'Tokyo Revengers' Creator Reveals Surprising Truth About Series

Mangaka Ken Wakui has revealed his ultimate secret as to how he came up with an interesting plot of "Tokyo Revengers."

The franchise is one of the few that easily captured the hearts of manga readers and anime lovers. The plot, which tells the story of a time traveler who has to get involved with delinquent gangs in Tokyo to save the love of his life, offered fans a different perspective on the gang members, friendship, love and sacrifice.

In a previous interview with French publishing company Glenat Editions, Wakui was asked about his inspiration behind the unique story. The mangaka shared, "The starting point came from my editor, he wanted to read a story about yankii."

"This interested me, but I had no idea what they are like today. This is how I came up with the idea of traveling through time so I could describe what Yankii were like in the early 2000s when I was one of them," he revealed.

While he did not disclose the name of the gang he was affiliated with, a post in Reddit claimed Wakui used to be a member of the Black Emperor gang. The post shared a photo, which "Tokyo Revengers" could easily relate to from the uniform to the gang's logo.

Aside from being a gang member, Wakui admitted in an email he sent to the French newspaper Le Monde that because of his bad behavior, he was expelled from school for one month. He also worked as a host in a women's bar in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Wakui also confided to the French publication, "I wanted to talk about a time when the furyo had style." This aligns with his earlier statement in Atom where he said, "The old-fashioned furyo were thugs on principle and not for money, as is often the case today."

This 'old-fashioned furyo principle' resonates with "Tokyo Revengers," particularly in what Mikey and the founders of the Tokyo Manji" gang believe in. It is also evident in the way Senju handles his dealings with businesses seeking the Brahman gang's protection.

"Tokyo Revengers" manga is serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine while its anime premiered in April 2021 and was produced by Liden Films. It also has a live-action film, which was released in Japan in July 2021.