On paper, Sparks of Tomorrow should be my jam. A big part of my appreciation for Golden Kamuy stems from it taking place in early 20th century Japan (aka the Meiji era) when the nation was first beginning to become a global cultural hub. I’ve also read all of the Dr. Stone manga, largely because it was super entertaining to watch those hyper competent weirdos reinvent various kinds of technology from first principals. Between all of this and the studio behind Sparks of Tomorrow, Kyoto Animation, putting out my favorite anime of last summer in CITY The Animation, you would think that the stars would align in a way that makes me adore this show. However, Sparks of Tomorrow instead feels like it’s explicitly designed to annoy me specifically, and no amount of gorgeous or inventive animation can make me forgive these frustrations.

Sparks of Tomorrow focuses on Kihachi Sakamoto, a timid boy and awkward young man who was inspired by his older brother Seiroku to unlock the mysteries of electrical energy, though this dream was cut short when the charismatic Seiroku died while away at war. You see, this anime doesn’t take place in the Meiji era as it actually was, but rather a steam punk version of the Meiji era! As someone whose got all the steam punk fiction they ever needed out of that one Key & Peele sketch and the old Atomic Twins video, I find this kind of historical fiction to be really unappealing as it tacitly implies that older eras of history aren’t engaging as they actually existed.

This first episode features various characters fighting over Seiroku’s “20th Century Electrical Catalog,” which supposedly includes his ruminations on how to bring electrical energy into this world. These characters include, a queer coded villain who takes a child as his bride to enrich himself, said child bride who’s super religious and a klutz, the eldest daughter of a wealthy family who’s inexplicably an Aikido master, her husband who basically has superhuman strength, a hyper competent butler, and girl who might be a ninja, and a girl voiced by Cassandra Lee Morris doing her Edea Lee voice.

All of these characters feel like they were written with the advice of, “every named character in your story should have at least one interesting trait” and that’s the extent of the thought put into their characterization. As a big fan of both Baccano! and Durarara!! I know how good pieces of temporal, ensemble cast fiction can be in this medium, but I highly doubt Sparks of Tomorrow is going to meet the bar set by its predecessors after this first episode.

Sparks of Tomorrow doesn’t technically do anything wrong, but it also doesn’t do enough right in its script to merit these stunning and inventive visuals. There are a lot of other amazing anime for people to watch this season, and I really hope this one gets better soon.

Rating:

Lucas DeRuyter finds sparks of inspiration in all parts of his life, which would explain why his portfolio features such a broad array of interests and writing formats! To read what he’s ruminating on more regularly, you can keep up with his regular contributions to ANN’s This Week in Anime column.

Sparks of Tomorrow is currently streaming on
Netflix.

Manga started “final battle” in August 2025

This year’s 34th issue of Shueisha‘s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine revealed on Tuesday that Yuuto Suzuki‘s Sakamoto Days manga is heading to its climax.

The manga started its “final battle” in August 2025.

Suzuki published a one-shot titled “Sakamoto” in Shueisha‘s Jump Giga in December 2019, and then launched the main manga in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in November 2020.

Viz Media and MANGA Plus are publishing the manga in English digitally. MANGA Plus describes the manga:

Taro Sakamoto was the ultimate assassin, feared by villains and admired by hitmen. But one day…he fell in love! Retirement, marriage, fatherhood and then… Sakamoto gained weight! the chubby guy who runs the neighborhood store is actually a former legendary hitman! Can he protect his family from danger? Get ready to experience a new kind of action comedy series!

Viz Media is also publishing the manga in print.

The manga’s spinoff titled Sakamoto Holidays launched in Shueisha‘s Saikyō Jump magazine in July 2024. Tetsu Ōkawa, who works as an assistant on the main manga, is drawing the spinoff. The main manga inspired a novel in April 2023, and a second novel shipped in December 2024.

The first season of the manga’s anime adaptation premiered on TV Tokyo and affiliated channels on January 11, 2025, and the series also debuted on Netflix on that day. The first season’s second part premiered in July 2025. The anime’s second season will debut in January 2027.

The manga also inspired a live-action film adaptation that opened on April 29. Yūichi Fukuda (live-action Gintama, Under Ninja) directed and wrote the script for the film. The film ranked at #4 in its opening weekend. The film sold 346,000 tickets and earned 478 million yen (about US$3.05 million) in its first three days. In its first eight days in the Japanese box office, which spanned the entirety of the Golden Week holidays, the film sold 1.14 million tickets and earned 1.5 billion yen (about US$9.58 million).

Source: Weekly Shonen Jump issue 34