Tokyo Revengers gained a lot of popularity as soon as its release. Even the manga sales blew up after the release of the anime. The anime series concluded its first season on the 19th of this month and it was renewed for a second season soon after. The manga was released in 2017 and it sold more than 17 million copies only in that year. When Did Tokyo Revengers Went Downhill?
Also, as it was revealed in September 2021, 40 million copies of Tokyo Revengers manga are now in circulation. In the first half of 2021, Tokyo Revengers became the third best-selling manga, leaving top manga like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen behind. The manga is nearing its finale and fans are all the more eager to find out how the future turns out.
The story centers around Takemichi Hanagaki, a 26-year-old part-time worker. Following his ex-girlfriend, Hinata Tachibana's death, Takemichi found out about his powers of time-traveling. Somehow, he is able to back to 12 years in the past when he was still dating Hinata Tachibana.
It was also the time when the Tokyo Manji Gang, which was responsible for Hinata's death, was at its peak. Takemichi swore that he will save Toman from getting ruined by Tetta Kisaki and also save Hinata from dying in the future.
He met Mikey, the current commander of Toman, and Draken, the vice-commander and Mikey's best friend. The trio quickly became close friends and helped each other in every way possible. Here, we will find out when and how Tokyo Revengers went downhill.
Tulisha Srivastava
Did Tokyo Revengers Really Go Downhill?
The show had a great start and showed a lot of potentials. Although it was disturbing to see teenagers act like hooligans and beat people up, it could still be ignored due to the surprise factor in the series. To be honest, the flow of the story had been gradually declining ever since the first arc. Though it was barely worth mentioning then, but as the series is coming to its end, it's starting to gain a lot of bad reviews.
When Did the Decline Start?
The real problem starts with the Valhalla arc. Kazutora ended up killing Mikey's older brother, Shinichiro, who practically raised Mikey. Given how close Mikey was close to Shinichiro, he'd definitely blame Kazutora.
However, to escape from his guilt, Kazutora ends up placing all the blame on Mikey and joins an enemy gang. If it wasn't worse, he planned Mikey's and Baji's murder. Although Mikey was saved, Baji had to die in vain. Fans cried and the series attracted lots of sympathy from the audience. But one cannot deny that Baji's death wasn't necessary for the progress of the story.
Not only that, but when Baji was suffering from a fatal injury, he stabbed himself in a woeful attempt to absolve Kazutora of any guilt. This made all of Takemichi's efforts to stop Baji's death in Bloody Halloween a wild goose chase.
Mikey's Role in the Series Defeated the Main Purpose of the Show
There is no doubt that Mikey is a fan-favorite character. He is charming, has leadership qualities, can fight well, and has the ability to draw people in. However, time and time again, the series has put obvious attempts to make his character seem pitiful. It is to the point that the whole final arc happened only because of Mikey.
Tulisha Srivastava
Takemichi managed to create a perfect future for everyone, with Mikey the exception. So, in order to save Mikey, he had to travel back to 10 years in the past. Mikey's brother died before the start of the series, which left a huge scar on his heart. To make it worse, one of his best friends was his brother's murderer. Then, future Takemichi and Naoto planned to prevent Draken's death in the Moebius Arc to save Mikey from further despair.
Then came the Valhalla arc where Takemichi's constant attempt to save Baji from dying failed. After that, Emma died in Tenjiku Arc, and following her was the death of Mikey's adoptive brother Izana's death. And in the Three Deities Arc, Draken died from gunshot wounds. All these people were extremely important in Mikey's life.
Somehow, every arc in Tokyo Revengers ended up in the same loop with attempts to save people close to Mikey and keep him from despair. This vastly deviated from the original motive of the series, which was to save Hinata Tachibana. This is how the series started after all. Instead of her, it seemed more like the whole series revolved around saving Mikey.
Tulisha Srivastava
