Highlights
- Tokyo Manji Gang fights against Tenjiku, with their main fighters getting knocked down.
- Souya reveals his hidden strength and defeats Tenjiku’s strongest fighters.
- Kakucho takes the lead and brutally beats Takemichi, leaving the Tokyo Manji Gang’s fate hanging.
The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of Tokyo Revengers: Tenjiku Arc, “The Blue Ogre,” now streaming on Disney+.
Caught in the thick of a heated confrontation, where the odds of victory are narrow at best, the Tokyo Manji Gang showcase their dogged determination to set the record straight in episode 9 of Tokyo Revengers: Tenjiku Arc. As their main fighters get knocked down by Tenjiku’s overwhelming strength in numbers, Takemichi and his allies must find a way to salvage the terrifying future that lies in front of them, especially with so many lives now at stake.
Everything hinges on the outcome of this showdown at Yokohama’s seventh pier, including the fate of Tokyo’s delinquents, the future of Toman, and the lives of Emma Sano, Naoto Tachibana, as well as his sister Hinata. Amid the chaos of an all-out war between the rival gangs, Toman finds new hope in an unexpected place, as Tenjiku’s strongest fighters enter the heart of the battle. Finally, a horrific turn of events in Season 3 of Tokyo Revengers could spell the end of all of Takemichi’s struggles, and potentially close the door on his goal of saving everyone.
Tokyo Revengers: What Is The Kanto Incident?
The overarching conflict between the Tokyo Manji Gang and Tenjiku is the result of numerous smaller feuds and battles. Here’s how they came to be.
The Demon Inside Souya
Starting with a flashback to Souya (Angry) and Nahoya Kawata as children, the episode proceeds to illustrate the brothers’ relationship, before launching back into the fight between Hakkai Shiba, Souya Kawata, and the Haitani brothers, Ran and Rindo. Through this flashback, which runs in parallel to a conversation between Takashi Mitsuya and Nahoya Kawata — also known as Smiley — the truth behind an incident in the brothers’ childhood comes to light.
When a younger Nahoya was attacked by a group of middle school kids, Souya shed tears and defended him, flying into a blinding rage where he beat up every assailant so badly that they had to be taken to the hospital. Since then, Nahoya has forbidden his little brother from crying, as it unleashes his latent strength, and kills his strong sense of compassion, where he is able to fight without restraint and becomes a hundred times as powerful as his elder brother.
Returning to the fight at hand, Hakkai and Souya struggle to gain the upper hand, as the Haitani brothers coordinate their attacks to overwhelm both. On having his leg twisted by Rindo, Souya is left lying defenseless on the battlefield, as Rindo moves on to restrain Hakkai while Ran beats him mercilessly with his baton. All the combatants around them cease their fights to take in the spectacle of Ran Haitani’s brutality. Furthermore, the likes of Takemichi and Chifuyu are engrossed in their own battles, and helpless to stop Hakkai from being killed.
Seeing this, Souya begins to shed tears and begs them to stop, to the amusement of all gathered there. Ran and Rindo openly mock Souya’s display of emotion, ridiculing him for losing his composure. However, Souya immediately gets up and apologizes to his brother for breaking his vow not to cry, preparing himself for battle. An overconfident Rindo approaches to face him, unaware of what he is getting himself into. Moving to grab him, Rindo lunges forward but is unable to move Souya, despite his best efforts. Noting that he had not cried since fourth grade, Souya goes on to pummel Rindo in the face with a single explosive punch, knocking him out instantly.
Kakucho Takes The Lead
Souya’s sudden burst of strength shocks bystanders including Ran, who is too late to react as the younger Kawata brother appears behind him with blinding speed, taking him out with another devastating punch. Amazed by this, Kanji Mochizuki, another one of Tenjiku’s Four Heavenly Kings, strides towards Souya and tries to belittle him, only to be forcefully struck down and knocked out as well.
Tenjiku’s troops can only stare in disbelief as Souya stands tall before the motionless bodies of their strongest fighters. Fearing for their lives, they begin to back off in fear of Souya, nullifying the gang’s numerical advantage over Toman. Angered by his comrades’ incompetence, Yasuhiro Muto breaks through to face Souya. In the ensuing confrontation, Muto tries to flip Souya with his expertise at judo, only to have the tables turned on him, as Souya maneuvers himself in midair to bring his shin down on Muto’s throat.
Tokyo Revengers: What Is Yokohama Tenjiku?
Formed to crush the Tokyo Manji Gang and its leader, Manjiro Sano, Tenjiku is an organization built on violence and hatred.
Completely incapacitated, Muto began to recall his conversations with both Mikey and Izana, as he remembered why he was so devoted to Tenjiku’s cause, and the dream shared by the S-62 Generation. During this time, Takemichi, Chifuyu, Hakkai, and Seishu gather around Souya, preparing to launch another assault towards the heart of Tenjiku’s troops. Noticing this, Muto rouses himself from being knocked down and brandishes a knife, sprinting towards Souya while refusing to admit defeat.
Just as he was about to reach striking distance, Kakucho intercepts his charge and gut punches him, ordering Muto to stop from sinking so low as to corrupt Tenjiku’s mission. The remaining members of Toman begin to wonder why he would attack his own comrade, only to have their hopes of victory dealt a further blow when Kakucho single-handedly defeats all of them using his inhuman speed and power. With this, only Takemichi is left standing as the Tokyo Manji Gang’s last hope.
Victory Or Death
Kakucho tells Izana that he can punish him later for his insubordination, as the latter nonchalantly remarks that it is unnecessary if he finishes the fight all by himself. Approaching Takemichi, Kakucho explains to him that he is not the person he knew from their childhood together, as the former acknowledges this and notes that he has joined a group of murderers. Enraged, Kakucho begins to brutally beat Takemichi in a one-sided affair.
The scene cuts away to flashbacks of Kakucho’s childhood with Izana at the orphanage, illustrating the depth of their relationship. Noting that Takemichi could never understand his bond with Izana, Kakucho declares that he can kill Takemichi without any hesitation, and that he would follow Izana to hell if he had to. Unimpressed by Takemichi’s lack of resistance, Hajime Kokonoi asserts that Seishu Inui made a mistake in entrusting the future of Black Dragon to him, as Chifuyu begins to fear for his captain’s life.
In spite of his bloodied and bruised face, Takemichi refuses to give in and gets back up each time he gets knocked down, gradually shattering Kakucho’s resolve. Deriding him for his lack of conviction, Takemichi asserts that Kakucho is conflicted, and lacks the resolve to really kill him. Questioning his motives, Takemichi urges him to think of why he follows Izana so blindly, despite Izana’s role in orchestrating the death of his own sister Emma, as well as his personal vendetta against the Sano family.
Reiterating that Izana is his hero, Kakucho punches Takemichi once more, only for the latter to rise up again, to the astonishment of everyone gathered there. As Kakucho rushes towards Takemichi, Chifuyu throws his body in the way and begs him to stop, halting him in his tracks. Facing Takemichi, Chifuyu notes that they have done well in a fight that was always impossible to win, and that Toman should take their loss and move on, before his captain loses his life.
Forbidding any notion of conceding the fight, Takemichi yells that as long as he remains standing, Toman will not lose. This singular statement reverberates through the crowd, who cannot fathom the depths of Takemichi’s resolve. Turning to Kakucho, Takemichi says that he has no hope of winning unless he is willing to lay down his life. At this moment, a familiar figure pushes comes to fore, and chides Takemichi’s ideals. Pointing a handgun towards Takemichi’s forehead, a smirking Kisaki Tetta inquires whether Takemichi himself is ready to die in exchange for victory, bringing the episode to a close on one of the most tense cliffhangers yet seen in Tokyo Revengers: Tenjiku Arc.
