Tokyo Revengers Season 4 Episode 4 “Give Me A Hand” was insane! I’d give this a 10 out of 10 for angst, pacing, emotion, and overall setting the tone for what’s to come. These past episodes have left us on cliffhangers, but this episode is the first that genuinely makes me want the next episode immediately.
Warning: Spoilers and mentions of gun violence, suicide and discussions on mental health below
Mikey’s Tape
When the video rolls and Mikey says he has dark impulses and explains how Emma, Baji, and Shinichiro helped keep him grounded, it really changes the perspective on a lot of prior events. They flash back to the fight between Kazutora and Mikey as a clear indicator of when the dark impulse was happening. Mikey didn’t specify how they grounded him, whether they knew about his dark impulses or if he was quietly leaning on them. I spent my last reviews grilling him for not expressing himself, but it turns out he was dealing with some mental health issues.
In the tape, Mikey also warns Takemichi not to try to time leap to save him. Mikey tells him this is his path, not to come near him, and that all he wants Takemichi to focus on is being happy. Takemichi respects his wishes for about two seconds before deciding he has to save Mikey regardless. He feels he owes Mikey so much and believes Mikey became the way he is because he tried to protect everyone else on his own. This ties back to Takemichi’s personal issues with letting go, discussed in prior episodes.
Bowling Alley Scene
The bowling alley scene was shocking! My jaw was on the floor. I thought I knew how it was gonna go. I expected a conversation where Mikey would tell him to stop digging into Bonten, and Takemichi would refuse. Mikey was going to let him off with a stern warning, which Takemichi was going to ignore and rally the former Toman members behind him to save Mikey. Yeah, that’s not what happened. Sanzu holding him up at gunpoint was one thing, but Mikey shooting him twice was so crazy.
Mikey told him not to make eye contact, so I’m wondering if that’s a trigger for his dark impulses: people who don’t serve him looking him directly in the eyes. I think he even commented that he shot him before he realized what he was doing, so it feels like his dark impulses give him blind rage. It paints it less as Mikey’s choice to lean into his dark impulses and more as if they are controlling him.
When Mikey jumped from the bowling alley rooftop, it was heartbreaking. The flashback to his younger self and him thinking of the loved ones he’s lost in those final moments was so sad. When Takemichi saves him by grabbing his arm and telling him to ask for help and stop shouldering everything alone, it’s a powerful moment.
Mikey instantly crying, finally asking for help, and telling him he doesn’t wanna die was the first time I felt like we were seeing Mikey’s true emotions. He’s always been called the invincible Mikey, and I’m sure that title probably weighed heavily on him all these years. We’ve seen Mikey be brave before, but asking for help and opening up is the bravest moment I’ve seen him have so far.
Dark Impulses and Mental Health
One thing I’m really, really concerned about is how Tokyo Revengers will handle Mikey’s dark impulses. When it comes to mental health, there’s a level of care that needs to go into how it’s handled. They’ve done a great job showing the severity, but I hope it doesn’t become a sensationalized illness. Since this is something Mikey has been dealing with since he was a child and has spent the last decade fighting alone, the cure shouldn’t come easy, and the symptoms shouldn’t magically stop after a few conversations.
One thing that concerns me about this episode already is Mikey’s escalation to ending his life after his first interaction with Takemichi. Maybe I missed something, but that being his resolve after that conversation felt a bit disconnected. They’ve got something interesting going with this new revelation, so I’m really curious to see how they handle dark impulses and mental health.
Final Thoughts
I’m excited for the next episode and to explore what happened 10 years ago. Now that Takemichi can time leap again, I’m curious to see what they discover happened to Mikey. Hopefully we can see the exact moment when his dark impulses fully took over and how he ended up creating Bonten. Rather than the next few episodes being Takemichi searching for Mikey, it’d be great to keep this momentum going.
However, with Mikey appearing to be Takemichi’s trigger for time leaping, I have a feeling we will spend several episodes looking for him. The future we are leaving has been the best one yet, so I’m anxious to see the consequences of Takemichi refusing to let things go.
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