Takemichi Hanagaki

Takemichi Hanagaki or Takemitchy (タケミっち,) is the story's protagonist and a young man who can travel back in time: a Time Leaper. In order to save his girlfriend Hinata Tachibana and over time, everyone he comes to care about, he decides to become a top member of the Tokyo Manji Gang in order to do so.

Appearance
As an adult, Takemichi is a man of average height with tousled, wavy black hair. He wears plain, ordinary clothes. He usually has a tired expression due to the stress of life.

As a teenager, his hair is bleached yellow and kept in a "faux hawk" style. When his hair is undone, it appears more similar to his adult hairstyle. He wears Mizo Middle School's uniform, which consists of a dress shirt, black slacks, and loafers when he is at school. During his time with Toman, he wears the gang's attire: a custom black Toppoku with Toman's logo. His eyes are also noticeably larger and more filled with hope, possibly due to having not yet experienced the hardships of adult life. He wears a necklace matching that of his girlfriend's.

He has a massive scar on his left hand from getting stabbed with a knife. He also has a scar on his left foot from a bullet, though it is never shown.

Personality
Takemichi was an individual who has lost his sense of direction. Thus, he had low self esteem, always apologizing for even the smallest things and easily crying. As noted by those around him and even himself, all he is good for is apologizing. He also holds a grudge towards wealthy people because he himself is not very financially stable.

However, going back in time again and again gradually molds Takemichi into a completely different person. Slowly, he turns from a coward into a man with unshakeable conviction. Even facing insurmountable odds, he refuses to back down. He becomes the one who holds Toman together through their hardships and turns into its unofficial leader, guiding even Mikey and Draken onto the right paths. During even Toman's lowest points, it is Takemichi's unyielding spirit that pushes on his fellow companions.

Takemichi is completely loyal to those he considers his friends and fiercely protective of them. He is willing to risk his very life to ensure that they are safe and sound. This loyalty spurs on his determination to create a better future for the ones he cares about. This is shown through his countless leaps back in time to change the gruesome outcome of his loved ones.

In a fight, Takemichi has never backed down. He is more willing to be beaten within an inch of his life than to admit defeat. This has become a huge source of inspiration for Toman's members and has proven instrumental even against all odds.

Takemichi has horrible hygiene and habits. He neglects cleaning his room and has become accustomed to its disgusting state.

Authority
As a captain in Toman, Takemichi has power over his squadron and can lead them as he wishes. His outstanding leadership has been instrumental in strengthening Toman as a whole.

Endurance
Takemichi is nowhere near the strongest fighter, but he is noted to be one of the, if not the most, resilient fighter thus far. He has been shown to take blows that would have knocked cold anyone else and still stand up and even retaliate. He has taken a bullet to the foot and was still able to run in pursuit of his enemy. Thus, his willpower and ability to take hits is his forte.

Fighting Prowess
Takemichi is quite lacking in his attack power. His strength and fighting abilities are around the average delinquent's. Rarely has he won by himself, but his resilience has stalled enemies enough to allow more powerful allies time to rush to the scene countless times. If the situation is desperate enough, his willpower makes it nigh impossible to knock him down. Takemichi's strength scales depending on how high the stakes are. Normally, he has trouble against a few regular delinquents, but he has temporarily knocked out an incredibly strong fighter in his desperation before.

Time Travel
Takemichi possesses a supernatural skill that allows him to time travel. However, he is only able to travel back exactly 12 years. Also, whenever he is in the past, the present timeline does not stop, but keeps going for however long Takemichi is in the past. To trigger this ability, he must shake hands with Naoto in the present to go back to the past and shake hands with him in the past to go back to the present. Whatever Takemichi does has an impact on the present, which allows him to change the future. It seems that his ability can also be triggered if his desire to time leap is strong enough.

As of the Final Arc, Takemichi can now only travel back 10 years.

Quotes

 * (to Naoto Tachibana) "Listen, when you're dealing with punks like them, you gotta have guts. Get ready to be punched! But don't wuss out. Be prepared to fight back like it's life or death. If they're not totally serious about it, that should scare them off."

Etymology

 * The name Takemichi means "military, martial" (武) (take) and "road, way, street" (道) (michi).
 * Takemichi's surname Hanagaki means "flower, blossom" (花) (hana) and "fence" (垣) (kaki/gaki).

Trivia

 * According to the official character book:
 * His favorite food is potatoes.
 * He hates ghosts.
 * His special skill is solving puzzles.
 * The people he respects are Mikey and Draken.
 * The people he dislikes or fears are Peh-yan and Kazutora.
 * His dream: "I don't know what it was... I can't remember."
 * His motorcycle is a twin of Mikey's.
 * He has Mikey's original Toman uniform in his possession.