Released on 29 April, 2026, the first movie I saw after moving to Japan was Sakamoto Days. Based on the manga / anime of the same name by Yuto Suzuki, the film stars Snow Man’s Ren Meguro (as the titular Taro Sakamoto) alongside an incredible supporting cast, including Aya Ueto as Taro’s wife, Aoi, and Fumiya Takahashi as Shin Asakura, a hit man assigned to kill Taro who ends up becoming his protégé.
I went with one of my best friends, which made the whole experience even better. Meguro is also one of my favorite Japanese entertainers, so getting to see him on the big screen, in a theater in Japan, felt pretty special.
Even with my incredibly limited Japanese, it was a wonderful film, and Meguro is genuinely hilarious! I’d love to see him lean further into comedy, because he’s really good at it. While a physical version hasn’t been released yet, the film is finally available for home viewing through Amazon Prime (with more streaming services to follow).
I can’t wait to give it another watch, this time with subtitles.
There will be more Meguro soon so…
Stay Tuned!
