Tokyo Revengers – 20

On the whole I’d say this episode of Tokyo Revengers was every bit as preposterous as last week’s, but I found it considerably more entertaining on the whole.  Maybe it’s ludicrousness fatigue, but I think the general clusterfuck atmosphere here just kind of worked.  I have the say though, either the recaps are getting longer or a different sort of fatigue is hitting me there.  Forcing me to fast-forward five minutes at the beginning of an episode is not the way to start things off right.

It soon enough becomes clear that both Kisaki and Baji were simply biding their time, staying out of harm’s way and waiting for the moment to strike.  These two are opposites in a way – Kisaki is a master manipulator, always getting someone else (like Kazutora) to do his dirty work for him.  And Baji is a complete solo artist – he keeps his own counsel and brooks no help from anyone in carrying out his agenda.  Obviously he’s a more sympathetic character in the context of the plot but I still think he’s kind of an A-hole.

Kisaki – as usual – has a good scheme worked out here.  He “saves” Mikey from one of his own men (Takemitchy recognizes him), and puts himself in what looks like a can’t-lose situation.  If Toman wins he looks like a hero, and earns the trust of most of the outfit.  If they lose they just get absorbed into Valhalla (or “Walhalla” as some of the jacket straps say – which is actually the correct Germanic spelling of the old Norse word).  I wouldn’t be surprised if Kazutora’s attack on Mikey was the same thing – Kisaki wins whether Mikey dies or not.

It’s pretty hilarious watching poor Takemitchy bumbling about with no idea what to do.  Things just aren’t going according to the script – until they are, which he catches onto too late.  One thing about Tokyo Revengers is that grave injuries can always be deferred for plot convenience.  We saw it with Doraken, now we see it with Mikey and Baji (and Kazutora too, for that matter).  Mikey doesn’t collapse from repeated blows to the head with a steel bar until he takes down Kazutora and his stooges.  And Baji – well, if there’s a more loaded phrase in fiction than “it’s just a scratch” I don’t know what it is.  I want to think that was said with a wink at the audience but with this series I can’t be too sure.

Seriously, though – how could Takemtichy and Chifuyu watch Kazutora stick a knife six inches into Baji’s back and take his word for it at “just a scratch”?  I get the whole adrenaline thing but seriously, there’s no way Baji is doing what he did with blood percolating up through his body.  Not to mention we so no blood at the wound site until after he’s literally coughing up blood.  Yeah, this was incredibly silly but it was fun in a 1970’s (Dick the Bruiser and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan FTW) pro wrestling sort of way.

On paper, this looks lovely for Kisaki.  Baji’s blood is on Kazutora’s hands, not his own, and he’s apparently saved Mikey from Valhalla.  What Mikey makes of everything that’s just down remains to be seen – hell, it remains to be seen if he was even conscious to hear it.  But in his position, why wouldn’t he believe Kisaki?  What reason does he have to take Takenitchy or Chifuyu’s words over Kisaki’s?