Review of Tokyo Revengers

“We made a lot of mistakes but deep down we haven’t changed.” - Matsuno Chifuyu, Episode 24 To avoid confusion I am going to be referring to two different versions of the main character: "Takemichi" will refer to the consciousness of the protagonist the series follows, even when he is in the past. "YT" will refer to the consciousness of the young Takemichi. Anyway, on with the review. It is important to be aware that Tokyo Revengers is not a story about time travel. This is an early warning for people who saw the summary of this series and are drawn in by that element of theplot. If you are looking for something that focuses on the concept of travelling to a different time and the complexities that surround it; Tokyo Revengers won’t be for you. For those who are still interested in watching (or who have already watched it) Tokyo Revengers, you have an inconsistent series that struggles to maintain its stride. It becomes overburdened by cliches which muffle its voice and soften some of the darker themes that it tries to tackle. However, there are a number of interesting elements at play, and a strong supporting cast, which can make this an enjoyable show to watch.

Going into Tokyo Revengers, it is clear that the animation staff had a very specific image of how the plot was going to unravel. While the clarity of vision allows the series to replicate some of the key elements of the manga well, it also becomes a shackle that the staff struggle to shake off. They had a clear plot point that they wanted to end on and so it feels as though they created the series around that particular moment. This caused the pacing to become painfully inconsistent at times; as though they weren’t confident enough to expand the plot outside of what was already present in the manga. It causes them to become reliant on repetition, with many flashbacks being used to fill out the runtime.

While flashbacks themselves are often necessary to show us how a character is feeling, if used too often they can trivialise the moments they are referencing. This makes some of the emotional hooks of the story become less impactful. This repetition is also reflected in its use of time travel where the audience is constantly moving between the past and present without having the time to understand how characters exist within these spaces beyond the main plot.

There is a further issue with the plot that is caused by the time travel mechanic. So we have Takemichi who, when we meet him, is an adult. He goes back in time and becomes a teen again however he is still the adult version of the character. This raises the question of where YT goes and who he actually is. For all we know, this character simply ceases to exist when Takemichi is in the past. While this usually isn’t an issue in this kind of series, YT has a tangible impact on the future when Takemichi returns to the time he came from.

A number of important events happen when a character that the audience never meets is in control of the narrative. With a majority of these having a negative impact on the story, it raises the question of why Takemichi doesn’t try and communicate what is happening to YT. It also makes for a very frustrating experience where obvious solutions are completely ignored. By not spending time exploring the perspective of YT, the audience is left with a number of gaps in the narrative that they have to fill with limited information. While this gap isn’t necessarily a hindrance it could make Tokyo Revengers irritating to watch at times.

This is a consequence of the series sticking with Takemichi’s perspective and being trapped with his preconceptions. The lack of explanation behind his ability to travel through time also fits with this approach to telling the story which would make the series difficult to watch for people who like tightly conceived time travel plots. This was probably a wise decision as stories that focus on the mechanics of time travel are often divisive and can be tricky to balance. It allows the story to be more accessible to a broader audience which isn’t a bad thing.

Unfortunately, it does mean that Tokyo Revengers also relies on its audience suspending their disbelief constantly due to a lack of coherent explanation. This makes some of the less believable elements of the story stand out more; especially the lack of adults and the portrayal of the teenage characters. This leads to one of the most common critiques in that the characters often don’t look or sound like teenagers which could definitely put people off. I think this comes from the series not necessarily aiming to show what it is to be a teenager but rather how it feels; whether it is successful or not is a subjective matter. It is, however, complicated by the main character being the Takemichi who we assume would carry the perspective of an adult.

Having Takemichi go back in time leads to a couple of other issues that affect how the audience perceives him. The first is that he doesn’t really maintain an adult personality, quickly regressing into a childlike state. While it could be argued that these are the effects of being in a teen's body, it is frustrating to watch. This also leads into the second issue in which the relationship between Takemichi and Hinata is unsettling and never really addressed. It is brushed over in the hope that the audience doesn’t dwell on it but, as we have flashbacks thrown around every episode, it is impossible not to.

The third issue is that, as mentioned before, we expect Takemichi to retain his adult perspective on the events that happen to him. Or, at the very least, he would be a little bit more critical and mature. Instead, it feels like they are trying to fill the gap of YT by having Takemichi act like a teenager. This inconsistency and confusion leads to him quickly being overshadowed by the supporting characters as he struggles to grow with the story.

The supporting characters, for the most part, are the strongest element of Tokyo Revengers. They have distinct personalities and those who have prominence are given a suitable amount of development. Having the plot focus more on these characters is one of the reasons that Takemichi often fades into the background. There is, however, an inconsistency within this group. Characters like Mikey and Draken are given preferential treatment which reflects a narrow field of vision for the story. Hinata, one of the main driving forces for Takemichi, is often brushed aside and not given room to grow. This happens to the characters in Takemichi’s original friendship group as well; they are cast aside for more interesting characters. The knock-on impact of this is that we get no sense of who YT was and how he differs from Takemichi as we know him.

The animation is a mixed bag; capturing the style of the manga while being broad enough to capture both the bloody and light heated elements well. There are a couple of noticeable cracks where character expressions and reactions don’t fit in with the scenes. This uncertainty in what background characters were meant to be doing is also felt in large group fights. The use of nearly static zoomed out shots quickly becomes stilted; lacking the flow that you would want to see in important fights. The transitions between scenes also fall into this territory; lacking a rhythm that would have helped carry the tense emotions over.

The lack of rhythm is also marked in the repetitiveness of the soundtrack with the main refrain being played seemingly on loop. This is a shame because some of the more subtle music worked really well and could have been utilised more.

Overall, one of the biggest problems that affects Tokyo Revengers is repetitiveness. The plot, characters and soundtrack are all affected. The anime relies on repetition to pad out its run time and it has a detrimental impact on its pacing. It also suffers from not forging a strong identity for itself; switching between more comedic scenes and darker plot points recklessly. However, it is an easy anime to find enjoyment in; especially with the side characters who really steal the show. There is also enough happening for a viewer to be engaged with the series and find merit in it.