A 26-year-old nobody leaps back twelve years to his middle school days, to save the girl he lost.
We think Tokyo Revengers is a love story disguised as a gang show: every fight Takemichi walks into is for one girl he let go. Here are eight reasons, one on each slide.
Reason 1 - A loser gets one more chance
Takemichi Hanagaki is 26, broke and going nowhere. Then the news says Hinata Tachibana, his only girlfriend from middle school, has been killed in a clash with the Tokyo Manji Gang.
The next day he is pushed off a train platform and wakes up twelve years in the past.
Reason 2 - Hinata, the reason for everything
Hina is the one person who believed in Takemichi when he was a kid in a bad haircut pretending to be tough.
The show makes you understand in a few scenes why a grown man would fight his way through gangs for her.
Reason 3 - Naoto and the handshake
Takemichi saves Hina's younger brother Naoto and asks him to protect her. In the present, Naoto has grown up to be a detective.
A handshake between them sends Takemichi back and forth in time, and the two become partners across twelve years.
Reason 4 - Mikey, the boy at the top
Manjiro Sano, called Mikey, founded the Tokyo Manji Gang and leads it with a grin and a kick nobody can stop.
He is charming, childish and frightening at once, and the whole story turns on who he becomes.
Reason 5 - Draken, the gang's conscience
Ken Ryuguji, called Draken, is the gang's vice-president, taller than everyone and calmer than everyone.
He is the one who keeps Mikey human, and the first Toman member to treat Takemichi as a friend.
Reason 6 - A hero who keeps getting beaten
Takemichi cannot fight. He loses almost every brawl and gets back up anyway, again and again.
That stubbornness is his only power, and it is what slowly earns the gang's respect.
Reason 7 - Liden Films, 2021
Koichi Hatsumi directed it at Liden Films in 2021, adapting Ken Wakui's manga. The opening, “Cry Baby” by Official HIGE DANdism, became a hit on its own.
The gang jackets, the bikes and the summer festivals give 2005 Tokyo a look all its own.
Reason 8 - Where to start
Start with episode one of the first season. You do not need to know anything about gangs or time travel.
We say watch the first three: once Takemichi decides to climb to the top of Toman, you will want to see if he can change the future.
Where to watch
Tokyo Revengers was listed on Crunchyroll and Hulu in the USA when we last checked, in October 2026. Catalogues change by country and by month, so check the service where you are.
In the shop
Tokyo Revengers in the Anime Guide · Tokyo Revengers merchandise
Source: the Anime Crush Anime Guide.
