Tokyo Revengers: How Kazutora Is Being Set Up For Redemption

In Tokyo Revengers, there are few characters who have gotten fans as riled as Kazutora. While coming off as a charming and likable character when first introduced, it didn't take long for fans' perception of him to change. Not only did Kazutora want to kill Mikey, but he was even responsible for the death of Mikey's older brother, Shinichiro, and Baji.

Despite all this, Tokyo Revengers managed to end its first season with Kazutora having only one clear path ahead of him, one that leads to redemption and a return to the Tokoyo Manji Gang. Both Mikey and Draken, and seemingly the rest of the Toman founders, have forgiven him for his past actions and refuse to let him try and commit suicide as a way of making amends. When they tell him this, they also make it clear he will always have a home in Toman.

While it's unclear what Kazutora's own family is like, it's fairly evident that "family" does mean something to him. When riding with Baji on the night of Shinichiro's death, see Kazutora stares intently at a family through a window. This moment subtly makes it clear that family is something Kazutora feels strongly about, but in what way is still a mystery. What's for certain, though, is that Kazutora sees Toman and Mikey as his own family.

tokyo revengers kazutora declares war

This is partly what leads to Kazutora's mental breakdown after he kills Shinichiro, with him struggling to believe that he actually killed the brother of his close friend. Unable to cope with his own actions and their obvious consequences, he deludes himself into believing that Mikey was really his enemy and therefore his actions were justified. It wasn't until his actions led to Baji sacrificing himself for him and Toman that Kazutora finally snaps out of it. While he has been forgiven for what happened, in his own eyes he has yet to fully atone and be redeemed.

The ending of Bloody Halloween shows Kazutora back in a juvenile detention center. Responsible for yet another death, especially so soon after he was released, Kazutora says that it's likely he'll be imprisoned for at least a decade, despite his young age.

As crushing as this was for Takemichi, Kazutora felt like he deserved much worse. Realizing this, Drakken makes it clear to him that suicide isn't the solution and that neither he nor Toman will forgive him if he decides to go down that path. In this sense, it becomes apparent that the first step towards Kazutora's redemption is to survive, more specifically to survive himself. If his negative thoughts of grief, hate and jealousy are what led him to commit the acts he did, then he must learn how to not let those same emotions control him any longer.

But what comes after that is much less clear. While it was stated that he'd be imprisoned for a decade, there are multiple ways that could change. Good behavior or a successful appeal could affect Kazutora's sentence and, with Kazutora focused on righting his wrongs and turning his life around, it's more than possible that expedite his sentence could be expedited.

tokyo revengers young baji and kazutora

The next part of his atonement is much more difficult to ascertain. As a free man, Kazutora will probably try to return to Toman and Mikey. Considering his complicated relationship with Mikey, it's likely that, in Kazutora's eyes, he owes his commander a life debt. After killing his brother and oldest friend, Kazutora would want to redeem himself in Mikey's eyes more than anyone else's, and if Mikey represents Toman as a whole, his forgiveness would have a lot of weight behind it. For Mikey to forgive Kazutora, all of Toman must forgive him too.

Kazutora's path to redemption might be a complete mystery at the moment, but it's likely that Toman's dark future will play a role. As someone who will be close to Mikey and feels responsible for Baji's death, he might become the secret weapon that Toman needs to overcome Chisaki's scheming.

Based on what Takemichi and Naoto have been able to uncover, Chisaki's goal is to endear himself to Mikey and then quietly take over the Tokyo Manji Gang without anyone really noticing. Regardless of how Takemichi would foil his plots, Chisaki always seems to find his way into the winner's spot. Oddly enough, during the Bloody Halloween, Kisaki lets slip that Baji was the only one who had ever successfully beaten him, but in what way, at what event, even the timeline that this happened in is still unclear. With Baji dead and unable to fill that role anymore, Kazutora could become Toman's next dark horse.

In the Tokyo Manji Gang, Mikey is in charge, with Drakken acting as his vice-captain and right-hand man. While never stated outright, Toman's First Division Captain, Baji, essentially filled the role of left-hand man. If the right-hand man is meant to support and assist the boss out in the open, the role of the left-hand is usually to do the same, but from the shadows. Baji proved his unofficial title when he publicly quit Toman to go undercover at Valhalla and end the threat of Chisaki. With Baji now gone, Kazutora might be the key in ultimately doing so.

tokyo revengers kazutora valhalla

While Takemichi and Chifuyu have taken it upon themselves to try and take down Chisaki, Kazutora has more reason than anyone to do so. Chisaki recruited and manipulated him into joining Valhalla to kill Mikey, and then through his and Hanma's own machinations, directed him into stabbing Baji. To try and save Kazutora from his own guilt damaging his psyche further, Baji kills himself to ease his friend's burden. Chisaki basically used Kazutora like a gun and fired him at Baji, making him just as responsible, if not more so, for his death.

As much as Kazutora might blame himself for Baji's death, there's no doubt that he'd want all those responsible to pay dearly for it. If he finds out that Chisaki had a hand in what happened, there's a good chance that he'd want revenge. This, plus the threat Chisaki poses to Mikey, would most likely spur him to act immediately and ruthlessly.

As of now, Kazutora is the only member of Toman who has actually killed anyone, and while he may have sworn against doing it to his friends, his enemies are an entirely different matter. Kazutora won't want anything to happen to his friends and won't forgive himself for having a hand in hurting them, let alone anyone else. And after everything he has put Mikey through, it's even likely that he'd happily sacrifice his own life for his commander's wellbeing.

Currently, Kazutora is the greatest weapon Toman has in their arsenal. He's a founding member that's as strong as a captain, if not stronger, and seemingly has nothing in his life outside of Toman. He lives for the sake of Toman and would gladly die for it, making him Chisaki's greatest threat yet.

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