Takemichi Hanagaki

Takemichi Hanagaki, or Takemitchy (タケミっち), is the protagonist of the Tokyo Revengers manga series as well as its anime adaptation.

After learning about the deaths of the Tachibana siblings, one of which was his ex-girlfriend Hinata Tachibana, Takemichi time-leaps exactly twelve years back in time. Through his time-leaping ability, he learns about the infamous Tokyo Manji Gang, a middle school biker gang in the past that is responsible for Hina’s death in the present. After unintentionally rescuing Hina’s brother Naoto from the incident, Takemichi becomes determined to work with him to save Hina from an unfavorable future.

During his time leaps, Takemichi uncovers the Tokyo Manji Gang's history and how it was shaped into becoming a criminal organization in the present. Takemichi becomes a member of the gang and soon, the First Division Captain (壱番隊 隊長). His involvement in Toman would later serve as a way for him to become the leader (総長) of the 11th Generation Black Dragon. As of his latest time leap, Takemichi is the leader of the Second Generation Tokyo Manji Gang.

Appearance
Takemichi stands at an average height with a light complexion. He has bleached yellow hair kept in a faux hawk but sometimes has it down in a tousled style. He bears blue or gray eyes in the anime and green or brown in the manga. He has a scar on his left hand from a stab wound and another scar on his left foot from a bullet wound, although it is never shown. He usually wears either his high school uniform consisting of a white button-up and light gray pants, or his custom gang attire comprising of a black toppoku with the Toman logo and manifesto woven on the sides. He also wears a matching clover necklace with Hina.

In 2005, Takemichi wore the Mizo Middle School uniform, which consisted of a dress shirt, black slacks, and loafers. As an adult, Takemichi has tousled wavy black hair. He wears plain casual clothes, and sometimes his work uniform from CD DVD Rental Store.

In an alternate timeline, Takemichi has slicked back black hair. He wears a striped suit.

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 unshakable 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 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 is noted to be very similar in personality to Shinichiro Sano, with Draken pointing out both are "weak to women, weak at fights, but reliable". Due to being an adult, Takemichi tends to address others more politely.

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.

Charisma
Takemichi is noted by many people to possess an extensive charisma similar to Shinichiro. He has constantly inspired Toman members throughout every fight. His charisma is more prominent after the Kanto Incident and was fought over by top delinquents to have him on their respective teams.

Reputation
Over the course of the series, Takemichi has seen a notorious rise in his name. As he travels to the past and gets himself involved in many fairly dangerous incidents and elevates his status inside of Toman, it has greatly bolstered his delinquent career in stark contrast with his fighting ability. As his many exploits and feats have become public knowledge within the delinquent world, it has granted him an elevated status to the point he was a target for recruitment by some of the most infamous gangs after the Tokyo Sengoku Period. Despite lacking the fighting aptitude normally associated with one with such a historical, those who have witnessed him are fairly aware of Takemichi's character including many just as infamous and more powerful delinquents, which further propels his image. When he openly declared his intentions to defeat the infamous Mikey when surrounded by both Brahman and Rokuhara Tandai, there was not the tiniest shred of doubt among the central figures from either nor from Draken or Inui, a testament that they believe he is capable of such a nigh impossible feat. The only exception being South Terano likely by virtue of personally not knowing Takemichi himself.

Endurance
Takemichi is nowhere near the strongest fighter, but he is noted to be one of the, if not the most, resilient fighters thus far. He has been shown to take blows that would have knocked cold anyone else and still stand up and even retaliate. Among his greatest demonstrations of durability include, but are not limited to: Being stabbed in his hand with a knife and still being able to fight competently and defeat a much stronger enemy; Taking a bullet to the foot and still being able to run in pursuit of his enemy; Getting ambushed with a brick to his head to fundamentally no effect, even though he was already beaten to a bloody pulp. Thus, his willpower and ability to take hits are 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 and allows him to significantly weaken foes stronger than him through exhaustion. 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 down an incredibly strong fighter in his desperation before.

His fighting abilities have nonetheless, been shown to improve over time. Nonetheless, Takemichi lacks finesse and technique in his approach even downright resorting to methods considered disgraceful such as biting. He is later capable of overwhelming the likes of Kisaki in a one-on-one fight, and even kicking the gun Kisaki held at Takemichi out of his hands before he could even react, and all of that, despite being previously beaten to an inch of his life and having a gunshot on his foot.

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.

This time leaping ability has several side effects, for one it causes memory lapses to occur. When Takemichi travels to the past, he often finds himself in situations he does not understand, as his past self still lived his life normally with Takemichi having to piece together how he came to where he is and what he was doing. The same holds true when he jumps back into the present, whether this has changed or not Takemichi awakens with no knowledge of what he was doing at that point in time.

Another effect involves his own persona, because his present self and past self are different despite being the same person, many people note that Takemichi acts more mature at certain intervals, with many people wondering about his rather unusual and drastic personality changes. Whenever Takemichi travels to the past he is in full control of his body and is the dominant entity. It is not known if his past self has any awareness of his future self's time-traveling abilities or whether the past self remains conscious or aware of any of the actions of his future self when it takes over.

This ability to travel in time triggers based on a strong, mutual desire to change specific events in the past to alter the future. When Naoto no longer had any major inclination to change time as he had achieved his goals, Takemichi was unable to travel in time. This ability to travel in time is not limited exclusively to Naoto, but can be triggered by shaking the hands of another individual with whom he shares a strong desire to change events. As of the Final Arc, Takemichi is capable of time leaping by shaking hands with Mikey, however, in this case, he is only able to travel back 10 years into the past. Although this difference in time leaping ability is not fully explained as of yet, it can be hinted that Takemichi can leap only at the precise point of time where his actions can have the greatest impact.

Even though the effects of his interventions on the timeline seem to occur immediately after Takemichi alters certain aspects, the full extent of what has changed is not immediately known to either Takemichi or Naoto. In fact, whenever Takemichi alters the timeline, Naoto is ignorant of any change that occurred, and lives his life normally, as if the time leaping never existed in the first place. It is only when Takemichi travels back into the present that Naoto remembers about the time leaping, thus serving as an instant alert to Naoto that Takemichi has returned. It can be argued that the reverse is true, when Takemichi travels to the past, the past version of the people whom he shook hands with will sense him too. Although Naoto is not seen knowing this, the past Mikey was able to sense that Takemichi was back in the past.

There is a significant limitation to this power, however. In order for Takemichi to time leap back into the present, both he and the person he shook hands with must be alive. If either is dead, then Takemichi is effectively stuck in the past no matter how many times he shakes hands with the person in the present. When this happens his only means to return to the present is by changing the timeline so that both people will live in the present.

It is revealed that he inherited this power from his predecessor, Shinichiro Sano, in the current timeline after the latter successfully saved his younger brother, Mikey from an accident in the past, and saved both Takemichi and Hina from middle school bullies, few months before Shinichiro is accidentally killed by Kazutora. Takemichi first awakened this power in the first timeline of Kisaki's reign involving Hina's first death.

Foresight
After meeting up with Senju Kawaragi, Takemichi sees a future vision of her demise. The current limits and triggers for this power are unknown. He also felt her blood on his hands and clothing. An extension of this power of his was already foreshadowed previously as he had been able at times to catch glimpses of events he himself had no knowledge of but that had already occurred, such as Mikey murdering Kazutora during the Bloody Halloween, or when Hinata rejected Kisaki whenever he confessed to her.

During his rematch with Manjiro Sano, Takemichi's ability to see the future has improved to the point that he can predict Mikey's sudden movements.

Appearances
{{Appearances|Chapters|

Toman Arc

 * Chapter 1 - Reborn
 * Chapter 2 - Resist
 * Chapter 3 - Resolve
 * Chapter 4 - Relieve
 * Chapter 5 - Revolve
 * Chapter 6 - Return
 * Chapter 7 - Rejoin
 * Chapter 8 - Reseparate
 * Chapter 9 - Releap
 * Chapter 10 - Reply
 * Chapter 11 - Reburn
 * Chapter 12 - Remind

Moebius Arc

 * Chapter 13 - Regret
 * Chapter 14 - Resort
 * Chapter 15 - Revive
 * Chapter 16 - Reignition
 * Chapter 17 - Redivide
 * Chapter 18 - Rechange
 * Chapter 19 - Restart
 * Chapter 20 - Reinspire
 * Chapter 21 - Revolt
 * Chapter 22 - Reconflict
 * Chapter 23 - Reseek
 * Chapter 24 - Revoke
 * Chapter 25 - Rerise
 * Chapter 26 - Realize
 * Chapter 27 - Regain
 * Chapter 28 - Reel
 * Chapter 29 - Respect
 * Chapter 30 - Recept
 * Chapter 31 - Recognize
 * Chapter 32 - Rebuild
 * Chapter 33 - Revenge

Valhalla Arc

 * Chapter 34 - Darkest Hour
 * Chapter 35 - Odds and Ends
 * Chapter 36 - Anyone's guess
 * Chapter 37 - Enter the stage
 * Chapter 38 - Break up
 * Chapter 39 - My buddy
 * Chapter 40 - No pain, no gain
 * Chapter 41 - Double cross
 * Chapter 42 - Once upon a time
 * Chapter 45 - Take out on
 * Chapter 46 - Make up my mind
 * Chapter 47 - Level with
 * Chapter 48 - No way
 * Chapter 49 - Grow apart
 * Chapter 50 - Before dawn
 * Chapter 51 - Open fire
 * Chapter 52 - Never fear, I'm here
 * Chapter 53 - Turn around
 * Chapter 54 - Below the belt
 * Chapter 55 - No match for
 * Chapter 56 - The one
 * Chapter 57 - Look up for
 * Chapter 58 - Dead or Alive
 * Chapter 59 - Get mad
 * Chapter 60 - One and only
 * Chapter 61 - In tears
 * Chapter 62 - Last wishes
 * Chapter 63 - One for all
 * Chapter 64 - End of war
 * Chapter 65 - My fam
 * Chapter 66 - Have an affair
 * Chapter 68 - Sunday best
 * Chapter 69 - Big moment
 * Chapter 70 - Tide turns
 * Chapter 71 - Same old same old
 * Chapter 72 - An old tale
 * Chapter 73 - A crybaby
 * Chapter 74 - Get back
 * Chapter 75 - Let one down
 * Chapter 76 - It is what it is
 * Chapter 77 - Gotta go

Black Dragon Arc

 * Chapter 78 - Hey, pal
 * Chapter 79 - Fuck off
 * Chapter 80 - Thicker than water
 * Chapter 81 - Stand alone
 * Chapter 82 - Own up
 * Chapter 83 - Big brother
 * Chapter 84 - Run errands
 * Chapter 85 - Family bonds
 * Chapter 86 - Be serious about
 * Chapter 87 - Strange bedfellows
 * Chapter 88 - Just gotta do
 * Chapter 89 - How you met
 * Chapter 90 - Christmas Eve
 * Chapter 91 - Miss you
 * Chapter 92 - Whip up morale
 * Chapter 93 - Keep one's vow
 * Chapter 94 - Scaredy cat
 * Chapter 95 - The ordeal from God
 * Chapter 96 - Always here for you
 * Chapter 97 - Sibling rivalry
 * Chapter 98 - Strive together
 * Chapter 99 - A verbal shot
 * Chapter 100 - Hundreds of times
 * Chapter 101 - Keep mum
 * Chapter 102 - Salute someone
 * Chapter 103 - Mother figure
 * Chapter 104 - Christmas night
 * Chapter 105 - No one can match
 * Chapter 106 - Dawning of a new era
 * Chapter 107 - Tight-knit
 * Chapter 108 - The light of my life
 * Chapter 109 - Not apt to give any way
 * Chapter 110 - Best wishes
 * Chapter 111 - Season opener
 * Chapter 112 - You're fired
 * Chapter 113 - You have my word
 * Chapter 114 - On my way home
 * Chapter 115 - Turn over a new leaf
 * Chapter 116 - Far from home
 * Chapter 117 - Last order
 * Chapter 118 - Life comes and goes
 * Chapter 119 - Too late to be sorry
 * Chapter 120 - Can take it
 * Chapter 121 - Last but not least

Tenjiku Arc

 * Chapter 124 - When it rains, it pours
 * Chapter 125 - Brother in arms
 * Chapter 126 - Two peas in a pod
 * Chapter 127 - Be fuzzy
 * Chapter 128 - Gang of four
 * Chapter 129 - The longest day
 * Chapter 130 - Pep party
 * Chapter 131 - Rest in piece
 * Chapter 132 - The big baddy
 * Chapter 133 - Sell out
 * Chapter 134 - Mortal enemy
 * Chapter 135 - Even I can
 * Chapter 136 - My lot in life
 * Chapter 137 - Run out of patience
 * Chapter 138 - stick together
 * Chapter 139 - Make an exception
 * Chapter 140 - Back-stab
 * Chapter 141 - Lay out a plan
 * Chapter 142 - Family tree
 * Chapter 143 - Come back to life
 * Chapter 144 - Big-hearted
 * Chapter 145 - Go-to guy
 * Chapter 146 - A bad hunch
 * Chapter 147 - The root of all evil
 * Chapter 148 - Don't freak out
 * Chapter 149 - Arch villain
 * Chapter 150 - Damn it
 * Chapter 151 - Just do it
 * Chapter 152 - Rise against
 * Chapter 153 - NocteKing
 * Chapter 154 - Be in the van
 * Chapter 155 - Turn the tide
 * Chapter 156 - A den of iniquity
 * Chapter 157 - Money monger
 * Chapter 159 - I know in my head
 * Chapter 160 - Stand no chance
 * Chapter 163 - Awake my potential
 * Chapter 164 - Head the list
 * Chapter 165 - Things change, but not all
 * Chapter 166 - Brave heart
 * Chapter 167 - Who wouldn't
 * Chapter 168 - Headliner
 * Chapter 169 - The home front
 * Chapter 170 - Homecoming
 * Chapter 171 - Showdown at the summit
 * Chapter 172 - Lose your touch
 * Chapter 173 - The one and only
 * Chapter 174 - Nothing is left
 * Chapter 175 - Admonitions are not sweet
 * Chapter 176 - What was been left
 * Chapter 177 - Déracinée
 * Chapter 178 - Paradise lost
 * Chapter 179 - End the standoff
 * Chapter 180 - Run after
 * Chapter 181 - Take a vow
 * Chapter 182 - Present to the mind
 * Chapter 183 - Lay the plan
 * Chapter 184 - Wind something up
 * Chapter 185 - Meet his fate
 * Chapter 186 - It's been real

Bonten Arc

 * Chapter 187 - Way to go
 * Chapter 188 - The lion of the day
 * Chapter 189 - Break up
 * Chapter 190 - Until next time
 * Chapter 191 - Be the world to me
 * Chapter 192 - Just be close at hand
 * Chapter 193 - Feel great!
 * Chapter 194 - The keepsake
 * Chapter 195 - lingering scent
 * Chapter 196 - Can say that again
 * Chapter 197 - Be left behind the times
 * Chapter 198 - Lose myself in memory
 * Chapter 199 - Sincerely yours
 * Chapter 200 - Crack a smile
 * Chapter 201 - What's up?
 * Chapter 202 - Get away
 * Chapter 203 - Don't give a damn
 * Chapter 204 - Give me a hand
 * Chapter 206 - Let you down (flashback)

Three Deities Arc

 * Chapter 207 - The final act
 * Chapter 208 - Turbulent period
 * Chapter 209 - Get a grip
 * Chapter 210 - Face the music
 * Chapter 211 - The law of the jungle
 * Chapter 212 - Battle of the titans
 * Chapter 213 - Living legends
 * Chapter 214 - The engine fired
 * Chapter 215 - After a storm comes calm
 * Chapter 216 - Shows her color
 * Chapter 217 - Have never seen anything like it
 * Chapter 218 - Queen it over
 * Chapter 219 - A sense of foreboding
 * Chapter 220 - Bull's-eye
 * Chapter 221 - Ups and downs of his fate
 * Chapter 222 - Give back
 * Chapter 223 - Good old days
 * Chapter 224 - Cutthroat
 * Chapter 225 - Free-for-all
 * Chapter 226 - Dynamic duo
 * Chapter 228 - Beat hell out of
 * Chapter 229 - Go easy on
 * Chapter 230 - Get stuck-up
 * Chapter 231 - Blood-chilling
 * Chapter 232 - It takes two to tango
 * Chapter 233 - Better late than never
 * Chapter 234 - There is no mending
 * Chapter 235 - Just be yourself

Kanto Manji Arc
}} {{Appearances|Episodes|
 * Chapter 236 - Band of brothers
 * Chapter 237 - Make allies
 * Chapter 238 - Really into it
 * Chapter 239 - Steel the show
 * Chapter 240 - Go into retirement
 * Chapter 241 - A forced smile
 * Chapter 242 - Inherit the crown
 * Chapter 243 - Wide array of
 * Chapter 244 - The showdown battle
 * Chapter 245 - Grow up to
 * Chapter 246 - Giant Killing
 * Chapter 247 - Hey dude
 * Chapter 249 - Good chemistry
 * Chapter 250 - Turn the table
 * Chapter 253 - The worst is come
 * Chapter 254 - Train wreck
 * Chapter 255 - Holy cow!
 * Chapter 256 - Behind the scenes
 * Chapter 257 - Tipping point
 * Chapter 258 - Strange bedfellows
 * Chapter 259 - Like a something demoniac
 * Chapter 260 - Squaring off against
 * Chapter 261 - Opposite sides of the same coin
 * Chapter 262 - To rout and ravages
 * Chapter 264 - Not only the force but also... (flashback)
 * Chapter 265 - Stand by me (flashback)
 * Chapter 266 - Make vision a reality
 * Chapter 267 - To signal a counterattack
 * Chapter 268 - Another such
 * Chapter 273 - Carry on
 * Chapter 274 - No holding back
 * Chapter 275 - Cold hearted
 * Chapter 276 - Get over
 * Chapter 277 - At last
 * Chapter 278 - Revengers

Toman Arc

 * Episode 1 - Reborn
 * Episode 2 - Resist
 * Episode 3 - Resolve
 * Episode 4 - Return
 * Episode 5 - Releap

Moebius Arc

 * Episode 6 - Regret
 * Episode 7 - Revive
 * Episode 8 - Rechange
 * Episode 9 - Revolt
 * Episode 10 - Rerise
 * Episode 11 - Respect
 * Episode 12 - Revenge

Valhalla Arc

 * Episode 13 - Odds and Ends
 * Episode 14 - Break up
 * Episode 15 - No Pain, no gain
 * Episode 17 - No way
 * Episode 18 - Open Fire
 * Episode 19 - Turn around
 * Episode 20 - Dead or Alive
 * Episode 21 - One and only
 * Episode 22 - One for all
 * Episode 23 - End of war
 * Episode 24 - A cry baby
 * Episode 25 - It is what it is

Black Dragon Arc
}}
 * Episode 26 - Gotta go
 * Episode 27 - Stand alone
 * Episode 28 - Family bonds
 * Episode 29 - Christmas Eve
 * Episode 30 - Whip up morale
 * Episode 31 - Sibling rivalry

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."
 * (to Hakkai Shiba) "Hakkai...fighting on...isn't painful. What hurts more than anything...is loneliness. You can talk to me about anything, Hakkai. We're friends, aren't we?"
 * (Chapter 100) "Even the smallest chance...That I can change the future...Then isn't it worth risking my life for?"
 * (Chapter 166) "I don't have charisma like Mikey. And I'm not smart like Naoto nor am I adept like Coco and I don't have a body like Mucho. I'm not strong in fights like Draken either. That's why I believe in one thing I am good at! I don't give up! Even if I die, I will not give up!"

Etymology

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

Trivia

 * According to the first official character book:
 * His favorite food is potatoes/potato chips (Oni Consommé Punch).
 * His image color is light green.
 * He hates ghosts.
 * His special skill is solving puzzles.
 * The people he respects or admires 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 heroic story (or failure story): During his part-time job, he was scolded by his juniors for his method of putting display.
 * His favorite spot is at the bank (of a river).
 * Takemichi's relationship chart: In the past:
 * Mikey and Draken (Toman Top 2): Friend
 * Naoto (Present): Accomplice
 * Chifuyu: Trust
 * A daily activity of a certain day (from morning till bedtime):
 * When he eats breakfast, he gets an e-mail from Hina and immerses himself in happiness for a while. He can't keep up with the math class, so he is scolded by the teacher and takes a supplementary exam. He plays soccer with Akkun and others during lunch break. On his way home, he'll go on a date with Hina before going to bed. He overslept the next day because he was worried about the text and the teacher scolded him again the next day.
 * From the question "Who's strong in arm wrestling?", Takemichi was ranked number 1 from the Top 3 Worst.
 * From the question "Who's the fastest runner?", Takemichi was ranked number 3 from the Top 3 Worst.
 * From the question "Who do you want to marry?", Takemichi was ranked number 3 from the Top 3 Best.
 * From the question "Who's likely to be rich?", Takemichi was ranked number 1 from the Top 3 Worst.
 * His motorcycle is a twin of Mikey's.
 * He has Mikey's original Toman uniform in his possession.