Fall once
My Take on Falling Once: Why It Haunts Us More Than Losing
You see, losing in battle is simple.
You fight, you bleed, you fall — it ends.
But falling once?
That’s different.
That’s when you fail yourself.
When you fall once,
Doubt moves in like a disease.
It infects your hands, your breath, your will.
It whispers:
"Maybe you were never worthy at all."
And that's a harder fight than any sword or sea monster could ever offer.
Note:
Falling once feels heavier than falling ten times.
Because the first fall shatters the illusion of invincibility.
Table: The Hidden Stages of the First Fall
| Stage | Feeling | Why It’s So Damaging |
|---|---|---|
| Shock | "I can’t believe I failed." | Shatters confidence built over years. |
| Shame | "Everyone must have seen." | Turns failure into identity. |
| Isolation | "I can’t let them see me like this." | Builds walls between you and others. |
| Rage | "Why wasn’t I good enough?" | Consumes strength meant for healing. |
| Numbness | "Maybe it doesn’t matter anymore." | Kills the will to try again. |
The Truth About Warriors and Falling
You might think that strong ones don’t fall.
That captains, commanders, emperors —
That we don't know defeat.
That’s a lie we tell the weak to keep them in line.
The truth?
We fall harder than anyone.
Because we have more to lose.
Every scar on my body is a memory of a time I fell —
Not just in battle...
But in expectation.
When I failed to be the shield my family needed.
When I failed to protect my brother.
When I failed to live up to the future they believed in.
My take on strength:
Strength isn’t how many enemies you’ve beaten.
It’s how many times you’ve stood up after betraying yourself.
Why the First Fall is the Most Important
You see, the first time you fall,
You meet the real version of yourself.
Not the one polished by victories.
Not the one praised by others.
The real one.
The one who’s bleeding, gasping, ashamed —
But still breathing.
If you can look that broken soul in the eye and say,
"Not yet."
"Not today."
Then you haven’t lost.
You’ve been reborn.
Why the First Fall is the Most Important
By Katakuri, of the Big Mom Pirates
There’s a moment that every warrior, every leader, and every human encounters, no matter how strong or weak they may be—a moment when they fall for the first time.
It is a moment that defines who you will become.
For it is not the falls that come after that matter.
It is the first.
The Moment You Realize You Are Mortal
You can train every muscle. Sharpen every instinct.
But the first time you fall, the first time you taste defeat, something inside you shifts.
It’s not just the body that hits the ground, but the soul. The ego.
It’s an unforgiving realization: I am not invincible.
This is the point where everything begins—where your true character is revealed.
Takemichi, the broken man with endless resolve, felt it.
Mikey, the ruler of chaos and dreams, felt it too.
The first fall is like the storm before the calm. It is the moment that breaks and molds you, the crucible in which you are forged.
My take on falling for the first time:
It’s inevitable.
The question is: How will you rise?
The Burden of Uncertainty
After the fall comes the rise—but the space in between is filled with uncertainty.
The time between falling and standing again is the true trial of any warrior’s spirit.
What most don’t understand is that it’s not the pain that hurts the most—it’s the doubt.
The first time you fall, the first time everything you’ve known is shattered, you question everything. Your purpose. Your strength. Your reason for moving forward.
And in that space of doubt, some are swallowed whole.
Mikey’s first fall, his first true breakdown, was not a physical one—it was an emotional shattering, a fracture in the very foundations of his beliefs. He lost more than just his brother. He lost the image of himself as invulnerable, as all-powerful. And from that moment onward, the world had his weaknesses exposed.
My take on Mikey’s fall:
You see, Mikey doesn’t just lead with strength.
He leads with the weight of expectation, carrying a burden that no one sees.
That first fall—it changed him. It broke the image he had of himself.
The First Fall in a Leader’s Heart
A leader is only as strong as the vulnerability they allow themselves to experience.
I’ve had my share of falls. As a member of the Big Mom Pirates, I fought, I endured, and I bled.
But the first time I truly understood the weight of my position was when I saw Brûlée’s tears. When I saw my family hurting because I couldn’t be there for them, couldn’t protect them as I had always believed I could.
That fall wasn’t physical. It was a fall into responsibility.
And that? That is a far deeper cut than any wound.
My take on leadership:
A true leader doesn’t just rise after falling.
They rise with their people.
And every fall thereafter? It’s a reminder that leadership isn’t about dominance—it’s about sacrifice. It’s about understanding.
Why the First Fall is a Crucible
The first fall tests your resolve.
It asks you the question that will echo in every future moment of doubt: What will you do when you are broken?
For some, the answer is to stay down. To let the ground claim them.
But for others, it becomes the fire from which they emerge stronger, more aware of their own weaknesses, more aware of the world’s brutality.
And that? That is where the true power lies.
Take Takemichi, for example.
When he first fell, he was a boy in over his head.
But as he continued to rise, his sense of self was sharpened by every fall.
And that’s why he’s the one who will change everything.
Not because he’s strong in body—but because he knows the value of defeat.
He knows what it’s like to break—and still find a reason to keep moving forward.
My take on Takemichi:
The more he falls, the stronger he becomes.
That’s the power of his soul.
He isn’t just a survivor. He’s a rebuilder.
Table: The First Fall in the Context of Tokyo Revengers
| Character | First Fall | What It Teaches Them |
|---|---|---|
| Takemichi | His first leap into the past and failure to save his friends | The importance of fighting not for victory, but for hope |
| Mikey | The death of his brother, Draken’s hurt, and his loss of control | The truth that no one can carry all burdens alone |
| Draken | Being forced into leadership early, and losing friends along the way | The balance of protecting others without losing yourself |
| Baji | His death—sacrificing himself for what he believes in | The purity of sacrifice and honor in a broken world |
Why This First Fall Defines Us All
I think what disturbs me about many of these stories is the fragility of the human heart.
Even the strongest warriors, even the hardest of men—
They break.
But it is the strength to get up again that matters.
It is how we learn to stand, how we learn to face the next fall, that defines us.
You see, the first fall is not a moment of weakness.
It’s a moment of choice.
Will you let it crush you? Or will you rise and break the cycle?
In my case, I rose.
And I carry the weight of each fall with me, a reminder that I am not invincible.
But even in my imperfections, I know that I can carve my own path through this world.
My take on strength:
It isn’t how many times you rise.
It’s how you carry the weight of your first fall.
The first fall is the most important because it is the moment that defines everything.
It’s not the glory of victory we should treasure.
It’s the courage it takes to rise from the ashes and keep walking forward.
As for Takemichi, Mikey, or any of the others—they will fall again.
But it will never be the first time.
And perhaps that’s the true test of strength: to rise, again and again, with no guarantee of success, and to believe in yourself all the same.
Final Reflection
I am Katakuri.
I have fallen.
I have bled for my pride.
I have tasted failure that no one ever saw.
But I wear those falls the way a warrior wears his scars—
Not as shame,
But as proof that I was brave enough to stand at all.
Falling once doesn’t define you.
Refusing to rise again does.
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