Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Katekyo Hitman Reborn might seem a dull anime from its cover. However, we should never judge an anime by its cover. This anime is very well-made and actually exceeds our expectations. It’s obviously not a total hit as other shounen anime like Naruto, Dragon Ball, or One Piece.
However, Katekyo Hitman Reborn has its quirks that make it different from other shounen anime. Let’s get started with our in-depth review of Katekyo Hitman Reborn and highlight its strong and weak points!
Tsunayoshi Sawada is an average high schooler who is nothing but a loser. He’s lazy, clumsy, not good with studies, and nothing goes his way. On top of that, he’s in love with a school idol Kyouko Sasagawa who is extremely popular and would never really notice him. Tsunayoshi goes by the name “Loser Tsuna” among his classmates because of his bad luck and lack of popularity.
Tsunayoshi’s life takes a 360-degree turn when he comes across a “Reborn” sent by Italy’s strongest and richest family. He’s a hitman. Somehow, Tsuyanoshi is chosen as the successor of the ninth boss of the Italian family, and Reborn is given the task to tame him and get him ready to succeed the family. Now, Tsuyanoshi must go through all the hurdles to gain the popularity and attention he always wanted. With the help of his peculiar tutor, even Loser Tsuna can achieve success.
As expected, the beginning of the series seems quite dull, and you might want to drop it right away. However, we would recommend you to give it some more time. It’ll go beyond your expectations.
The first few episodes are trying to be very funny, and it deludes you into thinking that it is, in fact, a funny anime. However, after a while, you’ll realize that it's full of action. On top of that, the Mafia/Gang element in the anime is fantastic. It’ll hook you right into it after a short span of disappointment, and you’d be glad to stick around for this long.
Even though some people would not like the beginning of the series, it actually created a good atmosphere for the events later in the story. So, we know that it was not entirely useless. We get to know about the background of the main characters during the first part of the anime.
After that, there was a significant and sudden turn of events that just amazed us so much. It was nice seeing the main characters actually doing a very important as well as dangerous task. After the first arc, we get to see a bunch of filler episodes, but they don’t feel like filler episodes because they contribute to developing the next arc. The second arc is where all the action and thrill begin. We won’t spoil it anymore for you!
Overall, the plot has its flaws. It’s not entirely perfect. We’re happy with how the story developed and really appreciate how the filler episodes don’t really feel like filler episodes! However, once you stick around long enough, it’s totally worth it.
Tsuna is not your average shounen character. He’s a loser, a loner, and anything but a shonen hero. However, it’s just phenomenal how his character developed throughout the series. He’s a down-to-earth character who is not very confident about himself, and all he wants is a little attention and affection from Kyoko. But he knows deep down in his heart that he does not deserve it at all. This makes him look so adorable, and it makes us sad as well.
The female characters of the series are not very special. They're typical. Even though they are powerful, they’re somehow way weaker than the male characters of the series and also don’t take part in the fights as much as the male characters. We get it. It’s essential to have a female character who doesn’t fight and is just for moral support. However, this series involves two of them, and we feel like it gets too much.
Overall, the character development is pretty good, and even the side characters are exciting. We’re a little disappointed with the female characters, though.
Initially, we found the animation to be a little flashy. But it soon became routine, and it started looking pretty good. The graphics were definitely above par. The flashiness and funkiness disappeared, and it became pleasing to the eyes. Nothing felt out of place. We were also amazed by the little details and how they were given proper attention. The action scenes were pretty fluid and smooth as well. So, with art, we have no complaints!
The background music of the series is too much for us. The creators have inserted too much music that might be annoying for some people. However, most of the time, the background music and theme suit well with the situation.
Whenever there’s a funny scene, we hear the wacky background music, which is good because a comic scene is incomplete without a wacky background sound. As far as action scenes are concerned, we get to hear a piece of very upbeat background music suitable for the situation. The opening and ending theme songs will make you listen to them with each episode. At Least that’s what it did to us!
Overall, the series did not disappoint us in any way. Initially, it did feel like it would disappoint us, but it really made us appreciate it with the sudden turn of events. So, Katekyo Hitman Reborn is definitely worth watching! The pacing is excellent; the characters are well-developed, the music is amazing.
