Reborn!

CammyG Feb 3, 2011

8.5

Reborn is one of those strange series, the ones that by all rights should not be very good.   Firstly, it starts with 70 chapters of directionless padding that only serves to put off the action fans who would love the rest of the series and to entice a fanbase that are probably going to leave the series after the padding is over.   Secondly, when it does become more Shonen Action-y, it has a tendancy to have the protagonist pull new powers from his arse. While this has worked for some series (Bleach) it is not a particularly good form of story-telling, especially when the fans become so disillusioned about the fights that they begin to think that the hero is invincible, removing all tension.   A third problem is that all the characters that are not the main protagonist and his party, get little to no screentime (panel time?) and really only serve to make the viewer ask why they were introduced in the first place.   However, for Everything KHR does wrong, it does ten things right. The fights are well varied with 7 different main fighters, each getting the same ammount of fighing, makes for a break-up of monotony. The fights are short, usually 2 chapters, which is a rarity amoung shonen long-runners. The plot s interesting, it is always interesting to see where the story takes its heroes next. From a fight with an escaped convict to stoping the destruction of all dimentions by travelling to the future, this series has it all. In conclusion, if you like Shonen action, this series will not disapoint.

PharuanUndearth Apr 11, 2018

5.5

I mean where do I even start with this, being the only reviewer to read the entire series, is that the entire series is absolute trash it goes in way too many directions to be even close to coherent. I mean I get behind the or I'm going to train you to be a mob boss and you're gonna be like the best mafioso ever and you have underlings that's cool but then you introduce things like Lambo and I-pin who explodes and a girl who can only cook poisoned food what the fuck is all this bullshit being put together. It's another series that's trying to do too many things at 1 time and not doing any of them very well. As of right now I'm on chapter 55 and the story is starting to be what I originally thought it was some sort of supernatural crazy thing I'm glad to see that it's getting there these goddamn crazy ass babies and we're learning about what they are it's kind of weird but whatever. Hey looks like chapter 80 is starting to be an actual manga which is very surprising it's actually taking a shonen turn for the better. ~SPOILERS~ The original above statement stands as is and my feelings at the Time. Then I feel that the story does reflect this and it does go from one battle to another where the main character constantly overcomes Adversity and never loses at all And near the end we actually find out who babies are or at least the origins. As we know who the babies are from like forever ago. Seeing them actually in their full adult forms with their full range of power is amazing absolutely one of the coolest parts of the series. And I believe that the artists or the story guy should make the series of The pre-story cause apparently they went on a whole bunch of missions together and that actually sounds like it would be really cool with what they've shown their abilities are I would love to see that. I'd also would love to see the pre-human kind when those alien people come out of now where I why how is this story line even making any sense a longer. Again like I said in the 1st Paragraph this series tries to do way too many things but by the end it does some of them well, fight sequences are good flashbacks are good the story itself is a little crazy. And I do like how at the end Tsuna actually gathers everybody to help the him fight the Vindici. Worth one read at most...maybe two. With the craziness and bullshitery that goes on it's mediocre at best.

SquishyCat Mar 22, 2021

9

Hitman Reborn is a story written by Amano Akira about a young boy who is destined to become the 10th head of a mafia family. Admittedly, the story starts very slowly up until volume 8. On reread you see that the author did hide foreshadowing in this leadup and it did allow us to get to know the characters prior to the action starting, however it lasted way too long. Other than that one issue KHR is a series that I thoroughly enjoy and have reread several times. There may be spoilers past this point.  Story:  The story is set up well for the most part. Amano Akira mentions a majority of the organizations that later arcs focus on and most of the issues were foreshadowed in some form on reread. The arcs themselves, other than the very first one, were really fun to read! Yes, it's your stereotypical shonen in that outrageous powers are used, there's a focus on friendship, and the main character is an adorable cinnamon roll but it's a shonen ... that's kind of implied. The arcs flow into each other fairly well and there isn't a lot of downtime. ie: due to what happened in a previous arc, or a question from a previous arc, the new arc is occurring. The only issue that I remember is that there were plot holes left over at the end of the series and that there were a few plot points that were brought up in the series that wouldn't get touched on again once that particular arc finished. Characters:  I personally really liked the characters! I thought they were different and fun. They didn't follow a particular archetype, but they each had well-defined personalities, fighting techniques, and styles that really helped you learn who they were. They also grew throughout the series. My only complaint is that the female to male ratio was a little low.  Art:  Her art is really beautiful! Not at first, but by the end it's amazing. The one issue is her backgrounds aren't crazy detailed unless it's a pan out. But the characters are drawn beautifully and have great character designs.  Overall I liked how unique the story was. This really nice, dumb, weak kid got roped into being the heir to a mafia, and as much as he doesn't want to be one he also doesn't want anyone else to take over and make horrible decisions with that power. Tsuna just doesn't want to see those around him suffer, and as cowardly as he is he kept sticking his nose into trouble in order to help people. Along the way, he makes some extremely loyal (for the most part) friends and hijinx ensues. I just like the concept. The fight scenes and powers were also really interesting while Amano Akira's art made for beautiful panels to look at. I highly suggest checking this out if you like shonen! Due to the issues with the first eight volumes though my overall rating is a 9/10.