WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Tokyo Revengers Episode 19, "Turn around," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Episode 19 of Tokyo Revengers is difficult to watch. Toman is severely outnumbered for their brawl with Valhalla, meaning the hopeless future seen by the time-traveling Takemichi Hanagaki might actually come true.
The inevitable fight between Mikey and Kazutora is a clash of traumas with the latter seeing his former best friend as a mortal enemy now. With the episode titled "Turn Around," is there any possibility for Kazutora to turn around, accept responsibility for his past mistakes and earn redemption?
The Toman and Valhalla gangs are instantly at each other's throats but Kazutora is only gunning for Mikey, who's standing calmly in the middle of the battlefield. Just before Kazutora's fist makes contact with Mikey's face, he gets blocked by Draken.
Tokyo Revengers recently revealed that Kazutora wants nothing more than to kill Mikey, but it's impossible with Draken in the way. So Hanma declares he'll be Draken's opponent, leaving Kazutora alone with Mikey. At first, Draken versus Hanma is fairly evenly matched but Draken is forced to hold back in order to protect the other Toman members -- most are down for the count and have already given up against Valhalla's overwhelming numbers and strength.
Yet Takemichi, the weakest of them all, continues fighting despite his obvious terror. The sight of him wildly pinwheeling his arms is hilarious but it inspires the downed Toman members as they rejoin the fight with renewed vigor, freeing Draken to go all out.
Mikey is lured up a tower of crushed cars, where he narrowly avoids getting knocked down by a surprise kick. Kazutora has chosen not to play fair: it's a four-man battle now, with three strong Valhalla members against Mikey. He also purposefully chose to fight on unstable ground, knowing Mikey won't be able to unleash the full strength of his kick.
Despite all the disadvantages, Mikey isn't the least bit swayed. That is, until Kazutora's cronies latch onto his legs, leaving him unable to defend. In a shocking parallel to two years ago when he killed Mikey's older brother Shinichiro, Kazutora swings his steel pipe at Mikey's head. The sight of Mikey lying still on the ground sends a wave of shock and terror rippling through Toman. Draken is the first to scream Mikey's name -- another haunting parallel to Mikey's reaction when he saw Draken stabbed during the August 3rd battle.
Mikey manages to stand up, face dripping with blood, and asks Kazutora if they are enemies. He remembers Mikey once saying that Kazutora belonged to him, including his pain and suffering. He also recalls his childhood when his father abused him and his mother, ultimately choosing between his two parents.
Kazutora's sense of right and wrong is warped by his traumatic childhood and as a result, he can't seem to differentiate between the two. From a young age, he was told by his mother that he can only choose one side. He shifts his guilt onto Mikey, blaming him for all he's been through. Kazutora says killing is wrong -- but not if you're killing an enemy. And if Mikey is an enemy, then Kazutora himself is a hero for killing him. By his twisted reasoning, if Kazutora is a hero then he can't be blamed for Shinichiro's death -- Mikey can. The Toman members, frozen in horror, can only watch as Kazutora whacks the Toman leader on the head with increasing viciousness.
With a murderous glint in his eyes, Mikey head-butts the Valhalla member behind him. He lifts up the leg with the other member and in that same motion, knocks out Kazutora with a powerful kick. In a blink of an eye, Mikey has somehow defeated the three Valhalla members. As Tokyo Revengers continues, burning questions remain: will the rest of Toman be enough to defeat Valhalla? And what are Mikey's feelings toward Kazutora after all that's happened between them?
