Tokyo Revengers
Genre: Action, sci-fi, drama, comedy
Tokyo Revengers is a Manga of the same name, written and drawn by Ken Makui, adapted into an anime by Liden Studio(Yes, they did Berserk 2016, and no, this isn't as bad). It follows the Story of Hanagaki Takemitchi, a twenty-six-year-old loner, whose life peaked in high school. He had a group of friends, a girl who he managed to score, and the backing of a bike gang. Now, he is living alone in a filthy apartment, distant from his friends with no future insight. He doesn’t even realize that he is in a rut until in an accident, his high school girlfriend dies. He is given the ability to travel 20 years into his past, change his life around and save her.
The plot and powers are similar to other anime you might have heard about, Erased and Re: Zero. However, there is a twist, Takemitchi can only move his consciousness as far back as 20 years. So if he spends time in the future, planning, he will lose time in the past. That’s an interesting take since he needs to prevent certain events before a particular time. This gives the story some stakes which might be lacking in a series like Re: Zero which works as a videogame with checkpoints for the main character. (I am not undermining Re: Zero, please put those harpoons in the shed for now). Here, if you die, you die.
It is revealed that there was a conflict between his previous gang and another which resulted in Hinata(his girlfriend) dying. The conflict in this series originates from Takemitchi’s prior relationships and it’s apparent that he will need to fix them to change his future. Its characters are endearing and the situations they are in leaves you with lingering sadness and frustration each week. The wholesome bromance and the charisma of people like Draken, Mikey, and Takemitchi are unrivaled. From what I have seen so far in the anime, the basic plot keeps me interested too. Especially the mystery surrounding the conflict in the Manji Gang.
Delinquents in anime are often charming with positive character traits. Tokyo Revengers is nothing special in that regard but instead of painting all delinquents as good with a darker undertone, which is apparent when things stack up against what they believe in, there are bad factions that want nothing but chaos. It’s this undertone that makes the main cast feel alive while the antagonist gang feels shallow in their motivations. Since we are not supposed to be in their corner yet, the fact we don’t get their motivations this early in the anime is justifiable. It makes rooting for the main cast an easy choice.
Takemitchi isn’t like any other underdog character. When push came to shove, Naruto stood up against Zabuza, when it was needed, Deku’s body moved on its own — these two popular underdog characters were not only able to overwhelm their opponents with their ideologies but also physically. Takemitchi on the other hand is not physically imposing or tactically sound, he doesn’t have a concrete, constant drive to be better than he was.
So, watching him is genuinely frustrating at times but perhaps that’s because he is the first protagonist in a long time that I’ve read whose flaws aren’t fixed in 3 episodes. He becomes braver, more competent but he doesn’t magically acquire the skills or power to transcend his situation. He loses most of the time and more often than not he is so unprepared to do anything with his own strength, that he gets saved after complaining about his own inability to fight. His first major victory against the high school bully is way further down into the anime, and it’s not in the way you will expect if you consider him as a typical shounen protagonist.
Over the years of high school, Takemitchi has lived his life basically as a slave to his bully. His sense of individuality, self-respect, and lack of smarts give him a solid ground to grow. His decisions or his shifting motivation become grounded once you take into account his original past. It also justifies his occasional freakouts when a situation goes south, something which wouldn’t have been excusable otherwise since he’s a 26-year-old man in a teen’s body.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Takemitchi fights in his own way. Whether it’s by biting a guy or crawling to get him into a headlock. Most shounen characters start with that underdog sense, but they quickly grow out of it — and that has worked. With Takemitchi, however, we see a more achievable approach. Not everyone can be a Deku or a Mikey. Sometimes all you need is a loud leader, it doesn’t matter if he can carry his team physically, as long as he has the perseverance, things work out. That’s exactly what the first big story of this series focuses on. Takemitchi doesn’t grow in strength, his convictions remain shaky and things are lost, until the connections he has forged through the entirety of the arc help him out.
Apart from its wonky art style — which makes its mature characters look like 12 years old — and its clunky animation in certain scenes, everything else is just fine. Its dramatic scenes carry weight, the comic interactions feel light and natural.
I don’t know what will happen in the future of this series if it will dip in quality or keep riding higher waves — what I am sure about is the first 12 episodes are solid and worth investing your time into.
