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Ahhh...
It's a new week, I finally finished and posted my insane time travel fic, and I hold in my hands a fresh and delicious bagel. It's good to be alive! So now I will get back to work on the rest of those trick-or-treat dares.From
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chesauroshin: I want you to do one of your crazy reviews on a Gokudera-centric chapter. I love crack, but you also get points for making me wibble.Fucking yes! I'd do this even without the incentive of a shiny new treat.
1. So I chose this chapter mostly because I love it, but also because it's one of the few chapters the anime for some reason never got around to adapting. Hell if I know why, either. It's a classic.
Just look at this cover page, for instance! Why hello there, Hayato! You're looking awfully jailbaity in this here picture that you presumably took to post up on your Facebook profile. I bet the ladies were all over that. (In fact, if you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you can see that it actually did get 4 Likes. XD THANKS, INTERNET.)
2. La la la, so we begin this chapter with Gokudera walking down the street glancing around shiftily and sporting one of his infamous Hawaiian shirts, since this was back in the days when he was still determined to bring those back. NEVER QUITE WORKED OUT, but he gave it his best, by jove.
And how he knew that these guys were in fact tailing him, I don't know, but damned if that isn't one mighty fine elbow to the face. EAT IT, GOONS. OH YEAH. WHO'S YOUR DADDY? Goddamn--is it hot in here, or is it just me??
Anyway, it turns out the goons were hired by our very own Dino! Dino Cavallone: Brutally abusing the loyalty of his men since 2006.
3. So he just got back from Italy (don't lie, Dino, we all know everyone from the mafia actually lives in Japan), and he's got some news for Gokudera! PROMOTION! The Ninth wants to give Gokudera two fucking casinos and 80 freaking subordinates. My God, there's no way this can possibly go wrong! (...Well, actually, putting Gokudera in charge of a casino probably wouldn't be a half-bad idea. The kid is freakishly good with math--I bet he could figure out all kinds of ways to squeeze even more profits from that kind of business.)
But of course, there's a catch--in order to do this job, Gokudera will have to move back to Italy. Now it's interesting to note that almost immediately, Gokudera responds with a big, hearty "HELL NO." And yet, for some reason (possibly because it would have been awkward to go back and tell the Ninth, "So yeah, he actually passed with flying colors in like two fucking seconds"), Dino insists on sitting there and doing his best to talk Gokudera into the thing they secretly don't want him to do. Hey, Dino--what the hell, dude. :| YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ONE OF THE NICE ONES.
4. So Gokudera goes to the vending machine to ask Fortune Teller!Reborn for advice, never once questioning the surreality of his life as he does this. Reborn's all like, "lol go ahead, no one even cares," which is a bit harsh, but made me chuckle regardless. Gokudera insists that Tsuna DOES need him, so Reborn makes him a deal: If Tsuna asks Gokudera for help even ONCE today, Gokudera gets to stay; if not, hasta la vista. Gokudera is totally confident that he's got this, which just goes to show he lives in a delusional world, the poor dear.
5. Gokudera arrives at Tsuna's house like a psycho stalker (and yes, I do realize I could have written that sentence as "Gokudera arrives at Tsuna's house like Gokudera" and absolutely none of the meaning would have changed), and Tsuna wastes no time in inviting him upstairs to bitch about how he hasn't done any of his summer vacation homework yet (you and every other student who's ever been on summer vacation, Tsuna. I FEEL YA, BRO, I FEEL YA). Gokudera's eyes turn into diamonds at the prospect of DOING HOMEWORK, FUCK YEAH!, but then Tsuna turns into a derpy little puddle of "bleeeeeh I'll just do it later" and Gokudera FLIPS OUT. I. LOVE. THIS. SCENE. So much. It still cracks me up.
Then a cockroach appears and Gokudera's all like "FFFFFFF I'LL SHOW THAT COCKY LITTLE MOTHAFUCKA WHO'S BOSS!!" But then Tsuna calls his mom to dispatch it. He also asks Lambo and I-Pin to come help him move furniture instead of asking his trusty right hand man. In his defense, Gokudera has been known to suffer from back problems, so.
6. I have no clue why Gokudera expected anyone to ask him to mediate a dispute like this, though. "Oh no, Gokudera, the kids are fighting and trying to blow each other up! Come stop them without somehow making it worse!" Yeah... no.
You see, this is much more his style of helping. Oops. XD
7. Anyway, then the crack finally dies down and this chapter turns sort of heartwarming. Gokudera tells Tsuna about his promotion--after Tsuna actually asks him what's going on, which is a big step for their friendship, really--and Tsuna offers some suspiciously over-the-top congratulations. Then, when Gokudera tells him he's leaving tomorrow, Tsuna goes all "TOMORROW??! WE MUST ORGANIZE A PARTY"... and then calls his mom to do all the work because HE IS A LAZY, LAZY BOY.
Anyway, Gokudera is really moved by all this, and for once it's not all stars-in-eyes OMG THE TENTH IS SO GREAT!!, but actually a more subtle "._. oh Tenth, you're so amazing. That does it, I've made up my mind to go to Italy so I can help you out more" response, and he makes a face in the bottom right corner that actually looks a bit headachey/nautious but it's the thought that counts, and the thought is sweet. XD
8. This face, on the other hand, totally made me ;_; because it's so happy-on-the-outside-yet-clearly-strained-on-the-inside, because even though he wants to support Tsuna he still doesn't really want to leave him, and bawwww.
BUT AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT, turns out he left his lighter there! SO HE GOES BACK TO SAY HI...
9. ...and just happens to overhear Tsuna giving him the most backhanded compliment that has ever been offered in the history of this series. Seriously, he starts out by whining about how scary and out-of-control Gokudera is, and then somehow finishes off by saying how he's really glad to have Gokudera as a friend, and wishes he weren't leaving. Which is adorable, Tsuna, but could you have picked a less roundabout way to say it? Actually, the way he describes his feelings about Gokudera could probably be applied to his feelings about the mafia in general. Someday you'll get all those emotions sorted out, Tsuna.
Anyway, Gokudera's absolutely brilliant and 100%-could-not-be-more-IC-if-you-tried response to all this is to cry, then pretend to be a cat, and then run off to tell Yamamoto SURPRISE SURPRISE YOU'RE GOING ON A TRIP TO ITALY.
Hey guys, have I mentioned lately that I love this manga?
10. Parting notes:
- Reborn knew all along that if Gokudera showed up he'd be assassinated, but he didn't know that Dino was planning to help Gokudera escape abroad if it came to that. WAY TO GAMBLE WITH CHILDREN'S LIVES, REBORN.
Though in truth, I have a sneaking suspicion he was the one who stole Gokudera's lighter in the first place. Exactly the sort of thing he would do. - Speaking of callous bastards who get their shits and giggles from putting teenagers in unnecessary life-or-death test situations, the Ninth? Is kind of a dick.
- My oh my but Dino looks sexy holding a gun.
- "I'M GOING TO GET EVEN MORE EXPLOSIVES FROM NOW ON TO HELP SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS!" is hands down my favorite line in the entire series. YES, YES. BLOW IT ALL UP, I SAY.
- For all that people ship Dino with Squalo and Hibari, here's your canon proof that Yamamoto is the only one who's ever actually gone on a date with him. AND THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS WHY I SHIP OUR RAIN GUARDIAN WITH EVERYBODY.
I do believe this chapter is still in my all-time top ten. Four stars! Two thumbs up! An epic thrill ride.
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real comment nao
2. And yet, for some reason (possibly because it would have been awkward to go back and tell the Ninth, "So yeah, he actually passed with flying colors in like two fucking seconds"), Dino insists on sitting there and doing his best to talk Gokudera into the thing they secretly don't want him to do.
Oh, Gokudera. It's things like this that make me sad how little recognition he gets from some of the other people.
5. "Gokudera arrives at Tsuna's house like Gokudera"
Lol, sad but true :') Also, loling at "back problems".
6. WAS THIS THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF WALL? Or was it just mostly Gokudera's fault?
8. *bawwws along with you*
9. I just love this part of the chapter so much ♥ And Tsuna's speech is sweet in that he's not trying to sound cool, because he doesn't know Gokudera's actually listening, so even though it's roundabout and not just to the point, it's very honest. I also love how there are echoes/repetition of it in his speech at the end of the Storm Ring Battle.
And Gokudera's reaction really is IC. It's both completely over-the-top and heartwarming all at the same time :')
like all the best parts of KHR10. The Ninth is a dick. And Reborn and Dino are kind of dicks too, for going along with it so easily. I hadn't thought about Reborn stealing Gokudera's lighter, though, until you said it, which is actually a very Rebornish thing to do.
"I'M GOING TO GET EVEN MORE EXPLOSIVES FROM NOW ON TO HELP SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS!"
BUT BLOWING STUFF UP SOLVES EVERYTHING, DIDN'T YOU KNOW.
And lol, Yamamoto. So suave.
Re: real comment nao
2. Yeah. It's sad, because when he's being failish and/or humorously over-the-top, he gets tons of attention, but when he actually does something well, relatively few people (in the canon) seem to notice. Mmm. :/ But it's like that for a lot of the other characters too.
6. OH MY GOD NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT! HOW COULD I HAVE NOT SEEN IT??
9. Yeah, you have a point about Tsuna's speech. And again, it's also nice because it sort of serves as a transition from his previous feelings of "EVERYONE AROUND ME IS INSANE GODDAMMIT" to him actually caring about these people, which is obviously super-important with the Kokuyou Arc hovering just around the corner.
10. Heh, the more I think about it, the more certain I am that Reborn did take the lighter. It just happens to be missing and Reborn just happens to go sit outside and start a conversation with Tsuna (and he was the one that brought it up--"you're lonely because your subordinate left?") right at the perfect time? The master manipulator at work, again. I sort of have new respect for him now.
BUT BLOWING STUFF UP SOLVES EVERYTHING, DIDN'T YOU KNOW.
I AM LEARNING THIS NOW.
And haha, I love how Yamamoto just rolls with it. The perfect way to end an awesome chapter. |D
Re: real comment nao
Oh, and one thing I just thought of: maybe they made up for not having this chapter in the anime by trying to replace it with G's test of Gokudera's usefulness in the Primo arc? Except since it's placed in the middle of the Future Arc, it's G telling Gokudera to go back to Italy and Tsuna refusing to let him go.
2. I guess that's true. I'm just more defensive of Gokudera than I am of other characters :P
6. WHEN GOKUDERA AND TSUNA NEVER SPOKE TO WALL AGAIN, IT SOUGHT SOLACE WITH YAMAMOTO.
9. It is a good transition. I don't think I realized how well this chapter flowed the feel of the story from crack to seriousness.
10. Reborn is so good at that stuff that it's sometimes hard to recognize it when he's at his best. In the more recent chapters, they usually give him a panel with a "just as planned" face.
Yama looks so happy with that pizza in his mouth :)