Whenever the first word on my notepad is “recap”, an episode is off to a bad start. When I see a four minute recap I can only assume the production is behind schedule, though maybe the director felt the need to manipulate things a bit to end the episode exactly where he did. Irrespective of that I don’t think this was Tokyo Revengers strongest work generally speaking, especially the B-part – some of what went down rang pretty false to me.
So far Tokyo Revengers hasn’t really addressed the issue of nexus points in time, unchangeable events that are going to happen regardless of whatever manipulation travelers like Takemichi attempt. If they exist, I imagine Doraken’s death probably is one. Maybe the circumstances have changed a little – if anything it seems like Takemitchy’s meddling turned this into an even bigger brawl than it already was. But Doraken is still stabbed and hit in the head with a baseball bat, exactly how Naoto’s search showed it happened.
One could be tempted to wonder if perhaps it was the time meddling that allowed/caused Doraken’s death in the first place – maybe it was the chaos that results that allowed Kiyomasa to take advantage of the confusion to do the deed. If that’s so, was it any less fated to happen? These are the types of questions some time travel fiction chooses to tackle while others ignore them – I have no idea which school TR will fall into, but it doesn’t strike me as a particularly intellectual piece of work. This is a pulp thriller basically, and a pretty good one – I don’t expect it to get too bogged down in the details.
What’s interesting is that there’s still no mention of Kisaki. Peh is the immediate source of the betrayal, basically working with Moebius to ambush Doraken while Mikey is distracted, and Kiyomasa is merely taking advantage of an opportunity. We do see the new “temporary” leader of Möbius, Hanma Shuji (Eguchi Takuya). He’s fairly badass and clearly not a small fry like Kiyomasa or Peh, but I’d still bet Kisaki is behind the scenes somewhere pulling the strings for all this.
Since Mikey and the Toman reserves do show up, rather than an ambush this turns into a full-on gang war though, because Japan, it’s conducted mostly with fists and feet. Takemitchy concentrates on trying to track Doraken but doesn’t do a very good job of it, as the melee rages all around him. Mikey’s tearful reconciliation with Peh was a development that left me totally cold, if I’m honest. Even for a bunch of idiotic adolescent boys engaged in random violence that was all pretty stupid. Peh may be a sucker but he’s responsible for this debacle, and Mikey’s breed of renegade morality doesn’t do a whole lot for me.
Whatever Tokyo Revengers decides regarding the rules of the road, this is clearly a fork for the series. Either Doraken is still dead in this timeline or he isn’t, and what happens from here very much depends on which. If he’s still been killed I imagine Takemichi doesn’t get another shot at it – shaking with the left hand gets you a second repeat or something silly like that. No, I rather expect his next step would be to figure out how to try and stave off future disaster in spite of Doraken’s death, and since he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer that would mean tracking down Naoko and going back to the future for a strategy session. And if Doraken somehow survived? Well – never mind, I guess.
leongsh
June 6, 2021 at 8:20 pmIt’s the latter. Episode ended at the end of Chapter 23. 4 minutes is not enough time to squeeze in all of Chapter 24 as the chapter end is the other natural episode end-point. Why it ended up that way is due to previous episode covered 3.5 chapters (ended mid-way of Chapter 21). The usual cover is 3 chapters per episode.
Draken’s fate was sealed in the very first time leap back with Naoto saving Takemichi from the shove on the train platform. Refer Episode 2 where Naoto explained that the 2 top leaders of Toman are Sano Manjirou and Tetta Kisaki. Draken is already out of the picture. Thus, it is not the time meddling that allowed/caused Draken’s death.
Guardian Enzo
June 6, 2021 at 9:12 pmBut maybe it was the time meddling that caused him to die in the first place, the reality Naoto refers to already having been influenced by Takemichi’s meddling since it happened in his past. Classic time paradox, which as noted some fictions choose to address and some don’t.
Kim
June 7, 2021 at 3:57 amI am kind of neutral on this episode. Maybe I am naive but I really didn’t expect Draken to actually die (part of me still kind of hopes he is not dead but I don’t see how he could survive in that condition)
Despite the slight recap this episode has done its work. It was trending on Twitter the other day.
Guardian Enzo
June 7, 2021 at 6:38 amIf he really is dead that’s kind of sad, because for me he’s been the most compelling character so far.
Riv
June 7, 2021 at 7:23 amThis episode made me so frustrated I had to go read manga spoilers, lol. I needed to know if I actually wanted to invest more time in it. The verdict is yes, for now, but I feel like this is always going to be a show where I am on the edge of dropping it. Takemitchy does not thrill me as a MC. I find other characters like Mikey and Draken more interesting but their juvenile and, as you put it, renegade morality is always going to keep me from actually caring about them unless something changes.
Guardian Enzo
June 7, 2021 at 7:28 amWell, that’s one reason Ken had more appeal for me, because among the thug brigade he’s been the one who comes closest to acknowledging the truth of what these kids really are.
I find Takemichi sort of interesting in that he’s an unapologetically unexceptional protagonist, which is kind of a brave move by the mangaka. But it doesn’t change the fact that, while a true everyman, he isn’t actually all that charismatic or compelling.
leongsh
June 7, 2021 at 10:52 amHow many chapters did you read ahead?
Riv
June 8, 2021 at 1:00 amQuite a few. But as it was just a summary of what happens, I’m not sure what my emotional reaction will be actually seeing it play out in the story. So much depends on how scenes are played and the development of characters. That will be the key to if I remain invested. (I think this was all vague enough and does not tread into the realm of spoilers).
Guardian Enzo
June 7, 2021 at 12:38 pmEveryone be very careful here.
leongsh
June 7, 2021 at 1:38 pmBeen very careful. There are a number of times that I wanted to post/respond but do not because of the fear of inadvertently spoiling something. The very act of responding can sometimes be a spoiler in itself since it can be read as an indirect signal.