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Tokyo Revengers Voice Actors Share Their Favorite Moments From Christmas Showdown Arc

Note: This article contains spoilers for Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown Arc episodes 25-36.

With Tokyo Revengers' newest season, Christmas Showdown Arc, in full swing, four cast members came to AnimeJapan 2023 to talk about their favorite episodes thus far.

The show opened with the four cast members—Yūki Shin (Takemichi Hanagaki), Shō Karino (Chifuyu Matsuno), Tasuku Hatanaka (Hakkai Shiba), and Tomokazu Sugita (Taiju Shiba)—appearing on stage wearing their respective gang uniforms: Shin and Karino in Tokyo Manji Gang, and Hatanaka and Sugita in BLACK DRAGON. BLACK DRAGON's uniform colors were red and white—two colors which are generally used for celebrations in Japan—leading the voice actors to comment that it must be an auspicious occasion.

Karino commented on how Hatanaka had previously said he'd never wear a BLACK DRAGON uniform again. This was a reference to how his character Hakkai has worn both the Tokyo Manji Gang and BLACK DRAGON's uniform throughout the story. Hatanaka looked momentarily troubled when asked which side he thought he belonged to. Finally, he admitted that he loves both uniforms, and that he decided to wear the BLACK DRAGON uniform now in case the opportunity never comes up again. Sugita also saw the fun of wearing a cool uniform, remarking that this must be how it feels to be an idol.

After some fun banter between the four, they began talking about their favorite episodes of the Christmas Showdown Arc thus far.

Beginning with Sugita, for him it was episode 28: “Family bonds.” As he explained, it's a flashback episode which shows some important information as to why Taiju, Hakkai, and Yuzuha are the way they are. He praised the depiction of familial love in the episode and the twisted way it manifests. Sugita then joked about how deep Taiju's voice was at a young age. Apparently, he did not expect that he would also be the voice of the young Taiju.

Following Sugita was Hatanaka. When it was revealed to be episode 32 “Strive together,” which others remarked was a very characteristic choice of him. He focused on the scene where Yuzuha is hugged by her mother. Hatanaka explained that Yuzuha was the character who suffered the most in the Christmas Showdown Arc. In that scene, she was finally basked in love. He also described it as a significant scene from Hakkai's perspective as well because it shows that he has to believe he's protecting her or he would not be able to preserve his psyche. The cast agreed it's a touching scene, with Karino going as far to say he'd watched it five times in a row after the stream dropped.

Karino's episode was up next, and from his character's point of view it made perfect sense: episode 30 “Whip up morale.” This is because of the history between the characters Chifuyu and Keisuke Baji. This episode features an anime original scene. Before the recording even started, the director apparently told Karino that Baji would appear and beat up Chifuyu again. Fans will immediately recognize this as normal from their interactions in the Bloody Halloween Arc.

Karino also indulged fans with a little behind-the-scenes story between him, Masaaki Mizunaka (Keisuke Baji), and the staff. Chifuyu's response to the place was comedian-like in its timing. He recounted how the same mistake was made in the scene where Chifuyu and Baji first met in the Bloody Halloween Arc.

Finally, Shin's choice was also episode 32 “Strive together.” Specifically, he enjoyed the moment when the Toman members accepted Hakkai's weakness. The scene also showed the growth of Takemichi's kindness. Hatanaka added some commentary on how he thought the scene must have played out from Hakkai's perspective. Hakkai must have wanted someone who understood him before he could show his true feelings.

The cast discussed a little more about the upcoming highlights, but as episode 36 would be airing the next day in the Kanto region of Japan (Tokyo and surrounding prefectures), they couldn't go into much detail.

As the Tokyo Revengers stage show came to its conclusion, Shin prepared the audience for the now standard greeting. However, since Yu Hayashi (Manjiro Sano) was not at the event, the honor was given to Hatanaka. The cast all straightened up and with the final greeting of “DISMISSED.” The other three thanked both the crowd, and all four bowed at the proper ninety angle.

The Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown Arc AnimeJapan 2023 show was a look back at the story of the Christmas Showdown Arc to date. And with the cast's description of the episodes, I'm sure there will be many more we'll want to watch five times in a row.