(WARNING: May contain spoilers!!)
Summary: Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada was an ordinary boy who had horrible grades, barely had a social life, was picked on, etc. He was also a wimp, who had practically no good luck. For all of these things, he had been given the nickname Dame-Tsuna (No-Good-Tsuna). Then one day, a baby wearing a suit and fedora, named Reborn, arrived on his ...
(WARNING: May contain spoilers!!)
Summary: Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada was an ordinary boy who had horrible grades, barely had a social life, was picked on, etc. He was also a wimp, who had practically no good luck. For all of these things, he had been given the nickname Dame-Tsuna (No-Good-Tsuna). Then one day, a baby wearing a suit and fedora, named Reborn, arrived on his doorstep, claiming that he was going to tutor Tsuna to be a mafia boss, as Tsuna was the next in line to take over the position as the Tenth Boss of the most powerful mafia family in the world, the Vongola Family. After that, Tsuna's daily life has been turned upside down: from eccentric hitmen to devious villains, he meets all kinds of people, some who become his close friends and comrades, and some who...well, want to kill him. Through it all, he denies his position as a future mafia boss, wanting nothing to do with this, and wishing that he could return to an ordinary life. Despite this fact, he overcomes many obstacles, and proves his capabilities as a leader.
The Plot: When I first started watching Reborn, like many others, I wasn't that interested; to be honest, I only really watched it whenever my brother, who had just started to check out the show, was watching it. I didn't really see much point in it, as the plot was supposed to be about mafia, and let's face it...the first 19 episodes (Daily Life Arc) weren't very mafia-like...it was more of a gag anime. I found it kind of funny, but the humor wasn't that great, to me at least (later, I read the manga, and found the Daily Life Arc to be a lot more hilarious than the anime). Then came the Kokuyo Arc. I know many others have said this in previous reviews, but I was literally blown away by the huge transition into epic life-or-death battles, psycho criminals, and amazing adventures.
The Third Arc (Varia Arc) was probably even better. The battles became even more amazing, and the villains, despite beings freaks (I like the Varia a lot, but you have to admit, they are very strange characters!) were interesting and cool. It also introduced other new characters, all who are quite interesting, funny, and/or mysterious. It was a great arc, and I watched each episode eagerly with bated breath.
Then came the giant fourth arc (Future Arc). To be honest, this can also be classified as several arcs, as there were many arcs within one huge arc. Still, I found this to be epic. The concept of time travel wasn't new in Reborn!, since the Ten-Year-Bazooka had been introduced in the very first arc, but it didn't prepare me at all for this. It was several shocks, one after the other, bundled into one package with hilarity, sorrow, action-packed adventures, friendship, and plot twists galore.
There were also two filler arcs within the Future Arc, the Arcobaleno Trials Arc, and the Inheritance Arc. I liked both of these, although I found that they could've been a bit better...still, these are way better than most fillers that other animes have. They kept me interested, and had some great moments.
And finally, there's the Inheritance Ceremony/Shimon Arc, which is currently a manga-only arc. It started off slow, then all of a sudden, it burst into an amazing arc, with twists and turns, scenes that may make you want to cry, and an overdose of awesomeness. Each chapter makes you wish that you could travel a week into the future to read the next.
The Characters: A huge cast of crazy, odd, and wonderfully awesome characters make up the series. However, as there are so many, I'll only talk about the main cast.
Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada - The main character of the series. As said before, a coward, who is basically not good at anything. He whines a lot about how crazy his life now is, so at first, he may seem irritating; however, in my opinion, he is the best character in the series. As the plot progresses, slowly but surely, he begins to grow up, and shoulder his responsibilities. He may be weak, but his "Dying Will", the resolve to protect his friends and family, makes him one of the strongest characters, as his reason to fight is for the people he cares about most. He isn't a typical shounen hero, who usually is a clueless idiot with the goal to become the greatest (insert random profession). He's just a kid trying to live a normal, happy life, but has been thrust into a scary world, to a destiny he doesn't want. People may complain about how he doesn't want to be a mafia boss, but let's be honest...would anyone, really? The very fact that he refuses to accept this, along with the fact that he is bad at a lot of things, actually makes him a pretty realistic character. Not only this, but many people can relate to him, due to his loneliness at having no friends when the series first begins, and being awkward/clumsy/bad at schoolwork/bad at athletics/etc. All in all, I find him to be one of the best shounen heroes, and he's my favourite character.
Reborn - Tsuna's tutor, and one of the strongest characters in the series. Don't let his cute looks fool you - he's lethal with a gun! With his shift-shaping chameleon, Leon, who's always perched upon his fedora, Reborn usually draws out Tsuna's inner power using the Dying Will Bullet - a mysterious bullet that, when shot at someone, will kill them and then bring them back to life, if they had past regrets. Unfortunately, this usually leads to public embarrassment for the person being shot, as their clothes will rip apart, and they basically go crazy, to achieve their goal. Luckily, this is later remedied by the Rebuke Bullet, which draws out the person being shot's calm fighting spirit, and keeps their clothes intact.
Reborn is an Arcobaleno, one of the seven most powerful, mysterious babies in the mafia world. He's more than a bit insane, as shown by his crazy methods of tutoring. He never fails to make me laugh, especially with his random cosplay outfits and sense of humor - he even blatantly stated that Tsuna was his toy (something that most people probably had been suspecting for a while, due to the fact that Tsuna was basically his punching bag).
Hayato Gokudera - I'm pretty sure that if I looked up the word "loyal" in the dictionary, Gokudera would be one of the meanings given. Seriously, I can't think of an anime character who is more loyal than he is. His dedication to being Tsuna's right-hand man is both funny and almost touching. He becomes even more interesting as his past is revealed, and you can understand why he is so irritable, yet so dedicated to his boss. It's also entertaining to see Gokudera and Yamamoto's one-sided arguments.
Takeshi Yamamoto - He's one of the most cheerful, clueless characters that i have ever seen. Calm and friendly, with a dose of daft, he believes that the mafia, and everything that happens in the series, is a game - quite an amazing feat, to be honest, with all the battles, bloodshed, and craziness going on. However, when he gets serious, watch out! He may be a "baseball idiot", as nicknamed by Gokudera, but he is also a natural-born assassin. Although I sometimes find myself to be exasperated by how clueless he is, he has proven himself to be a great character, who is easily likeable.
Ryohei Sasagawa - In one word, I can only describe him by his catchphrase: EXTREME! He's extremely clueless; even more so than Yamamoto, and has a tendency to ask Tsuna to join the boxing club, which he is captain of. He has a younger sister, who Tsuna has a crush on, but he and his sister, Kyoko, are vastly different. There honestly isn't too much depth in him, so he's not really one of my favourites, but he provides laughs, and can be quite funny at times.
Lambo - A bratty kid wearing a cow suit, who owns the Ten-Year Bazooka. I find him to be quite irritating, most of the times, but he also is quite amusing, and kind of cute, in his own way. All in all, he's the kind of kid who you would dislike, but have a soft spot for.
Mukuro Rokudo - The first villain of the series, Mukuro is a dangerous escaped criminal with a demon eye, a trident, and awesome powers. He had a terrible past, and can also be quite creepy. However, his pineapple hair, and laugh (kufufufu) never fail to amuse me, for some odd reason. He's pretty awesome, but his intentions are not quite clear yet....
Chrome Dokuro - The sole female of the main cast, Chrome is a mysterious girl with a sad, lonely past, who currently works for Mukuro. They have a mysterious connection; Chrome cannot live without Mukuro, for his illusions are the sole thing keeping her alive, and Mukuro cannot exist in the outside world, without possessing Chrome. I like her, and I can understand how shy and closed to other people she is...I just wish she'd become more useful, instead of just Mukuro's other half.
Kyoya Hibari - I am almost certain that Hibari is a parody of the stereotypical anti-heroes and badboys that are so popular with fangirls. His catchphrase, "I'll bite you to death", plus his anti-social attitude and unexpected love of animals always makes me laugh, as it is a strange, yet awesome combination. He is the violent head of the school's disciplinary committee, and a delinquent. His devotion to Namimori Middle School is quite odd, but funny in it's own way. One of the most powerful characters, he's kind of overpowered, but that, itself, seems to me to be a running gag, as it parodies the stereotypical overpowered anti-hero, as stated before.
The Music: I like the OST a lot, and I adore the openings and endings; even the ones I'm not so fond of, tend to get stuck in my head, or I randomly find myself humming them.
The Animation: At first, it isn't that great (episode five, in particular, makes me cringe). But later, it begins to improve quite a bit, and by the time it hits the Future Arc, you can be sure that the animation is excellent quality, especially the battles.
Overall: Reborn! is now my favourite anime; it took some time, but it became my Number One. You just need a little patience for those first few episodes, and before you know it, you're hooked! It's amazing, and I always find myself speculating about what happens next; thrilling at the heroes victories, laughing at their silly antics, feeling their pain when they are sad, gasping out loud at the awesome plot twists, and watching with bated breath as a fight breaks out. This is a must-see, whether you watch it or read it!
- stealthclaw (Sorry if my review was so long...^_^')
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