Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown

Episode 11

With the last episode wrapping up all the loose ends of this story arc, this week's Tokyo Revengers is all about ever-so-glacially progressing its overarching plot by a few centimeters. That's perhaps a bit unfair – there is one significant shift in this episode that could be a very big deal going forward – but it's definitely how it feels, as much of the larger ramifications in the future storyline are left up in the air. Despite that, there's more charm and heart here compared to episode 10.

For instance, it was nice to see Mikey and the rest of the Toman crew hanging out again. With all the doom and gloom around the gang in this arc, it was easy to forget that these are still teenagers and friends who like goofing around and dunking on each other. So it was a welcome surprise to see Mikey and Draken smiling, laughing, and enjoying themselves while working on Takemichi's new bike. The driving lesson – I guess delinquents don't care about getting the proper licenses – was also endearing, as Mikey takes Takemichi under his wing as he did back when they first met. It's cute and reminds me why I liked these characters before the plot started distending past its breaking point.

By that same sentiment, it was sweet seeing Takemichi give his goodbyes to the gang, even though I knew it was very premature. I haven't read the manga, but I'm wise enough to know that this isn't anywhere near the end of our hero's time-traveling travails; it makes sense for Takemichi, and the declaration of Chifuyu as his greatest friend was also super sweet. These sequences presented a lot of what has been missing from the story as of late. While it's too close to the end to compensate for Christmas Showdown's flaws, they're welcome additions anyway.

Then there's Kisaki's ousting, which I was very happy to see. For one, it was satisfying to see the duplicitous little turd take a loss that he couldn't sneer his way out of. For another, thank god they didn't try to justify him weaseling out of his third straight attempted murder plot. The guy has probably manipulated so many people that to keep him around would have degraded Mikey's character. So it's a very good move to have him kicked out. It will surely cause problems in the future, but hopefully, it'll mean the show's main villain will have to change his plan next time.

Personally speaking, it's frustrating for Takemichi and Co to leave it at that. This whole arc began with us acknowledging that Kisaki had some connection with Hina and Takemichi, and you'd think that would be something we'd clear up before jumping back to the future. Yet, for what feels like the hundredth time, Takemichi declares Mission Accomplished and handshakes back to the future without asking questions he needed to. That was a believable character flaw at one point, but now it's little more than a way to extend the story.

That's also why this episode's return to the future doesn't have the impact of the last one; it's obvious, even if there wasn't tons of source material left to cover, that this isn't the end. Even if Hina survives and Toman doesn't become Kisaki's puppet show, something might go wrong and drive Takemichi back to middle school. It just happens to be Mitsuya who died this time. I'm still wishing for the final episode of this season to turn things around; to work the sleight of hand that made season one's finale such a good hook, but I'm also not holding my breath.

Rating:

Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown is currently streaming on Hulu.