TOKYO REVENGERS - CREATOR OF TOKYO REVENGERS REVEALS HIS SECRET OF HOW HE CAME WITH THE PLOT

Creator of Tokyo Revengers reveals his secret of how he came with the plot

Tokyo Revengers franchise has become a super hit amongst anime fans in a short period of time.it is one of the few that easily captured the hearts of manga readers and anime lovers. The plot, which tells the story of a time traveler who has to get involved with delinquent gangs in Tokyo to save the love of his life, offered fans a different perspective on the gang members, friendship, love and sacrifice. 

The Series has become so popular that it even surpassed Jujutsu Kaisen in google search trends. Author Ken Wakui has crafted an amazing story of Gang members, time travel, sacrifice and friendship.

Tokyo Revengers Plot Summary

Takemichi Hanagaki, a 26-year-old freeter with no hope in life, learns one day that his middle school ex-girlfriend, Hinata Tachibana, as well as her younger brother Naoto, have been killed by the notorious Tokyo Manji Gang. When Takemichi is pushed in front of a train one day, he teleports exactly 12 years into the past to 2005. While reliving his middle school years, Takemichi meets with Naoto and divulges the exact date he and Hinata will die. When they shake hands, Takemichi is suddenly transported back to the present, creating a time paradox where Naoto survives and is now a detective. Naoto deduces that every time they hold hands, Takemichi is transported 12 years into the past. Using his knowledge from the future, Takemichi vows to save Hinata.

In the past, Takemichi's friends are forced into underground matches led by Kiyomasa, a member of the Tokyo Manji Gang. Takemichi's determination to protect them: gains the respect of the gang's leader, Manjiro Sano "Mikey".

About the Author: Ken Wakui

Ken Wakui ( 和久井 わくい 健 けん , Wakui Ken) is a Japanese manga artist. He made his debut in 2005 with "Shinjuku Host" published in Bessatsu Young Magazine (Kodansha) and made his serial debut with "Shinjuku Swan" which started in the same year in Weekly Young Magazine (Kodansha).

Ken Wakui is one of the modern-day geniuses. He is the author of the famous ongoing anime and manga series, Tokyo Revengers.  He has compiled some other great mangas too, which have great premise and plot. Still, Tokyo Revengers is his most well-known and impressive work so far. His other works include Shinjuku Swan, Dessert Eagle, Sekisei Inko, and Abaddon

Although his works are famous, we don't know much about him

THE SECRET ON HOW HE CAME WITH THE PLOT

Mangaka Ken Wakui has revealed his ultimate secret as to how he came up with an interesting plot of "Tokyo Revengers."

*Mangaka means a person who creates manga/manga artist*

During an interview in 2019, Interviewer asked Wakui about his inspiration for Tokyo Revengers story. Here is what he answered:

The starting point came from my editor, he wanted to read a story about yankii. 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       

   

*Yanki refers to the slang for a type of juvenile delinquent that appeared in the 1970s and 1980s (in Japanese).*

So the author definitely took some inspiration from his past as a gang member to craft the story of Tokyo Revengers. In another interview, author admits that he wasn’t such a nice boy in school. He even got expelled from school for a month for bad behavior.

Tokyo Manji gang was inspired from one of the biggest gangs of its time, Black Emperor. A post on Reddit suggests that the author was also part of the Black Emperor gang. A photo can be seen below:

Click the link to go to the Reddit account

About the Black Emperor Gang 

The Black Emperors were formed in Tokyo in the 1960s and disbanded officially in 1992. Originally based in Kunitachi, Tokyo, the gang became notorious for their exploits around the city, which included violence and theft, as well as more subversive links to organised crime.

Mitsuo Yanagimachi made his debut feature, God Speed You! Black Emperor, a documentary which chronicles the lives of the gang members as they try to come to terms with the responsibility of being a part of a gang with rigid hierarchal structures. The film is a stark portrayal, not just of a generational sub-culture, but of Japanese society itself. The disenfranchised nature of the Black Emperor’s membership sees teenagers who have been misunderstood by parents and abandoned by the authorities.