As checked out on Tokyo Revengers as I was when the season started, I have to admit this episode was pretty darn good.  Hell, the premiere was decent – though this was probably the show’s best episode in a good while.  I’ve gotten suckered in by TMR before, as it has a tendency to give good starts to things it doesn’t have the chops to finish.  Frankly, that’s what I’m expecting to happen with Tenjiku-hen too.  But hey, I have no ill will towards the franchise – if it has a chance to win me over and keep me around, I’ll give it the chance to take it.

A name we heard an awful lot this week – that I don’t recall hearing before – is “S-62 Generation”.  Kurokawa Izana, the leader of Tenjiku, was a part of it, whatever it is.  There are multiple Black Dragon connections, seemingly.  S-62 is very much at the heart of the Tenjiku matter, and as usual Takemitchy seems to be the last to know about it.  Mikey declares an all-out war on Tenjiku in retaliation for their attacks, and Takemitchy realizes that this is playing right into Kisaki’s hands.   Chifuyu reminds him that he can go back to the future to try and dig up more info on Tenjiku, so he decides to do just that.

Interestingly, Tenjiku is virtually unknown to the cops in this future.  Naoto resolves to dig a little deeper, and Takemichi goes off to dig on his own – except he has no idea how to do that.  He happens on the church where he and Taiju did battle in the past (don’t ask, just roll with it) and who should be inside but Taiju himself (just roll with it).  He comes there every day, he says, since Hakkai died (to be honest I’ve forgotten whether we already knew he was dead in the future).  I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s mellowed, but Taiju doesn’t seem to reflexively regard Takemichi as an enemy.  And anyone causing trouble for modern Toman is an ally in his book.

Is Taiju a yakuza now?  It does sort of appear that way, though he could just be a shady club owner I suppose.  He’s willing to talk to Takemichi and even Naoto if it causes problems for Izana and Toman, and talk he does.  S-62 comes up again, and Taiju drops a game-changing bomb – Kisaki may not actually be dead.  And when Naoto confirms this it basically moots the idea that Kisaki – if he too can travel in time – is stuck in the past.  Though soon enough it’s Takemichi who’s going to put that to the test.

All this – leading to Naoto getting popped by Kisaki and Takemichi by Kaku-chan (so much for childhood friendships) – is quite entertaining.  It’s good pulp, which Tokyo Revengers certainly has the ability to deliver.  What will happen to Takemitchy in the past with Naoto dead in this timeline – is he stuck, or not?  And if Kisaki really can do this himself (as implied by that last backwards glance) does he have any suspicion about Takemichi’s means of transport?  If so it was pretty dumb of him to leave those two within arm’s reach as they bled out on the sidewalk.