Tokyo Revengers Surpasses One Piece Sales, What Makes This Manga Popular?
Tokyo Reveners . Story Plot
Tokyo Revengers tells the story of Takemichi Hanagaki, a loser in his 20s who lost his lover to the gang of Tokyo Manji. Once upon a time, Takemichi miraculously travels back in time 12 years ago, when he was still a middle school student.
Middle school is the best period for Hanagaki, where he is still in his gang and also has a beautiful girlfriend. When he realizes that he can go back in time, he tries to change his fate. Hanagaki no longer wants to run away and will try to save his girlfriend.
After taking a short trip to the past 12 years, he tells his girlfriend's younger brother, Naoto Tachibana, about Hinata's future death and unknowingly creates a time paradox. Immediately after doing so, Takemichi is transported back to the present timeline where Naoto is a living adult detective.
Armed with this knowledge, Naoto and Takemichi then devise a plan to work together to change the past and save Hinata.
This series was created by mangaka Ken Wakui and has been releasing since 2017. Although it has been around for a long time, it has only recently become very popular in Japan, even producing an anime adaptation that is currently airing this year.
Volume sales of this manga have also increased rapidly, making it one of the best-selling manga of 2021. So far Tokyo Revengers has managed to rank in the top five on Oricon, while One Piece has not. In fact, Tokyo Revengers has sold more than five million units so far this year, compared to One Piece which only sold a little over one million.
With all its success this year, there are also questions about this manga. What made Tokyo Revengers so popular that they managed to overtake One Piece, which is famous for its untouchable reputation?
What Makes Tokyo Revengers So Popular
Now, after knowing the plot of the manga above, here are three things that made Tokyo Revengers very popular:
First, Tokyo Revengers is a series that has introduced a stunning plot, aesthetically pleasing animation, and many unique characters that appeal to viewers everywhere. This series is the first of its kind by blending aspects from various genres including supernatural, action, and drama, in an extraordinary way.
Second, unlike most other shnen protagonists, Hanagaki Takemichi is introduced as a weak and insecure young man, who is still struggling to find his way in life. Seeing the main character so weak makes fans wonder, how will he survive in the world of gangsters.
Third, Takemichi's journey to the past is unique in that he creates a time paradox and has the ability to time travel at will. Until now, fans are still waiting for how this manga will solve the problem of the time paradox created by Takemichi.
For the three reasons above, this makes the flow of the time travel and fighting genres in Tokyo Revengers more interesting than most other manga that carry similar genres. With all its success it's no wonder why this manga was named Best Shonen at the 2020 Kodansha Manga Awards.
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