You Caught Up on Sakamoto Days. Now What?
You’ve read every chapter of Sakamoto Days. Tarou Sakamoto — the greatest hitman alive, now running a convenience store — has a very specific formula that’s surprisingly hard to find elsewhere. It’s not just the action, the comedy, or the heart. It’s all three at once, delivered with real craft.
Here are the 8 manga that come closest.
01 — Spy × Family (Closest Match)
A spy, an assassin, and a telepath pretending to be a normal family. Spy × Family has the exact same DNA as Sakamoto Days: ultra-competent protagonist, ordinary domestic setting, people around him with no idea who he really is. The comedy comes from the same gap. The emotional core is identical: protecting your family is the only mission that matters.
02 — Assassination Classroom
A tentacled creature destroyed the moon and is now teaching middle school — and his students must assassinate him before graduation. Like Sakamoto Days, it uses an absurd premise to deliver character work that genuinely moves you. Complete at 21 volumes. One of the best-paced manga ever written.
03 — Vagabond (The Essential Recommendation)
This needs explanation. Vagabond is a serious historical manga set in feudal Japan — nothing like Sakamoto Days on the surface. But they share a philosophy: what does it mean to be the greatest fighter, and is refusing to kill the highest form of strength?
Tarou Sakamoto’s entire identity is built on this question. Vagabond spends 327 chapters answering it seriously. Musashi Miyamoto begins as a killing machine pursuing “invincible under heaven.” He slowly discovers that was always the wrong goal. Sakamoto Days is the comedy version of that idea. Vagabond is the version that takes it completely seriously — and the result is one of the greatest manga ever created. 82 million copies sold. The Tezuka Osamu Grand Prize. Art made with real sumi-e brushwork that has never been equaled.
Start reading: Vagabond Chapter 1 — free, all 327 chapters
Before you start, useful reading:
- Full Vagabond manga review — is it worth reading through the hiatus? (Yes.)
- Complete arc guide — all 5 arcs explained before you begin.
- Character guide — Musashi, Kojiro, and the full cast.
- What happens in Chapter 327 — the current final chapter.
- Real history vs manga — how accurate is Vagabond?
- Who is Takehiko Inoue — the author behind Vagabond and Slam Dunk.
- Why there is no Vagabond anime
- Vagabond vs Berserk vs Vinland Saga — which to read first.
- 15 best manga like Vagabond — for after you finish.
04 — One Punch Man
Saitama defeats every enemy with a single punch, which has made his life meaningless. The most direct version of Sakamoto Days’ central joke: what happens when someone is so far beyond everyone else that normal conflict becomes absurd? Spectacular action from artist Murata. Ongoing.
05 — Vinland Saga
A Viking warrior pursuing revenge discovers that violence leads nowhere worth going. Both Vinland Saga and Sakamoto Days are fundamentally about former killers trying to build something instead of destroy. Complete and deeply rewarding.
06 — Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon)
Adventurers explore a dungeon while cooking and eating the monsters they defeat. Sounds like a gimmick — it is absolutely not a gimmick. Like Sakamoto Days, it uses a silly premise to deliver extraordinary character writing. One of the most carefully constructed manga of the last decade. Complete.
07 — Chainsaw Man
Denji merges with his devil dog and hunts devils for a government agency. The most surprising major manga of recent years — it consistently refuses to do what you expect. Like Sakamoto Days, the protagonist’s apparent simplicity hides real depth. Gets dark. Read with that expectation.
08 — Monster
A surgeon saves a child who grows up to become a serial killer. Monster represents the ceiling of what manga can achieve in psychological depth. Any Sakamoto Days reader who suspects the medium is capable of more than they’ve seen should read this. By Naoki Urasawa. Complete. A genuine masterpiece.
Reading Order
Stay close to Sakamoto’s tone: Spy × Family → Assassination Classroom → One Punch Man.
Go deeper: Vinland Saga → Vagabond. Give Vagabond Chapter 1 at least 15 pages before deciding.
See the ceiling: Monster. Read it last.
All 327 chapters of Vagabond are available free in English here.