According to a recent interview with Yahoo News, the Tokyo Revengers manga was inspired by other big works such as ‘Re: Zero’ and ‘Erased’. Kazuki Tsuchiya of the Weekly Shonen Magazine editorial department talks about his experience working with creator Ken Wakui.
“There were few delinquent manga that had been animated, so we had to brainstorm ideas,” said Tsuchiya describing his process with Wakui.
So how did Tokyo Revengers come about?
Wakui’s previous work “Shinjuku Swan” was first published in Young Magazine. However, in 2015 Wakui made the switch from Young Magazine to Weekly Shonen Magazine. In other words, Wakui jumped from seinen to shonen — something the industry doesn’t see often.
“Re: Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-) and Boku dake ga Inai Machi (Erased) were popular,” said Tsuchiya. “So we thought, “Why don’t we put the two together? Gangs and time travel.” (Translation by @BlackDragonSP)
And that’s exactly what they did with the Tokyo Revengers manga.
From the work of Tappei Nagatsuki, Re: Zero is considered the pinnacle of isekai anime. Its recent season is one of the highest-rated fantasy anime ever and the hype for a new season is only growing. Meanwhile, the psychological classic ‘Erased’, created by Kei Sanbe, is another time-travel story which most fans are familar with and love.
Combining inspiration from both fascinating series, the Tokyo Revengers manga was born two years later in 2017.
Tsuchiya describes the process of creating the series by combining “a delinquent manga with a time travel story.” That pretty much hits the nail on the head. A simple idea turned into a glorious story.
Now, they’re seeing the fruits of their labor.
The manga recorded around 7 million in circulation with the first 21 volumes out. But thanks to an anime adaptation this year, the manga is currently circulating more than 25 million copies and topping charts everywhere.
“Wakui-sensei had every intention that his new series would have an anime adaptation,” said Tsuchiya.
The series accomplished an incredible feat of reaching 5 million in circulation in the month of June 2021. With the “Bloody Halloween” arc currently underway in the anime, fans have to wonder… Just how much higher is this series going to grow?
The manga is currently in its final arc and will see its end sometime this year. But that doesn’t mean manga circulation might die down. The Demon Slayer manga finished in 2020 and is still topping the charts. So there’s definitely room for Tokyo Revengers manga to do the same.
The anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. If you are a fan of either Re: Zero or Erased, Tokyo Revengers is a must-read and must-watch.
Source: Yahoo News!
Translation: @BlackDragonSP