these are not kings, but princes
Or, “In this post, makeste essays about KHR, and the ephemeral nature of youth.”
So as previously mentioned, I have been rereading Katekyo Hitman Reborn, a series which came out fourteen years ago (a.k.a. long enough that there are people who are now Tsuna’s age that weren’t even born yet when the manga first debuted). This series ended in November 2012 (a.k.a. the last time the U.S. elected a President that wasn’t evil). Five and a half years later, I still haven’t gotten over it.
And here is the thing—KHR, while certainly a successful series and one that I love, was never anything particularly special. By which I mean it wasn’t one of the all-time greats. It had a lot of flaws, and even the things it was good at had by and large been done before in other series, and in many cases, done better. It’s not one of the series I mention when people ask me for anime and manga recs. I would not put it on a top ten list of must-sees or must-reads. (The one exception is the Varia Arc; this absolutely is in my top ten shounen battle arcs, and eleven years later it still kicks ass.)
The humor (although I love it! so much!) is not everyone’s cup of tea. The art style starts out kinda rough, then gets really good for a while, but then starts to deteriorate toward the end of the Future Arc (although the characters are still as pretty as a Marvel Chris at sunrise). The plot has brief moments of brilliance, but tends to fall flat on its face at critical moments. It’s got issues with its representation of female characters. And so on and so on. The point is, it’s far from perfect.
The question that I periodically ask myself, then, is: Why is this series my favorite ever? What the hell is it about KHR that captures my mind’s attention so insistently? What is it about this series that I just haven’t seemed to be able to find anywhere else?
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