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If you're able to stand seven manga worth of one chapter mini crack stories, only to get hit with a bag full of PLOT, then Katekyo hitman reborn might be the manga for you.

Tsuna Sawada, the main protagonist, is introduced as a middle school boy who can do nothing right, and is a constant screwup. In comes Reborn, an assassin in the shape of a baby, who's badassery knows no bounds, and who consequently informs Tsuna that he's the unlikely successor to the greatest mafia family in the world, the Vongola. Tsuna certainly doesn't want this thrown upon him, but has no choice in the face of Reborn's stark violence- soon enough, he starts training, building courage and character, making friends/potential allies, and battling bad guys for his right to rule as the Tenth leader of the Vongola.

The first seven books are all comprised of various one-shots, introducing the characters, their quirks, and setting the groundwork for the eventual plot. When the eighth manga begins, the story suddenly gets heavy- the main and side characters begin to loosely band together to fight a common enemy, and the fun, happy times begin turning much more serious. However, there's still the occasional humor- the manga hasn't quite lost it's fun tone, but all in all, it sucks you in much, much faster than the 'Daily Life' arc did.

Reborn has something that always makes you look back to the previous chapters- the artist, Akira Amano, has written the story so that there's tiny little hints and foreshadowing to any current plot- hundreds of chapters ago! After the crack chapters, the plot suddenly becomes engaging and complex- enough to keep any happy fan's mind brewing with theories and counter-theories.

The art is also amazing- while it starts off a little *too* clean, a little *too* boring, Amano develops her style and by the current chapter, it's flowing with a unique individuality that makes you linger over the full-page spread for minutes.

Speaking of art- the very best thing this manga has to offer, hands down, are the characters themselves. Their dynamics, their quirks- everything about them sets them apart from so many others with their almost realistic feel and complexity. From Gokudera, the spoiled rich kid who tries to act tough and make it in the mafia world, to Belphegor, a prince to a royal bloodline who murdered his twin when they were younger and now goes insane at the sight of his own blood, to Mukuro/Chrome, the complex duo who seem to contrast eachother as the sociopathic world conquester, to the small, innocent girl- and yet, who seem to only be able to live as a part of one another in a form of strange symbiosis.

Of course, there's your run-of-the-mill characters too. The Quiet Badass/Dues ex Machina, Hibari, the overly loud, overly enthusiastic Ryohei- but even they have their quirks (extreme patriotism, extreme big-brother complex) that don't make them boring in the slightest.

Think you can get past hitmen babies (who, of course, aren't *really* babies), inventive weapons, and being kept out of the main plot for seven manga? What if we promised you an amazing plot, fully-fleshed characters, and bad guys who keep you guessing until the very end?

The choice, of course, is yours. read more