Guy Ritchie and Back to the Future might seem like a very odd blend of influences for a crime thriller, but that’s exactly the kind of series that’s currently taking over on streaming. Over his career as a filmmaker, Guy Ritchie has made every kind of crime thriller imaginable. Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Gentlemen followed wannabe London gangsters trying to make a quick buck; Sherlock Holmes put viewers on the right side of the law, and In the Grey was a star-studded heist thriller. He even took Disney’s hardened criminal Aladdin (he was a thief, remember) and brought him into live action. But one thing he’s never added to his crime stories is time travel. Is it jumping the shark? Who cares, because that story is currently one of the biggest shows on streaming.
Hulu’s immensely popular anime crime thriller, Tokyo Revengers, is back with a fourth season, and it’s officially one of the biggest series in the world right now. Based on the manga by Ken Wakui, the anime began airing in 2021 and, along with Bleach and Heavenly Delusion, is one of the biggest anime on Hulu/Disney+. Season 4 dropped on Oct. 2, with new episodes releasing weekly, and it has propelled the series back up the global streaming charts.
At the time of writing, Tokyo Revengers is the seventh most popular series on Disney+/Hulu globally. The MCU’s VisionQuest continues to dominate in first place, while the hit K-drama The Remarried Empress is in second, and Kim Kardashian’s abysmal legal drama All’s Fair is in third.
‘Tokyo Revengers’ Is a Mind-Bending, Time-Traveling Crime Thriller
In Back to the Future, Marty McFly must go back in time to make sure his parents get together so that he isn’t erased from existence. Imagine that concept, but the main character has to dive deeper into a life of crime and delinquency to save those he loves in the present. That’s Tokyo Revengers.
The series follows Takemichi Hanagaki, a 26-year-old with a dead-end job and an unfulfilling life. One day, he learns his former childhood friend and her younger brother were killed by a local gang (the same gang he knew growing up). On the same day, while waiting at a train station, he’s pushed onto the tracks, and his death sends him back in time, giving him a chance to save his friend by infiltrating the gang and changing the course of events. But every change in the past has a devastating effect in the present.
New Episodes of ‘Tokyo Revengers’ Release Weekly
Even though it airs on Hulu/Disney+, Tokyo Revengers hasn’t bowed down to the binge-watching release model. Admittedly, that’s because it airs on network TV in Japan before arriving on streaming in the US, but the principle still applies. Season 4, which adapts the “War of Three Titans Arc,” releases new episodes every week on Fridays. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 are available on Hulu/Disney+. However, Season 1 is a Crunchyroll exclusive. However, it is available on Crunchyroll’s free, ad-supported tier.
- Release Date
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April 10, 2021
- Network
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TBS, MBS
- Directors
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Koji Aritomi, Rion Kujo, Yoshinobu Kasai, Yu Harima, Kenichi Kuhara, Masato Tamagawa, Ryuhei Aoyagi, Kana Kawana, Katsuya Asano, Daiki Handa, Michiru Itabisashi, Yoshifumi Sueda, Noriyuki Nomata, Takanori Yano, Fumihiro Ueno, Shouji Ikeno, Aimi Yamauchi, Takahiro Tanaka, Kenji Kuroda, Takahiro Ono, Haruka Yabuuchi
- Writers
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Yasuyuki Muto, Seiko Takagi
Cast
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Azumi Waki
Hinata Tachibana (voice)
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Yuuki Shin
Takemichi Hanagaki (voice)
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Ryota Osaka
Naoto Tachibana (voice)
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Yuu Hayashi
Manjiro ‘Mikey’ Sano (voice)