It is now the war between the Tokyo Manji and the Tenjiku gang who do not hide their criminal aspirations. Faced with the desertion of some members of Mikey’s clan, the situation seems critical. For his part, Takemichi no longer has the right to make mistakes since the death of Naoto in his time makes it impossible for him to go back. Ready for anything, he is promoted to an unexpected position, that of leader of the Black Dragon! As the war prepares, Takemichi will realize, perhaps too late, what recurring event is at the origin of Mikey’s descent into hell…
Since its launch, the Tenjiku arc has raised the stakes, to the point of making it nearly impossible in Tokyo Manji. Takemichi has no room for error, some strong members have betrayed, Tetta Kisaki plotting… Never has a Tokyo Revengers situation seemed so critical. It is on these bases that Ken Wakui establishes a beginning of volume rich in tension, preparing a war without thank you, while making us understand that the outcome of the battle will be decisive. To this is added the promotion of Takemichi, now far from the one he was in the first opus. A real ascent for the protagonist of the work who demonstrates a courage that will grow until the last page.
Also, the war against the Tenjiku does not fully start in this volume of preparation for hostilities. However, this one will mark us forever since the mangaka has a surprise in store for us that we did not expect, a real daring move that tipped the opus into tragedy via a terrible, cruel and unfair event, and yet heavy with meaning while having been visibly thought out a long time in advance. By this upheaval, the whole aura of the arc is changed. Forgiveness no longer seems to be on the agenda while the event gives meaning to many writings, whether it is the relevant parallel between Takemichi and Mikey, or the ambition of Tetta who comes to destroy a ” catalyst” in an attempt to form another. We remain voluntarily abstract in these lines as the moment is strong and well led emotionally. More than ever, the reader will want Takemichi to have his revenge.
And a strong moment preceding another, the whole conclusion of the opus remains in a poignant direction, here by a Tokyo Manji more united than ever despite the dark moments that the clan is experiencing. While Ken Wakui has created a real connection between all of his arcs, here he establishes a common thread through Takemichi whose importance for the group proves more crucial than ever.
The mangaka will therefore not have spared us through this seventeenth volume, intense and moving, but just in his emotion and in the writing of certain characters. Tokyo Revengers retains its efficiency and adrenaline while enriching its plot. Nevertheless, given the events, everything suggests that the next volumes will be decisive for the direction of the work. Also, we remain curious to see how the title will evolve over more than ten more volumes.
Following recent events, still eager to save Mikey from sinking, Takemichi affirmed a strong decision: to take over the presidency of the Black Dragon in addition to keeping his position as the leader of the Toman’s First Brigade. A strong choice before the future major confrontation against the Tenjiku, which is being prepared around important issues. But at a time when all minds are already turned towards what will go down in history as the Kanto Disaster, Kisaki, manipulating Izana, foments a cruel new plan that risks turning everything upside down…
In a still hectic pace, Ken Wakui takes care to raise the tension in view of the battle to come, in the beginning of the volume where he takes care to underline many things. On the side of the Tenjiku, nothing seems to be able to stop Kisaki who, carefully, continues to manipulate Izana, even though some members of the clan, like Kakucho, really do not see Kisaki’s presence with their leader in a good light. And on the Toman side, despite the will to defeat Izana and Kiskai and recover Kokonoi, our heroes must deal with a weakening of their forces, between the betrayal of Mucho and his brigade, then a terrible news arriving about Mitsuya and Smiley. .. The battle then promises to be sly, as its premises make it clear that all shots will be allowed… And one does not believe so well to say, when a particularly tragic upheaval arises.
This upheaval, it is quite difficult to talk about it in detail without saying too much, so let’s just point out that it is brought about with formidable efficiency, because in a very sudden, unpredictable, unexpected, and above all brutal way. And its effect is all the more effective as it occurs exactly when Takemichi finally understands why nothing has changed in the present although he saved Draken, Kazutora and Taiju, and why exactly Mikey sank so much. Unfortunately for our hero, he understands the thing a bit too late, when the answer was in front of his eyes… And finally, the only thing that some people will perhaps reproach for this dramatic passage, is to look a little too much to draw tears via words that are certainly touching but sometimes a little big.
Either way, this deep drama is one whose impact is immediate, turning things upside down just before the battle. Between a Mikey who sinks immediately, a Draken who is not outdone on this point, a lifelong friendship that crumbles, the ghosts of the past that come up via the companions who have already died, and a Toman who is irremediably more upset than ever, we also find a Takemichi who, once again, doubts, telling himself that he will never be able to change the present, especially since he cannot save the people dying at that time… but to get him out naturally of his distress, there is always his dear Hina, whom he still and always wishes to save. It will not necessarily take much more for our hero to reaffirm himself with more determination than ever.
Ken Wakui therefore offers us a rather terrible volume, especially in his sudden flagship upheaval, an upheaval that heightens the expectations and the stakes in what will perhaps be Takemichi’s final fight against Kisaki. Everything is now in place for the Kanto Disaster, which is announced under the best auspices!