makeste | And now I'll do Yamamoto.

But not, you know, literally. IF ONLY.

1. Once upon a time, there was a boy named Sawada Tsunayoshi. Even though he had recently proven himself quite adept at volleyball, kendo, and tearing up half the school, no one in their right mind was going to pick him for baseball because they all have IMPOSSIBLY HIGH STANDARDS, apparently.

ALL OF THEM, THAT IS, EXCEPT... YAMAMOTO! The world's friendliest boy, always sticking up for the little guy. That's Yamamoto for you.

Amano is exceptionally good at introducing a character and telling us all there is to know about him or her in just a few panels. One page in, and we already know that Yamamoto is a) easygoing, b) popular, and c) good at baseball. Awesome, I like this kid already.

2. I would just like to note that Gokudera apparently wasn't the first one to come up with the nickname "Baseball Freak." Damn, Yamamoto, you sure do have a lot of admirers. Even Tsuna seems to have a crush on you. Not that I can blame him. If anything he's got good taste.

3. "His athleticism and popularity are needed in the family." Reborn seems to have a crush on him too. I always knew Yamamoto was his favorite.

Yamamoto, however, has his own sights set on Tsuna. "I've got you checked in my book." COME AGAIN? Hilariously, this remark actually causes Tsuna to blush, which just goes to show that there is an awful lot of homo goin' on in this chapter.

4. So Tsuna and Yamamoto continue their adorable conversation of, "You're the best!" "No, you're the best!" and so on back and forth for a page or two, and then Yamamoto casually drops the news that he's been kind of depressed. YAMAMOTO? DEPRESSED? WHY YES, THIS CAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN. So then he asks Tsuna for advice, and Tsuna is all "WAIT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING ME?" and I swear to god they should just get married or something. This whole conversation is the most adorable thing to ever happen in the entirety of the series. But anyway, Tsuna gives the incredibly helpful advice of "TRY HARDER MAYBE?!" and Yamamoto is fucking inspired, man. WHY DIDN'T HE THINK OF THAT? And then my icon happens and I am loving this chapter, ladies and gents.

5. Later on, Tsuna is playing video games and congratulating himself on acquiring a new boyfriend who is cute~ and popular~! when Reborn nonchalantly drops in and tells Tsuna they've totally got to bring Yamamoto into the mafia. Tsuna is all "NO HE'S MY FRIEND" so Reborn sets him on fire because that'll teach him and his sassy mouth.

6. The next day, Yamamoto is preparing to jump off the roof of the school building. lol.

Tsuna, the root cause of all this madness, is the only one who doesn't immediately rush to the scene of the crime. In fact, he actually tries to duck away and hide instead. It's interesting to see him acting like this, because while the Tsuna we know today may still be a wimp, he would never stoop so low as to crouch in a corner going "woe is me" when one of his friends is putting himself in mortal danger because of him. For all that Tsuna complains about Reborn and co. trying to turn him into a mafia boss, this just goes to show that all of that actually has made him a better person. The mafia teaches morality. Who knew?

7. And now we come to one of the most serious and yet utterly retarded scenes in KHR to date. The Yamamoto "so I'm just going to kill myself now k?" scene. It is so full of strangely profound character develop-y goodness that is ASTOUNDINGLY OUT OF PLACE in these early chapters of lackadaisical insanity.

It's also interesting to note that this is by far the most character development Yamamoto will get for about a hundred chapters. Amano is so weird about these things. Anyway, so Yamamoto is convinced that his breaking his arm is the end of life as we know it, hence the "utterly retarded" bit that I mentioned. This is Yamamoto Logic, everyone. Like everything else about Yama, it is very special.

8. And here we get Tsuna's very first Jesusing speech. |D He fesses up to Yamamoto that he sorta kinda just BSed his earlier advice because he was trying to be cool. And he's very sorry. :(

...and then he RUNS AWAY. XDDDD

Except not, whoops. Um. Awkward.

9. Thankfully, Reborn has impeccable aim.

This is the first of Tsuna's dying will regrets that I can really get behind. Number one, because he is ACTUALLY DYING, and number two, because he wants to save his friend's life. Congratulations on becoming a little more respectable, Tsuna! Of course, it makes the fact that he is now attempting to accomplish this while screaming and yelling in his boxer shorts all the more ridiculous. XD

10. So in the end, Tsuna saves Yamamoto by growing a spring on his head and bouncing off the ground.

Yamamoto is surprisingly nonplussed by the day's events (MAYBE HE THOUGHT TSUNA'S HAIR WAS SPECIAL EFFECTS??), and apologizes for being dumb. Tsuna is happy because he made a new friend/GAY ADMIRER, and Reborn is happy because Tsuna acquired a new family member. Slash gay admirer.

So it's all good.

And on an unrelated note, Happy Birthday,

azartti! I really hope you have a good one; you deserve it, especially given everything that's happened recently. *hugs* And though it's early (over here, anyway), Happy Birthday to

chibikaya as well. ♥

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Actually it was this chapter, and "Yamamoto's training", the one with his awesome cover pic, that sealed the deal for me, that I wasn't leaving this series. For this series he's the happy-but-dark-inside character that I seem to always gravitate to.

Same here, actually, only it wasn't Yamamoto who sealed the deal for me, but the story's weird, almost experimental flirtation with seriousness. It confirmed that in spite of the talking babies and magic bullets and people running around everywhere with no pants on, Amano could actually write characters and stories with some sort of depth behind them. I was very pleased to discover this.

Going on three hundred chapters later, and we've still got that weird combination of crack and serious going on, come to think. It's one of the things I really love about KHR.

I mean, it was Tsuna and Reborn that hooked me first, made me laugh hard when I really needed it. But it was Yamamoto that sealed it for me, that I wasn't leaving any time soon.

Like everything else about Yama, it is very special.

THIS. +1

The Primo Arc right now is actually giving more character depth to Yamamoto again? 8'D -very happy about it-

That's true! The last two Primo eps were awesome, actually. For once, the anime did something right where the manga fucked up. AMANO, PAY MORE ATTENTION TO YOUR RAIN GUARDIAN DAMN IT.

I just hope it won't turn out kinda lame by the end, like with the Arcobaleno one. orz BUT THERE IS STILL HOPE(?)

I maintain that it is impossible for anything to be lame when it involves Primos. Even in failure it would still be glorious.

Even Tsuna seems to have a crush on you.

I remember thinking that when I first read this chapter. :D Good times. . . . ~~Now I remember why I used to look so hard for Yamamoto/Tsuna/Gokudera fics.~~

The next day, Yamamoto is preparing to jump off the roof of the school building. lol.

Oh, Yamamoto. You and your latent suicidal tendencies. ♥

For all people accuse Amano of 'regressing Tsuna's character development', I guess this just goes to show that Tsuna really has changed a lot. If Yamamoto were to try and pull this now, Tsuna would go all Vongola Decimo and epically save him while giving his inspiring speech at the same time. |D

And for all the genre shift KHR went through, you can see the seeds of it right here in chapter five. (This was always one of my favourite chapters, btw. HILARITY PLUS SERIOUS EQUALS AWESOME.)

You know, you hang out in this fandom and the jokes about how everyone in the mafia is gay become an everyday thing, and you just become accustomed to it... and then you reread chapters like this, and it just all of a sudden hits you that seriously, EVERYONE IN THE MAFIA IS GAY. XD

Yeah, he really has grown by leaps and bounds. Wimp? Yes. Still incredibly in denial? You bet. But what has changed is that he's grown into a leader now, and he can take responsibility and take care of his own. And man is he a force to be reckoned with when it comes to those inspiring speeches. If he went back in time for some reason and had to redo this chapter again, people would be applauding by the end of it.

And yeah, I agree. This chapter is nothing if not proof that KHR was always capable of getting serious business if need be. It's one of my favorites too. /o/

IT'S TRUE, THEY ARE. |D

By the way, thanks to this recap I have just figured out how to write that KHR crossover I've been wanting to do. \o/ Thank you!

It's like a requirement before you can join. "ARE YOU GAY?" "UH. A LITTLE MAYBE?" "OKAY, COOL, YOU'RE IN."

Ooh, a crossover? That sounds intriguing. Well, good luck, and I'm glad I could help inspire you, heh. o/

I love this chapter. And everyone has a crush on Yamamoto, don'tcha know.

IT'S TRUE. He is fiiine.

If slightly ~special. But w/e, we love him anyway.

Yeah, if anything that just adds to his charm. XD

Yamamoto chapter ♥

And thank you hon, it was a slow good day. *glomps you*

Oh good, I'm glad. ♥ *glomps back*

AAAAAH THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DON'T CHECK MY FRIENDS LIST. I MISS POSTS ABOUT MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE CHARACTER. ;P

Reborn seems to have a crush on him too. I always knew Yamamoto was his favorite.

HE IS. SERIOUSLY. First, Reborn ALWAYS sits on Yama's shoulder. Then he tutored Yama. AND THEN HE TOLD YAMA THE ARCOBALENO SECRET THAT NOT EVEN TSUNA OR TYL!RYOHEI KNOW. lol.

I've always thought that Yamamoto is Reborn's dream student. At one point in the middle of the Future Arc, I was convinced that Reborn was grooming Yamamoto to be an Arcobaleno (this was before we got more info about them, haha).

I've been rereading the Daily Life Arc recently and while Yamamoto is definitely retarded and dense during those times, he's still the one who knows things like Haru's school being an elite school and knowing who (and how dangerous) Hibari is.

I actually didn't care much about Yamamoto (or any of the KHR characters) during the first 3 arcs... I remembered thinking that everything was so fast paced (I GOT SPOILED BY ONE PIECE). Then the Future Arc happened and OMG TYL characters so HOT and then Yamamoto bitchslaps Gokudera and BAM, they're my OTP and Yama's my favorite character ever. Reading KHR the second time solidified it lol.

I sometimes laugh at people when they say Yamamoto is boring. HOW CAN SOMEONE BE BORING WHEN THEY ATTEMPTED SUICIDE IN THEIR INTRO CHAPTER?

Gosh, that was long. Whatever, I've already accepted that I'm a tool when Yamamoto's concerned, LOL.

YES EXACTLY REBORN IS TOTALLY PLAYING FAVORITES WITH HIM. But it's not like you can blame him for liking Yama best.

I actually still half-suspect that Reborn is considering making Yamamoto his heir one day. I mean, if Arcobaleno ever actually retire. XD But either way, he definitely seems to see something of himself in him, I think. He always takes a bit more of a personal interest when he's training him.

He is strangely observant, isn't he? He acts like he has no idea what's really going on (and most of the time I almost think he's being genuine XD), but at the same time, he notices things the others don't. It's such an awesome contrast; that's how he first started to become one of my favorites, when I started to notice that.

The Future Arc was definitely good for him. I only wish it hadn't stopped paying attention to him halfway through, because we got some really awesome development from that first half. Oh well, who knows what the current arc has in store.

I have no idea. XD For me, if you say that Yamamoto's boring, I almost think you must not have been paying him much attention. He is such a great character, and I don't just mean that in the fangirly way that I do when I say that about a lot of the other characters. Yamamoto really is a great character with a lot of depth and an awesome personality. I don't know how anyone could not like him.

Haha, anyway. My long comment was also long, but I agree with you; when it involves Yama, there's no shame in that.

And now I'll do Yamamoto.

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