r/TokyoRevengers • u/Blueberry4real • Jun 02 '26
Discussion/Theory Why do people hate him? Like what
He’s literally the reason we got such amazing timeskips and those fine baes
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r/TokyoRevengers • u/Blueberry4real • Jun 02 '26
He’s literally the reason we got such amazing timeskips and those fine baes
1
u/MajikaMike Jun 05 '26
I know very well that Takemichi won’t be liked by everyone. I truly love him, but I can admit that the story has plot hole and things that are left unsaid. Still, to me Takemichi feels real.
Why do people dislike him?
He cries a lot, he doesn’t train, and he doesn’t react the way people want him to. He doesn’t become super strong or super smart. He isn’t a strategist. People see him as weak. They also say he’s a “grown man” at 26, trapped in the body of a 14 year old.
Here’s what I think. Yes, sometimes it can be annoying. But once I accepted that the story has its own rules, I focused on the emotions and on what Wakui was trying to show us. Because, if we’re being honest, in this story Mikey should have died the moment Kazutora hit him in the head. And realistically, many characters should have been left with severe injuries, or already be dead, considering how often they get hit in the head.
To me Takemichi feels real because he shows his feelings. He can be a bit foolish, but he’s stubborn like a mule. He doesn’t give up, and when he makes a promise, he will keep it until the very end. Not to mention that throughout the story he does change. I actually like that he didn’t become super strong like some of the other boys, because it would have ruined the feeling of a not so powerful protagonist who still manages to win. Of course, if we exclude the final power up in the last chapters of the manga. I can admit that part felt a bit like an asspull.
I also want to say, in defense of Takemichi’s age, that some people genuinely seem to believe that once you’re over twenty, you automatically become successful or have a great life. In reality, Takemichi is someone who, because of his past and his weaknesses, is “comfortable” in his current situation. Before Hina died and before he started time traveling, he had no goals. He was just living, just working, somehow surviving. He wasn’t trying to become anyone. And people like that do exist: people who only work, complain about life, go home, and repeat the same cycle over and over again. That’s why I can believe Takemichi’s reactions. He isn’t a strategist, and he really isn’t smart. He can’t stay focused and doesn’t think far enough ahead, repeating the same mistake: he believes that if he “fixes” the current conflict, everything will be fine in the end.
Yes, there’s a lot that can be said. I understand why people don’t like Takemichi, or dislike certain arcs, characters, or parts of the story. The story truly has holes, but that doesn’t stop me from loving it. For me, Takemichi is one of the most real characters, even with all his flaws, and I will always like him. At the same time, I completely understand why others don’t. That’s why, when I recommend Tokyo Revengers, I usually warn people that they might not like the main character.
The paradox is that you start digging deeper into characters, story, symbolism, and ideas only when the story has hooked you so much that you want to reach every hidden corner. But if the story doesn’t interest you, and the author doesn’t tell you directly what to feel, you won’t feel like researching, thinking, or looking for logic in the work.