JCC’s recruitment exams are underway, and the first-round battle royale in the airplane gave an indication of how fiercely competitive it is going to be. Previously, Sakamoto and Shin decided to get admitted to JCC to find definite answers about Slur’s motive. The flight en route to the secretive JCC island turned into a warzone as the first round of recruitment exams began. While taking part in the battle royale, Sakamoto became acquainted with a teenager named Akira. Shin fought with a talented young boy, Mafuyu Seba, and was able to catch him off guard using his future sight power. The latest episode makes things even more interesting by throwing a psychotic member of the Order, Kanaguri, in the mix.
Spoilers Ahead
Seba Gets On Good Terms With Shin
Sakamoto Days episode 18 begins with a flashback scene when Shin and Sakamoto were on their way to board the JCC flight, when Shin recalls the hateful words of Slur during their last confrontation. Eager to improve as a fighter to not become a burden to Sakamoto, Shin asks his mentor to not help him during the JCC tests. Fast forward to the present, Shin is fighting with Seba and clocking the duration up to when he is able to use his future sight power. Seba tries his best but isn’t able to defeat Shin, who breaks one of his attack blades attached to his legs. Seba is surprised as Shin doesn’t kill him but instead simply asks for the bullets he needs to qualify for the first round.
Much to Shin’s shock, Seba starts whining and throwing tantrums like the immature teenager he is, blaming Shin for breaking his weapon—which will cost him his chances of getting into JCC. Shin mentions that an assassin’s license can be obtained without getting admitted to the academy as well and learns that Seba isn’t interested in getting a license. He wants to get admitted to JCC to make connections to become a member of the Order. Shin, who has witnessed the level of skill members of the Order—Nagumo, Hyo, and Sakamoto—possess, advises the kid to enhance his skills instead if he wants to become a member of the Order. One of the candidates, who kept himself hidden inside the luggage compartment, decides to use this opportunity to steal the bullets and escape, but Shin catches him within seconds and knocks him out. Shin shares a bullet with Seba, who is curious to learn why Shin wants to get into JCC, but Shin doesn’t share his motive just yet. Seba decides to tag along with Shin. On the other hand, Sakamoto teaches Akira how to properly use a machine gun, reminiscing about the time he taught Shin to do the same.
Who is Kanaguri?
Meanwhile, Kanaguri—the member of the Order whom Obiguro and Shishiba mentioned in the last episode—is revealed to have taken a gig for JCC as an examiner. Kanaguri is a dedicated filmmaker who pioneered hitmen sagas as the creator of the production house, Murder Films. He records his victims before taking their lives; capturing the final moments with all their morbid nuances is one of his passions. This almost instantly reminded me of Joker from “Killing Joke,” although unlike Kanaguri, his derangement does not involve love for filmmaking. Kanaguri’s fierce skill is on display as, while recording the emotions of a bunch of candidates charging at him, he uses a clapperboard to decapitate them in an instant.
The killer director’s attention diverts to Shin and Seba, and as he approaches them, Shin recognizes him instantly as the cult director of assassin movies. However, Seba, a total Gen Z stereotype, has no interest in movies, which he deems as lengthy and boring, and prefers to watch videos on social media instead. Needless to say, this instantly angers Kanaguri, and he lunges at the duo with an intent to kill. Shin predicts his movement pattern, but shockingly enough, Kanaguri is able to change his attack pattern in the midst of Shin’s reaction time and catches them off guard. Thanks to Sakamoto’s timely arrival, Kanaguri isn’t able to use his clapperboard to take down Shin and Seba.
Kanaguri inexplicably gets drawn to Akira and wants to make her his new lead, and as Sakamoto tries to get her out of the psycho’s clutches, Kanaguri skillfully steals all the bullets in the possession of Sakamoto and Shin. The Order assassin proceeds to kill the pilot and destroys the hull of the plane by using his camera-attached cannon, just to get a more action-packed, shocking spectacle. No wonder Osaragi hated this weirdo.
Do Sakamoto and Co. Survive at the End?
The number of candidates has already dropped more than 70% compared to the initial applicants, and at this rate, hardly any survivors will be left to reach JCC. The examiner and administrators of JCC have their parachutes, but the candidates are freefalling and awaiting a miserable death. Usami, one of the JCC administrators, is advised by his colleague, Atou, to make the survival from the fall the second round of the test. Accordingly, the admins announce that the candidates need to have a bullet in their possession and land safely. Reading the mind of one of the admins who is panicking about not having a parachute for himself, Shin learns that this is just a damage control maneuver by JCC and was not in their plan at all.
Kanaguri continues to shoot his film amidst this chaos, capturing the intricate balance between life and death in such a tense situation. Sakamoto gets back three bullets by faking an attack on Kanaguri, impressing the director in the process. Sakamoto tries to use his apron as an impromptu parachute, but he is unable to use it as a failsafe due to it being too small. However, Akira is inspired upon seeing Sakamoto’s lively spirit and optimism, and she decides to put one of her secret skills to use. Upon Akira’s request, Shin, Sakamoto, Seba, and even the numbskull failure, Kill Baby, offer their shirts to her, which she perfectly sews in an instant to create a large parachute. By holding on to the parachute and disrupting the speed of freefall, the group makes a safe landing in the sea. Akira almost drowns as she doesn’t know how to swim, and Sakamoto reaches her in time. Miraculously, a bullet is seen lying around as the group reaches the shore, and Sakamoto encourages Akira to take it by mentioning she has more than earned it by saving their lives. Sakamoto is amazed at her craftsmanship, even surprised at the way she was able to sew the entire thing in a matter of seconds during freefall. As the episode comes to an end, a girl is seen moving in a speedboat towards the shore where Sakamoto and his group are present. Given she possesses a Sakamoto figurine keyring, it is hinted that she knows about Taro.
Amidst all the actions and humor in the JCC exam arc, I am missing the interactions between the rest of the members of the Sakamoto family, and I hope upcoming episodes put some focus on them. Kanaguri turned out to be a neat addition to the story, and hopefully he plays a bigger role in the JCC arc.
In a mid-credits scene of Sakamoto Days episode 18, a heartfelt sequence follows where Mashimo’s pet bird, Piisuke, brings a unique stone, which Mashimo sells at a pawn shop in exchange for some good cash. Mashimo is glad that he will be able to satiate his hunger with a bowl of ramen instead of surviving on meat buns on a daily basis. But at the end he brings meat buns for himself, Sakamoto, and their extended family, and they enjoy snacking together, emphasizing the value of togetherness.
