Sakamoto Days Season 2: Read the Manga or Wait for It?

You finished Sakamoto Days on Netflix in autumn 2025, and the official site now says Sakamoto Days Season 2 arrives in January 2027, with no day attached. That is about 15 months after the last episode. I would not spend them waiting. Open the manga at volume 9, which starts at chapter 71, skim to the first chapter you do not recognise, and keep reading, unless you want season 2 to be completely new to you.

Reviewing

Sakamoto Days

Yuto Suzuki

Which one should you pick?

The announcement is short. The official ON AIR page says season 2 is decided for January 2027 and that season 1 is still streaming on Netflix and other platforms. It gives no date and no episode count, so nobody can say yet how much manga the new season will use. Netflix's Tudum page of 15 October 2026 adds that season 2 "returns" in January 2027, and the Japanese site ANIME ANSWER says Netflix will stream it early from that month. The staff page lists Daisuke Nakajima as director, and Wikipedia says Watanabe serves as supervising director.

Official Sakamoto Days site visual: a heavy man in a green apron holding a glinting pen, with a younger man in a dark hoodie and a gloved hand raised behind him, seen from below on a pale background Official visual from the Sakamoto Days Season 2 site. Image: sakamotodays.jp, © Yuto Suzuki/Shueisha, Sakamoto Days Project.

	Read the manga now	Wait for Season 2
Where you start	Volume 9, around chapters 74 to 76 (estimate, see below)	Wherever the studio restarts, unannounced
How far it goes	Japan has 29 volumes, Viz has 23 in English	One season, length not announced
What it costs you	Roughly 15 volumes to catch up, bought or borrowed	Nothing
Spoilers	You will know where the story goes	None
Who it suits	Readers who want the whole story and not just the next cour	Viewers who want it fresh

Where Sakamoto Days Season 2 should pick up

Nobody official has published a chapter range for season 1, so this is an estimate. Wikipedia lists 22 episodes: the first 11 aired from 11 January to 22 March 2025, the second 11 from 15 July to 23 September 2025. The official season 1 page shows the finale as episode 22, titled "Each One's Mission". Wikipedia's chapter list has a chapter with the same title: Days 76, "Each One's Mission", in volume 9, which holds Days 71 to 79. Episode 21, "Hard Mode", matches Days 71, the first chapter of that volume. A matching title tells you where an episode starts, not where it ends.

The one other estimate I found comes from the Japanese site ANIME ANSWER, which says the last episode covered the manga up to around chapter 74 and that the real continuation starts around chapter 75 in volume 9. It adds that this cannot be stated with certainty. So two unofficial sources point to volume 9, and they differ by two chapters.

Wikipedia's summary of episode 22 complicates it. It says Nagumo, Shishiba and Osaragi "are given an assignment to Kyoto to investigate Slur's latest murder", and that Nagumo offers Sakamoto a disguise "so he can enter the JCC as a teacher". The summary goes on: "When the school year starts, Akira has trouble adjusting to the cutthroat nature of the JCC, but ends up being helped by the disguised Sakamoto." Then "Shin takes the chance to experience what it's like being in a school before resuming his mission access the JCC's database." In Wikipedia's chapter list, the first chapter title that mentions a database is Days 87, "Database", in volume 10, so the finale may reach further than chapter 76. I cannot tie that summary to a chapter number, and I have not read the chapters.

The official English intro for season 2 says Sakamoto and Shin "begin an undercover investigation at the JCC" while the three Order members head to Kyoto and are ambushed, and Netflix's Tudum page repeats it. That matches the setup of the finale, so the new season most likely starts from the JCC storyline, but the studio has not said where.

Because of that spread, I would not tell you a single chapter. Open volume 9, which starts at chapter 71, skim until you reach a scene you do not recognise, and keep reading from there.

How far Sakamoto Days Season 2 can go

If season 1 ended near chapter 76, it used about 76 chapters in 22 episodes, roughly 3.5 chapters per episode. My arithmetic: if season 2 also ran 22 episodes at that pace, it would reach about chapter 152, which Wikipedia's list puts right after the end of volume 17. Japan has published 29 volumes as of 4 November 2026, so about a dozen volumes would remain. The episode count is not announced, so treat this as a rough estimate, not a prediction.

The manga is also near its end. Wikipedia lists an Anime News Network headline from 20 July 2026, "Sakamoto Days Manga Heads to Climax", and in an r/SakamotoDays thread posted on 8 June 2026 the poster wrote that "We pretty much only have Sakamoto vs Uzuki before the manga ends". So someone who starts now can reach the end of a story that is close to finished.

What fans say about the manga

Fans argue about two things: whether the manga beats the anime, and whether the later story holds up.

On the first, an r/SakamotoDays thread posted on 28 November 2025 asked whether the manga is different. The poster had dropped the anime about halfway through what he called its second season because "the boredom piled up too much for me to handle". u/Junior-Hat2373 opens with a concession: "Technically the manga isnt any different story wise but the art is so much better than the animation". Another adds a warning: "The manga is certainly better than the anime. But the story is still the same." and, for anyone who wants more than fights, "maybe go read Undead Unluck instead."

Viz English edition cover of Sakamoto Days volume 22: a shirtless light-haired man in a dark visor drawing a bow, on a green background Volume 22, English edition (9 June 2026). Image: Viz Media, © Yuto Suzuki/Shueisha.

The anime's cuts are the other argument. In a thread posted on 18 February 2026 the poster listed early chapters the anime skipped, among them Sakamoto's trip to buy his daughter a special-edition backpack. Replying to a user who missed that chapter, u/MankindReunited says the cut shows "they just wanted an action anime with no subtlety". In a separate comment u/FullBrother9300 wrote "Yeah they probably had to cut a lot of fat to make it fit into one season and I didn’t really mind since these were mostly filler." u/Tombstone64 answered "That’s not what filler is.", and u/Worth_Account4356 replied "Yeah but if you skip it nothing changes really." I did not read the skipped chapters, so I cannot say who is right about what was lost.

The late story is where I would be careful. In a thread posted on 4 August 2026, the poster called the New JAA arc, which he puts at chapters 208 to 223, "undoubtedly the worst SakaDays arc". The top reply when I read it, u/RubyHoshi's with 160 votes, called one fight "the worst overall fight in the series". Viz's blurbs for volumes 24 and 25 both mention the New JAA, so the arc name checks out. Another reply, u/gotthexyz, wrote that "you can like something and still point out when it’s bad". The warmer view I found is in the June thread quoted above: its poster liked that "most battles have been pretty good" in the final arc, and one commenter praised the "incredible art and choreography" of a fight.

So the manga is the better-drawn version, according to people who have read both, and its later stretch splits readers. I would read through volume 23 and decide about volume 24 once you know whether those fans match your taste.

Where to read it, and what it costs

Viz sells the English print edition: volume 22 came out on 9 June 2026 and volume 23 on 15 September 2026. Volume 24 is listed for 15 December 2026 and volume 25 for 16 February 2027, and Viz's series page lists 25 volumes in total. Volume 1's page is headed "Read a Free Preview", so you can sample before buying; the guide to reading manga and manhwa free and legally lists the other legal routes. Japan has published 29 volumes, with volume 29 (Days 256 to 264 by Wikipedia's list) on 4 November 2026, so English print is six volumes behind. For free reading, MANGA Plus shows the first three chapters and the latest three on the web (Days 280 to 282 when I looked on 9 November 2026) and says the rest is free on its app.

Viz English edition cover of Sakamoto Days volume 23: a blond man's angry face with blood on his cheek, his fist held to his mouth Volume 23, English edition (15 September 2026). Image: Viz Media, © Yuto Suzuki/Shueisha.

If you would rather own the volumes, the manga collecting guide covers formats and printings, and manga omnibus vs single volumes explains why the price per chapter differs. Viz also lists a separate Sakamoto Holidays spin-off, which you do not need. Volumes 9 to 23 are the run to catch up.

Who should wait

Wait if you enjoyed season 1 as an anime and want to meet the next part on screen. Wikipedia says season 1 was Netflix's global most-watched anime in the first half of 2025, with 24.4 million views, and Anime Corner reports the same figure from a Netflix executive, counted as hours watched divided by runtime, so there is an audience for it. Wait too if a plot spoiler ruins a show for you, because the story from around chapter 77 on is most likely what the studio will adapt.

Read now if you liked season 1 and 15 months sounds long, or if the anime felt thin. The manga is the same story, and fans say the art is the stronger version. If you came from manhwa and want other adaptation news, our list of manhwa getting anime adaptations in 2026 is the companion, and the best manhwa that beat Shonen Jump is where I would go if you finish early.

What I could not confirm

The official site gives only "January 2027" for season 2, and Netflix's Tudum page and ANIME ANSWER say it streams on Netflix, so the start chapter, the exact date, the episode count and any platform besides Netflix are open. The match between the season 1 finale and chapter 76 comes from the same title in Wikipedia's episode and chapter lists, ANIME ANSWER says near chapter 74, and the official site gives no chapter numbers. I did not check the Shonen Jump app, and I did not read the manga itself. The fans quoted are Reddit users, not staff. For season 1 the official page names Netflix and says there are others.

Checked on 9 November 2026: the official Sakamoto Days site (ON AIR, season 1 story page, season 2 English intro, staff page), Wikipedia's episode and chapter lists, Viz's product pages for volumes 1 and 22 to 25, Netflix Tudum, ANIME ANSWER, MANGA Plus, and four r/SakamotoDays threads. Last reviewed: November 9, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Sakamoto Days Season 2 come out?

January 2027, on Netflix, with no date and no episode count yet. The official site says only January 2027; Netflix's Tudum page of 15 October 2026 says season 2 returns in January 2027, and ANIME ANSWER says Netflix streams it early from that month.

Where did Sakamoto Days season 1 stop in the manga?

Probably around chapters 74 to 76, in volume 9. The last episode and chapter 76 share the title Each One's Mission, and the Japanese site ANIME ANSWER puts the end near chapter 74. Neither is an official chapter range.

Which Sakamoto Days volume should I start reading from?

Volume 9, which Wikipedia lists as chapters 71 to 79. Open it at the first chapter and skim to the first one you do not recognise.

How many Sakamoto Days volumes are out in English?

Viz lists 25. Volume 23 came out on 15 September 2026, volume 24 is due 15 December 2026 and volume 25 on 16 February 2027. Japan has 29.

Is the Sakamoto Days manga finished?

Not as far as I could confirm. Wikipedia cites a July 2026 headline saying the manga heads to its climax, and fans in June called it the final arc.