Tokyo Revengers is known for its brutal fight scenes and its excellent character writing, but fans of the show know that not every character has an impressive IQ. Despite that, the characters have a lot of guts, loyalty, and determination. This is what makes the show so enjoyable, nobody is an overpowered hero or villain, they're just regular people living in a complex world of gangsters and delinquents.
While some individuals from the show are stronger than others in battle, having the brain capacity to come up with strategies, to manipulate opponents, and to understand what doing the right thing looks like, makes characters stand out. It is what separates leaders from followers, and often, but not always, determines one's position in the hierarchy of the show's universe. Some of the smartest characters are second in command, and some of the strongest characters won't make the cut.
11 Takemichi Hanagaki
Takemichi, often referred to as "Takemitchy", is the protagonist to this story. He has guts when it counts, but is a weak fighter that takes many beatings throughout the show. Regardless of that, Takemichi earns the respect of his seniors and underlings by proving his earnestness and pure heart time and time again.
His intelligence is often in question. He gets distracted easily and gets himself into fights he can't win, but he uses his ability to sway a crowd with his guts to his advantage. It might not be conscious strategy, but something about the way he does things gets him a loyal following. Moreover, he completes his missions with little to no guidance, meaning that he isn't as foolish as he seems.
10 Keisuke Baji
As one of the founding members of Tokyo Manji Gang, Toman for short, Baji worked his way into being the leader of the first division. He rarely showed intelligence, but when he strategically left Toman in order to get dirt on Kisaki and the Valhalla gang, he proved that he was more than just muscle.
Although he was unable to achieve his goal to the extent he wanted, he passed on his wishes to Takemichi and Chifuyu, aiding in their plan to take down Kisaki. He might not be extremely intelligent, but he managed to fool Hanma and Kisaki until the last moment.
9 Kazushi Yamagishi
Kazushi is one of the Mizo Middle School Five, and eventually becomes the captain of the attack squadron for the Tokyo Manji Gang. He isn't an all-round student or a strategic genius by any means, but he does have an abundance of knowledge on the delinquents of Tokyo.
Just prior to the fight on August 3, 2005, Kazushi relayed important information regarding Kiyomasa and his plan to take out Draken. This was just one time that Kazushi's intel played an important role in one of Takemichi's missions.
8 Ken Ryuguji (Draken)
Also known and Draken, Ken is the number two to Mikey in Toman, and generally speaking, has a good head on his shoulders. He may follow Mikey, but he's often the voice of reason when it comes to keeping a cool head or doing the right thing. That being said, he's still very willing to use his fists when necessary.
Draken is far from the brains behind the operation, but his unmatched street smarts that come from growing up in the brothel without any parents, as well as his moral compass, are what keeps Toman ticking and Mikey in line. Additionally, he has a wide knowledge of mechanics, and rebuilds a motorbike with Mikey to give to Takemichi.
7 Takashi Mitsuya
Mitsuya is the captain of the second division of the Tokyo Manji Gang, and was even one of its founding members. He is known for having a good head on his shoulders, speaking wisdom to his juniors whenever possible. While he may not be a cunning strategist, he shows an incredible amount of emotional intelligence and maturity.
He takes care of his two younger sisters while his mom is at out, and he rarely wavers on his responsibility. His ability to teach younger members how to be good delinquents comes from this, and proves that he's more intelligent than he seems.
6 Manjiro Sano (Mikey)
Mikey may be the "colorful" leader type, but he has the brains and strength to prove his authority any time. While it's true that Mikey isn't the typical genius type, but he's far from being strictly brawn. He has the leadership skills to bring together over a hundred people, and the tact to come up with their formation and hierarchy, collecting loyal (excluding Kisaki) division leaders that are capable o fighting alongside him.
Moreover, Mikey has the best sense for battle of anyone on this list. He's not known as "the invincible Mikey" for nothing. His strategic kicks show just how fight savvy he is, and his ability to stop anyone in his path isn't because he is the biggest or strongest, but because he uses his skills strategically.
5 Chifuyu Matsuno
Once Takemichi is made captain of the first division, Chifuyu becomes a more regular character, showing his brains and fighting ability countless times. We are first introduced to Chifuyu as Baji's number two, and when Baji left for Valhalla, Chifuyu was the one that understood Baji's strategy and believed in him until the end.
Not only that, but Chifuyu played a pivotal role during the Christman Showdown Arc, helping plan the operation as well as calling Mitsuyu when things got out of hand. He also starts helping Takemichi with his missions, and was silently trying to take down Kisaki in the future while Takemichi was in the past. He is loyal and reliable, and Takemichi relies on him more than anyone.
4 Hina Tachibana
Hina is Takemichi's girlfriend and plays a pretty large role in the show, as both the catalyst for Takemichi's decision to save the Tokyo Manji Gang, as well as the one he thinks about when he needs some inspiration after getting knocked down (literally). She is obviously so much more than that though. As a supporting female character, Hina is written as intelligent, thoughtful, and incredibly brave.
Despite sometimes stepping into dangerous situations, Hina is very smart. She goes to the same cram school as Kisaki, and is often talking about school with Takemichi. Moreover, she is very understanding of Takemichi's situation, or what she knows of it, showing that she has an incredible amount of emotional intelligence as well as book smarts.
3 Hajime Kokonoi (Koko) & Seishu Inui
These are two of the founding members of Black Dragon's Tenth Generation. Together they made Taiju their leader, and helped rebuild Black Dragon. They are cunning strategists with strong fighting ability, taking on both Chifuyu and Mitsuya, respectively.
Although fans haven't seen much of them yet, following the Christmas Showdown Arc, and the fall of Black dragon, the two joined under Takemichi's first division with, no doubt, some sort of calculated reason behind it.
2 Naoto Tachibana
Adult Naoto is a top police officer working to take down the future's Tokyo Manji Gang. He is highly educated, and feeds information to Takemichi about the gang's members and dynamics. He was the one to figure out Takemichi has a time travel ability, and that shaking hands was the trigger for his time travel.
As a kid he was smart for his age, but as a cop he is cunning, strategic, and all together smarter than your average. He persuades Toman informants to plant cameras on executives, and collects dirt on Kisaki and other top members.
1 Kisaki Tetta
Kisaki is the main antagonist for the show, and for good reason. No matter how hard Tachibana tries in the past, future Kisaki is pulling the strings whether it be in Toman's past or present. Kisaki has a great understanding of how delinquents work, both socially and emotionally, and uses that to his advantage when weasling his way into Mikey's goodbooks. Further, he uses his money and intellect to convince people to do his bidding.
He scored top marks at cram school and is generally very studious, but his keen ability to manipulate is what sets him apart from other delinquents. Not only does he manipulate Mikey into giving him the 3rd division squad captain position, but he pulls more strings to grow the organization by creating Valhalla. Additionally, when he's kicked out of Toman he joins the Tokohama Tenjiku gang after persuading its leader.