I don’t quite remember why I added this show to my “To Watch” list; however, it was on there and when I re-read the synopsis, I reminded myself just why I added it. Oftentimes, I will look far ahead at shows that have been announced and add them to my queue. Months and months go by and when MyAnimeList flags me that a show is about to start, I often scratch my head.
Tokyo Revengers happened to be one of those shows but after a quick reminder of what the premise was, I remembered why I added it to my list in the first place. Did jarring my memories mesh with the overall quality of the first episode?
Let’s Go!
First Episode Synopsis
Takemichi is a loser… plain and simple. He gets yelled at by his landlord for having his television too loud, he gets pushed around by children on the streets, he seems to not be good at doing his job, etc. On top of that, he had to hear a news report of his ex-girlfriend of middle school getting killed by a gang! This is everyday life for him and after enduring it all, he stands on the platform waiting for the train when someone runs up and shoves him from behind, pushing him onto the tracks.
The train draws closer and closer and right before he gets isekai’d to another world to save the kingdom from a demon lord, he gets sent 12 years into the past where he’s back in middle school and in a gang of wannabe delinquents. They head to another school in order to beat up some second years; however, a group of third years show up instead, and… well… the result wasn’t pretty.
After getting roughed up, Takemichi realizes that his girlfriend, Hinata, is still alive. He pays her a visit and has a serious moment where he realizes that he has a chance to change everything. While walking home, he enters the park where a child is getting bullied. Not in the best of moods, Takemichi goes off on them and ends up saving the kid. Turns out, the kid is Naoto… brother to his girlfriend Hinata. Something comes over Takemichi and he tells him that he leaped through time. He even tells him the very day where he and his sister will die and that he should do everything in his power to protect her.
Suddenly, Takemichi is brought back to the present. Once he awakens, he’s surprised that the train didn’t injure him. Apparently, someone caught him just in time and saved his life. That person was Naoto! Thanks to Takemichi’s warning, Naoto was spared and he became a police officer. Sadly, Hinata still died but he asks for Takemichi’s help to save his sister!
Worth Watching?
YES – The very first thing that popped into my head was that this was just like ERASED… with middle school gang warfare. Seeing how ERASED was my 2016 Anime of the Year, I was instantly hooked on Tokyo Revengers! (It’s also the anime that almost caused me to stop being a light novel author since my Final Hope series started off almost like ERASED lol)
Then again, do you really blame me? My favorite anime of all-time is Steins;Gate. Time Travel is my all-time favorite sci-fi genre and since Tokyo Revengers involves just that… it was a match made in heaven for me. Plus, I love shows that have that gritty urban feel to them. Shows like Black Lagoon, Gangster, Jormungand, Banana Fish, Durarara!!, and a few others always attract me. It’s just the way that the atmosphere of shows such as that is presented that hooks me. While Tokyo Revengers isn’t as dark and gritty as those aforementioned titles (yet… I can only assume since I’ve seen one episode), it still paints that urban setting that I love so much.
The main character, though, needs more spine. I get that he was in a gang, things went south, and he kind of changed his ways but there should be more of a spark to him. Reliving those memories shouldn’t scare him… it should help empower him. They did when he saved Naoto from being bullied; however, we needed to see a bit more of that. He’s too apologetic and those kinds of main characters get rather boring pretty quickly.
Let’s hope Takemichi can tap into his inner delinquent a bit more as he helps Naoto save Hinata’s life.
I just pray to God that after saving Hinata, she doesn’t run off, marry, and have a kid with Takemichi’s best friend. As good as ERASED was, I’ll never forgive Kei Sanbe for that travesty!
