Sakamoto Days Episode 12 Recap: Will Shin Be Able To Defeat Saw?

The first part of Sakamoto Days ended by teasing Slur’s plan of having Sakamoto and his associates, Shaotang, Shin, and Heisuke, murdered, as the mysterious ‘Killer of Killers’ brings four deadly death row inmates into Japan by faking their deaths and breaking them out of prison. Stakes are already at an all-time high as the second part begins with the twelfth episode; the quartet of killers have started wreaking havoc. Even though the clandestine group of high-echelon assassins known as the Order are already planning to confront the killers to maintain equilibrium in the underworld and get to Slur, who has killed a number of JAA members already, Sakamoto needs to watch his back. 

Spoilers Ahead

Sakamoto Days episode 12 begins on an ominous note, as one by one, all four killers hired by Slur display their expertise in hunting their prey, proving their notoriety by going on a killing spree, targeting common people. Dump, the only female member of the crew, chases one of her victims into an alleyway before comforting him with an embrace, as she finds the reflection of morbid fear in his face rather endearing. The next moment, she crushes her unnamed victim to death with her powerful arms, impaling him with spiky protrusions growing out of her body, and goes on to express disgust at his ugly profile. 

The next killer, Apart, whose features are quite similar to Light Yagami from “Death Note,” kills his victim using flailing sharp wires, resulting in clean slices, and arranges his body parts in an orderly manner. Apart has a sick sense of humor as he points out that there is no better way to get to know a person than from the inside. However, this guy has OCD issues; as he looks at his victim’s perfectly organized bookshelf, he sees a volume missing from the collection—and goes absolutely nuts until he literally buys the missing volume from a bookshop and fills the gap. This eccentric tendency might be used against him in upcoming episodes. Minimalist, another member of the killer crew, literally compresses his victim into a ball small enough to fit into his palm. Only the final member of the lot, Saw, remains in his hotel room, researching his targets, as he is obsessed to know their story to give them a befitting ending. Quite a colorful bunch of folks Slur has gathered here, truly. 

Speaking of a colorful bunch, we get a good look at the members of the Order as they drive in their minivan to get some lunch. Viewers met Nagumo, Shishiba, and Osaragi in the first season already; now we meet Hyo—a steel-braced, lanky brawler—and the eldest of the group, Takamura. The members plan on taking down Slur’s killer crew, as their relentless, unruly killing spree is disturbing the balance, which the Order seeks to maintain. A fly passes by frail Takamura, and at once, his killer instinct awakens. The rest of the members duck as Takamura slices the minivan horizontally with a single slice of his katana. Fearsome skill, to say the least; the Order seems to be capable of handling Slur’s crew. 

On the other hand, Wutang leaves after warning Sakamoto and his buddies about Slur’s crew, and Sakamoto decides to learn about their adversaries beforehand to prepare for contingencies. Taking Shin and Lu with him, he visits the video rental store, which provides underworld intelligence in the guise of B-grade rip-offs of popular movies. Searching through “Human Lizard,” “Mad Sommar,” and “Silence of the Goats,” Shin finally finds “Technical Chainsaw Massacre,” which vividly showcases the exploits of every major death row inmate in R-rated horror movie style. Shin is too afraid to watch without his eyes closed, Sakamoto sleeps through the entire movie, and Lu is the only one who watches the whole thing with rapt attention. 

Later, Sakamoto practices his mad skill—catching bullets with chopsticks—as Heisuke assists him by launching his ricochet shots, when Negumo visits the duo to give them a heads up for Slur’s crew. Sakamoto and Negumo go way back, which is why Sakamoto asks him to share intel on the killers before the Order gets to them. Negumo has a kill list that belongs to Slur’s crew, and Sakamoto gets disappointed to see himself in B rank, whereas Negumo is given S ranking. I guess this killer crew is making the same mistake of underestimating Sakamoto on account of his present dad bod profile. 

The scene shifts to a shopping mall, where Lu and Shin are buying supplies for their store, and the duo get distracted by cute cats and puppies. All of a sudden, Saw, appears, and even before his arrival, the animals get alarmed by his presence, indicating their sixth sense has identified this notorious killer already. Anyway, taking things nice and slow, Saw brings out his axe and reveals that even though his primary target is Sakamoto, he has learned about all his associates in detail. Saw shares his wish to give a befitting ending to the stories of every one of them, starting with the duo of Lu and Shin, whom he considers the lowest ranking of the bunch. 

Without further ado, Saw launches a direct, vicious blow on Shin, which Shin somehow manages to deflect. Customers and workers of the mall leave, taking the animals with them, as the battle intensifies. Shin already feels a sense of responsibility, as in his mind, lately he has become a burden on Sakamoto and isn’t able to amp up his game to help him. Shin lands a direct kick on Saw’s face by feigning a move after reading his mind, and the situation escalates thereafter. Saw ties a rope at the end of his axe and empties his mind in a way that Shin isn’t able to read anything except for his pure killer instinct. Saw’s relentless attacks result in a massive gas cylinder explosion, and Shaotang ends up getting knocked out protecting Shin. 

In Sakamoto Days episode 12’s ending, an injured Shin blames himself for Lu’s predicament, but before he can think of a plan to defend her, Saw beats him up even more. As the scene shifts elsewhere, Sakamoto suddenly gets worried about Shin and mentions to Heisuke that Shin has never been tested in a life-or-death situation. Saw taunts Shin by mentioning he will ensure a good ending for Sakamoto and his family too, as after killing Sakamoto, there will be no one to take care of his daughter, Hana. The sheer pressure of the fight-or-flight situation, coupled with threats directed at Sakamoto’s family, moves something within Shin. His neural connections run wild, synapses show sparks, as Shin goes through a miraculous transformation and his eyes glow with a blue hue. 

Saw notices a drastic change in Shin’s fight patterns, as all of a sudden, he is predicting all his moves as if Shin is literally seeing the future. Shin launches a devastating attack on Saw and catches him off guard, as he has the upper hand now. Shin thanks Saw for awakening his true potential, as his telepathic powers have evolved into future sight, thanks to the enormous pressure Shin went through mere moments ago. The episode ends with a transformed, more confident Shin lunging towards Saw, who looks clueless this time around.