Summary
Known as the “invincible Mikey,” Manjiro Sano plays one of the leading roles inTokyo Revengers, as both a protagonist and an antagonist. In the past he was the leader of theTokyo Manji Gang, recruiting Takemichi for his guts. Mikey is the best fighter in Toman, leading them with his strength and charisma.
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While Mikey might appear to be invincible, he has some weaknesses that at best, cause him to take a few hits during delinquent brawls, and at worst, lead him down a path of darkness and destruction. He is a complex character that is far from indestructible.
This article contains spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2 of Tokyo Revengers
6Small Size
Mikey’s short stature plays a huge role in how he takes on opponents during fights. Instead of going punch for punch, he relies heavily on strategically placed kicks, using the element of surprise. Though this is a successful strategy, he is dependent on it for success.
Mikey rarely uses punches because of the height disparity between him and his foes. An example of this is when he fights Hanma, who is much taller than him. Mikey gets punched multiple times and shows weakness for the first time during a fight. If he were taller, he could have gone blow for blow with Hanma. Instead, he took punches and waited for the opportunity to land a kick.
5Susceptible To Manipulation
Leading up to the appointment of Kisaki as third division team captain, Mikey and Kisaki had a series of meet-ups where Kisaki manipulated Mikey into gaining his favor. Although the meetings are just brief flashbacks, fans know that Kisaki convinced Mikey to let him be a captain, and that while he was a captain Kisaki pulled strings behind the scenes to build Valhalla and have them fall under Toman’s leadership.
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Past Mikey trusted people too much and took them at their word. He allowed Kisaki to get away with a lot because Kisaki said he would take on the dark side of things. This left room for Kisaki to go behind Mikey’s back and grow the organization, have Baji killed, and betray Chifuyu and Takemichi during the Christma Showdown Arc.
4Immaturity When His Guard Is Down
When Mikey is in front of Toman he is their fearless leader. He commands respect and acts as a valuable authority figure. But, when his guard is down, and he’s with his friends,he’s immature and foolish. He acts as though he’s not the leader of a gang, and he shows an incredible amount of vulnerability by acting so childishly.
When he fights with Draken, the second in command, Mikey and Draken throw things and resolve their issues like young children. Although they were only fifteen at the time, their immaturity shows in their problem-solving. Additionally, they behave again, like young children, when they are at the bathhouse, with Mikey wrestling Draken, swimming around, and splashing everyone. This side of Mikey is a direct threat to his authority and leaves him open to potential attacks from rival gangs.
3Blind Love For His Friends
In the past, Mikey had an undeniable soft spot for his friends,the founding members of Toman. It causes him to make rash decisions and even catalyzes an argument between him and Draken that could have split Toman into two factions.
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When Pah stabs Osanai and decides to confess, Mikey and Draken get into a fight over how to deal with the situation. Mikey is blinded by his love for Pah, wanting him not to have to deal with the consequences of his actions. This causes a rift in the Toman upper echelon. Additionally, when Baji defects to Valhalla, Mikey is devastated. Getting between Mikey and his beloved friends is a surefire way to get under his skin and trigger an emotional response.
2Not Being Able To Land His Kicks
There are two instances in Season 1 where Mikey wavers during a fight. Both of those times were when something prevented him from landing his epic kicks. The first time was when Hanma anticipated his surprise kicks and blocked them. The kick to the head isMikey’s near-lethal weapon, and when it’s blocked he has to take punches in order to reconcile his strategy.
The second time Mikey wavered was when Kazutora cornered him atop a pile of cars with two other members of Valhalla. The cars made it difficult for Mikey to balance enough to use his kick, though he still managed to. However, the combination of three against one, atop the pile of cars, made Mikey take so many hits he went down and stayed down, leaving him vulnerable to attack from the rest of Valhalla.
1The “Darkness”
In the futurewhen Mikey kills all the executive members of Toman, he tells Takemichi that he doesn’t feel anything when he kills people and that it’s easy for him to kill people when there’s a problem. This is devastating to Takemichi, who still sees Mikey as the old Mikey from Toman, but Mikey is consumed by the darkness.
As more of his loved ones died, and Toman grew, Mikey’s emotional state became questionable. In the past, he stated that he found it hard to differentiate between good and bad, and it became clear that he was struggling during theChristmas Showdown Arc. Now Mikey has gone from hero to villain in just moments.
