‘Tokyo Revengers’: What Is Hakkai’s Secret?

Adapting the manga written and illustrated by Ken Wakui, Tokyo Revengers anime wrapped up its second season in April this year. After the successful first season left all fans at the edge of their seats with the intense cliffhanger at the end of the final episode, Takemichi’s story in Tokyo Manji continues. The second season revolves around new characters that are key to changing the future, which we witnessed at the end of season one, thus focusing on the gang known as Black Dragon.

Hakkai, the youngest of the three Shiba siblings and vice-captain of Toman’s second division, is forced to face his older brother, Taiju, and the traumas he suffered at his hands in order to protect his sister. The conflict escalates to a point where multiple members of Toman are involved in a fight against Taiju and Black Dragon. As the story reached its climax, Hakkai revealed that the target of Taiju’s violent outbursts was not him but his sister, Yuzuha. The truth only known to the members of the Shiba family was that Yuzuha stood in defense of her younger brother, Hakkai, and took the beatings for both. Meanwhile, the story that was presented to everyone else had Hakkai play the role of his sister’s protector.

The built-up tension and emotions all led up to a thrilling finale. The catharsis opened the door towards a different tomorrow, as the character faced their past instead of having reacted based on their harbored resentment. Here is how it all falls into place.

What is currently the future of Toman and Black Dragon?

The second season begins where the final episode of season one left off. With Chifuyu murdered by Tetta Kisaki, Takemichi’s disbelief and desperation grew, as Kisaki then turned to him and pointed a gun to his head, bidding farewell to “his hero.” Before Kisaki could pull the trigger, the lights went out, and an intruder appeared and fought the gang members in the room. The intruder turned out to be Kazutora, who took Takemichi out of harm’s way.

Through his conversations with Kazutora, Takemichi learns that Chifuyu consulted with him regarding Toman’s future and worked in secrecy so that the gang could once again be something they are proud of.

As Toman grew, it became less homogeneous, with some wanting to use the gang’s position and influence for their gain. That being said, the leadership itself stopped caring about morals and any sense of pride or unity. Toman got huge by engaging in various criminal activities, including drug dealing, prostitution, illegal casino, loansharking, and murder. It became a criminal gang with zero ethics that even the police couldn’t touch.

According to Kazutora, when Black Dragon had its renaissance with Taiju as their leader, Hakkai left Toman, after which he murdered his brother, Taiju, for money (or so the rumor went). After the abrupt change in leadership, the remnants of Black Dragon, led by Hakkai, joined Toman and became Mikey’s heavy hitters who would do anything for money. 

It seems that the mounds of cash being poured into Toman by Black Dragon, including their preparedness to do anything to obtain it, was one of the key reasons why Toman now represented everything Baji and the founding members fought against. Another key element is, of course, Tetta Kisaki – the captain of Toman’s Third Division. His position allowed him to get close to Mikey, which is when his violent nature and endless schemes started to take hold and corrupt Mikey. Consequently, the change in Mikey was reflected in Toman itself.

What needed to change for this timeline to be altered?

Once Takemichi returned in time, being the captain of Toman’s First Division, he soon crossed paths with Hakkai – Second Division’s vice-captain. As the two became friends, Takemichi found it hard to believe he would ever murder his brother for money and Black Dragon’s leadership position. Hakkai’s admiration for his superior, Takashi Mitsuya, who stood so proudly as he defended what he believed in and always protected his family, made him desire nothing more than to remain his trusty subordinate.

The thought became clearer once Takemichi finally learned of the abuse that had been taking place in the Shiba household for years. Much like Hakkai followed Mitsuya as his underling, his personal life was known to also follow a similar path as Mitsuya’s, since both acted as their siblings’ protectors. However, Hakkai’s situation had been far more dangerous since his brother did not tend to hold back on his punches.

Unable to stand up to him in a fight, Hakkai took it upon himself to protect their family when he confronted his brother by stating that he would henceforth be taking the beatings for both himself and his sister. 

Moreover, Hakkai stated that being a leader seems more like a nuisance than anything. He dismissed the idea of being restricted by the rules of being a leader and expressed how he was content with remaining a vice-captain under Mitsuya, for it was Mitsuya who taught him to use his power to protect and showed him what affection and love towards family means, as an older brother should.

Considering what horrendous future awaits if things don’t change, Takemichi turns to Chifuyu and tells him everything about his ability to go back in time and the events that would occur if nothing was done.

Together, they began to plan how to stop Hakkai from becoming a murderer and prevent the scenario in which Black Dragon joins Toman from happening. For that, they joined forces with Hanma and Kisaki, whom they knew were a deceiver and a trickster.

Was Takemichi’s plan a success?

With Kisaki on the team, they followed his plan after he provided them with an opportunity to obtain inside information from a member of Black Dragon. Once they learned that Taiju would be alone on Christmas Eve when he went to a chapel, they assumed that was when Hakkai would make his move. Thus, the four left for the chapel early to try and reason with Hakkai. 

However, everything ended up being yet another one of Kisaki’s games. While he was seemingly working with Takemichi and Chifuyu, he was setting the stage for Yuzuha, Hakkai, and Taiju’s sister, to kill Taiju. Learning this made Takemichi understand what truly led to the future he saw.

By making Yuzuha murder Taiju, Kisaki’s grasp on Hakkai tightened, as he knew Hakkai would cover for his sister, which in return meant that Kisaki would have the Black Dragon under his control. This allowed him to obtain an even greater authority in Toman and have a stronger impact on Mikey, whom he seems to be using as his star player. 

However, one anomaly seemed to go against Kisaki’s plan. Chifuyu, whom Kisaki and Hanma overpowered just as Takemichi entered the chapel to speak with Hakkai while the three would hold Taiju off for as long as they could, notified Mitsuya of the situation beforehand. After Yuzuha appeared and attempted to murder Taiju, and Mitsuya arrived to stand up for Hakkai and his sister and support Hakkai’s struggle to protect his family, the battle reached its climax.

With Mitsuya beaten when two members of Black Dragon interfered, Takemichi stood up to the merciless fighter and stood his ground. He knew that losing this fight wasn’t an option if the future he saw was to be avoided, but he was also fighting for his friend and carried the burden Hakkai carried all those years – protecting Yuzuha.

Hakkai, the only one in the chapel who wasn’t fighting, finally broke the silence after being eaten up by the secret he kept for so long. He never seemed to show any injuries for someone who has been taking Taiju’s beatings for two. The one bearing the scars was, in fact, Yuzuha. His sister confronted Taiju to protect her younger brother from being beaten.

This lie kept him in chains, but once he spoke the truth and still had his friends’ support, Hakkai finally stood up to his brother in a fight. Moments before Mikey arrived, Takemichi and Hakkai kept attacking the merciless fighter together, no matter how overpowered they were.