Tokyo Revengers Chapter 268 brought fans one of the biggest revelations of the entire franchise. For months, the community has been asking who could be the mysterious second time-leaper that was foreshadowed before the death of Kisaki.
The fandom believed many characters to be behind the mystery of the second time traveler. Hanma, Sanzu, Kisaki, or even someone we had yet to meet at that point in the series. Yet, no one was prepared for the real identity behind the second time-leaper, someone extremely close to Mikey. Continue reading to learn what this may mean for the future of Tokyo Revengers and Mikey himself.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for the Tokyo Revengers manga and reflects the author’s opinion.
Why are both time-leapers connected to Mikey in Tokyo Revengers?
At best, the information Tokyo Revengers fans had about Shinichiro until yesterday was scarce. We knew he was the first leader of the Black Dragons, Japan’s most powerful gang in the past, and that Mikey admired him very much. His tragic death occurred years before the series started, meaning fans could only see Shinichiro in flashbacks.
Yesterday’s chapter not only gave fans more information about Shinichiro, but it also revealed something huge about this enigmatic character. Shinichiro was the mysterious second time-leaper this whole time. As stated by Mikey, the love he felt for his younger brother led Shinichiro to alter the original timeline of the series before the manga began.
By doing this, he saved Mikey from an undisclosed tragic ending, which will likely be explored in future chapters. However, altering the timeline did not come without a cost. Shinichiro is now dead in the current timeline of Tokyo Revengers, and Mikey is turning into a dark reflection of himself.
Due to Shinichiro’s death, the time-leaping powers the Black Dragons’ leader used to possess were given to Takemichi. As of yet, the manga has not officially explained why Takemichi was the one given the powers. Nonetheless, there have been many clues as to why this was the case, all revolving around Mikey’s and Takemichi’s relationship.
Why was Takemichi selected to take Shinichiro’s place?
Before the start of Tokyo Revengers, Takemichi never once interacted with Mikey. In the original timeline, Takemichi had nothing to do with Toman, and while his life was boring, he lived in relative safety. He never had to put his life on the line to save Manjiro as he is doing now.
That role fell into Shinichiro’s lap, who ended up sacrificing himself to create a timeline in which Mikey was safe. Sadly, his attempts to protect his little brother were not enough to ensure his survival, so destiny chose someone similar to Shinichiro to receive his abilities, Takemichi.
Fans of the series know that Takemichi is extremely similar to Shinichiro. They are both upbeat individuals who always fight for what is right, no matter if they lack the strength to win. Mikey is aware of these facts, something he has repeatedly revealed to Takemichi. The void Shinichiro left behind in Mikey’s life was only filled when Takemichi traveled back to the past.
Why does the timeline revolve around Mikey?
Despite not having an official explanation as to why Takemichi was elected as the new user of the time-leaping ability, his similarities with Shinichiro seem to be the reason why. Nevertheless, a question remains for Tokyo Revengers fans. Why do the events of the manga mostly revolve around Mikey?
After the events of Chapter 268, we are now aware that the entire story of the franchise began with Shinichiro altering the main timeline for Mikey’s sake. Even when Hina was the person Takemichi was trying to save, Mikey always had a prominent role in future events. In most timelines, he was either dead, a criminal, or missing.
It is possible that Shinichiro was unable to create a future in which Mikey was allowed to live a happy and long life. Sadly, since he is already dead, at least in the current timeline, he will not be able to save his brother.
Perhaps Takemichi was selected by Shinichiro himself due to how alike they both were, with the hope of Takemichi finishing the job he had started. But, given that Mikey believes his brother is still alive somewhere in time, as proven by his use of the present tense when referring to him, Takemichi could have misinterpreted his mission.
There is a chance that Takemichi was given that power to save Shinichiro instead of Mikey. All the issues in Tokyo Revengers started with the oldest Sano sibling, so it would make sense for all of them to be solved by him as well.
Final thoughts
Shinichiro being a time-leaper was something that no one in the community was expecting. Fans expected a more prominent character to assume the role, as Shinichiro has barely been discussed in the franchise. Regardless, now that he was revealed as the second time traveler, fans can be sure that he will play a major role in this final arc of the manga.
Luckily for us, Mikey is starting to open up with Takemichi about his darkness and its origins. This will greatly help Takemichi when the time to save Mikey comes, which appears to be getting closer. We will have to wait and see what Wakui has in store for us in future chapters of Tokyo Revengers before making a final statement about the issue.
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