Considering that the Tokyo Revengers storyline involves a plethora of twists and turns, many of which are due to multiple timelines, there are certainly a ton of details for fans to keep up with. However, many fans still wonder why Kisaki calls Takemichi a “Hero”, especially since Kisaki is well-known for absolutely hating Takemichi.
Kisaki calls Takemichi “Hero” as a means to reference that Takemichi showed bravery where Kisaki could not, saving Hina from bullies as a child and ‘stealing’ her heart in the process. Kisaki began hating Takemichi in Tokyo Revengers ever since that day, but the “Hero” reference still comprises a convoluted mixture of resentment, jealousy, and admiration.
Although Kisaki calling Takemichi “Hero” can come across as a simple compliment, there are plenty of mixed emotions behind the name – at least, from Kisaki’s perspective. Stick around to find out everything there is to know about Kisaki’s complex view of Takemichi, as well as why he calls Takemichi “Hero” in Tokyo Revengers.
Kisaki and Takemichi in Tokyo Revengers
Tetta Kisaki has been seen as a main villain in Tokyo Revengers, and for plenty of good reasons. This character is known for some outlandish acts with little to no logic, rhyme, or reason, but the history between Kisaki and Takemichi Hanagaki goes way back – well into their childhood years.
As a child, Kisaki was incredibly intelligent for his age but he was pretty much an outcast, as he did not have any friends and was treated quite badly by his classmates. However, Hinata Tachibana (more commonly known as “Hina”) was the only one who ever showed him care, love, friendship, or affection – although, it was generally believed to be platonic and goodhearted on Hina’s part.
Kisaki was moved by Hinata’s kindness, and he soon began falling in love with Hina hoping to one day be with her when they grew up. But, his initially timid, weak, and fearful personality prevented him from being confident or expressing his true feelings.
While Kisaki was walking home from school one day, he noticed that Hina was being bullied. Despite his feelings towards her, his weakness prevented him from intervening or defending her – instead, Kisaki chose to hide behind a wall and simply watch as her bullies continued to harass and mistreat her.
Takemichi entered the scene around this time, also seeing Hina being bullied. However, unlike Kisaki, Takemichi was quick to jump into the middle of conflict and defined Hina from the bullies – engaging in the combat necessary in order to protect her.
Why Does Kisaki Hate Takemichi?
Hinata looked at Takemichi, and Kisaki saw that she had a new level of admiration in her eyes. He realized that Hina would likely begin falling for Takemichi after he portrayed such a level of bravery. Hina and Takemichi would ultimately end up together on multiple timelines and Kisaki believed that Takemichi had ‘stolen’ Hina’s heart from Kisaki, which is what ultimately led Kisaki to hate Takemichi over time.
Kisaki tried to become the most powerful leader of the Toman, believing that he would win Hina back after establishing a position in power. He managed to successfully fool and even manipulate many of the characters in Tokyo Revengers during the process, although he always held a deeply rooted resentment and hatred towards Takemichi.
He eventually turned into a full-blown villain, becoming a cold-blooded killer whether by his own hands or through more indirect means such as manipulation and control. He relentlessly terrorized Atsushi, Takemichi’s childhood friend, which led to Atsushi taking his own life on multiple timelines, and he was also responsible for Hina’s death – the very woman he claimed to love so much.
Takemichi’s plan to take down Kisaki only started when he learned that Kisaki had a major role in the Toman’s downfall as well as Hinata’s death. Saving Hinata was the primary motive for Takemichi to use his time-leaping abilities at the beginning, although he would eventually use them to help save everyone.
Why Does Kisaki Call Takemichi “Hero” in Tokyo Revengers?
The main reason for Kisaki calling Takemichi “Hero” stems from Takemichi jumping in to save Hina from the bullies during their childhood, which ultimately sparked their future romance and marriage once they became adults. Kisaki is very clearly still upset about Takemichi ‘stealing’ Hinata away from Kisaki, simply because Takemichi acted as the hero in that situation.
Kisaki confirmed this within Chapter 182 of the Tokyo Revengers manga series, stating that a “hero” came to save Hinata and stole her heart in the process. He began tailing Takemichi ever since that day, hoping to make his life a misery while surpassing all of Takemichi’s successes and gaining power.
However, many Tokyo Revengers fans argue that there are underlying notes of admiration as well – although it’s definitely overshadowed by Kisaki’s anger, jealousy, and resentment. There’s a pretty strong chance that Kisaki still admires Takemichi in a twisted way, especially considering that Takemichi has shown bravery and heroism, unlike anything that Kisaki could have accomplished (at least, in his dark mental state).
Could Kisaki and Takemichi be Friends?
Despite Kisaki hating Takemichi so much, there’s more than enough evidence to show that they could have really gotten along quite well under different circumstances. Takemichi even states that he and Kisaki could have been friends, or at least friendly rivals, had Kisaki not followed down such a dark and twisted path.
Kisaki and Takemichi actually managed to team up during the Tokyo Revengers Christmas Showdown arc. This arc follows Takemichi and Chifuyu as they try to create a plan to stop Hakkai Shiba from killing his older brother, Taiju – the leader of the Black Dragons.
This event would have a huge impact on the timeline, causing the Toman to go down a dark path, and Kisaki only helps Takemichi in the task in Chapter 85 of the Tokyo Revengers manga series since Kisaki also wants to stop the Black Dragons. While the alliance is only temporary as a means to an end in this timeline, it does show that there could be hope for Kisaki and Takemichi’s relationship.
Fortunately, (spoilers alert) in the final time leap where both Takemichi and Mikey travel back in time to when they were kids, Takemichi successfully managed to prevent the grimmest and most unfortunate twists of fate for just about everyone in Tokyo Revengers. This includes the multiple deaths of Mikey, Draken’s death, Emma’s tragic fate, and much more, but it also includes Kisaki’s descent into madness.
After this final leap, Takemichi is able to prevent Kisaki from following down this dark path filled with delusion over his unhealthy and obsessive crush on Hina, instead becoming Kisaki’s best friend and convincing him to become the 8th founding member of the Toman. At Takemichi and Hina’s wedding over a decade later, Kisaki can be seen overlooking the celebration as everyone cheers – although, he doesn’t look as happy as others, which still leaves some room for speculation.
The ending of Tokyo Revengers is still seen as controversial by many fans, with many unanswered questions and unexplained changes in the plot. But, Kisaki’s positive shift has certainly had a massive impact on the entire final timeline as a whole – preventing many of the tragic events that led Tokyo Revengers characters to an unfortunate end.
That’s everything there is to know about why Kisaki calls Takemichi “Hero” in Tokyo Revengers, with images thanks to the Tokyo Revengers Wiki. Although many fans assumed that the name was intended to be a compliment of sorts, it’s more likely that the name stemmed from a mixture of admiration and jealousy at the time it was used – with a possible touch of sarcasm.
