The Tokyo Revengers episodes that span the Bloody Halloween show just how pivotal Baji’s role was in the bosozoku-inspired Tokyo Manji Gang, often shortened to Toman. They give viewers a background of how the gang came to be and of the key characters’ younger years. Officially, Keisuke Baji is Toman’s First Division Captain, but more importantly, he’s one of the founding members along with official Toman leader Mikey, Draken, Mitsuya, Pah-Chin, and Kazutora. The story of Toman’s origins only proves that had it not been for Baji, there would be no gang.
Tokyo Revengers is following the footsteps of global anime sensations like Tokyo Ghoul and the wildly successful Jujutsu Kaisen. And it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. The anime came out shortly after Jujutsu Kaisen aired the season’s last episode, which sent the Tokyo Revengers manga sales skyrocketing, dethroning Jujutsu Kaisen for the top manga spot in July 2021. With its time-skipping-meets-bike-gangs plot, Tokyo Revengers is gaining quite the loyal fanbase. The anime follows polarizing yet endearing motorbike-riding students who band together to survive the menacing streets of 2005 Tokyo, and Baji may just be the most significant one from the bunch.
Everything that Baji did, he did for Toman and his friends, as only real leaders do. Right before the brawl between Toman and Valhalla (Bloody Halloween), Baji declared that he was leaving the Tokyo Manji Gang, which was a blow to the gang’s leaders and Baji’s oldest friends. However, by the end of the whole ordeal, right before Baji drew his last breath, it was revealed that he pulled a stunt similar to Tokyo Ghoul’s Kaneki where he went on his own to save his friends — including the estranged Kazutora who turned into Toman’s enemy and fought for Valhalla — from Kisaki’s evil machinations. Mikey, Toman’s official leader, was oblivious to all of the conspiracies right under his nose.
In between the tense battle of Bloody Halloween, viewers are taken back to the characters’ younger days where Baji showed just how involved he is in the gang’s trajectory. Forming the gang was Baji’s idea. After a gang called the Black Dragons beat up a lone Kazutora, the delinquent friends gathered at their usual meeting place, the Musashi Temple, to hatch a revenge plan for Kazutora. Baji suggested that the six of them start a gang to fight against the Black Dragons; he even appointed the roles. The friends agreed to Baji’s proposal and just like some of the best Japanese anime series, the friends bought a Japanese charm to commemorate the event; they could only afford one and they collectively decided to let Baji hold onto it. Baji did hold on to it as a symbol of their friendship and their vow to protect each other, he held onto it until the day he died.
It was Baji who asked Mikey to make a new era for the delinquents, one that was better and more harmonious. He determined what type of gang Toman was going to be; he said that their gang would be one where they put their lives on the line for each other, and that’s what Tokyo Manji Gang has stood for since. Even if Baji wasn’t officially the head captain of Tokyo Manji Gang, his influence and heart were the gang’s guiding light and moral compass throughout the entire Tokyo Revengers story.