One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about Tokyo Revengers is that nothing is as clear cut as we want it to be, especially when it comes to villains. In fact, most of the time when we jump back 12 years, these “horrible” people in the future are really just some hooligans living out their lives. They are by no means upstanding citizens but they aren’t exactly causing the levels of trouble that they are in the future. It’s fun to see all the different things that go into shaping a person!
This week we spend most of our time with Hakkai, someone who is a big wig with Black Dragon in the future. However, in the current day, he’s the second division vice-captain of Toman. Yeah, he’s still part of a gang, but it’s still the version of Toman that is mostly under Mikey’s original dream, so they get into trouble but they aren’t a danger to most of society. In fact, in the first half of the episode Takemitchy and Hakkai have a good ol’ bowling competition without any malicious intent. And, personally, I thought it would have been funny if all the conflict of the future involving Hakkai was solved with a bowling match. Though, the second half of the episode proved that would not be the case. In short, Hakkai is really just a kid. He’s having a good time living his life. Mitsuya is a good captain to him, to the point where Hakkai views him as a true older brother (and even keeps him as a screensaver on his phone). I love how quickly he decides Takemitchy is his friend. They spent an afternoon together and now he wants him to come over. His sister also gets along pretty well with both Takemitchy and Hina, so it’s hard to imagine this kid ends up being such a problem in the future.
Ah… well, that is until we arrive at the Shiba household. Turns out that Hakkai’s older brother, Taiju, is the 10th leader of the Black Dragons. Guess we figure out how Hakkai is involved with them. That being said! I really like that they didn’t show Hakkai or Yuzuha being hyper-excited about their brother. In fact, it seems like he is a problem for them too. Immediately upon seeing the Black Dragons at their front door, they tell Hina and Takemitchy to leave (and of course, they do not leave) and we get to see a pretty big difference between the Black Dragons and Toman. Toman, for the most part, really doesn’t involve people who are civilians, but the Black Dragons seem more than willing to beat up any one who looks at them funny, including people who aren’t involved with any gang. Of course, Takemitchy does have a little bit of a disadvantage being a captain in Toman and someone who’s name has been shared around different groups. Though, most people probably wouldn’t recognize him because he’s a crybaby and kinda small when you put next to… well, literally anyone else.
Hajime Kokonoi seems more than ready to rumble and the rest of the Black Dragons are sure to follow. They don’t seem to care about the trouble they cause as long as it supports whatever Taiju wants – and it seems like Taiju is just here for the chaos. When we first meet Taiju, he’s coming back down the alley from the convenience store and practically body slams Takemitchy for being in his way. He didn’t even know who this kid was and he was already ready to just beat him to a pulp (maybe this could have all been avoided if Takemitchy and Hina ran away earlier, but if they did that, then we really wouldn’t have gotten all this exposition). Of course, once he finds out who Takemitchy is, he’s even more unapologetic about his actions… not that he was apologetic to begin with… Hakkai, however, tries to intervene, but in the caring big brother fashion Taiju instead demands his little brother to kill Takemitchy right then and there.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t think there is a way out of this situation that doesn’t end badly. Either Hakkai is going to have to hurt Takemitchy or Hakkai and Yuzuha are going to bear the brunt of Taiju’s anger. Even if Mikey or Draken were to show up, I don’t think they would be able to diffuse the situation that easily. I guess all I can say at this point is, “Haha…ha Takemitchy I hope you survive the next episode!”
