Takemichi is established early on as a yes-man who is quick to apologize and quick to bow at any small failure. After our cowardly young man is thrown back in time via a handshake—stay with us—he remembers his cowardice in his past teen years but also remembers that this coward would eventually become his current persona. Once Takemichi begins to alter the past and go against his past/future cowardice, he emerges as a stronger soul who isn’t stronger in physical prowess but in heart…that is something many of us go through in the real world!

Avoiding spoilers, Takemichi meets a friend who ends up killing himself due to living in constant fear of a gang leader and, for a second, we realized how realistic this is, sadly. Tokyo Revengers isn’t afraid to show how our past can shape our future in truly dramatic ways. Takemichi is lucky enough to face his past—literally—and thus allow himself a second chance to grow, but his friend has lived in constant terror and it has caused him to become a murderer and a weaker person in comparison to his past self. Remember readers, your past does shape you but what matters is who you are now, not who you were as a kid/teen.

Most of us sadly lose touch with our friends as we grow older. Work, life, and time cause us to shy away from hanging out with past friends and we end up moving away to newer friends as time marches onward. However, friends sometimes are forever, and just like in the world of Tokyo Revengers, friends can be our strength when we need them. Treasure your friends from the past and remember that just because you grew up doesn’t mean your friendship grew old.

When Takemichi is thrown back in time, he usually finds himself in some pretty wild situations. Often, our hero is forced to stand up to bullies who are clearly stronger than him and are also more dangerous. However, Takemichi stands on his feet each time and handles these situations because he knows that failure isn’t an option. Doesn’t this sound familiar to those who often find themselves in either school or work dealing with a crisis of some sort and having to decide between two options? You could cave in or you could fight and show you’re not a quitter. Tokyo Revengers reminds us that challenges are part of our lives constantly and your choice of action could affect not only your world but those around you as well.

Alright, to our knowledge, we can’t go back in time and alter our actions to change our future which is unfortunate. Despite that, though, Tokyo Revengers is also trying to make a statement that we can undo our past by making brave decisions. Takemichi doesn’t need to go in the past to save his ex or save a group of punks/thugs. Takemichi makes that choice to undo his past—which could heavily impact his own world—because he wants to! In reality readers, that is a relatable concept. At any time you can confront past friends, deal with past issues and/or deal with current problems and change them. Maybe you can’t completely change them but you can always examine a past trial in life and realize how growth can be made to fix yourself in the process. Takemichi has made the choice to undo the past because he doesn’t want to run from his problems anymore and instead face them down like a man sometimes has to do!