Sakamoto Days: Netflix’s Top 10 Hit Defies Criticism and Keeps Viewers Hooked!

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Summary

  • Sakamoto Days is highly watched on Netflix, despite initial criticisms from fans about the lack of action.
  • The series has remained in the top 10 most-watched shows in Japan for six consecutive weeks.
  • Viewer numbers have stayed consistent, with around 3 million views each week and 7-8 million hours viewed, indicating solid audience retention.

Regardless of numerous complaints, particularly from longtime enthusiasts, Sakamoto Days remains one of the most popular shows on Netflix. This series has stirred up debates even before its premiere – viewers initially criticized the trailer for emphasizing too much on everyday life scenes rather than action sequences.

It’s worth mentioning that the action sequences are a significant aspect of the Sakamoto Days manga, and given this, fans were understandably eager to see these moments brought to life through animation. Naturally, they hoped for action scenes comparable to those found in series like Jujutsu Kaisen or Demon Slayer. Consequently, it’s only reasonable that these fans might feel concerned or dissatisfied by the lack of consistent action sequences in the trailers.

What Global Viewership Numbers Suggest

Initially, Sakamoto Days didn’t make it to Netflix’s global weekly top chart during its debut week, however, starting from its second week, it consistently ranked within the top ten. This indicates that the show has maintained a place among the most-watched series for an impressive five consecutive weeks.

In Japan, the series has been a consistent hit, maintaining its position in the top 10 for six consecutive weeks. What’s more, it made an impressive debut during its first week, with the episode becoming available just one day before the end of the “chart week”. Additionally, Netflix Japan released two episodes on January 11, while only one was released globally. This has given Japanese viewers a head start on the global release, potentially leading some fans to use VPN services to watch episodes early and inflate viewership numbers in Japan.

Examining the data, we see that the viewership of Sakamoto Days has decreased slightly since its debut, which is normal, but the hours watched have remained relatively steady. In its first week in the chart (Jan 13-19), the series ranked second with approximately 8,600,000 views and over 7,700,000 hours watched. Over the last two weeks, the number of views per week has dropped to around 3,000,000, but the hours watched still range between 7,000,000 and 8,000,000 each week. This indicates that the audience for this series is stable.

By mid-season, the anime titled “Dandadan” had approximately 3 million views and 7 million hours of viewing time, figures that are quite comparable. Nevertheless, since “Dandadan” wasn’t exclusively available on Netflix, its total viewership across all streaming platforms was likely much greater than these numbers suggest.

Criticism Is Not Only About Action Scenes

Initially, my focus was mainly on the action sequences in the show, but as it progressed, I noticed a growing discontent among fans. This wasn’t just about the action; they were also expressing concerns about the humor and slice-of-life segments. In their view, these elements are being trimmed down significantly, which they feel diminishes the humor and overall narrative flow of the story. Additionally, some speculate that the animators might be under pressure, based on recent reports.

Currently, it appears that the number of people watching is not translating into manga purchases in Japan at the same rate. Yet, data from Manga PLUS indicates an increase in new readers consuming the latest chapters, which are provided free of charge. This could potentially lead to a surge in sales in the coming days.

Sakamoto Days is available to stream on Netflix, subbed and dubbed in many languages.

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2025-02-20 21:54