A long essay! 8D I like chapter rants, but boy do I love speculation and debate, too!
Agreed on Amano's strong points: her characters and their relationships are definitely the glue that keeps her story together, even if they are still flawed because of some bits of unrealism. On the whole, these characters are believable and three dimensional, and that's really the first thing I will ask of a story. It's especially impressive in one with so many characters.
And just as clearly, Reborn and Tsuna's relationship has always been the epicenter, even if it's not technically the main focus. The title is there to remind us of that fact, and of the paradox that is their relationship. On one hand, Reborn is a mentor, on another, he is a baby. What's interesting is that Tsuna always treated him as both of these things, which is probably another reason why he has so much trouble acknowledging Adult!Reborn. And also because of this paradox, I am not sure it's that easy for Tsuna to see Reborn as a father figure... To him, Reborn is a walking enigma, the person who introduced him to a world he had much rather not know, but also a person who has been sharing his house for almost a year and helped him through hardships, and above all it's thanks to Reborn that Tsuna has not only grown, but made friends, something he always wanted.
Tsuna owes everything to Reborn, yet at the same time Reborn represents everything Tsuna is fighting against. It's his job to shape him into a mafia boss, which Tsuna refuses to be, and Reborn is willing to use any means necessary to achieve that goal. From the very beginning, Reborn hasn't just taken risks to help Tsuna grow, he has been literally gambling with the boy's life.The Dying Will Bullet does kill, and Reborn had no guarantee that Tsuna would have enough regrets to come back. Then he ignored the rumor of the Skull Disease, and when it manifested, Reborn didn't use any pressure on Shamal to cure Tsuna, even though, working under the Ninth, he certainly has the power to do so. (Part 2 follows)
And this page doesn't help: as it turns out, the reason Reborn didn't want Hibari to lose to the Varia and made Dino help him instead of helping Tsuna's team, was because ultimately he wanted Hibari and Tsuna to fight each other. Again, something Tsuna doesn't want to do, because he sees Hibari as a friend. He didn't want to fight Enma again either, but Reborn wouldn't let him form an alliance with him because he reasoned it would be more productive if they remained on opposing teams.
In a strictly pragmatic way, Reborn is right. Tsuna is growing up and getting stronger. And if this keeps up, he will eventually grow into his TYL!self, the person who plotted with Hibari to bring younger versions of themselves (and the civilians that Kyoko and Haru were then) from the past to fight and win their war. I am pretty sure the current Tsuna doesn't want to become like that (heck, even Gokudera couldn't believe Tsuna would ever endanger the kids), and if TYL!Tsuna thought his younger self could handle the situation better than him, maybe he had a few regrets, too.
From where I stand, Iemitsu and Reborn aren't that different. Iemitsu also wants Tsuna to grow up into the Tenth boss and that is the reason he gathered guardians and is now fighting his own son. Heck, he and Reborn are working together on this. So the idea that Tsuna has two fathers is accurate, but I'm afraid it's still a pretty dysfunctional family.
That being said, these are very interesting relationships, all the more so because this manga is unpredictable. I think your point of view is probably Amano's, and that Reborn is intended to be sympathetic, but at the same time I can't be certain that Iemitsu is meant to be entirely unsympathetic. Supposedly, he has been doing all this for what he thinks is Tsuna's own good. In the end Tsuna doesn't hold it against Reborn because the baby isn't his father, and Tsuna doesn't expect love and care from him. Just support, if he is lucky.
But hey, I like the fact that we can see the situation both ways so far. Ultimately, when Tsuna is more confident, he might develop the same kind of disagreement with Reborn as the one he is currently facing with Iemitsu, and outwitting Reborn might be part of his growth. Alternatively, he might grow to acknowledge Reborn as a father figure and try to turn the mafia world upside down to fit his morals. I would prefer the former because it would be more original and dramatic, but I wouldn't mind the latter if it's done well.
I really hope you don't mind an essay for an essay. ^^;
Agreed on Amano's strong points: her characters and their relationships are definitely the glue that keeps her story together, even if they are still flawed because of some bits of unrealism. On the whole, these characters are believable and three dimensional, and that's really the first thing I will ask of a story. It's especially impressive in one with so many characters.
And just as clearly, Reborn and Tsuna's relationship has always been the epicenter, even if it's not technically the main focus. The title is there to remind us of that fact, and of the paradox that is their relationship. On one hand, Reborn is a mentor, on another, he is a baby. What's interesting is that Tsuna always treated him as both of these things, which is probably another reason why he has so much trouble acknowledging Adult!Reborn. And also because of this paradox, I am not sure it's that easy for Tsuna to see Reborn as a father figure... To him, Reborn is a walking enigma, the person who introduced him to a world he had much rather not know, but also a person who has been sharing his house for almost a year and helped him through hardships, and above all it's thanks to Reborn that Tsuna has not only grown, but made friends, something he always wanted.
Tsuna owes everything to Reborn, yet at the same time Reborn represents everything Tsuna is fighting against. It's his job to shape him into a mafia boss, which Tsuna refuses to be, and Reborn is willing to use any means necessary to achieve that goal. From the very beginning, Reborn hasn't just taken risks to help Tsuna grow, he has been literally gambling with the boy's life.The Dying Will Bullet does kill, and Reborn had no guarantee that Tsuna would have enough regrets to come back. Then he ignored the rumor of the Skull Disease, and when it manifested, Reborn didn't use any pressure on Shamal to cure Tsuna, even though, working under the Ninth, he certainly has the power to do so. (Part 2 follows)
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In a strictly pragmatic way, Reborn is right. Tsuna is growing up and getting stronger. And if this keeps up, he will eventually grow into his TYL!self, the person who plotted with Hibari to bring younger versions of themselves (and the civilians that Kyoko and Haru were then) from the past to fight and win their war. I am pretty sure the current Tsuna doesn't want to become like that (heck, even Gokudera couldn't believe Tsuna would ever endanger the kids), and if TYL!Tsuna thought his younger self could handle the situation better than him, maybe he had a few regrets, too.
From where I stand, Iemitsu and Reborn aren't that different. Iemitsu also wants Tsuna to grow up into the Tenth boss and that is the reason he gathered guardians and is now fighting his own son. Heck, he and Reborn are working together on this. So the idea that Tsuna has two fathers is accurate, but I'm afraid it's still a pretty dysfunctional family.
That being said, these are very interesting relationships, all the more so because this manga is unpredictable. I think your point of view is probably Amano's, and that Reborn is intended to be sympathetic, but at the same time I can't be certain that Iemitsu is meant to be entirely unsympathetic. Supposedly, he has been doing all this for what he thinks is Tsuna's own good. In the end Tsuna doesn't hold it against Reborn because the baby isn't his father, and Tsuna doesn't expect love and care from him. Just support, if he is lucky.
But hey, I like the fact that we can see the situation both ways so far. Ultimately, when Tsuna is more confident, he might develop the same kind of disagreement with Reborn as the one he is currently facing with Iemitsu, and outwitting Reborn might be part of his growth. Alternatively, he might grow to acknowledge Reborn as a father figure and try to turn the mafia world upside down to fit his morals. I would prefer the former because it would be more original and dramatic, but I wouldn't mind the latter if it's done well.
I really hope you don't mind an essay for an essay. ^^;
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