The following contains spoiler for Episode 2 of Tokyo Revengers Christmas Showdown, "Gotta Go", now streaming on Hulu.After a great and eventful start, Tokyo Revengers Christmas Showdown continues with Episode 2 titled Gotta Go. It was expected to be a slower episode after a frenetic start that served to cement the plot for the season, and that's exactly what it was.
The episode was full of character introductions, the first encounter with Black Dragon, the main antagonists in the Christmas Showdown arc, and cliffhangers to maintain the expectations for Episode 3 coming next week. Gotta Go certainly had some good moments and helped to get closer to some characters that had barely made any impression until now. A solid episode that is mainly a setting for what will come next.
Hakkai, A Cool Guy?
Episode 2 kicks off at the bowling alley where Takemichi landed right after going back in time. He was having a nice time in a date with Hina, getting strike after strike, but so it was right in the lane next to his right Hakkai Shiba who he just remembered for being one of the Black Dragon leaders in the present. They got into a friendly competition, both knocking down all the pins time after time. However, Hakkai was doing it with much more force, consequence of using an 18 pound ball, the heaviest possible. Eventually, Takemichi left one pin standing which fueled his competitiveness.
After that they started challenging each other in all kinds of games, a boxing arcade machine, whack-a-mole, pool, and all of them share the same result, Hakkai winning, sometimes by a long margin. He just loved how Takemichi kept reacting after every lose, always ready to try again. An adorable interaction between two allegedly called criminals. He then invites Takemichi and Hina to come over to his place. While walking there the girl that has been with them the whole time revealed to be Hakkai's sister Yuzuha Shiba. That happens after Hakkai completely froze because Hina was talking to him, a common occurrence that he suffers. Hakkai seems to only be able to speak with one girl, Yuzuha.
Overall, Takemichi notices how different he is from the version he met twelve years later. Just a cool and fun kid of the same age that is the vice-captain of the Tokyo Manji 2nd Division and deeply admires Takashi Mitsuya to the point of having him as his phone background. He also wants to stay out of trouble and sees been a captain too restrictive and complicated. On top of that he wants to be friends with them. Takemichi's conclusion was inevitable, something must have happened to him at some point the same way it did with Mikey. Just when he was trying to figure it out, they arrived at his house that was completely surrounded by the Black Dragon gang.
Confrontation
A large group of Black Dragon members was waiting in front of Shiba's house, all wearing the white uniform with a red armband saying "Murder Squad" and pridefully riding their motorcycles. They immediately recognized Hakkai and Yuzuha. They explained that their older brother, Taiju Shiba, is the leader of the Black Dragon. He never comes home, but unfortunately he just happened to come by at this exact time. As it is the Black Dragon's 10th Generation nature at this point, the gang gets really aggressive towards them.
The situation escalates when they realize that Takemichi Hanagaki, the Tokyo Manji 1st Division Captain is standing right in their turf and in the company of their leader's siblings. Some familiar faces step up to talk to Takemichi, first it was Hajime Kokonoi, the Elite Guard Captain and also one of the Black dragon high commands in the present. He threatens to kill Takemichi and Hina for stepping into their territory while Hakkai and Yuzuha desperately try to intervene and stop them.
Another of the Black Dragon leaders 12 years later joins the discussion, Seishu Inui, the Attack Unit Captain. Things start to get heated while Takemichi is completely terrified by the idea of what can happen to Hina in this situation. He just wanted to get closer to Hakkai but ended up in an awful situation for the four of them. Hakkai and Yuzuha urge Takemichi and Hina to run away while they contain them, and before their brother comes and finds out about any of this.
Here comes the highlight moment of the episode. Taiju comes out of nowhere and sends Takemichi flying before even knowing who he was or what was going on. His subordinates quickly let him know that the one he just knocked out is the Tokyo Manji 1st Division Captain. Incredulous, Taiju laughs and points out how incredibly weak Takemichi is before proceeding to beat him up right in front of Hina who powerless and scared can't do anything other than look. The episode ends in a cliffhanger to keep the expectations high for Episode 3 of Tokyo Revengers Christmas Showdown. Taiju orders his brother Hakkai to beat Takemichi to death. Fans will have to wait another week to find out how they confront this difficult situation and how will the relationship Hakkai has with his older brother affect the rest of the season.