Reborn!
Encyclopedia
Reborn!, known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga
written and illustrated by Akira Amano
. The plot revolves around the life of a young boy named Tsunayoshi Sawada
, who finds out that he is next in line to become the boss of the most powerful Mafia
organization called Vongola, the Vongola Family. As such, the Vongola's most powerful hitman
, a gun-toting infant named Reborn, is sent to tutor "Tsuna" on how to become a respectable boss.
The individual manga chapters are serialized in Japan in Weekly Shōnen Jump
. The individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon
volumes by Shueisha
, with twenty-seven volumes released as of October 2, 2009. Viz Media
licensed the series for an English language
release in North America, shortening the series name to Reborn!. An anime adaptation of the series by Artland
aired on TV Tokyo
between October 7, 2006 and September 25, 2010. There have also been various video games based on the series, as well as two light novels by Hideaki Koyasu.
Reborn! has become one of the best-selling Weekly Shōnen Jump manga with several of its volumes becoming top-sellers in Japan. Reviewers from the series praised its use of comedy as well as the designs used for the infant characters. They also mentioned that though it has become more violent since volume 8, it has turned into a better shōnen series, praising the storylines and the fights.
, who is chosen to become the Vongola Family's boss due to him being the great-great-great-great grandson of the first Vongola boss, who had moved to Japan from Italy during his time. He is told by Reborn that he will become the tenth (Italian
decimo) Vongola boss. Also, the other candidates for the position of the head of the Vongola Family have died. For these reasons, Tsuna is the only remaining heir. As such, Timoteo a.k.a. "Vongola IX", the current head of the family, sends Reborn, an infant hitman from Italy, to train Tsuna. Tsuna then unwillingly undergoes training from Reborn. Reborn's main method of teaching Tsuna is the "Deathperate Bullet", which will make the person be "reborn" with a stronger self intent on fulfilling his dying will. Through his experiences, the initially clumsy and underachieving Tsuna unconsciously becomes stronger and more confident, which ultimately makes him better suited as the Vongola Family's boss despite continuing to reject his Mafia inheritance. He also starts making several friendships such as his crush Kyoko Sasagawa.
Tsuna goes through many predicaments in his progress of becoming the Vongola boss including fighting against escaped Mafia convicts posing as Kokuyo Junior High students. Later, The Varia, Vongola assassin squad, claim the right for their boss, Xanxus to be the true Vongola boss, and starts a competition with Tsuna to decide who would be the Vongola boss. To defeat the Varia, Reborn recruits most of Tsuna's schoolmates to become the Vongola guardians: Hayato Gokudera
, a expert on dynamite who wishes to be his right-hand man, Takeshi Yamamoto
, a baseball player who thinks that the Mafia is a game, Ryohei Sasagawa
, the energetic captain of the school boxing club, and Kyoya Hibari
, the deadly head prefect. Lambo, a weak infant assassin who came to kill Reborn, and Chrome Dokuro, a girl who has a mental and physical link with the criminal Mukuro Rokudo
, joins them as well. Later, after defeating the Varia, Tsuna and his friends are transported to the future where they must face the Millefiore Family, who are annihilating the Vongola. They also find that all the Arcobaleno are dead except for Lal Mirch, who was the holder of the currupted Pacifier. As Tsuna and the Vongola Guardians from his time fight the Millefiore they learn that Shoichi Irie, a comrade of Tsuna's future self, was the one who sent them to the future as the future Tsuna said they were the only ones who can defeat the Millefiore leader Byakuran. It is later revealed that Byakuran has gained knowledge from parallel worlds and that he wants to obtain all the Mafia rings in order to obtain a power similar to omniscience
.
After defeating Byakuran, Tsuna and company return to the present where they learn that Tsuna is to undergo the inheritance ceremony to officially become the 10th boss of the Vongola Family. However, the ceremony is attacked by the Shimon Family, who have sworn revenge on Vongola Primo for supposedly betraying the first Shimon boss. Armed with their new Vongola Gear, Tsuna confronts the Shimon family on a secluded island. The Mafia family, Vindice, are involved in the battle and imprison the losers of the feud. After several battles, it is revealed, Daemon Spade, a member of the first generation of Vongola, was manipulating Shimon. He uses the conflict to take control of Mukuro's body and intends to conquer Vongola to remodel it to his image, but the combined strength of Tsuna and Shimon's leader, Enma Kozato, manages to defeat Daemon once and for all. Afterwards, Reborn and the other Arcobaleno are offered a chance to compete against one another in order to undo the curse inflicted upon them. Each Arcobaleno chooses a representative to fight for them, and the winner will have a chance to undo the curse.
manga magazines, Reborn! first appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump
as a one-shot chapter in late 2003. The success of this chapter led Weekly Shōnen Jump to begin serializing Reborn! in mid-2004. The author Akira Amano has referred to the series and its characters as weird and mentioned that they changed the style of the manga in volume eight, but it would keep showing its weird style. When the serialization became 2 years long, Amano was satisfied with the length of the series and commented she wanted to continue writing the manga.
, the Reborn! manga has been serialized in Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump
Volume 26 since May 31, 2004 and it is still ongoing. The individual chapters are also published in collected volumes
by Shueisha
, with the first volume having been released on October 4, 2004, and as of April 30, 2010, twenty-nine volumes have been released. The series has been licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media
. Viz serializes the chapters in their monthly manga anthology Shōnen Jump Advanced and has also released them in volumes. The first volume was released on October 3, 2006; the sixteenth volume was released on July 6, 2010. Viz has currently placed the series on hiatus. Reborn! is also licensed in German by Tokyopop
, and in French by Glénat
.
An official character book titled Katekyō Hitman Reborn! Official Character Book Vongola 77 was released on October 4, 2007 in Japan. It is based on the manga and covers the 77 incidents that happened since Reborn arrived at the Sawada household. The book also reveals profiles of major characters including birthdays and favorites. Short side stories not shown in the manga are also included, along with free color posters drawn by Amano. On April 2, 2010, the series' first artbook, titled Reborn Colore!, was released.
and directed by Kenichi Imaizumi. It first aired on October 7, 2006 on the Japanese network TV Tokyo
and ended on September 25, 2010. Though the anime series has not been licensed for distribution outside of Japan, Funimation
, on behalf of Japan's d-rights production company, exercised a power of attorney
to remove fansub
bed episodes of the Reborn! anime from the internet. Thus, to prevent copyright infringement
, cease and desist
notices were sent to fansub groups who were subtitling
the series. On March 21, 2009, the anime-streaming website Crunchyroll
began streaming subtitled episodes of the Japanese series in North America. New episodes were available within an hour after the airing in Japan.
As of May 29, 2009, a total of twenty-seven DVD
volumes have been released in Japan by Marvelous Entertainment. The DVDs have secondary volume titles: the first eight volumes are "Bullets" which contains the first thirty-three episodes; the next eight are "Battles", and contains episodes 34 to 65; volumes seventeen and eighteen are "Daily Chapters", containing episodes 66 to 73; the next seven are the "Burn" volumes and contains episodes 74 to 101; and starting from volume 26, they are referred to as the "X.Burn" volumes. A DVD box containing the Bullet episodes was published in Japan on June 17, 2009.
. Each theme music has been released into a single
or album
by their corresponding performers. Four Reborn! OSTs (Original Soundtracks) have been released; the first soundtrack, Katekyō Hitman Reborn! Target 1 OST, was released in Japan on December 20, 2006; the second, Katekyō Hitman Reborn! Target 2 OST, was released in Japan on April 18, 2007. The third soundtrack was released on August 20, 2008. It includes two CDs that include songs used from episode 78 onwards in the anime. OST 4 was released in Japan on September 26, 2010. Consiting of a few tracks that will be used in the second season of Reborn!Most of the Japanese voice actors of the series have performed a song; all of them were gathered in a CD called Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Character Soshutsuen Album Bongorefamiry Sotojo - Shinukidekatare! Soshiteutae!, which contains ten tracks. Pony Canyon also released two volumes of Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Opening & Ending Themes, which contain the opening and ending themes from the series. Additionally, there have been various CDs that include songs performed by various characters such as the Varia or Hayato Gokudera along with Takeshi Yamamoto.
and Jump Ultimate Stars
for the Nintendo DS
(more prominently Tsuna, who can be chosen to fight aided by Reborn), there are six video games based solely on the series. The first one released was Katekyo Hitman Reborn! DS – Shinuki Max! Vongola Carnival!! on June 28, 2008 for the Nintendo DS. and three fighting games titled Katekyo Hitman Reborn Flame Rumble were subsequently released on the Nintendo DS With the latest game in the Flame Rumble series being released in July 2009. Katekyo Hitman Reborn DS: Fate of Heat, an adventure fighting game, was released for the Nintendo DS.
A PlayStation 2
game titled Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Dream Hyper Battle! was released on August 30, 2007, and the same game was released on the Wii
on January 10, 2008. In contrast to the PlayStation 2 version, the one from Wii added characters from the fight between the Vongola and the Varia. Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Kindan no Yami no Delta for the Wii and PS2 was also released in Japan on November 20, 2008. Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Nerae was released for the PlayStation 2 on August 28, 2008, but unlike the other games it was from the adventure genre. Another Nintendo DS game entitled Hitman Reborn! DS : Mafia Daishūgō Vongola Festival! was released on December 4, 2008. On July 23, 2009, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! DS Flame Rumble X was released for the DS. Also there were two releases for the PlayStation Portable
, the names of the titles are: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!: Battle Arena and the newly released, Katekyo Hitman Reborn!: Battle Arena 2 - Spirit Burst. Both titles are side-scrolling arcade style fighting games that take place before and during the 10 Year arc.
Another game was created by Marvelous Entertainment, with the title of: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Kizuna no Tag Battle, for the PlayStation Portable
last February 25, 2010.
(the voice for Hayato Gokudera
), Suguru Inoue
(the voice for Takeshi Yamamoto
), and Rika Ishibashi (as the assistant). The show has brought in guests starting from the tenth episode. It has also hosted live audiences for the show during the Christmas break in 2007, and also a couple of episodes near the end in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo. The last episode of ~Bucchake Ring Tournament~ was aired on June 30, 2008. However, they restarted the radio show on July 21, 2008.
The current radio show name is . The hosts are Hidekazu Ichinose, Suguru Inoue, and Toshinobu Iida (the voice for Mukuro Rokudo
).
s have been released by Shueisha. Written by Hideaki Koyasu and illustrated by Akira Amano
, the novels were originally serialized in Jump Square
. The first one, , shows how the character Mukuro Rokudo
took over Kokuyo High, and it was released on March 12, 2007. The second one, , which recaps the mystery of Xanxus, was released on February 5, 2008. A third light novel, was published on July 3, 2009. It is focused on the Millefiore Family as well as various members of the Vongola Family.
magazine as of 2007, a total of 7 million copies sold. During 2008, it increased to 15 million copies. During its second release week, the twentieth volume of the manga ranked as the third best seller comic in Japan. In 2008, the manga sold 3.3 million copies in Japan, becoming 4th best seller series from the country in 2008. In the first half of 2009, Reborn! ranked as the seventh best-selling manga in Japan, having sold over 2 million volumes. Volume 23 ranked fifteenth with 598,192 copies, and it was followed by volume 24 at the twentieth spot, which sold 554,920 copies. In 2010, Reborn was the eighth highest selling series in Japan, selling a total of 3,479,219 copies. Additionally, the second light novel from the series became the third best selling light novel in Japan during 2008, having sold 106,229 copies. The DVDs from the anime have also been popular in Japan, sometimes appearing in the Japanese Animation DVD Ranking. The DVD box from the first season sold all its weekly copies during the week of its release.
Various publications from different types of media have commented on Reborn!. The Mainichi Shimbun
newspaper has noted Reborn! to have one of the highest number of cosplay
ers in Japan. Carlos Santos from Anime News Network
noted the first volume from the manga to have several episodic chapters in which the plot does not go to the important parts of the series and that the art was "downright messy and crowded", but noted the "volatile chemistry" between Tsuna and Reborn to be very likely. Popcultureshock.com noted the series to be aimed for girls due to the large number of male characters appearing in the chapters and mentioned the series has a good combination of artwork and humor, making jokes repeated gags very funny. A. E. Sparrow from IGN
praised the artwork from the manga due to the "cartoonish characters exist alongside chiseled, well-sculpted figures" and liked how it jokes with the "Mafia concept" since most of it is comedy. The change of the series' tone has also met various responses. In a review from the ninth volume, Sparrow noted the series "is quickly becoming a great shōnen read in no small part due to this current storyline" and noted the manga evolved since the character start to grow up and the fights became more violent. Comicbookbin.com mentions that though they liked that the fights were well made and the comedy was still in the series, volume 8 of the manga becomes too violent and that its common reader may find it strange. Ben Leary from Mania Entertainment expressed mixed comments about the series' darker tone since the eighth volume, praising the way the fights are done and how the tournament between the Vongola and the Varia was handled. Nevertheless, he still missed the series' comedy, wishing a refresher following the tournament's ending.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
written and illustrated by Akira Amano
Akira Amano
is a female Japanese manga artist known for the shōnen manga series Reborn!.Early versions of Reborn! were published in seinen manga magazines. In late 2003, the series, a stand-alone short story at the time, was published in the Weekly Shōnen Jump. After the success of the short story, the series...
. The plot revolves around the life of a young boy named Tsunayoshi Sawada
Tsuna Sawada
, commonly nicknamed , is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Reborn! created by Akira Amano. In the story, Tsuna is one of the long lines of descendants from the Vongola family, a mafia that exists in Italy. He is the one who is to be the next leader of the Vongola, the tenth...
, who finds out that he is next in line to become the boss of the most powerful Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
organization called Vongola, the Vongola Family. As such, the Vongola's most powerful hitman
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
, a gun-toting infant named Reborn, is sent to tutor "Tsuna" on how to become a respectable boss.
The individual manga chapters are serialized in Japan in Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
. The individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes by Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
, with twenty-seven volumes released as of October 2, 2009. Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
licensed the series for an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
release in North America, shortening the series name to Reborn!. An anime adaptation of the series by Artland
Artland (anime studio)
is a Japanese animation studio. It has produced numerous noted anime series, including the award-winning Mushishi and epic Legend of the Galactic Heroes...
aired on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
between October 7, 2006 and September 25, 2010. There have also been various video games based on the series, as well as two light novels by Hideaki Koyasu.
Reborn! has become one of the best-selling Weekly Shōnen Jump manga with several of its volumes becoming top-sellers in Japan. Reviewers from the series praised its use of comedy as well as the designs used for the infant characters. They also mentioned that though it has become more violent since volume 8, it has turned into a better shōnen series, praising the storylines and the fights.
Plot
The Reborn! story revolves around a boy named Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" SawadaTsuna Sawada
, commonly nicknamed , is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Reborn! created by Akira Amano. In the story, Tsuna is one of the long lines of descendants from the Vongola family, a mafia that exists in Italy. He is the one who is to be the next leader of the Vongola, the tenth...
, who is chosen to become the Vongola Family's boss due to him being the great-great-great-great grandson of the first Vongola boss, who had moved to Japan from Italy during his time. He is told by Reborn that he will become the tenth (Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
decimo) Vongola boss. Also, the other candidates for the position of the head of the Vongola Family have died. For these reasons, Tsuna is the only remaining heir. As such, Timoteo a.k.a. "Vongola IX", the current head of the family, sends Reborn, an infant hitman from Italy, to train Tsuna. Tsuna then unwillingly undergoes training from Reborn. Reborn's main method of teaching Tsuna is the "Deathperate Bullet", which will make the person be "reborn" with a stronger self intent on fulfilling his dying will. Through his experiences, the initially clumsy and underachieving Tsuna unconsciously becomes stronger and more confident, which ultimately makes him better suited as the Vongola Family's boss despite continuing to reject his Mafia inheritance. He also starts making several friendships such as his crush Kyoko Sasagawa.
Tsuna goes through many predicaments in his progress of becoming the Vongola boss including fighting against escaped Mafia convicts posing as Kokuyo Junior High students. Later, The Varia, Vongola assassin squad, claim the right for their boss, Xanxus to be the true Vongola boss, and starts a competition with Tsuna to decide who would be the Vongola boss. To defeat the Varia, Reborn recruits most of Tsuna's schoolmates to become the Vongola guardians: Hayato Gokudera
Hayato Gokudera
is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Reborn! created by Akira Amano. Portrayed as one of the protagonist's first friends, Hayato Gokudera is introduced as a 14-year-old bad boy born in Italy. After the protagonist Tsuna Sawada prevents him from dying due to his own explosives, he...
, a expert on dynamite who wishes to be his right-hand man, Takeshi Yamamoto
Takeshi Yamamoto
is a fictional character in the Reborn! manga and anime series created by Akira Amano. Portrayed as one of the protagonist's first friends, Takeshi Yamamoto is introduced as a 14-year-old starting pitcher for his school's baseball team. After the protagonist Tsuna Sawada prevents him from...
, a baseball player who thinks that the Mafia is a game, Ryohei Sasagawa
Ryohei Sasagawa
is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Reborn! created by Akira Amano. He has also appeared in other media from the Reborn! franchise including video games and light novels. Ryohei is portrayed as one of the series' protagonists, and is introduced as the energetic member of the...
, the energetic captain of the school boxing club, and Kyoya Hibari
Kyoya Hibari
is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Reborn! created by Akira Amano. For the most part of the series, Hibari is portrayed as an anti-hero, taking little to no interest in the events that surround the main protagonist, Tsuna Sawada. He is introduced as the leader of the...
, the deadly head prefect. Lambo, a weak infant assassin who came to kill Reborn, and Chrome Dokuro, a girl who has a mental and physical link with the criminal Mukuro Rokudo
Mukuro Rokudo
is a fictional character in the Reborn! manga and anime series created by Akira Amano. Portrayed as the series' first primary antagonist, Mukuro Rokudo is introduced as a 15-year-old Mafia criminal who is the leader of the Kokuyo Gang, which consists of heinous criminals who have recently escaped...
, joins them as well. Later, after defeating the Varia, Tsuna and his friends are transported to the future where they must face the Millefiore Family, who are annihilating the Vongola. They also find that all the Arcobaleno are dead except for Lal Mirch, who was the holder of the currupted Pacifier. As Tsuna and the Vongola Guardians from his time fight the Millefiore they learn that Shoichi Irie, a comrade of Tsuna's future self, was the one who sent them to the future as the future Tsuna said they were the only ones who can defeat the Millefiore leader Byakuran. It is later revealed that Byakuran has gained knowledge from parallel worlds and that he wants to obtain all the Mafia rings in order to obtain a power similar to omniscience
Omniscience
Omniscience omniscient point-of-view in writing) is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. In Latin, omnis means "all" and sciens means "knowing"...
.
After defeating Byakuran, Tsuna and company return to the present where they learn that Tsuna is to undergo the inheritance ceremony to officially become the 10th boss of the Vongola Family. However, the ceremony is attacked by the Shimon Family, who have sworn revenge on Vongola Primo for supposedly betraying the first Shimon boss. Armed with their new Vongola Gear, Tsuna confronts the Shimon family on a secluded island. The Mafia family, Vindice, are involved in the battle and imprison the losers of the feud. After several battles, it is revealed, Daemon Spade, a member of the first generation of Vongola, was manipulating Shimon. He uses the conflict to take control of Mukuro's body and intends to conquer Vongola to remodel it to his image, but the combined strength of Tsuna and Shimon's leader, Enma Kozato, manages to defeat Daemon once and for all. Afterwards, Reborn and the other Arcobaleno are offered a chance to compete against one another in order to undo the curse inflicted upon them. Each Arcobaleno chooses a representative to fight for them, and the winner will have a chance to undo the curse.
Production
The Early versions of the series were published in seinenSeinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
manga magazines, Reborn! first appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
as a one-shot chapter in late 2003. The success of this chapter led Weekly Shōnen Jump to begin serializing Reborn! in mid-2004. The author Akira Amano has referred to the series and its characters as weird and mentioned that they changed the style of the manga in volume eight, but it would keep showing its weird style. When the serialization became 2 years long, Amano was satisfied with the length of the series and commented she wanted to continue writing the manga.
Manga
Written and drawn by Akira AmanoAkira Amano
is a female Japanese manga artist known for the shōnen manga series Reborn!.Early versions of Reborn! were published in seinen manga magazines. In late 2003, the series, a stand-alone short story at the time, was published in the Weekly Shōnen Jump. After the success of the short story, the series...
, the Reborn! manga has been serialized in Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
Volume 26 since May 31, 2004 and it is still ongoing. The individual chapters are also published in collected volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
by Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
, with the first volume having been released on October 4, 2004, and as of April 30, 2010, twenty-nine volumes have been released. The series has been licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
. Viz serializes the chapters in their monthly manga anthology Shōnen Jump Advanced and has also released them in volumes. The first volume was released on October 3, 2006; the sixteenth volume was released on July 6, 2010. Viz has currently placed the series on hiatus. Reborn! is also licensed in German by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
, and in French by Glénat
Glénat
Glénat can refer to:* Glénat, Cantal, a commune in the Cantal département in France.* Glénat , a French publisher, specialising in comics and manga....
.
An official character book titled Katekyō Hitman Reborn! Official Character Book Vongola 77 was released on October 4, 2007 in Japan. It is based on the manga and covers the 77 incidents that happened since Reborn arrived at the Sawada household. The book also reveals profiles of major characters including birthdays and favorites. Short side stories not shown in the manga are also included, along with free color posters drawn by Amano. On April 2, 2010, the series' first artbook, titled Reborn Colore!, was released.
Anime
The series has been adapted into an anime series that lasts 203 episodes, and is produced by ArtlandArtland (anime studio)
is a Japanese animation studio. It has produced numerous noted anime series, including the award-winning Mushishi and epic Legend of the Galactic Heroes...
and directed by Kenichi Imaizumi. It first aired on October 7, 2006 on the Japanese network TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
and ended on September 25, 2010. Though the anime series has not been licensed for distribution outside of Japan, Funimation
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
, on behalf of Japan's d-rights production company, exercised a power of attorney
Power of attorney
A power of attorney or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter...
to remove fansub
Fansub
A fansub is a version of a foreign film or foreign television program which has been translated by fans and subtitled into a language other than that of the original.-History:...
bed episodes of the Reborn! anime from the internet. Thus, to prevent copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
, cease and desist
Cease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
notices were sent to fansub groups who were subtitling
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
the series. On March 21, 2009, the anime-streaming website Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...
began streaming subtitled episodes of the Japanese series in North America. New episodes were available within an hour after the airing in Japan.
As of May 29, 2009, a total of twenty-seven DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
volumes have been released in Japan by Marvelous Entertainment. The DVDs have secondary volume titles: the first eight volumes are "Bullets" which contains the first thirty-three episodes; the next eight are "Battles", and contains episodes 34 to 65; volumes seventeen and eighteen are "Daily Chapters", containing episodes 66 to 73; the next seven are the "Burn" volumes and contains episodes 74 to 101; and starting from volume 26, they are referred to as the "X.Burn" volumes. A DVD box containing the Bullet episodes was published in Japan on June 17, 2009.
CDs
All of the Reborn! music was composed by Toshihiko SahashiToshihiko Sahashi
is an accomplished Japanese composer. He graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1986. Sahashi has composed music for various anime series , video games, movies, dramas, and musicals...
. Each theme music has been released into a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
or album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by their corresponding performers. Four Reborn! OSTs (Original Soundtracks) have been released; the first soundtrack, Katekyō Hitman Reborn! Target 1 OST, was released in Japan on December 20, 2006; the second, Katekyō Hitman Reborn! Target 2 OST, was released in Japan on April 18, 2007. The third soundtrack was released on August 20, 2008. It includes two CDs that include songs used from episode 78 onwards in the anime. OST 4 was released in Japan on September 26, 2010. Consiting of a few tracks that will be used in the second season of Reborn!Most of the Japanese voice actors of the series have performed a song; all of them were gathered in a CD called Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Character Soshutsuen Album Bongorefamiry Sotojo - Shinukidekatare! Soshiteutae!, which contains ten tracks. Pony Canyon also released two volumes of Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Opening & Ending Themes, which contain the opening and ending themes from the series. Additionally, there have been various CDs that include songs performed by various characters such as the Varia or Hayato Gokudera along with Takeshi Yamamoto.
Video games
Besides characters from the series making special appearances in Jump Super StarsJump Super Stars
is a 2D fighting game for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo. The game was released on August 8, 2005 in Japan and accompanied the release of a red Nintendo DS...
and Jump Ultimate Stars
Jump Ultimate Stars
is a fighting video game developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the sequel to Jump Super Stars, also released for the DS. The game was released in Japan on November 23, 2006...
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
(more prominently Tsuna, who can be chosen to fight aided by Reborn), there are six video games based solely on the series. The first one released was Katekyo Hitman Reborn! DS – Shinuki Max! Vongola Carnival!! on June 28, 2008 for the Nintendo DS. and three fighting games titled Katekyo Hitman Reborn Flame Rumble were subsequently released on the Nintendo DS With the latest game in the Flame Rumble series being released in July 2009. Katekyo Hitman Reborn DS: Fate of Heat, an adventure fighting game, was released for the Nintendo DS.
A PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game titled Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Dream Hyper Battle! was released on August 30, 2007, and the same game was released on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
on January 10, 2008. In contrast to the PlayStation 2 version, the one from Wii added characters from the fight between the Vongola and the Varia. Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Kindan no Yami no Delta for the Wii and PS2 was also released in Japan on November 20, 2008. Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Nerae was released for the PlayStation 2 on August 28, 2008, but unlike the other games it was from the adventure genre. Another Nintendo DS game entitled Hitman Reborn! DS : Mafia Daishūgō Vongola Festival! was released on December 4, 2008. On July 23, 2009, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! DS Flame Rumble X was released for the DS. Also there were two releases for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, the names of the titles are: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!: Battle Arena and the newly released, Katekyo Hitman Reborn!: Battle Arena 2 - Spirit Burst. Both titles are side-scrolling arcade style fighting games that take place before and during the 10 Year arc.
Another game was created by Marvelous Entertainment, with the title of: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Kizuna no Tag Battle, for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
last February 25, 2010.
Radio
Starting from September 10, 2007, after the recording of the episode for the following week, there is a radio show called . The hosts for the radio are Hidekazu IchinoseHidekazu Ichinose
is a Japanese voice actor.- Anime :* Eyeshield 21 , Taiga Kamiya* Bokura ga Ita , Kagawa * Katekyo Hitman Reborn! , Hayato Gokudera- External links :...
(the voice for Hayato Gokudera
Hayato Gokudera
is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Reborn! created by Akira Amano. Portrayed as one of the protagonist's first friends, Hayato Gokudera is introduced as a 14-year-old bad boy born in Italy. After the protagonist Tsuna Sawada prevents him from dying due to his own explosives, he...
), Suguru Inoue
Suguru Inoue
is a Japanese voice actor.-Cast:* Mushishi , Seishiro * Katekyo Hitman Reborn! , Takeshi Yamamoto* Saint October , Misaki's boyfriend * Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's , Jinbei Tanigawa...
(the voice for Takeshi Yamamoto
Takeshi Yamamoto
is a fictional character in the Reborn! manga and anime series created by Akira Amano. Portrayed as one of the protagonist's first friends, Takeshi Yamamoto is introduced as a 14-year-old starting pitcher for his school's baseball team. After the protagonist Tsuna Sawada prevents him from...
), and Rika Ishibashi (as the assistant). The show has brought in guests starting from the tenth episode. It has also hosted live audiences for the show during the Christmas break in 2007, and also a couple of episodes near the end in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo. The last episode of ~Bucchake Ring Tournament~ was aired on June 30, 2008. However, they restarted the radio show on July 21, 2008.
The current radio show name is . The hosts are Hidekazu Ichinose, Suguru Inoue, and Toshinobu Iida (the voice for Mukuro Rokudo
Mukuro Rokudo
is a fictional character in the Reborn! manga and anime series created by Akira Amano. Portrayed as the series' first primary antagonist, Mukuro Rokudo is introduced as a 15-year-old Mafia criminal who is the leader of the Kokuyo Gang, which consists of heinous criminals who have recently escaped...
).
Light novels
So far, three Reborn! light novelLight novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
s have been released by Shueisha. Written by Hideaki Koyasu and illustrated by Akira Amano
Akira Amano
is a female Japanese manga artist known for the shōnen manga series Reborn!.Early versions of Reborn! were published in seinen manga magazines. In late 2003, the series, a stand-alone short story at the time, was published in the Weekly Shōnen Jump. After the success of the short story, the series...
, the novels were originally serialized in Jump Square
Jump Square
is a Japanese monthly shōnen manga magazine with a circulation of over 300,000. Published by Shueisha, the magazine premiered on November 2, 2007 as a replacement for Monthly Shōnen Jump, another manga anthology that Shueisha discontinued in June of that year. The magazine is a part of the Jump...
. The first one, , shows how the character Mukuro Rokudo
Mukuro Rokudo
is a fictional character in the Reborn! manga and anime series created by Akira Amano. Portrayed as the series' first primary antagonist, Mukuro Rokudo is introduced as a 15-year-old Mafia criminal who is the leader of the Kokuyo Gang, which consists of heinous criminals who have recently escaped...
took over Kokuyo High, and it was released on March 12, 2007. The second one, , which recaps the mystery of Xanxus, was released on February 5, 2008. A third light novel, was published on July 3, 2009. It is focused on the Millefiore Family as well as various members of the Vongola Family.
Reception
The Reborn manga has been highly popular in Japan, with the series having ranked as the tenth best seller of the Weekly Shōnen JumpWeekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
magazine as of 2007, a total of 7 million copies sold. During 2008, it increased to 15 million copies. During its second release week, the twentieth volume of the manga ranked as the third best seller comic in Japan. In 2008, the manga sold 3.3 million copies in Japan, becoming 4th best seller series from the country in 2008. In the first half of 2009, Reborn! ranked as the seventh best-selling manga in Japan, having sold over 2 million volumes. Volume 23 ranked fifteenth with 598,192 copies, and it was followed by volume 24 at the twentieth spot, which sold 554,920 copies. In 2010, Reborn was the eighth highest selling series in Japan, selling a total of 3,479,219 copies. Additionally, the second light novel from the series became the third best selling light novel in Japan during 2008, having sold 106,229 copies. The DVDs from the anime have also been popular in Japan, sometimes appearing in the Japanese Animation DVD Ranking. The DVD box from the first season sold all its weekly copies during the week of its release.
Various publications from different types of media have commented on Reborn!. The Mainichi Shimbun
Mainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by .-History:The history of the Mainichi Shimbun begins with founding of two papers during the Meiji period. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. The Mainichi claims that it is the oldest existing Japanese daily newspaper...
newspaper has noted Reborn! to have one of the highest number of cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
ers in Japan. Carlos Santos from Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
noted the first volume from the manga to have several episodic chapters in which the plot does not go to the important parts of the series and that the art was "downright messy and crowded", but noted the "volatile chemistry" between Tsuna and Reborn to be very likely. Popcultureshock.com noted the series to be aimed for girls due to the large number of male characters appearing in the chapters and mentioned the series has a good combination of artwork and humor, making jokes repeated gags very funny. A. E. Sparrow from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
praised the artwork from the manga due to the "cartoonish characters exist alongside chiseled, well-sculpted figures" and liked how it jokes with the "Mafia concept" since most of it is comedy. The change of the series' tone has also met various responses. In a review from the ninth volume, Sparrow noted the series "is quickly becoming a great shōnen read in no small part due to this current storyline" and noted the manga evolved since the character start to grow up and the fights became more violent. Comicbookbin.com mentions that though they liked that the fights were well made and the comedy was still in the series, volume 8 of the manga becomes too violent and that its common reader may find it strange. Ben Leary from Mania Entertainment expressed mixed comments about the series' darker tone since the eighth volume, praising the way the fights are done and how the tournament between the Vongola and the Varia was handled. Nevertheless, he still missed the series' comedy, wishing a refresher following the tournament's ending.
External links
- Shueisha's Official Reborn! Site
- TV Tokyo's Official Reborn! Site
- Official Reborn! net radio Site
- Reborn! Episodes at CrunchyrollCrunchyrollCrunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...