Tokyo Revengers

Did You Know?

• The anime's fourth season, titled Tokyo Revengers: War of the Three Titans Arc, is directed by Maki Kodaira, replacing Koichi Hatsumi from previous seasons.
• The anime's third season, adapting the 'Tenjiku' arc, aired for 12 episodes from October 4 to December 27, 2023.

Plot

Takemichi Hanagaki, a 26-year-old with part-time jobs, finds out in 2017 that his ex-girlfriend Hinata Tachibana and her younger brother Naoto were killed by the Tokyo Manji Gang. The next day, someone shoves him onto train tracks, and just before he dies, he jumps back twelve years to his middle school days in 2005. Naoto figures out that when they touch, Takemichi can time-leap. Back then, a gang member named Kiyomasa forces Takemichi’s friends into illegal fights.

By befriending Mikey, Takemichi changes the future so one friend avoids jail, but that friend later kills himself out of fear. He learns Draken, Mikey’s right-hand man, is supposed to die, which would turn Mikey cruel. Takemichi patches things up between them, but then the Tokyo Manji Gang gets ambushed by Moebius, led by Valhalla’s Shūji Hanma, after Peh-yan betrays them. Kiyomasa stabs Draken, but the gang wins and Draken lives.

Back in 2017, Hinata and his friends are still dead, and Tetta Kisaki has turned the gang into a violent crime group. In 2005, Kisaki takes over as a division captain while Pah-chin is gone. Mikey says he’ll kick Kisaki out if Takemichi brings back Baji, who only pretended to leave the gang to spy on Kisaki.

Takemichi discovers Mikey still hates Kazutora for killing his brother Shinichiro years ago. Kisaki created Valhalla hoping Mikey would run it, and the two gangs plan to merge after a fight on October 31, 2005, called Bloody Halloween. The Tokyo Manji Gang wins, but Baji dies. Takemichi stops Mikey from killing Kazutora, who turns himself in to the police.

Media

Written and illustrated by Ken Wakui, Tokyo Revengers was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from March 1, 2017, to November 16, 2022. Kodansha collected its 278 chapters in 31 tankōbon volumes from May 17, 2017, to January 17, 2023. In North America, Kodansha USA began digital release in 2018, and Seven Seas Entertainment started a print omnibus edition in 2022. A parody spin-off, Tōdai Revengers by Shinpei Funatsu, ran on Magazine Pocket from November 3, 2021, to March 29, 2023, collected in six volumes.

Seven Seas Entertainment has licensed it in North America. Another spin-off, Tokyo Revengers: A Letter from Keisuke Baji by Yukinori Kawaguchi, was published on Magazine Pocket from July 27, 2022, to March 10, 2025, also in six volumes; Kodansha publishes it in English on K Manga, and Seven Seas Entertainment has licensed it. The anime adaptation by Liden Films, directed by Koichi Hatsumi with scripts by Yasuyuki Mutō and character designs by Keiko Ōta, aired from April 11 to September 19, 2021, on MBS.

Official Hige Dandism performed the opening theme 'Cry Baby', and Eill performed the ending theme. A second ending song, 'Tokyo Wonder', was performed by Nakimushi. Anime shorts by Studio Puyukai were released on YouTube from April 12 to September 20, 2021. A second season aired from January 8 to April 2, 2023, with opening theme 'White Noise' by Official Hige Dandism and ending theme by Tuyu. A third season aired from October 4 to December 27, 2023, with opening theme 'White Noise' and ending theme 'Say My Name' by Hey-Smith.

Reception

In 2021, Tokyo Revengers won the anime category of the Yahoo! Japan Search Awards. It topped Mynavi Teens Lab's 'Trend Rankings Selected by Teens in 2021'. Nikkei Entertainment highlighted the anime as one of 2021's biggest hits, ranking it as the top-watched streaming program for both male and female audiences.

The series won the 'Anime Award' on the 2021 Twitter Japan's Trend Awards, and the anime adaptation became the seventh most discussed TV show of 2021 worldwide on Twitter. The manga's circulation grew rapidly: over 3 million copies by February 2020, over 17 million by May 2021, over 20 million by June 2021, over 25 million by July 2021, over 35 million by August 2021, over 40 million by September 2021, over 50 million by January 2022, over 65 million by July 2022 (including 7 million outside Japan), over 70 million by December 2022, and over 80 million by June 2024. It was the third best-selling manga series in the first half of 2021 with over 5 million copies sold, the third best-selling manga in 2021 with over 24.9 million copies, and the second best-selling manga series in 2022 with over 11 million copies. Volumes 25–29 were among the 25 best-selling manga volumes of 2022; volumes 30 and 31 were among the best-selling of 2023.

Tokyo Revengers won the 44th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2020. It ranked ninth on Da Vinci magazine's 2021 'Book of the Year' list and eighteenth on the 2022 list, and twelfth on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2022 list for male readers.