Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown

Episode 8

Last week was rough, and not in a good way. It was an episode built entirely around action with none of the resources necessary to make that work. By mostly retreading character beats and inorganically interrupting any momentum the already struggling fight had, it became a regression into the worst moments of Bloody Halloween. I was honestly dreading finishing out the season if we were in for another month of that. Thankfully, while it still has its flaws, “Strive Together” manages to pull out of that entertainment death spiral, and deliver a damn good episode.

Though I do have to start off with one flaw in particular. I don't care what the other characters say, I don't believe for a second that Takemichi's lucky cross-counter was what actually brought Taiju to his knees. Takemichi quite literally couldn't throw a punch to save his life. He might have landed the chip damage to finish off Taiju's first health bar and start phase 2, but I'm giving the Stage Clear achievement to Mitsuya and Yuzuha. I don't care how much the show tries to hype him up, I'm not buying that a guy whose only superlative is a 1:1 Talking Shit to Getting Hit ratio could stagger anyone in a clean fight.

Takemichi's momentary kill-stealing does at least reinvigorate the rest of the crew, and seeing him relentlessly throw his face into Taiju's fist finally pushes Hakkai to confess his sins. The reveal – that it was Yuzuha who tried to protect Hakkai, rather than the other way around – isn't terribly surprising, but it centers this battle's drama back to the Shiba family where it belongs. I'm also grateful that it brings Yuzuha back into the fold. Even if she's not throwing punches, it's gratifying to see her side of this story, struggling to protect her younger brother in their late mother's place, all the while trying to put up a brave front in the face of Taiju's cruelty.

I also love how the rest of Toman respond, telling Hakkai that while his lying was shameful, he wasn't weak for running from his fears. They've all done that, and the important thing is to recognize when you need to fight for what's most important. From there, the episode just goes full ham and cheese: dudes yelling, fists flying, blood splattering across the pews of the church. A vision of the siblings' dead mother descends from the vision of the Virgin Mary to comfort her daughter. The series' glorious buttrock OST plays over it all. There's even some honest-to-goodness good punches in there as Hakkai and Taiju brawl it out, capturing the impact and weight of their hits and the way one or both stagger after taking a shot.

Altogether the whole sequence is cheesy, but it's also earnest and brutal enough to give this confrontation the energy it needs to work. By the time Mikey arrived at the church, slowly ascending the steps with that impenetrable, dead-eyed stare, I was hooked for next week. I still wish very much that Tokyo Revengers could be more consistent, but when everything clicks together right, it can be a blast.

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Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown is currently streaming on Hulu.