baby you can't buy a love like this.
The thing about Gokudera is, he used to be my favourite character until I realised that the reason I adored him so much was that he loved Tsuna as much as I did.
And as the series progresses, I realise that I loved Gokudera just the way he was. I mean, character development (and the lack thereof) is one thing, but when I say Never change, Gokudera, I mean it, because I loved him just as he was.
And for me, a character can change, but it won't change the way I feel about him/her unless the central tenets of why I disliked/liked the character change too.
It's like Kyou Kara Maou. Wolfram there was in much the same position as Gokudera is in now (enforced status to the central leading twit! etc.) - but Wolfram actually changed. He matured through the series as a result of Yuuri's existence, but his devotion to Yuuri never wavered. And you always knew it was there.
GOKUDERA/TSUNA DRAMA CD 7
Anyway! Thanks to tsunatsuna's post on the Reborn Drama CD 7 (friends-locked, but it should appear in a community soon?), which apparently brought the Promotion!chapter of the manga to drama CD form (thanks to dual_avi for telling me about it! I think the CD can be found on the Drama CD link on this post: warning, though, you'd have to download all the drama CDs to get to it.
THIS (original link found here) may be the drama CD on Nico Video (you don't need an account to view this one). It is full of loltastic comments and has the unfortunate background of Episode 5 Gowadera - described as "獄寺・10代目への誓い". THE COMMENTS DURING GOKUDERA'S STORM RING FIGHT ARE
SO AWESOME.
Read the words in cyan (someone went and typed out Tsuna's dialogue for this moment HOW AWESOME IS THAT): That's Tsuna screaming at Gokudera during the Storm Ring Battle:
'Don't joke with me!'
'It (Having the Storm Ring) means nothing if you die!'
ANYWAY. The Gokudera/Tsuna anime moments are absolutely awesome.
WARNING FOR STRATOSPHERIC LEVELS OF GOKUDERA/TSUNA
AND SCREENCAPS
EPISODE 12 OF THE REBORN ANIME
This is the episode where poor Nana gives Gokudera the MISTAKEN DELUSION THAT:
oh Gokudera love, why so delusional.
CUE THE EMO ANGST AND THE I AM NOT WORTHY statements.
ON YOUR KNEES UKE
God he's so pretty when he's angsting.
AND THEN LOL MORE AND MORE MISUNDERSTANDING:
AND POOR GOKUDERA SPIRALS DEEPER INTO DELUSION.
bring on the wibbly puppy-dog eyes.
WATCH CAREFULLY FOR THE MINUTE CHANGES IN EXPRESSION.
TENTH TENTH I BRING YOU FLOWERS, TENTH, aka.
EPISODE 17 OF THE REBORN ANIME
TVTropes calls this Hidden Eyes.
A character undergoing emotional stress may be shown from a head-on view or directly from the side with their head bowed and their eyes covered by their bangs or forelocks. (Sometimes the shot starts from one angle and cuts midway to the other.) Their eyes are not drawn, even when they should be at least partially visible, giving the impression of a blank face above the bridge of the nose. This usually symbolizes a person driven by events to a point of unpredictable action.
But I LIKE HIS FACE BEST LIKE THIS. XDXDXD
The original manga scene was much bloodier (ie. Gokudera was repeatedly run over by cars in his desperate haste to get to Tsuna's side, and the roses were quite literally blood-red as a result)
AWWWW.
