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rebornfandom2018-12-16 05:15 pm
warmskies) wrote in rebornfandom2018-12-16 05:15 pm
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A Starter's Guide to KHR
posted originally on tumblr here, and too valuable to let it be lost to shitty website management.
When trying to get my friends into KHR, there’s two problems I commonly find myself facing. The first is that the first 61 chapters have very little in common with the remaining 348, which can make it hard for people to get into it long enough to get to the parts that are more along the shounen aspects of the series. The second is that the art style might not be their thing. Fortunately, for the second, proof of art evolution is a beautiful thing:
For the first? Well, that’s what this post is being made for.
Introducing the Starter’s Guide to KHR, where I’ll list the relevant chapters where we’re introduced to major characters, minor characters, plot points that are relevant later on, and a few other things!
So let’s get started.
— Major Characters —
Chapter 1
- Introduces:
– Tsuna Sawada, the protagonist: a below average 13 year old with the nickname of “Loser Tsuna” suddenly trust into the world of organized crime when he’s told he’s to be the future boss of the most powerful Mafia family in the world, the Vongola Famiglia.
– Reborn: the bearer of the above bad news, hired by the current boss to whip his unwilling successor into shape. Also, he’s a toddler. And the best hitman in the world.
– Kyoko Sasagawa, the love interest: one of the more popular girls in school, and the only reason our poor protag even goes. Too pure, too good for this series. (That is to say, she shows personality and potential in the start of the series, but, like many female characters in this series, she gets sidelined as things go on.)
– This chapter also introduces the main concept of the series (Dying Will) and Reborn’s preferred method of getting Tsuna into gear, along with a few minor characters such as Tsuna’s mother Nana Sawada and Kyoko’s best friend Hana Kurosawa.
Chapter 3
- Introduces:
– Hayato Gokudera, another one of the main three: referred to as the “Smoking Bomb”, he’s a half Italian half Japanese teenager from Italy invested in the Vongola’s success. He looks like a thug, smokes, and uses copious amounts of dynamite as his idea of solving problems.
Chapter 5
- Introduces:
– Takeshi Yamamoto, another main three character: one of the “normal” people in Tsuna’s slowly growing social circle, he’s everything Tsuna isn’t in that he’s friendly and popular. He’s extremely athletic, and a damn good baseball player who considers the sport his everything.
– WARNING: This chapter containers a considered suicide attempt, so if that’s something that bothers you, there’s your heads up.
Chapter 7
- Introduces:
– Lambo, mainly comic relief: a toddler notable for his cow patterned onesie and an “assassin” of the Bovino Famiglia who initially tries to get at Reborn but eventually just becomes one of the family. In his crybaby quest to be taken seriously, he utilizes things like grenades, rocket launchers, and, most relevantly…
– The Ten Years Later Bazooka, a weapon that switches its target with their self from ten years in the future for five minutes. It becomes quite plot relevant in one of the future proper arcs.
Chapter 11
- Introduces:
– Haru Miura: a girl the same age as the rest of the main cast who goes to a different school. She’s quite booksmart and acrobatic. She also decides that getting rid of Tsuna “definitely brainwashing that sweet innocent baby” Sawada is a plan that requires her dressing up in a full suit of samurai armor to confront him. She’s also another love interest.
Chapter 14
- Introduces
– Ryohei Sasagawa: the captain of the Boxing Club and Kyoko’s older brother. He’s evenly matched with Yamamoto when it comes to obsession with his chosen sport, just louder. His catchphrase is “EXTREME!”
Chapter 16
- Introduces
– Kyoya Hibari: the tonfa-wielding leader of the school’s Disciplinary Committee aka the group of organized thugs that everyone is terrified of. He’s ridiculously over powered, a fact which is half used for laughs at times and half used completely seriously at others. In contrast to his reputation, he tends to be cool headed although extremely focused and selfish.
— Minor Characters —
Chapter 4
- Introduces (properly) Leon the shapechanging chameleon: Reborn’s partner who often rides around on his hat.
Chapter 9
- Introduces Bianchi, an assassin who utilizes Poison Cooking and is focused on getting Reborn to return to the hitman underworld instead of tutoring Tsuna.
Chapter 13
- Introduces Shouichi Irie, a totally normal boy who has to deal with the shenanigans going on over at the Sawada household and will absolutely in no way be relevant at a later date ever.
Chapter 15
- Introduces Shamal, a doctor immune to basically every lethal disease there is. He’s basically the “Sleezy but Skilled” trope on every level, and refuses to treat men.
Chapter 23
- Introduces I-Pin, another very deadly toddler from China who uses martial arts. Like Lambo, she becomes a regular of the Sawada household. Her introduction continues somewhat in the following chapter.
Chapter 27
- Introduces Dino, the 10th generation boss of the Cavallone Famiglia and a previous student of Reborn’s. He takes Tsuna under his wing as his “little brother”, and uses a whip.
Chapter 34
- Introduces Fuuta, a young boy valued for his “ranking book” which accurately ranks everyone he sees in action and is mainly full of Mafia members. He comes to Tsuna for help, and eventually becomes another member of the Sawada household.
Chapters 48-50
- Introduces Mafia Land, an island resort built by various Mafia families where they don’t have to worry about legal trouble. More importantly…
- Mentions briefly the concept of the Arcobaleno, the “seven strongest babies”. Reborn with his yellow pacifier is considered one, along with two other characters introduced in these chapters.
- Colonello is Mafia Land’s trainer, owner of the blue pacifier and wields an anti-tank rifle.
- Skull is the commander of another Mafia family, and has the purple pacifier.
Chapter 52
- Introduces Giannini, a weapons modifier who’s taking the job over from his father eventually. He becomes further relevant in a future arc.
- The following chapter also briefly mentions Verde, another Arcobaleno and the owner of a green pacifier. He doesn’t make a personal appearance yet, however.
— Traits and Relationships —
None of the following chapters establish any new and reoccurring characters. Instead, they’re notable to read because they establish traits or facts about characters that will be relevant later on or because they establish relations between certain characters.
Chapter 6
- The first instance of Reborn using a Dying Will bullet on someone besides Tsuna, in this case Kyoko. She proceeds to tell Tsuna’s mother off for calling him “a no-good son”.
Chapter 8
- Establishes the rivalry that gets started up between Gokudera and Yamamoto, the former feeling threatened of his “position” in relations to Tsuna by the latter’s presence.
Chapter 10
- Explains the relationship between Bianchi and Gokudera.
Chapter 25
- Shows Kyoko and Haru both meeting one another, and becoming friends.
Chapter 28
- Dino decides to test how Gokudera and Yamamoto are as Tsuna’s “family”, and tricks them into thinking Tsuna has been kidnapped. He doesn’t count on them actually beating up actual Yakuza members.
Chapter 39
- Reborn gives Yamamoto his “weapon”, an absolutely normal baseball bat.
Chapter 43
- The gang decides to go cherry blossoms viewing! And of course runs into a complication. This chapter is plot relevant in a future arc.
Chapter 61
- Gokudera’s loyalty to Tsuna is tested when he’s given an offer to move higher up in the mafia foodchain. This chapter also delves slightly into Tsuna’s feelings about having him as a friend.
— Other —
These aren’t particularly relevant in any way, but they might be fun to read if you find yourself not bothered by the way the stories are told in any of the other chapters. They’re not necessary, however, so you’re free to skip them.
Chapter 19
- Tsuna kills his first person like a true blue mafioso, and everyone has to deal with that.
Chapter 20
- Reborn is a dine and dasher, and Tsuna has to make up for his mentor’s bad habits.
Chapter 22
- It’s Tsuna’s 14th birthday!
Chapter 29
- Tsuna gets sent to the hospital after training with Dino goes awry, and shenanigans are had.
Chapter 42
- Tsuna gets to go on a date with Kyoko to the zoo! This will absolutely end well.
Chapter 57
- Tsuna and friends go to the beach, but some trouble with some skeevy lifeguards ends up taking away some of the fun.
Chapter 58
- It’s festival time! Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto need to sell everything in their stall if they’re to catch the fireworks in time with their friends and make enough money so that the Disciplinary Committee doesn’t wreck them.
— Future Arcs —
That’s it for the first 61 chapters! This is referred to as the “Daily Life” segment of the series, which focuses mainly on a more comical tone than the rest of the series necessarily does and doesn’t particularly have any sort of arc. This changes with the remaining 348 chapters, which are divided into five proper arcs with each having their own antagonist. They’re listed below.
Kokuyo Arc (19 chapters)
Things get worrying in the town of Namimori when people are beaten up and their teeth found missing. It sounds like it should just be something to do with a gang from a rival area. However, does this have more to do with Tsuna and his friends than they think…? And where has Fuuta gone?
Varia Arc (53 chapters)
The Vongola Rings are what’s passed down to the successor of the Vongola and his inner circle. Tsuna, of course, would be happy if they never showed up. However, one day a mysterious boy risks his life in an attempt to get the rings to Tsuna and that is when he learns of the Varia: the Vongola’s elite assassination squad… who suddenly want him and his friends dead.
Future Arc (146 chapters)
It’s just another day in the life of Tsuna Sawada when there’s ridiculous explosions for no reason. It was only inevitable that the Ten Year Bazooka would get used on someone else in the household, and it’s finally happened to Tsuna. Except… Why is he waking up in a coffin?
Inheritance Ceremony Arc (63 chapters)
After everything that Tsuna has gone through, the Ninth Boss of the Vongola wants to push forward the ceremony where Tsuna will properly take on the title of Vongola Tenth as his inheritance. Needless to say, he’d rather not. He’d especially not when he gets wind of assassins trying to take him out before then… Can’t he just live his life in peace, especially when he’s just found a friend who finally seems to be like him?
Curse of the Rainbow Arc (62 chapters)
Being one of the Arcobaleno is to be cursed. Yet when they all find out that there’s a way for them to fix what’s been done, will they really use others as their representatives in a battle royal? Well, yes. And Tsuna has just found himself as Reborn’s representative.
— And that’s all! —
This covers only the manga (and if you don’t mind the tone/flow of these chapters, I definitely recommend reading all 61, since they are charming and fun in their own right!). There are some changes to the anime, including: mix up in timeline of events (some Daily Life chapters are used as filler episodes between Arcs), addition of sub-Arcs not seen in the manga, and the anime series ends with the Future Arc instead of adapting the last two Arcs to anime.
One day I do plan on making a similar guide for the anime, which has more than its fair share of filler! I also may make a table of sorts, so that things look a little more streamlined, but that's in the future.
When trying to get my friends into KHR, there’s two problems I commonly find myself facing. The first is that the first 61 chapters have very little in common with the remaining 348, which can make it hard for people to get into it long enough to get to the parts that are more along the shounen aspects of the series. The second is that the art style might not be their thing. Fortunately, for the second, proof of art evolution is a beautiful thing:
For the first? Well, that’s what this post is being made for.
Introducing the Starter’s Guide to KHR, where I’ll list the relevant chapters where we’re introduced to major characters, minor characters, plot points that are relevant later on, and a few other things!
So let’s get started.
— Major Characters —
Chapter 1
- Introduces:
– Tsuna Sawada, the protagonist: a below average 13 year old with the nickname of “Loser Tsuna” suddenly trust into the world of organized crime when he’s told he’s to be the future boss of the most powerful Mafia family in the world, the Vongola Famiglia.
– Reborn: the bearer of the above bad news, hired by the current boss to whip his unwilling successor into shape. Also, he’s a toddler. And the best hitman in the world.
– Kyoko Sasagawa, the love interest: one of the more popular girls in school, and the only reason our poor protag even goes. Too pure, too good for this series. (That is to say, she shows personality and potential in the start of the series, but, like many female characters in this series, she gets sidelined as things go on.)
– This chapter also introduces the main concept of the series (Dying Will) and Reborn’s preferred method of getting Tsuna into gear, along with a few minor characters such as Tsuna’s mother Nana Sawada and Kyoko’s best friend Hana Kurosawa.
Chapter 3
- Introduces:
– Hayato Gokudera, another one of the main three: referred to as the “Smoking Bomb”, he’s a half Italian half Japanese teenager from Italy invested in the Vongola’s success. He looks like a thug, smokes, and uses copious amounts of dynamite as his idea of solving problems.
Chapter 5
- Introduces:
– Takeshi Yamamoto, another main three character: one of the “normal” people in Tsuna’s slowly growing social circle, he’s everything Tsuna isn’t in that he’s friendly and popular. He’s extremely athletic, and a damn good baseball player who considers the sport his everything.
– WARNING: This chapter containers a considered suicide attempt, so if that’s something that bothers you, there’s your heads up.
Chapter 7
- Introduces:
– Lambo, mainly comic relief: a toddler notable for his cow patterned onesie and an “assassin” of the Bovino Famiglia who initially tries to get at Reborn but eventually just becomes one of the family. In his crybaby quest to be taken seriously, he utilizes things like grenades, rocket launchers, and, most relevantly…
– The Ten Years Later Bazooka, a weapon that switches its target with their self from ten years in the future for five minutes. It becomes quite plot relevant in one of the future proper arcs.
Chapter 11
- Introduces:
– Haru Miura: a girl the same age as the rest of the main cast who goes to a different school. She’s quite booksmart and acrobatic. She also decides that getting rid of Tsuna “definitely brainwashing that sweet innocent baby” Sawada is a plan that requires her dressing up in a full suit of samurai armor to confront him. She’s also another love interest.
Chapter 14
- Introduces
– Ryohei Sasagawa: the captain of the Boxing Club and Kyoko’s older brother. He’s evenly matched with Yamamoto when it comes to obsession with his chosen sport, just louder. His catchphrase is “EXTREME!”
Chapter 16
- Introduces
– Kyoya Hibari: the tonfa-wielding leader of the school’s Disciplinary Committee aka the group of organized thugs that everyone is terrified of. He’s ridiculously over powered, a fact which is half used for laughs at times and half used completely seriously at others. In contrast to his reputation, he tends to be cool headed although extremely focused and selfish.
— Minor Characters —
Chapter 4
- Introduces (properly) Leon the shapechanging chameleon: Reborn’s partner who often rides around on his hat.
Chapter 9
- Introduces Bianchi, an assassin who utilizes Poison Cooking and is focused on getting Reborn to return to the hitman underworld instead of tutoring Tsuna.
Chapter 13
- Introduces Shouichi Irie, a totally normal boy who has to deal with the shenanigans going on over at the Sawada household and will absolutely in no way be relevant at a later date ever.
Chapter 15
- Introduces Shamal, a doctor immune to basically every lethal disease there is. He’s basically the “Sleezy but Skilled” trope on every level, and refuses to treat men.
Chapter 23
- Introduces I-Pin, another very deadly toddler from China who uses martial arts. Like Lambo, she becomes a regular of the Sawada household. Her introduction continues somewhat in the following chapter.
Chapter 27
- Introduces Dino, the 10th generation boss of the Cavallone Famiglia and a previous student of Reborn’s. He takes Tsuna under his wing as his “little brother”, and uses a whip.
Chapter 34
- Introduces Fuuta, a young boy valued for his “ranking book” which accurately ranks everyone he sees in action and is mainly full of Mafia members. He comes to Tsuna for help, and eventually becomes another member of the Sawada household.
Chapters 48-50
- Introduces Mafia Land, an island resort built by various Mafia families where they don’t have to worry about legal trouble. More importantly…
- Mentions briefly the concept of the Arcobaleno, the “seven strongest babies”. Reborn with his yellow pacifier is considered one, along with two other characters introduced in these chapters.
- Colonello is Mafia Land’s trainer, owner of the blue pacifier and wields an anti-tank rifle.
- Skull is the commander of another Mafia family, and has the purple pacifier.
Chapter 52
- Introduces Giannini, a weapons modifier who’s taking the job over from his father eventually. He becomes further relevant in a future arc.
- The following chapter also briefly mentions Verde, another Arcobaleno and the owner of a green pacifier. He doesn’t make a personal appearance yet, however.
— Traits and Relationships —
None of the following chapters establish any new and reoccurring characters. Instead, they’re notable to read because they establish traits or facts about characters that will be relevant later on or because they establish relations between certain characters.
Chapter 6
- The first instance of Reborn using a Dying Will bullet on someone besides Tsuna, in this case Kyoko. She proceeds to tell Tsuna’s mother off for calling him “a no-good son”.
Chapter 8
- Establishes the rivalry that gets started up between Gokudera and Yamamoto, the former feeling threatened of his “position” in relations to Tsuna by the latter’s presence.
Chapter 10
- Explains the relationship between Bianchi and Gokudera.
Chapter 25
- Shows Kyoko and Haru both meeting one another, and becoming friends.
Chapter 28
- Dino decides to test how Gokudera and Yamamoto are as Tsuna’s “family”, and tricks them into thinking Tsuna has been kidnapped. He doesn’t count on them actually beating up actual Yakuza members.
Chapter 39
- Reborn gives Yamamoto his “weapon”, an absolutely normal baseball bat.
Chapter 43
- The gang decides to go cherry blossoms viewing! And of course runs into a complication. This chapter is plot relevant in a future arc.
Chapter 61
- Gokudera’s loyalty to Tsuna is tested when he’s given an offer to move higher up in the mafia foodchain. This chapter also delves slightly into Tsuna’s feelings about having him as a friend.
— Other —
These aren’t particularly relevant in any way, but they might be fun to read if you find yourself not bothered by the way the stories are told in any of the other chapters. They’re not necessary, however, so you’re free to skip them.
Chapter 19
- Tsuna kills his first person like a true blue mafioso, and everyone has to deal with that.
Chapter 20
- Reborn is a dine and dasher, and Tsuna has to make up for his mentor’s bad habits.
Chapter 22
- It’s Tsuna’s 14th birthday!
Chapter 29
- Tsuna gets sent to the hospital after training with Dino goes awry, and shenanigans are had.
Chapter 42
- Tsuna gets to go on a date with Kyoko to the zoo! This will absolutely end well.
Chapter 57
- Tsuna and friends go to the beach, but some trouble with some skeevy lifeguards ends up taking away some of the fun.
Chapter 58
- It’s festival time! Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto need to sell everything in their stall if they’re to catch the fireworks in time with their friends and make enough money so that the Disciplinary Committee doesn’t wreck them.
— Future Arcs —
That’s it for the first 61 chapters! This is referred to as the “Daily Life” segment of the series, which focuses mainly on a more comical tone than the rest of the series necessarily does and doesn’t particularly have any sort of arc. This changes with the remaining 348 chapters, which are divided into five proper arcs with each having their own antagonist. They’re listed below.
Kokuyo Arc (19 chapters)
Things get worrying in the town of Namimori when people are beaten up and their teeth found missing. It sounds like it should just be something to do with a gang from a rival area. However, does this have more to do with Tsuna and his friends than they think…? And where has Fuuta gone?
Varia Arc (53 chapters)
The Vongola Rings are what’s passed down to the successor of the Vongola and his inner circle. Tsuna, of course, would be happy if they never showed up. However, one day a mysterious boy risks his life in an attempt to get the rings to Tsuna and that is when he learns of the Varia: the Vongola’s elite assassination squad… who suddenly want him and his friends dead.
Future Arc (146 chapters)
It’s just another day in the life of Tsuna Sawada when there’s ridiculous explosions for no reason. It was only inevitable that the Ten Year Bazooka would get used on someone else in the household, and it’s finally happened to Tsuna. Except… Why is he waking up in a coffin?
Inheritance Ceremony Arc (63 chapters)
After everything that Tsuna has gone through, the Ninth Boss of the Vongola wants to push forward the ceremony where Tsuna will properly take on the title of Vongola Tenth as his inheritance. Needless to say, he’d rather not. He’d especially not when he gets wind of assassins trying to take him out before then… Can’t he just live his life in peace, especially when he’s just found a friend who finally seems to be like him?
Curse of the Rainbow Arc (62 chapters)
Being one of the Arcobaleno is to be cursed. Yet when they all find out that there’s a way for them to fix what’s been done, will they really use others as their representatives in a battle royal? Well, yes. And Tsuna has just found himself as Reborn’s representative.
— And that’s all! —
This covers only the manga (and if you don’t mind the tone/flow of these chapters, I definitely recommend reading all 61, since they are charming and fun in their own right!). There are some changes to the anime, including: mix up in timeline of events (some Daily Life chapters are used as filler episodes between Arcs), addition of sub-Arcs not seen in the manga, and the anime series ends with the Future Arc instead of adapting the last two Arcs to anime.
One day I do plan on making a similar guide for the anime, which has more than its fair share of filler! I also may make a table of sorts, so that things look a little more streamlined, but that's in the future.