Summary
After the initial excitement waned around its unique premise — which blends time travel and the bosozoku subculture in mid-2000s Japan — Ken Wakui’sTokyo Revengersevolved into a tale of loss, love, and perseveranceagainst insurmountable odds. The first two seasons of its anime adaptation by Liden Films garnered a considerable share of the spotlight, and the fanfare surrounding the series has continued into its third season even after the manga’s conclusion in 2022.
The third and latest installment ofTokyo Revengers’anime adapts the Tenjiku Arc from the manga, covering the conflict between the Tokyo Manji Gang and their new rivals, Yokohama Tenjiku. At the very start of Season 3 — which is titledTokyo Revengers: Tenjiku Arc— there is mention of an occurrence known as the “Kanto Incident” by Kisaki Tetta, one of the series' overarching antagonists. In effect, this event is theculmination of long-running feuds betweenthe main cast, resulting in an epic battle to settle all scores.
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The Rise Of Yokohama Tenjiku
After the fall of the Tenth Generation Black Dragons during the Christmas Showdown Arc, Kisaki Tetta was expelled from Toman by Mikey, for his role in conspiring against Takemichi and Chifuyu’s attempt to rescue Hakkai from his brother Taiju Shiba. Overcome by rage at his dismissal from the organization that he yearned to take over, Kisaki plotted revenge andenlisted the aid of Izana Kurokawaof the S-62 Generation to form Yokohama Tenjiku and commence the Kanto Incident.
This new organization’s singular goal was to defeat Toman and absorb its members, which would give Kisaki the vengeance he desired while allowing Izana to crush Mikey’s spirit due to his own personal vendetta against him. Izana’s hatred towards Mikey and Toman was the result of the abandonment he experienced as a child, where the only person who seemed to care about him was Mikey’s older brother Shinichiro Sano. After Shinichiro’s death, Izana vowed to end Mikey’s life, giving in to the jealousy he had harbored for years. Apart from this, his secondary goal was to build a criminal empireby turning Tenjiku into a nationwide crime syndicate.
For this purpose,Izana allied with Kisaki and commenceda calculated attack against the higher ranking members of Toman, including its Division Captains. This move effectively crippled the organization, taking out the Tokyo Manji Gang’s most powerful fighters in one fell swoop, leaving them disorganized and scattered. This was followed by the defection of Yasuhiro Muto, Toman’s Fifth Division Captain and a former member of the S-62 Generation, who took Hajime Kokonoi along with him to Tenjiku. Only a few major figures in Toman such as Takemichi Hanagaki, Mikey, Draken, and Chifuyu Matsuno remained, until tragedy struck once again.
A Devastating Loss
As the final nail in thecoffin created by Tenjiku’s strategic assaulton the Tokyo Manji Gang, Kisaki and Izana hatched a plan to murder Mikey’s younger half-sister, Emma Sano. During a meeting between Izana, Mikey, and Seishu Inui at the grave of Shinichiro Sano, Kisaki rode in on a motorcycle and struck Emma across the head with a metal baseball bat, fatally injuring her. The incident — which took place on the day of Toman’s final clash with Tenjiku — rocked Mikey to his core and turned him into an empty shell of his former self.
On learning of Emma’s death, Draken began to lose his composure and attacked Mikey for his failure to protect her, which added to Toman’s issues, as they could no longer rely on their Leader or Vice-Leader in the upcoming battle. With no one else to lead the way, Takemichi took it upon himself to rally the Tokyo Manji Gang’s troops, as he resolvedto end things with Kisaki and Izanafor what they had done to Emma.
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Despite some initial backlash towards his attempt to motivate Toman’s members for their fight against Tenjiku,Takemichi was able to bring them overto his side. The fight at Yokohama’s seventh pier took place on February 22, the anniversary of the day when Black Dragon was founded by Shinichiro Sano. With Takemichi as acting leader, the Tokyo Manji Gang arrived on the scene just as Izana finished subduing all of Tokyo’s top hoodlums.
Events From Different Timelines
In the original timeline Takemichireturned to after the Christmas Showdown Arc, Tenjiku and Toman’s fight had resulted in a sort of compromise between the two gangs. Tenjiku was absorbed by Tenjiku, allowing Kisaki and Izana to occupy high ranking positions in the gang’s hierarchy, second only to Mikey. The new Tokyo Manji Gang then embarked on a path filled with violence, as most of its prominent members, including Draken, Hakkai, Mitsuya, and Chifuyu, were killed by Mikey, Izana, and Kisaki.
Eventually, this led to Mikey’s own death at the hands of the adult Naoto Tachibana in the present. Finally, Takemichi and Naoto were themselves shot by Kisaki and Kakucho, whichessentially eliminated Takemichi’s abilityto time leap. However, Takemichi’s last minute leap back into the past before Naoto’s death gave him one last chance to change the future, and prevent Toman’s descent into darkness. The outcome of the final showdown is crucial to all involved, as the future of the main cast and the Tokyo Manji Gang is poised on a knife’s edge.
Tokyo Revengersseason 1 is available onCrunchyroll, while Seasons 2 and 3 can be found onDisney+.
