Poor Takemitchy just can’t catch a break. The Christmas Showdown seems so minor now compared to the new threats that we are set up against. Mikey murders everyone in the future and now, of course, Kisaki is still somehow our enemy but now he’s in a different group. Is it too much to ask for a happy change? We don’t need to fix anything, but just a small thing where we change the future for the better would be nice. At this point, it might be better to just stop, because I don’t know how we’re going to get any worse.
Turns out Takemitchy has come back to the past in order to protect everyone in the future one more time and this go around, he plans to take over Toman. A lofty goal for someone who probably can’t lay a single hand on Draken or Mikey, but this is also the same guy who has managed to become the first division captain just because he’s completely unwilling to give up. A captain who will always lose in a fist fight, but has unmatchable tenacity… hmm… well, at least it’s working.
This episode really felt like the start of the following season. It was pretty stand alone in the content, and aside from Chifuyu and Takemitchy talking by the bloodied tire swing there wasn’t any conversation to the future. All we know is that he’s back again and now needs to find a way to stop Mikey from killing everyone, essentially saving him from the darkness. Though, I do think Takemitchy’s a bit of a fool to try to take down some Yokohama gangs because he read it in some manga. I mean, they were going to come to him anyways, but we don’t need to actively look for trouble. Plus, I think it’s more important to find Mikey. Where is he? How do we protect him from becoming the person he is in the future? Takemitchy, I know you are LARPing a middle schooler, but please, use your brain a little bit more.
I wish I could say I was surprised by the Kisaki development, but I’m not. Part of me hoped that we could gain him as an ally as we fought these new enemies… but of course he’s the one somehow involved. And on that note, we have to give him credit for somehow always getting a pretty high rank whenever he joins one of these gangs. In Toman he quickly became the 3rd division captain, and now he’s basically convinced this new group that they need to take down Toman. He’s a good villain, but I have to applaud him as well for just being so darn persistent. But! On that note, I think it’s super cool that he’s constantly fighting against us. I wish I understood more about why he hates these people in particular, but I really like that he’s also not a fighter. He and Takemitchy are not super strong like Mikey, but they are constantly going head to head – unfortunately for us, Kisaki just keeps getting the upper hand.
But that being said! I’m excited to see how everything plays out for season three! At this point, I’m invested with what happens in the future so I’m going to keep sticking this out. You can do it Takemitchy! Save Mikey !!
Final Impressions
To tell you all the truth, I’ve been really dreading these final impressions… but here we go.
Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown continues the never ending battle of Takemitchy and his desire to change the future. Despite everything that happened in season one, we are still faced with a future where those we wish to save still die, but this time he’s the one staring at the wrong end of the gun barrel. Hakkai and the Shiba family are the main focus of the season and quite frankly, it all boils down to family drama. That being said, the family drama has a whole lot of domestic abuse in it and it’s definitely a good idea for us to put a stop to it. But why does Takemitchy have to help this family? Well, Hakkai apparently is a problem in the future as the next leader of Black Dragon. But when we meet him in the past, he’s really just another hoodlum kid. There isn’t a single evil bone in his body. He’s just here for a good time and, in theory, to keep his sister safe.
Unfortunately, his older brother, Taiju, has different plans for his siblings and quite frankly, everyone is scared of him. Both in the sense that they don’t want to be beaten up by him, but also that they don’t want others to be beaten by him. Taiju is incredibly strong. He’s got so much muscle that it’s impressive that most of our cast was able to stand up after taking a single hit from him. But when it comes down to the actual fight? I think… in some ways, 13 episodes were too short and too long for this season. Too short in the sense that we really couldn’t introduce another arc to the series without it being cut off. But the season was definitely too long because some episodes really seemed to drag. Some episodes felt twice as long as they really were because we just weren’t moving anywhere. And some of the twists? They almost made me mad. Yuzuha turned out to be the one that did everything Hakkai said he did. Kokonoi and Inui being incredibly strong, but never really doing anything. And of course, Mikey comes in taking one hit and then downing Taiju in a matter of seconds, followed by Draken defeating the whole of Black Dragon on his own. It makes me wonder if they were really all that strong to begin with.
In short, I was frustrated with this season.
There were a number of times where I thought to myself, “What if I just dropped it?” and groaned when I finally sat down to watch the episodes. Which really bummed me out, because I had a good time with the first season. This one just… didn’t quite reach the same highs and dramatics as the previous one, and I really think that’s all thanks to what they had to fit into these 13 episodes. Unfortunately, it makes me nervous for the third season and I really hope that this next arc kicks things back up into gear.
And while I feel bad about where I landed on this series, I do have to give credit to the anime for picking me back in these last few episodes. A few weeks ago, I was certain that I wasn’t going to pick up the third season if it aired. But with everything that happened after the fight in the church, I’m incredibly curious to know what happens. I want to see Takemitchy successfully save the future. I don’t want Hina to die and I want to make sure that everyone gets to live happily in the future. Is this due to the groundwork of season 1? Probably. But I’m still here and will be sticking the series out.
So, at the end of the day, I give this second season a 6.5/10. There were some really good moments, but they were constantly overshadowed. After watching season 1, I was definitely recommending Tokyo Revengers to those I thought would be interested… but now… I’m almost embarrassed to suggest it. It feels really bad to say, but I can’t in good conscience tell people to get invested in it when I know what the future has in store for them. So my apologies everyone, I wish I could give this a better review in the end, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. That being said… if you’re like me and hoping to stick it out, here’s to hoping for a good season 3.
