Matthew Mercer & Vinnie Hacker On Giving Depth To SAKAMOTO DAYS’ Death Dealers
The voices behind Netflix’s newest anime assassin extravaganza, SAKAMOTO DAYS, discuss what makes the shonen series so special.
This article is presented in partnership with Netflix and appears in the Den of Geek x Sakamoto Days special edition releasing in mid-July. Sakamoto Days Part 2 releases on July 14.
Anime never began as Netflix’s priority, yet the streamer has progressively turned into one of the premier sources for animation. In fact, Netflix is responsible for 38% of the total anime streaming revenue generated globally in 2023. Audiences are genuinely coming to Netflix for anime, which is exciting for the streaming service’s future. This has led to increased efforts to acquire and distribute some of the medium’s most-talked-about series, including Dandadan, Pluto, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, Ranma 1/2, and of course, SAKAMOTO DAYS, one of 2025’s biggest anime hits and the latest shonen sensation.
SAKAMOTO DAYS, adapted from Yuto Suzuki’s manga of the same name, presents an exciting assassin ensemble story that’s unlike anything else. Taro Sakamoto—a revered hitman in his youth who has since retired, let himself go, and embraced a domestic life with his wife—finds himself pulled back into the game when his family gets targeted by Tokyo’s criminal underworld. At the center of this chaos is X, a mysterious and masochistic serial killer who may have ties to Sakamoto’s bloody past. SAKAMOTO DAYS seems familiar, but right from the start, it’s clear that this is far more than bullets and bloodshed.
“There are these perfunctory moments of genuine heartfelt joy and companionship that you don’t normally see in this sort of genre,” Matthew Mercer, Taro Sakamoto’s voice actor, says. “It kind of subverts its own genre in original ways and presents a very, very unique viewing experience for this kind of story.”
Matthew Mercer is one of the most celebrated voice actors in the business, receiving 2017’s Voice Actor of the Year award at the Behind the Voice Actors Awards and bringing to life hundreds of characters across his more than 25 years in the business. These include JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Jotaro Kujo, Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan, and other iconic pop culture figures like Resident Evil’s Leon S. Kennedy, The Legend of Zelda’s Ganondorf, and even Luke Skywalker. Despite this impressive resume, Taro Sakamoto still stands out to Mercer. “It’s interesting because I’ve been grateful to have played a spectrum of characters, many with their own degrees of cruelty and intensity.” Mercer says, “There are a lot of very subtle flavors and layers to him that I don’t normally get to play with in a character of this sort of archetype.”
One of the most interesting aspects of SAKAMOTO DAYS is that it functions as a story that begins after something like John Wick or Kill Bill has come to its close. Sakamoto has already had his happy ending and turned his back on a life of crime, only for his old life to bite back with newfound urgency.
“What I love about it is it brings familiar tropes of that assassin-filled world of danger, intrigue, and criminal underworld, but then layers it with a wholesomeness and a theme of family,” the actor says. Mercer’s Sakamoto may not look as intimidating as he once did, but his assassin spark rekindles whenever his family and friends are in danger. Sakamoto’s devotion to his wife, Aoi, is even the impetus for his staunch “no-kill” policy, a doctrine that makes survival and victory against other assassins especially difficult. “It also makes him that much more dangerous when that peril crosses the threshold into threatening his family. Then he’s like, ‘All right. Let’s throw down. You’re done.’”
Mercer is one of the biggest names in the anime industry, but SAKAMOTO DAYS adopts a different approach for the heart and soul of its central antagonist, X. Vinnie Hacker taps into X with chilling bravado, but he’s best known as a TikTok influencer and model. Hacker is new to voice acting, but his passion for anime runs deep and has been present since his childhood.
“I’ve been an anime fan for as long as I can remember, starting with Dragon Ball when I was like six years old,” Hacker says. “It’s still one of my favorite series of all time. I’ve always felt something like a passion for that, even when I was little.” Hacker can’t help but feel both grateful and wistful about being a part of this series and inspiring a whole new generation of anime fans through SAKAMOTO DAYS, just like he felt during his youth. “Being in it now and actually having the opportunity to be one of those people is a very exciting moment for me. I’m hoping to see more anime in my future.”
Audiences are just getting to know Hacker as a voice actor, but he’s privileged to be playing one of anime’s most infamous antagonists, X. “I knew a little bit about him beforehand,” Hacker discloses. “But to go and dive deeper into him was something that was a little bit out of the ordinary for me.”
Hacker is excited for audiences to finally see his character’s twisted plan go into action. He admits that the villain’s darkness is a welcome change of pace for him, comparing X to the serial killers from Dexter and the anime cult classic Monster. “It was something that was very, very different for me. I kind of see myself as more of a happy and eccentric person. So playing somebody that was so cold like that is definitely interesting.”
Hacker has become an important member of the SAKAMOTO DAYS family, but he was already a big fan of X, and SAKAMOTO DAYS as a whole, before he was cast in the Netflix streaming hit. “I actually started the manga before I even knew that I was going to play the character,” he says. “I think it did help me because I can kind of see what’s going to happen and lead into that. It’s kind of like shifting into that character.”
Hacker is enthusiastic about this deeper look into X, but he also can’t help but admire the creativity behind his assassin’s target. “I think that’s something that’s super interesting,” he says in reference to Sakamoto’s duality and family-first mentality. “It’s something that you don’t see a lot, especially in something like this.”
Sakamoto’s devotion to his family allows SAKAMOTO DAYS to vacillate between soft sincerity and cutthroat carnage, albeit in a manner that’s incredibly subtle and natural. These always feel like two sides of the same coin, even when Sakamoto is at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. This tightrope act succeeds because Mercer is careful to find a middle ground between Sakamoto’s two extremes so they don’t sound like two completely different characters. This is one individual who occasionally manages to shed his past baggage.
This warm interpretation of Sakamoto reinforces one of the anime’s central themes, not judging a book by its cover. SAKAMOTO DAYS and its cast are full of surprises, right down to Taro Sakamoto’s atypical character design. It’s as if SAKAMOTO DAYS intentionally avoids the stereotypical sleek young badass in order to remind the audience that heroes come in many shapes and sizes. “You get a little older, you get a little softer, but you’re still as dangerous,” reinforces Mercer.
To this point, the characters’ duality and depth are also reflected through how SAKAMOTO DAYS balances white-knuckle action with broad slapstick comedy. One of the reasons that audiences have so openly embraced SAKAMOTO DAYS is because it’s as hilarious as it is suspenseful.
“This show has such wonderful comedy that changes the pace of what is often just action-based shonen anime,” explains Mercer. “That just makes it feel unique, and it’s a lot of fun to play with as a performer. That’s been an absolute joy.” Hacker concurs that SAKAMOTO DAYS’ levity helped him fall in love with the anime, particularly the titular character’s absurd metamorphosis from schlub to scary. “Sakamoto’s transformation was something that caught me off guard,” commending the physical and mental shift that Sakamoto experiences.
SAKAMOTO DAYS has built an excellent foundation for its heightened world throughout its first 11 episodes, and now the season’s long-awaited part two guarantees deeper character development as the Death Row Prisoners Arc continues. Mercer teases the ongoing effect of the many friends that Sakamoto lets into his life and how they begin to progressively change him. Of course, in an anime like SAKAMOTO DAYS, more friends also means more liabilities and people for X to target. “His family is getting even more involved in the story, whether he’s ready for that or not, which is a fun journey,” adds Mercer. “There’s so much more coming down the road.”
With some of the manga’s most popular material set to be adapted in the season’s new episodes, Mercer and Hacker are aware of the fandom’s high expectations. “As a performer, you never know how it’s going to be interpreted, especially when it’s a project like this that has so much anticipation behind it,” admits Mercer. Yet, despite the high stakes, he’s excited and optimistic about what’s to come in the second half. “The internet can be a very cruel place. So It’s been delightful to engage with the fandom and see people so excited for it all.” Hacker concurs, “I’m just excited for you guys to see what season two brings.” If SAKAMOTO DAYS Part 1’s success is any indication of quality, then fans shouldn’t have anything to worry about what’s next in the shonen epic.
The latest batch of SAKAMOTO DAYS episodes promises bigger setpieces, more dangerous assassins, and Taro Sakamoto being pushed out of his comfort zone in more ways than one. Mercer is excited to be a part of this ambitious anime for the long haul and confident that it will continue to take the medium by storm. “I already got my statue,” Mercer brags, in reference to a sleek replica of his killer character. “I pre-ordered it because I’ve got to be that nerd who collects my stuff.” Much like his animated assassin counterpart, Mercer contains multitudes.
SAKAMOTO DAYS Part 2 premieres Monday, July 14 on Netflix. New episodes premiere on Mondays through Sept. 22.
Written by
Daniel Kurland is a freelance writer and comedian, who has also produced and directed short films and pilot presentations for network consideration. Daniel recently completed work…