Is the Sakamoto Days’ Animation Bad or Are Fans Over-Reacting?
The controversy surrounding the animation quality of Sakamoto Days: Explained.
Sakamoto Days was one of the most anticipated Winter 2024 anime alongside Solo Leveling. The anime was picked up by TMS Entertainment, the studio behind Dr. Stone, Lupin III, Megalo Box, Undead Unluck, Kamisama Kiss, and many other classic anime. However, not everyone is satisfied with the animation quality of Sakamoto Days. Many fans are hotly discussing, and arguing, that the animation is sub-par or just downright bad but is that the case? Is Sakamoto Days’ animation average?
Sakamoto Days Anime Couldn’t Do Justice to Manga Choreography
The Sakamoto Days manga is renowned for its battle choreography. The art style makes the motions feel dynamic and breathtaking. Fans have often compared the fights with Jackie Chan movies or 80-90s Honk Kong action movies. The protagonist himself has been dubbed the John Wick of the manga world.
bro didn’t watch the video so here are 4 more examples of bad animation from the same episode, as well as the clip in the tweet above being shitty. tms is completely butchering sakamoto days like crazypic.twitter.com/6tX2bluJMB
However, the fight choreography has not been done justice in its anime adaptation. The fast-paced and deadly action scenes seem not only drawn out in the anime but also overly simplified. Fans have also called out the overuse of still frames in the anime. In fact, some of the jokes in the manga, which are snappier when read, have been stretched out in the anime, affecting the comedy timing.
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The Animation Feels Flat
Fans have called Sakamoto Days anime flat, referring to the lack of tension and dynamics in the battle scenes of the story. The darker tones of the manga also feel ill-represented. A lot of the character designs have been over-simplified.
In this age of rampant manga-to-anime adaptations, studios can either elevate the manga’s art style or maintain it. However, TMS Entertainment’s oversimplification of the art style of the original Sakamoto Days anime has been noticed by various fans. Some fans have even gone to the extent of calling some scenes colored versions of the manga panels.
Animation aside, they are killing the pace of Sakamoto Days. They skipped two whole chapters and the first reveal of Sakamoto’s body… they also packed it with so much emotion that it came off as corny which is not how the manga is 😕pic.twitter.com/okJ4OD94Ct
As the first few anime episodes rolled out, fans began fearing that the studio might not do justice to the more action-heavy battles with more suitable opponents. And their fears were proven correct with Shin’s battle against Tatsu and Sakamoto vs. Boiled. Once again, the scenes felt like not much work was put into them.
Are the Expectations of Fans Too High?
Fans have been divided into two factions regarding the animation of Sakamoto Days. One group considers the animation as average, while the other dismisses the allegations. Current anime fans are indeed more used to series like Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, Dandadan, and other series whose animation is a cut above the rest. But are they really the standard everything else should be judged by?
People who defended Sakamoto Days animation by using counter example like “Demon Slayer and JJK ruined your minds!” should realize that TMS could’ve made this kind of animation. Yes, it is possible to make realistic action animation with no impact frames. Watch Hinamatsuri.https://t.co/H2kYMRxaQGpic.twitter.com/pIvmDQhLiU
True, the animation of Sakamoto Days is admittedly not of the highest quality. However, comparing it to the biggest names in the anime industry, whether consciously or subconsciously, does not do it justice. Fans hope that the studio is saving its budget for thebiggest battles, which will debut later in the season. But at the end of the day, the anime has fallen short of what a majority of fans had expected it to be. It might not be the worst thing ever, but in today’s world, it cannot be called any better than average.
