Tokyo Revengers Season 2 release date on Disney+ in Winter 2023 confirmed by trailer PV

Tokyo Revengers Manga English
The Tokyo Revengers Season 2 anime TV series will have Takemachi Hanagaki time-traveling once again to confront the Black Dragons, a gang that corrupts the Toman from the inside. In short, Takemichi is going to tell these gang members the title of manga Chapter 79. Pic credit: Ken Wakui

The Tokyo Revengers Season 2 release date is officially confirmed to be on January 7, 2023, the Winter 2023 anime season. The 2nd season will have a total of 13 episodes released as 1 cour.

The second season is officially titled Tokyo Revengers: Seiya Kessen in Japanese. According to BD/DVD distributor Pony Canyon, the anime sequel will be officially titled in English as Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown.

The Tokyo Revengers Season 2 OP (opening) theme song music “White Noise will be performed by Official HIGE DANdism, while the ED (ending) “It might be painful, but I still love it.” will be performed by TUYU.

The 2nd Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown trailer PV features the OP song White Noise. The preview video was released on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2022.

On November 29, 2022, it was announced by Disney+ Japan that Tokyo Revengers Season 2 is streaming worldwide exclusively on Disney-operated platforms including Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar. This announcement was part of an expansion of strategic collaboration between Disney and Kodansha.

It hasn’t been confirmed yet whether new episodes will be released internationally on a weekly basis. Further details will be announced in the future.

Similar to the situation with Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, it’s possible that Disney-owned Hulu will be streaming Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown Arc in the USA while other countries will be using Disney Plus.

This is quite the coup for Disney, especially since Crunchyroll literally operated and maintained the official Tokyo Revengers English Twitter account.

The first Tokyo Revengers Season 2 PV trailer was released on October 31, 2022.

But since the Tokyo Revengers manga’s ending was released in Fall 2022, what does that mean for the anime TV show series?

On October 19, 2022, the manga series released the climax chapter and made an important announcement for the franchise. Since Tokyo Revengers Season 2 has already been confirmed, the series confirmed that Tokyo Revengers’ final chapter will come out on November 16, 2022. Thankfully, the ending leaves plenty of chapters for the anime series to adapt with multiple seasons.

On November 2, 2022, more info and a key visual for Tokyo Revengers Season 2: Christmas Showdown was revealed in Weekly Shounen Magazine Issue 49, 2022. But this info was leaked ahead of time by anime news leakers Sugoi LITE and Shonen Leaks.

It was also released online by the official Toman anime Twitter account on October 31, 2022.

Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown
The key visual for Tokyo Revengers Season 2 shows off the character designs for Captain Taiju Shiba and his sister Yuzuha. Pic credit: Studio Liden Films

The big announcement was two new Tokyo Revengers Season 2 cast members. Captain Taiju Shiba will be voiced by Tomokazu Sugita, while Taiju’s sister Yuzuha Shiba will be voiced by Mikako Komatsu.

On October 31, 2022, the Tokyo Revengers Halloween Special 2022 was live streaming.

Japanese voice actor Masaya Fukunishi (Blue Period, Haikyuu!!) will voice Draken now that voice actor Tatsuhisa Suzuki has dropped out from Tokyo Revengers 2. Additionally, Fukunishi will voice Draken in both a July 2022 Season 1 rebroadcast in Japan, and in a two-part Blu-Ray box set that comes out in 2022.

READ: Tokyo Revengers: Baji Keisuke kara no tegami manga spin-off by Natsukawaguchi Yukinori announced

The announcement of the 2023 premiere time frame was made by a new key visual and the second Tokyo Revengers Season 2 teaser trailer.

Presumably, the title Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown is a reference to the manga series’ Black Dragon story arc since the plot takes place near Christmas. The Christmas Showdown arc is about the same length as the Valhalla arc so that’s why Anime Geek successfully predicted that Tokyo Revengers Season 2 will be a single cour anime season.

What’s a “cour,” you might ask? For those unfamiliar with the lingo, a “cour” is a three-month block of TV broadcasting based on the physical seasons usually composed of 10 to 13 episodes.

Thankfully, the manga has more than enough chapters for making Tokyo Revengers Season 3. In fact, there should be multiple seasons and the ending could be contained in Tokyo Revengers Season 5.

Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown
This magazine key visual was also released online on June 18, 2022. Pic credit: Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine

The announcement of Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown was made at the Tokyo Revengers special event ~Tokyo Manjikai Tachikawa Touring~ on December 18, 2021. All of the main Japanese voice actors were in attendance with the exception of the Draken voice actor, who is to be replaced.

Even before the second season was officially confirmed, anime news leakers had also been claiming the second season was already in early production. On December 3, 2021, Sugoi LITE tweeted, “Tokyo Revengers TV Anime Season 2 in development. #東リベ #toman_anime”. On December 12, 2021, SPY tweeted, “Tokyo Revengers Season 2 Confirmed”.

Sugoi LITE and SPY both have a solid history of providing correct anime news leaks. And this wasn’t the first time that anime news leakers said a second season is coming.

Back in May 2021, a different leaker claimed Tokyo Revengers 2 was already in early development. It was easy to believe such leaks at the time since the manga had beaten records and the anime itself has done well. (See the release date predictions section below for more details.)

A special teaser video trailer was released to celebrate the production decision.

Even before the Christmas Showdown arc had been officially announced, the Tokyo Revengers Season 2 anime had been indirectly confirmed by the talent management office of voice actor Tatsuhisa Suzuki, who previously voiced Draken in the first season.

The voice actor had previously announced his hiatus from all entertainment industry events after he and his wife, LiSA, began experiencing poor health following the July 2021 allegations that Suzuki had an affair with a female coworker. Suzuki was hospitalized after the scandal went public, but LiSA reportedly went to the hospital and forgave him.

Although Suzuki has drastically changed his lifestyle and is apparently working things out with his wife, many anime fans were concerned that he might not reprise his role as Ryuguji Ken aka Draken in Tokyo Revengers 2.

In response, Suzuki’s talent management office indirectly confirmed to Yahoo News Japan that Tokyo Revengers Season 2 is already in production.

“The production of the second season of the anime has already started, and an announcement is scheduled to be made by the end of this year,” the reps stated on December 12, 2021. “However, there are no plans to use Mr. Suzuki at this time, which will be a disappointment for him and his fans.”

At the time, Suzuki’s management office could not confirm whether or not Suzuki would return as Draken or not. However, on December 26, 2021, the official website announced that Suzuki “will be replaced after discussions between the office and the committee. The cast and staff of Tokyo Revengers will continue to work together on the production of the Christmas Showdown arc.”

The voice actor had previously stepped from his role as Ultraman Taro in Netflix’s Ultraman Season 2 anime TV series that is coming out in 2022. In early December 2021, Suzuki dropped out from the lead role of Anos Voldigoad in The Misfit of Demon King Academy Season 2 anime. Suzuki also plays characters in the upcoming anime sequels the My Next Life as a Villainess movie, and the Free! The Final Stroke movie.

Suzuki is also the vocalist for the band OLDCODEX. On December 26, 2021, OLDCODEX announced that the unit was disbanding after 12 years. Their last performance was the theme song for the Free! The Final Stroke Part 2 movie that came out in Spring 2022.

Tokyo Revengers Anime
The early key visuals released by the official website highlighted the battle zone of Bloody Halloween and featured characters like Kazutora Hanemiya, which meant manga fans knew the anime’s first season would adapt until at least the Valhalla story arc. Pic credit: Studio LIDEN FILMS

The studio and main staff for Tokyo Revengers Season 2 haven’t been officially announced yet. However, the main staff is reportedly remaining the same. This issue is quite contentious since some anime fans believe the TV series needs better animation in future seasons.

For the first season, the anime was produced by Japanese animation Studio LIDEN FILMS, which is known for recent anime such Blade of the ImmortalHanebado!, and Boarding School Juliet.

In 2021, LIDEN FILMS also released Otherside Picnic, Hortensia Saga, Cells At Work! CODE BLACK and Build Divide: Code Black (surprisingly, Build Divide: Code Black Season 2 was announced ahead of the first season’s premiere).

The first season was helmed by director Koichi Hatsumi (Blue Exorcist, Dororo, Deadman Wonderland). Writer Yasuyuki Mutou (Afro Samurai, Deadman Wonderland, various Mobile Suit Gundam anime) wrote the series composition.

Artist Kenichi Ohnuki (Golden Kamuy, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Mobile Suit Gundam, My Hero Academia) is the character designer. Composer Hiroaki Tsutsumi (Ahiru no Sora, Devil May Cry, Dr. STONE, Jujutsu Kaisen, Monster Musume, By the Grace of the Gods) wrote the music.

The animated short episodes, Chibi Revenger, featured characters in their everyday lives. It’s stated that manga creator Ken Wakui “completely supervised” at least some of these episodes.

For the first season, the Tokyo Revengers OP was “Cry Baby” as performed by Official Hige Dandism, while the ED was “Koko de Iki o Shite” by eill.

The Tokyo Revengers Part 2 OP did not change. The 2nd cour switched to the “Tokyo Wonder” ED by Nakimushi.

The Tokyo Revengers Season 2 release date may be on the horizon, but at least the Tokyo Revengers Part 2 episodes completed another story arc in 2021. The Tokyo Revengers Blu-Ray/DVD box sets are being released in six volumes. Initially, the total number of episodes wasn’t shown, but by September 2021 it was revealed that the first season had 24 episodes in total with two cours.

Tokyo Revengers Part 2 was not a “split-cour” anime, which is where a single anime season takes a multi-month break before resuming TV broadcasting.

Once a rarity, this type of TV broadcasting schedule has become fairly common. Recent examples include Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2, Mushoku Tensei Part 2, Moriarty the Patriot Part 2, and TenSura: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2 Part 2.

For the first season’s finale, the Tokyo Revengers Episode 24 release date is on September 18, 2021.

  • Updated January 3, 2023: Tokyo Revengers Season 2 Episode 13 ending the 2nd season in 1 cour.
  • Updated December 31, 2022: Added Tokyo Revengers Season 2 trailer 2 and OP music info.
  • Updated December 21, 2022: Tokyo Revengers manga circulation reaches 70 million copies.
  • Updated December 8, 2022: Exact Tokyo Revengers Season 2 release date confirmed.
  • Updated November 30, 2022: Added Tokyo Revengers Disney Plus streaming deal.
  • Updated October 31, 2022: Added Tokyo Revengers Season 2 PV trailer, new key visual, and new VA info.
  • Updated October 14, 2022: Tokyo Revengers manga ending in November 2022.
  • Updated July 8, 2022: Manga circulation reaches 65 million.
  • Updated June 18, 2022: Tokyo Revengers Season 2 release date in Winter 2023. Added key visual and trailer 2.
  • Updated April 24, 2022: Tokyo Revengers Season 2 July 2022 release date rumor is false.
  • Updated December 27, 2021: Draken actor dropped.
  • Updated December 14, 2021: Added confirmation from Draken VA. Added Sugoi LITE and SPY rumor. Added Seven Seas English translation info.
  • Updated September 22, 2021: Added Tokyo Revengers event info and news of Draken voice actor.
  • Updated August 27, 2021: Added Tokyo Revengers real-life backstory.
  • Updated July 12, 2021: Added Tokyo Revengers manga editor interview.
  • Updated June 19, 2021: Tokyo Revengers Part 2 release date confirmed for July 2021. Added new trailer and key visual.
  • Updated May 27, 2021: Added Tokyo Revengers dub release date.
  • Updated May 21, 2021: Added Tokyo Revengers Season 2 rumor.

This article provides everything that is known about Tokyo Revengers Season 2 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.

Disney+ Tokyo Revengers English dub release date predictions

The first season of Tokyo Revengers was streaming on Crunchyroll, VRV, Amazon Prime Video (not in the USA), and Netflix Japan (not Netflix U.S.) with English subtitles.

Crunchyroll’s Tokyo Revengers English dub release date is May 29, 2021. Here is the cast:

  • A.J. Beckles as Takemichi Hanagaki
  • Aleks Le as Manjiro “Mikey” Sano
  • Sean Chiplock as Ken “Draken” Ryuguji

The Tokyo Revengers dub also included Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German dubs.

The Tokyo Revengers Season 2 English dub release date has not been announced by Disney+. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the English dub voice actors are changed since Crunchyroll will not have worldwide streaming rights.

Why we predicted that the Tokyo Revengers Season 2 release date was in 2023

As of December 8, 2022, Kodansha and Studio LIDEN FILMS have officially confirmed the exact Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown release date to be on January 7, 2022. Before then, the June 2022 trailer revealed that the second season is coming out in Winter 2023, which is what Anime Geek predicted.

The fact that no official announcement was made when Episode 24 was released is almost as equally shocking as the cliffhanger ending. But there were plenty of reasons early on to believe the sequel was coming.

On May 18, 2021, anime news leaker ChifuyuMatsun0 claimed, “A second season of Tokyo Revengers is already in development. LIDENFILMS found gold with so little (production).”

No leaked images or any form of source verification was provided, but even back then it was a reasonable claim considering the recent timing of the manga sales reports. Notably, ChifuyuMatsun0 also said, “There won’t be official data so soon, but you can take it for granted.”

The anime sequel announcement wasn’t a surprise since the popularity of the Tokyo Revengers manga has exploded thanks to the anime. Back in March 2021, there were around 8.5 million copies of the manga in circulation. A month later, in April 2021, the series skyrocketed to 14.5 million copies.

The Tokyo Revengers manga dominated the Oricon sales chart in May 2021, selling 2,702,408 copies in total. To put those numbers in perspective, in the same timeframe Jujutsu Kaisen sold 1,655,415 copies, Demon Slayer sold 600,366, My Hero Academia sold 327,318, and Attack On Titan sold 319,081.

By May 7, 2021, the manga reached 15 million copies, and then a week later, it was up to 17 million copies, according to the official Twitter account. On June 3, 2021, the official account celebrated reaching 20 million copies in circulation.

A month later the official Toman account celebrated reaching 25 million copies. On July 21, 2021, the landmark of 32 million copies was celebrated.

By mid-August 2021, the Tokyo Revengers manga officially became the best-selling Kodansha manga within a one-year period by selling 16,532,610 copies, beating out Attack on Titan’s record of 15,933,801 that was set in 2013!

By September 26, 2021, the manga had 40 million copies in circulation. Since there were about 5 million copies in circulation back in September 2020, that means the series has increased the number of copies in circulation by eight times in a single year.

By January 20, 2022, the manga had topped 50 million copies. Half a year later in July 2022, the manga added 15 million copies to reach 65 million copies in circulation. Additionally, the official Twitter account revealed that 7 million copies were purchased by overseas manga readers. By December 20, 2022, the series topped 70 million copies in circulation.

Besides that incredible achievement, there were other reasons at the time to believe that the producers had Tokyo Revengers renewed so quickly.

Tokyo Revengers reviews have been overly positive even from the beginning. There was potential bias since the scores were higher than average even when the first several episodes were released, but that’s largely due to manga readers knowing what to expect from the strength of the manga’s story.

When it comes to bad news, the Tokyo Revengers Blu-Ray sales in Japan were good but not great. According to the Oricon chart, the first BD volume sold 2,942 copies in its first week. (In the same time frame the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train movie Blu-Ray sold an amazing 1.3 million copies in Japan.)

The Volume 2 BD did better, selling 3,616 in its first week. To put the number in perspective, in the same time frame Attack On Titan: The Final Season Volume 1 sold 3,108 copies in its first week.

More importantly, the anime’s episodes often made it to the Top 10 of Crunchyroll’s popular anime list. Streaming revenue is the biggest factor to success, and the Tokyo Revengers anime was often next to Attack On Titan, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen on the list.

Now that it’s confirmed that the anime production committee had Tokyo Revengers renewed, the only question is studio availability since anime productions are scheduled out years in advance.

Studio LIDEN FILMS’ schedule is packed. In 2021 the company animated 9 anime TV series. As of March 2022, the studio has already been confirmed for 7 anime projects releasing in 2022, including Netflix’s Bastard!! anime.

The elephant in the room is the possibility of a studio change. Besides the animation quality issue, the anime production committee might be hoping to strike quickly while the anime is hot so it’s possible the task could switch hands for a quicker turnaround.

Keep in mind that the main staff are contractors who jump from studio to studio for projects so even if there is a Tokyo Revengers studio change it’s possible certain people will return. For example, in the last 10 years Director Kouichi Hatsumi has worked with Manglobe (Deadman Wonderland), Production I.G. (Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex), A-1 Pictures (Blue Exorcist Season 2), and MAPPA (Dororo).

In any case, there was also a false rumor regarding the Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown release date that came out in late 2021. According to a self-described “well-known anime blogger” on Chinese Weibo, the Tokyo Revengers Season 2 release date was supposed to be on July 3, 2022 (after midnight on July 2, 2022), the Summer 2022 anime season.

Obviously, this information was never verified through official sources and we advocated that it be taken with a huge grain of salt as a rumor. Many of the biggest anime news leaks come out of China, so the rumor couldn’t be completely discounted out of hand, but as time passed this rumor became more and more unlikely since the release time frame for any major anime project is typically announced within 6 months of the actual premiere.

Instead, Anime Geek predicted a 2023 release time frame was more likely. Since the production was officially announced on December 18, 2021, it was predicted the second season could come out in 2023, which turned out to be correct.

It’s possible that the rumor about the July 2022 premiere started due to plans to rebroadcast the first season in Japan during Summer 2022.

Tokyo Revengers Majin Symbol
No, the anime doesn’t have Nazi bikers… Crunchyroll is streaming Tokyo Revengers censored due to alterations made by the Japanese. Pic credit: Studio LIDEN FILMS

Watch Tokyo Revengers uncensored! Crunchyroll explains the censorship

Anime fans might be surprised to find out that Crunchyroll’s Tokyo Revengers stream is actually censored. Crunchyroll France explained why they could not stream Tokyo Revengers uncensored.

“We don’t censor anything. This is the version that Japan gave us. We are strictly prohibited from editing or retouching episodes,” Crunchyroll France explained.

Fans of the manga series are saying it’s best to watch Tokyo Revengers uncensored. Yes, there is some additional blood, but the real reason is that censorship impacted the overall visual quality of many scenes.

In fact, by Episode 5, the censorship resulted in many scenes literally having a black screen. Some scenes barely showed the bikers, character animations were simplified, and sometimes glaring lights were used to block the details.

Watching Tokyo Revengers Episode 5 uncensored next to the censored Crunchyroll version shows just how differently the scenes play out.

Tokyo Revengers Manji MangaTokyo Revengers Uncensored
Watching Tokyo Revengers Episode 5 uncensored is much more dramatic in comparison to the censored version that focuses only on Mikey’s face. Pic credit: Ken Wakui/Studio LIDEN FILMS

The reason for the censorship is centered on Tokyo Revengers’ manji symbol, which is used by the biker gang on their clothing uniforms, motorcycles, and flags.

In Buddhism, the manji symbol represents the footprints of the Buddha and it’s intended to represent hope, prosperity, and good luck. Notably, the Tokyo Manji Gang holds meetings at a shrine.

Unfortunately, the shape of the manji symbol somewhat resembles the Nazi swastika, a symbol of terror and hatred in modern times. The Japanese recognize that the manji symbol can cause misunderstanding.

For example, the manji symbol is commonly used to mark temple sites on maps in Japan. To avoid problems, the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is changing the symbol.

Similarly, the producers or anime production committee apparently decided to head off any potential controversy from Western audiences by self-censoring rather than opening with a brief text-based explanation of the historical differences between the manji and swastika.

In practice, this means dramatically altering many episodes to the detriment of the anime series.

Thankfully, the censorship won’t completely ruin the dramatic impact of critical scenes, especially the big battles where many characters are wearing uniforms with the manji symbol on the back. The studio realized they’d need to use a different alteration for those scenes since it’d otherwise be unwatchable.

Takemichi Hanagaki
When the anime’s first season aired in April 2021, the manga was already up to Tokyo Revengers Volume 22. Pic credit: Ken Wakui

Tokyo Revengers manga creator Ken Wakui was inspired by Erased, Re:Zero, and… real-life Black Emperor gang

The story for the anime series is based on the Tokyo Revengers manga by creator Ken Wakui. Serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine since March 2017, the manga series is up to Volume 30 as of November 17, 2022.

Kodansha USA is digitally publishing the official English Tokyo Revengers manga in North America. As of June 2022, the English version was already up to Volume 26.

As for the physical print release, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they will be releasing 2-in-1 omnibus volumes of the English translation beginning in May 2022.

Unfortunately, there are no hardbound physical books released in English yet, so English-only manga readers will need to turn to online services like Kindle or comiXology.

In a Yahoo News interview with Tokyo Revengers manga editor Ichigo Tsuchiy, it was revealed that Wakui started off his second work desiring that it be adapted into an anime. The editor also discussed the inspiration for the story idea.

“At that time, Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World and ERASED were popular. I thought it would be interesting to combine them with a time-lapse story,” the editor explained. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if we crossed them with a time-lapse story?” From there, we came up with an innovative setting that combined a Yankii (delinquents) manga and a time-lapse story.”

In the early days of the manga series, it wasn’t nearly as popular. The editor says he used to go out drinking and claim, “Tokyo Revengers is going to sell 20 million copies, 40 million copies!” but no one believed him.

The editor also noted that the manga started off with a large number of female readers in comparison to adult males. From the end of 2020 to when the anime began airing in 2021 the number of female readers increased even more, and the number of male readers began to include teenagers, as well.

The manga’s momentum reached a critical juncture when Mikey’s speeches became memes on Tik Tok and Youtubers began expounding the manga’s virtues. In the end, the editor believes it’s the strength of the Tokyo Revengers story that caused this great success.

“If the content is interesting, it will sell as long as there is an opportunity for people to find it,” the editor said. “If the content is interesting, the manga will sell. I was able to believe in that again.”

In an interview with French publisher Glenat Editions, Wakui revealed that a major source of his inspiration came from his own past!

“The starting point came from my editor, he wanted to read a story about Yankii,” Wakui explained. “This interested me, but I had no idea what they are like today. This is how I came up with the idea of traveling through time so I could describe what Yankii were like in the early 2000s when I was one of them.”

Ken Wakui Black Emperor Gang
While Wakui did not reveal which real-life gang was the inspiration for Tokyo Revengers, some on Reddit have claimed that Wakui used to be part of the Black Emperor gang. If that’s true, it’s easy to see where the creator got the idea for the symbol for the Tokyo Manji Gang. Pic credit: Reddit/shu49

Wakui also admitted to the French newspaper Le Monde that he was expelled from school for one month due to his bad behavior. His checkered career includes working as a host in a women’s bar in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

One of the reasons he focused on gangs from the past instead of modern times is that he wanted to talk about a time when the furyo had style. Wakui believes that the “old-fashioned furyo were thugs on principle and not for money, as is often the case today.” These ideals resonate in the founding of the Tokyo Manji gang by Mikey and his friends.

Tokyo Revengers manga ending in November 2022

Creator Wakui has hinted multiple times that the Tokyo Revengers manga’s ending is eventually coming, but a final chapter hasn’t been announced by Weekly Shonen Magazine. The Bonten arc seemed like it was wrapping things up, but it’s officially confirmed that there will be more to the story.

Starting with Tokyo Revengers Chapter 208, the manga entered the final story arc. Considering the plot events that have transpired it’s possible this is the twist or complication phase of the story.

In Japanese narratives, there is a four-act structure known as Kishōtenketsu.

  • Ki : Introduction
  • Shō : Development
  • Ten : Twist (complication)
  • Ketsu : Conclusion (reconciliation)

During the Twist phase, the story turns toward an unexpected development, and it contains the yama, or climax, of the story. 

On October 6, 2022, it was officially confirmed that Tokyo Revengers Chapter 274 will contain the climax of the entire story and a color page, too. The Tokyo Revengers climax chapter will be released in Weekly Shonen Magazine Issue 47, 2022 on October 19, 2022.

Late in October 2022 it was announced that Tokyo Revenger Chapter 278 would be the final chapter in Weekly Shonen Magazine Issue 51, 2022. That meant the Tokyo Revengers manga’s ending came out on November 16, 2022.

The final chapter will be contained in Tokyo Revengers Volume 31. The Tokyo Revengers Volume 31 release date is on January 17, 2023.

Takemichi Hanagaki
One fairly random characterization change made by the anime is how it depicted Takemichi Hanagaki cowering before delinquent kids who keyed a car rather than doing it himself. Perhaps the anime’s writers felt that the opening episode needed to create sympathy for the protagonist rather than showing him in a bad light? Besides him being a downtrodden loser, obviously. Pic credit: Ken Wakui

Tokyo Revengers manga compared to the anime

Besides the aforementioned censorship issues, the anime adaptation has remained true to the heart of the Tokyo Revengers manga series.

Some anime fans not acquainted with the manga complained about story pacing issues with the first several episodes, but that’s due to the relatively sluggish pace of the original story setup. Once the Moebius arc started up in Tokyo Revengers Episode 6, the action began to blow up.

To be fair, the first two episodes only adapted one manga chapter each. Those manga chapters were longer than usual, 63 pages and 46 pages, respectively, but giving the initial characterization and plot setup time to breathe was necessary for worldbuilding, which allows for better execution of later plot elements.

Besides, initially slow pacing is far better than the alternative like with Tokyo Ghoul or The Promised Neverland Season 2.

Tokyo Revengers 2nd Cour
The key visual for Tokyo Revengers Part 2 that came out in July 2021. Pic credit: Studio LIDEN FILMS

The pacing began to pick up steam beginning with Episode 3, with all subsequent episodes adapting multiple chapters each. By Tokyo Revengers Episode 10, the anime was up to the opening pages of Chapter 27.

That meant Tokyo Revengers Episode 11 picked up the story again in the Moebius story arc, which ended with Chapters 33.

Tokyo Revengers Episode 12, the mid-season finale, finished the arc before moving onto the Valhalla arc. From Episodes 13 through 21 the pacing averaged around three chapters per episode.

It was a very straightforward adaptation of the Valhalla arc up until Episode 22, which adapted Chapter 63, only parts of Chapter 64, skipped Chapters 65 and 66 to jump to 67. The anime rearranged the presentation of the chapters in order to end on the best possible note.

In rearranging the order of events, Episode 23 adapted the rest of Chapters 64, 65, 66, and 68. This episode winds down the story after a big battle between Toman and Valhalla by resolving a potential conflict between Mikey and Draken in a comedic fashion. Then Episode 24 jumped back to the normal timeline.

Tokyo Revengers 66
“I hope things work out between me and you, too,” Hinata tells Takemichi. His response in this panel could have been the perfect way to end an anime season on a happy note and without a cliffhanger. Pic credit: Ken Wakui

All in all, the finale, Tokyo Revengers Episode 24, found a stopping corresponding to manga Volume 8: Chapter 73.

Honestly, ending with the final page panel of Chapter 73 was shocking. With a gun to Takemichi’s head, ending the first season like this is simply begging for an anime sequel.

The anime could have ended with Chapter 69 since it sets up the conditions for continuing Takemichi’s mission and provides a sense of closure to the first season. Instead, the ending creates an intense desire for a sequel.

The good news is that there is currently enough source material for creating both a second season and Tokyo Revengers Season 3.

Since the next story arc is fairly long, Tokyo Revengers Season 2 would need two cours again. The third season would need to adapt around 48 chapters, perhaps even more if they want to end on a cliffhanger note that introduces the conflict from the Tenjiku story arc. Thus, the second season’s total episode count is likely to be smaller than the first season unless the pacing is reduced.

The best news is that English-only manga readers can immediately read ahead of the anime by jumping to Volume 9: Chapter 74. And with that cliffhanger, you just know many people are dying to know what happens next.

Tokyo Revengers Season 2 anime TV spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)

The last time audiences watched the anime, Bloody Halloween ended in Toman’s victory, and Mikey didn’t kill Kazutora Hanemiya. But it’s not like this was a happy ending.

In Episode 22, audiences learned via a 2004 flashback how the friendship sprung up between third-year student Keisuke Baji and first-year student Chifuyu Matsuno when the latter wrongly assume the older boy was a “poindexter” based on the way he was dressed in school.

Back in 2005, Takemichi sees a different side of Toman Captain Takashi Mitsuya while he’s in school. Despite being in a biker gang, it turns out Mitsuya is the leader of a school crafting club! In thanks for saving Draken during the battle, Mitsuya is personally sowing Takemichi’s gang uniform.

Takemichi
Takemichi’s debut at a Toman meeting wearing his new gang uniform for the first time. Pic credit: Ken Wakui

At the next meeting in Episode 24, Mikey shocks everyone by inviting Shuji Hanma, vice-leader of the Valhalla gang. In the wake of their defeat, Hanma announces that Valhalla is joining Toman as an affiliate under their banner. Since Valhalla numbers 300 members, the Toman gang has suddenly jumped to 450!

While the Toman gang members praise the news, Takemichi is shocked when it’s announced that the joining of gangs was arranged by none other than Tetta Kisaki. Even though Baji gave his life to protect Toman during Bloody Halloween, Kisaki has managed to begin the takeover of Toman, which means Takemichi failed at his mission.

The gang also mourns the loss of Baji by having Chifuyu give a speech in remembrance. Chifuyu believes Baji would have wanted Takemichi to be a leader, so Chifuyu nominates Takemichi to become the first-division captain!

When Takemichi went back to the future in 2017, he’s shocked to discover he’s one of Toman’s top brass! He’s now respected since even the manager lady at his old rental store job bows before him. As a gang boss, he now has a personal car driver and a home in a high-class apartment complex.

Takemichi has no clue what’s going on now and he doesn’t have Naoto’s phone number. He eventually recognizes some of the older faces as belonging to middle school friends.

When he arrives at his apartment, Chifuyu takes Takemichi to an admin meeting… and it turns out Takemichi himself is the top admin!

The good news is that Takemichi has now worked himself into the inner circle of the criminal organization. The bad news is that some of the Toman members are former members of the Black Dragons, and they’re creating friction between the current organization’s leaders.

One is the young Hakkai Shiba who insults the “oldies” in the group. Others include former Black Dragons commanders Seishu Inui and Hajime Kokonoi aka Koko, who manage some of the organization’s business fronts.

Former Valhalla leader Hanma, who is also now a top admin, points out that the purpose of the meeting is that police raided their businesses. Since so many were searched at the same time, it’s believed that they have a traitor in their midst who ratted them out to the police.

The worst part is that Kisaki is at the meeting and everyone bows to him!

Kisaki is still the acting leader of the Tokyo Manji Gang. What’s astonishing is that Kisaki apologizes in private to Takemichi and Chifuyu for his role in setting up Bloody Halloween in order to seize power. For 12 years it’s supposedly been eating away at him that Baji died due to his actions.

While it seems like Kisaki might be a decent guy now, it’s hardly a happy future. After they all share drinks, Kisaki admits he knowingly used Kazutora to kill Baji… and that’s when the room begins to spin and Takemichi blacks out.

Tokyo Revengers 9
Tokyo Revengers Season 2 will pick up the story again in manga Volume 9. Pic credit: Ken Wakui

When Takemichi awakes, he and Chifuyu are tied to chairs. Chifuyu is bloodied and beaten since Kisaki believes Chifuyu ratted Toman out to seek revenge on Kisaki.

And Kisaki is right since Chifuyu admits to being the snitch since he believes Toman has gone rotten. In response, Kisaki shoots Takemichi in the leg and puts the gun to Chifuy’s head.

Right before Chifuyu is executed, he tells Takemichi that Mikey disappeared and Draken got the death penalty. For 12 long years, Chifuyu had been working alone to try and reform the gang, but now it’s all over. Blam!

Warning: The following contains the spoilers for Tokyo Revengers Season 2 Episode 1.

When it seems like Takemichi is about to meet the same fate as Chifuyu the lights suddenly go dark. Takemichi is rescued, but he goes unconscious from the pain of being shot.

Awakening, Takemichi discovers his rescuer is none other than Kazutora, who was recently released from prison. It’s revealed that Mikey has gone completely evil regardless of Kisaki pulling the strings and Mikey has begun purging the old members of Toman.

Kazutora believes it’s a combination of Kisaki’s violence and the Black Dragons’ money that turned Mikey evil. Working together, Takemichi and Kazutora are determined to take back the Toman they loved.

What’s more, Hinata is still dead in this future at the direction of Kisaki. Worse, it was actually Takemichi himself who gave Atsushi Sendo aka Akkun the order to have Hinata killed!

The trick was that this present Takemichi was manipulated since he didn’t know the name of the target Kisaki told him to have whacked. And when the present Takemichi found out he was furious at being set up.

Of course, time-traveling Takemichi doesn’t remember taking any of these actions. It turns out Hinata’s brother Naoto remembers the timeline changing.

Naoto had been working with Chifuyu and they’d backed Kisaki into a corner since Chifuyu had found proof of the murder. Naoto also finds it very suspicious that Hinata was still killed despite all the changes to the timeline.

The detective believes that Kisaki is obsessed with Takemichi and Hinata for some reason. So, the key to solving Hinata’s death is to discover what happened between Takemichi and Kisaki in the past.

Even though Takemichi feels hopeless and powerless, Naoto believes Takemichi can change their terrible world for the better. And so, once more Takemichi embarks into the past to confront Kisaki and the Black Dragons.

Tokyo Revengers Manga
When Takemichi time-travels back to 2005, he’s surprised to find himself bowling right next to Hakkai Shiba, the ex-Black Dragons member who is already part of the Toman gang! Pic credit: Ken Wakui

Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the Tokyo Revengers Season 2 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!

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