Spoiler scope: Contains spoilers for all 22 episodes of Season 1, including Part 2. No events from Season 2 or unadapted manga are included.
Taro Sakamoto was a legendary assassin until he fell in love with Aoi. He retired, married her, became a father to Hana and opened a neighborhood store. His peaceful life rests on one firm promise: he will never kill again. A bounty on his head brings the assassin world back to his doorstep.
Sakamoto's new family
Shin, a young assassin who can read minds, initially comes to kill Sakamoto. After experiencing the kindness of his household, he gives up that mission and joins the store instead. Lu, a fighter from a Chinese crime family, also finds a home there. Their daily work soon becomes a balancing act between serving customers and keeping attackers away from Aoi and Hana.
Sakamoto has lost none of his ingenuity. He turns ordinary objects into weapons and can temporarily regain his leaner physique during intense fights. Heisuke, an excellent sniper whose money problems push him toward the bounty, becomes another ally rather than a lasting enemy.
The lab, Slur and the Order
The danger grows beyond individual bounty hunters. Shin's past leads the group to the research laboratory where he grew up, now occupied by Kashima and his men. The rescue brings them into conflict with a larger organization led by the mysterious X, also known as Slur.
Slur targets the Japanese Association of Assassins, or JAA. The Order, its elite combat unit, includes Sakamoto's old acquaintance Nagumo alongside Shishiba and Osaragi. The escaped death-row killers distract its members while Slur attacks the JAA. Sakamoto recognizes him as Kei Uzuki, an old JCC classmate. Takamura's intervention helps repel the attackers, but Uzuki escapes, leaving his motives and organization unresolved.
The JCC entrance exam
Sakamoto and Shin seek information about Slur in the database of the Japan Clear Creation assassin school, the JCC. To get inside, they take its transfer entrance exam. They meet Akira Akao, a seemingly timid applicant with exceptional instincts, as well as Mafuyu Seba and Toramaru.
The exam becomes another battlefield when Slur's side interferes. Shin and Sakamoto survive the threat posed by Shinaya, and Shin earns the highest exam score. Passing the tests, however, does not give everyone the same route into the school.
Where Season 1 leaves everyone
Sakamoto is refused admission because of the bounty on him. Nagumo supplies a disguise that lets him approach the JCC as a teacher instead, while Shin enters as a student. Akira is also headed to the school.
Mafuyu and Toramaru have been abducted by Slur's group. Elsewhere, Nagumo, Shishiba and Osaragi leave on a mission to Kyoto. The store family's search for answers and the Order's investigation are now moving in parallel, with Slur still threatening the JAA.
The quick reminder
- Sakamoto protects Aoi and Hana without breaking his promise not to kill.
- Shin enters the JCC as a student; Sakamoto uses a teacher disguise.
- Slur's group holds Mafuyu and Toramaru, while the Order heads to Kyoto.