealed that he knows how fans responded to certain aspects of the show. Even noting how its color scheme choices had an impact as well, “Some people thought it was a bit too light, right? People were asking for more mature colors, and we basically did hear those remarks and feedback, so we did our best to improve on some of those voices. And we would like people to look forward to our second season.” When asked further about how the team approaches an action scene in the series, Watanabe explained the team’s thought process.
“Basically, we try to honor the flow of the source material, and have that as our base,” Watanabe began. “Then we are trying to fill in what is between the frames and pictures. So when that becomes footage or imagery, there are not many cases where we feel that there’s too much. Usually it’s more like maybe we might not have enough. What we do is we try to add more, and we want to make sure that we have that right emotional flow to what we are basically running in that action. Then we basically try to figure out what the right length time wise it would be.”
Sakamoto Days Director Teases Part 2
As for what’s coming in Sakamoto Days Part 2, Watanabe further teased the improvements going on behind the scenes by noting how the team is more used to drawing and working on the animation show compared to when they first began, “I think their rendering of the animation is becoming even cooler for the second season, and I’d like people to look forward to that aspect, and the color scheme of the show.”
Further emphasizing that Sakamoto Days has more mature coloring in Part 2 and that there’s an improvement in the battle scenes, it’s clear that the director has taken that fan response to heart as the team behind it all has already made adjustments with the second half of its debut. Sakamoto Days Part 2 will be making its debut with Netflix on July 14th, and will be airing its episodes on a weekly basis with both Japanese and English language audio.
