Phader47
Since: May, 2010
mrbits
Since: May, 2009
06/20/2011 00:00:00
I don't mean to sound rude, by why did you only review the first 26 episodes and not the whole anime?
Phader47
Since: May, 2010
06/23/2011 00:00:00
I had only watched episodes 1-26 at the time, and was giving my impression of the series based on that. I probably should've clarified that in the review, but I was running out of space :P
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The first 26 episodes are pretty solid.
So you've got a boy who finds out that he's next in line to be a mafia boss, and a baby-sized hitman who's been sent to train him.
It's a funny premise, and Reborn! wastes no time in getting right to the laughs. Tsuna, the protagonist, struggles to cope with his newfound destiny as well as Reborn's questionable (and also hilarious) teaching methods. Reborn's antics constantly force Tsuna to man up and deal with the situations at hand.
Tsuna himself is kind of a loser—well okay, he's total loser—but we see him improve as time goes on. And as for the rest of the cast, we get a pretty sizeable amount of quirky characters here. Like the characters in One Piece, they each have clearly defined personalities and a unique ability in which they specialize. You probably won't have much trouble picking out your favorite character in this show.
There's also a lot of creativity with the powers and weapons that the characters use. Instead of just guns and knives, we get to see sticks of dynamite, flames coming from the forehead, the cooking of poisonous foods, a time-traveling bazooka, a lizard that transforms into a 9mm pistol, and plenty of other weird, fun stuff. It pretty much does to its mafioso characters what One Piece does to its pirate characters. That is, give them kick-ass superpowers and then pit them all against each other.
When the first real villain is introduced, it's actually quite an effective change in the show's mood. It starts with a scene of actual, non-comedic violence, and the level of danger begins to gradually rise after that point. Because you're pretty much familiar with the characters and their daily lives by now, you feel genuinely concerned for them when they start to go up against real danger. It's exciting, and it's a suitable payoff after 19 episodes of silly fluff.
All in all, these first 26 episodes are pretty solid.
The show has over 200 episodes overall, so it might not be your kind of thing. (And that's just where the anime stops. The manga is still going.)
Still, it's a lot better than your typical shonen action fare.