Who is Mikey?
The cool thing about Mikey is that he is a long way away from being your everyday OOP character. He has a complexity that cements his legendary status within the Tokyo Revengers universe.
In the presence of his loved ones, he is feisty and youthful. But for the Manji gang of Tokyo, he is boss: a supremely charismatic leader, inspiring fear while commanding respect.
That is a helluva dichotomy to wrap around one character, but Mikey pulls it off with ease and effectiveness while charming his way into your heart. Just who is exactly Mikey, anyway?
Without further ado, here are 5 unflinching facts about Mikey – and the darkness inside of him – you definitely want to hold close. Note: Major Tokyo Revengers comic book and anime spoilers are coming up.
You need only glance at the Tokyo Manji Gang itself–its members, how it started, and what it became in the future–to see how powerful a leader Miki is. The Tokyo Manji Gang was founded by a handful of innocent–if well-meaning–middle-schoolers–Mikey, Draken, Kazutora, Baji, Mitsuya, and Pah-chin–as a means to combat rival gangs. It is little more than your typical instance of high schoolyard testosterone and fraternity. Indeed, its original members spent most of their time screwing with motorbikes and playing practical jokes on one another!.
But fast-forward to 2017, a “present-day” that the series’ main character, Takemichi, initially jumps from. Lohman has established himself as a fully-fledged criminal syndicate, committed crimes left and right – even killing people with no qualms. It is all far removed from the naive middle-school golden days, and you can bet that Mikey has played a role in it all. Mikey has transformed Tokyo’s Manji Gang over time into a fearsome collective. The dynamics within the group are heavily dependent on who is the King or Queen of the Castle.
No doubt, you can recall from your own school days how the general mood and vibe of the classroom with an exuberant, funny-loving teacher was much more positive and cheery than in a school with a strict, rule-by-book instructor. That is precisely what happened to Thoman. Though young and light-hearted in spirit (more on this below), Mikey slowly develops gloomy darkness inside of him, which helps both repress these traits and control his Toman-like cohorts, moulding them into toughened outlaws. The motto of the Tomans is, after all, “All for One, One for All!”.
Mikey’s effective presidency has come about because of his quiet, authoritative demeanour when it is time to do the work. With his ability to provide in every situation, and his continued protection of all those under his wing, it is easy to understand why other gang members look to him for their trustworthy leadership. Of course, even the laws of the jungle prize people who possess unparalleled power – and Mikey has it in spades. When it comes to brawling, Mikey is about as intimidating as it gets.
Since early childhood, he has been training in martial arts and has become such an expert at the craft that people around him consider him no less than a prodigy. True to his role as chairman of Tokyo’s Manji Gang, Mikey has saved the day since entering the fray on more than one occasion. Buoyed by that sheer brawn, Mikey positions himself – and Toman – atop the Shibuya underworld. While Mikey is a hard-hitting brute, this is not to say he is all brawn and has no brains — nor is it that he recognizes power alone as someone defining quality.
The last trait of great leaders is that they can see through the haze to discern what real value is in somebody. Imagine a wrestling coach or section manager giving up on their team because it seemed like it could not produce results right away!. Mikey can look a person right in the eye and gauge his potential in an authentic leadership style. This has never been truer than when it comes to his assessment of Takemichi, who is not precisely a boxer at the top weight class himself.
Mikey sees parts of his beloved brother Shinichi in Takemichi: specifically, the charisma that allows him to inspire and rally people around his cause and a determination never to quit when things get tough. If Mikey had just dismissed Takemichi as a wimpy whiner, who knows how Tokyo Revengers’ story would have played out!. . It is said that opposites attract, and this is also true for Mikey — in that he is the mixture of several opposite personalities. Sure, he gives off a really intimidating aura when things are tight, but otherwise, it is as though he is an entirely different human being!.
For one, Mikey is fucking LAZY at home. He has the natural ability to nap wherever he wants, no matter what anyone else might think about it–an impressive feat, to say the least. Like many typical teens, he has developed a natural, happy-go-lucky attitude. That makes him popular amongst his closest friends (everyone loves a mood-maker); nevertheless, it routinely draws the ire of his younger sister, Emma, whose efforts to try and act older than she is probably partly fueled by her desire to hold Mikey down.
It might not be the first thing you think of when picturing a thug-gang President, but Mikey loves his family dearly. He respects and idolizes his older brother, Shinichirou, hoping to follow in his footsteps one day, as far as his qualities as a leader: not raw physical power, per se. Still, enough charm and charisma to draw people to him naturally. Mikey is fiercely protective of his older sister Emma, mentioned above. Technically part-siblings, the two are extraordinarily close – so much that unsuspecting people have mistaken them for lovers several times throughout the show’s run.
It is not only families who have a special place in Mikey’s heart. Love is also expressed through the bonds and loyalties that he shares with his friends.