#on natural hitman-ism

[any-n-everything]

Hi Sora! I know it's been ages but what do you think of Yamamoto Takeshi as a natural born hitman?

My god, anon, it really has been ages (more like years actually) since you sent this to me and to tell you the truth, Yamamoto Takeshi as a Natural-Born Hitman is one of those often said but completely bypassed aspects of KHR that there isn’t much to say.

I mean, it’s mentioned throughout the series, but we’re never actually given an in-depth explanation of WHY he’s Like That.

Reborn’s the one who first brings it up, and according to him:

“... they’re either an idiot, or a natural hitman.”

And prior to this scene, Reborn was explaining how there’s a world of difference between training with a sword and fighting with a sword in an actual life-or-death battle. Most probably, what makes Yamamoto a natural hitman isn’t exactly any sort of physical quality, but a mental one. It’s something that allows him to quickly adapt to danger and a way of thinking that leads him to have zero issues with putting his life on the line for whatever purpose he believes to be worth it.

In a way, you can say that it makes sense, because there’s definitely quite a bit of canon evidence that shows that Yamamoto really does have that do-or-die, ride-or-die mentality. When he believed that the “Baseball Gods” threw him away, he was also ready to throw his life away. And when associating with Tsuna brought danger to his doorstep, he was ready to do whatever he could to help/assist.

What’s both horrifying and intriguing is the fact that Yamamoto was like, 13 when he tried to commit suicide (following Japanese conventions of first-year middle school and Yamamoto’s birthday). And he was like, 14 when he fought against the Varia during second-year middle school. It’s a glimpse of how, and proof that, Yamamoto isn’t normal either, despite Tsuna’s insistence otherwise.

And again, as for WHY he’s Like That, it’s another one of those things that we’ll never quite know for sure unless Akira Amano publishes more stuff. Or, you know, we get a KHR Reboot (complete with the Shimon and Curse of the Rainbow Arcs).

Personally, I like to think that the reason behind Yamamoto’s... mentality is because of his mother. As for how, well, maybe his mother was also ride-or-die/do-or-die. Maybe she taught him to be like that. Maybe her death was so Traumatizing that he ended up like that. Who knows.

*cough*theauthor*cough*

Either way, headcanons are free and fulfilling! So let’s headcanon away, anon! And thank you for your ask!

[daleisgreat]

Merry Friggin’ Christmas

Happy December everyone and do you know what that means? It is time for the annual Christmas blog entry here. This year I am covering a 2014 film I discovered via snail mail Netflix a couple years ago that I enjoyed so much I tracked down the BluRay online and busted it out again this fine yuletide season. I am covering 2014’s Merry Friggin’ Christmas (trailer) which will also go down as one of Robin Williams’ final films as it released a few months after his tragic passing. Boyd (Joel McHale) wants to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in his family and wants just one last Christmas season for his son to maintain his innocent youthful love of believing in Santa. His Christmas cheer is challenged to new heights when his brother Nelson (Clark Duke) invites him back home to the family for Christmas in time for his son’s baptism. Boyd dreads the trip there because he has kept a distant relationship with his father, Virgil (Robin Williams) and the two waste no time at squabbling away throughout Christmas Eve but must put their differences aside when Boyd realizes he forgot his son’s presents back home a few hours away and now must do an all-night overnight drive to get back in time Christmas morning with the precious cargo.

I immediately fell in love with this film for telling the dysfunctional family story of trying to get everyone under one roof, rivalries and everything, all in the name of Christmas. I identified with many elements in Merry Friggin’ Christmas for having the chaotic family holidays and throughout it I could not help but resonate with many themes for parents going out of their way to make sure their children get their ‘Santa’ gift. In my GameBoy retrospective earlier this year I lamented how I accidentally broke my GameBoy a few days after getting it for Christmas and how my folks did not have to, but they went above and beyond and bought another GameBoy despite my 10-year old goofball mistake. Merry Friggin’ Christmas has plenty of entertaining bickering throughout with all members of the family. Even when Boyd and his father have to drive back home to get Boyd’s gifts for his son the two do not skip a beat at taking potshots at each other. There are some fleeting moments of hope after a kind exchange with Boyd and his dad while taking a pit stop at the gas station, but quicker than a bathroom break they are right back breathing down each other’s necks. Eventually Nelson gets in the mix too, and I have to admit until this film I was never a huge fan of Clark Duke, but the way he was written and how Duke pulled off Nelson’s bouts of PTSD acting up whenever the family succumbed to discourse resulted in Clark winning me over! Bravo to Phil Johnston for the wonderful script! There were a few clips I wanted to link to throughout this entry, but the only clip I can find on YouTube is Nelson phoning home during the road trip in not-so-desirable quality, so enjoy!

Throughout Boyd & Virgil’s drive there are a couple other subplots with the rest of the family back home. Both Boyd & Virgil’s wives (Candice Bergen & Lauren Graham) spend the night worrying about their spouses until progressively drinking their troubles away reminiscing about the past. I found this angle both hilarious and worrisome because Merry Friggin’ Christmas points out several times Virgil’s past problems with alcoholi-ism. Another alcohol related theme throughout the movie that has a delightful payoff was how Virgil encouraged his grandkids to leave Bourbon out for Santa instead of milk. The grandkids have their own subplot too getting into all kinds of mischief in the wee hours of the night with the highlight being trippy nightmares from eating a whole jar of pickles canned in 1973. There are not that many extras on the BluRay, though that may be due to a third party Amazon seller not disclosing they were selling the Canadian version to me that does not even have subtitles. It does however have nearly a half hour of cast interviews going over the bullet points of the film with a lot of them also agreeing with the natural family discourse that transpires at Christmas gatherings. The highlight of the interviews though is when McHale & Williams are both interviewed and go on a five minute spontaneous improve bit mixing in their one-of-a-kind comedy while somehow keeping it related to hyping up the film.

This re-watch marked the first time mixing in Merry Friggin’ Christmas in my rotation of Christmas movie to watch during the season. It is a bittersweet watch knowing it is one of Williams’ final films, but also simultaneously wonderful with Williams still being on top of his game here, especially in some powerful moments where Boyd & Virgil are at their zenith of their bickering and when they eventually reconcile. A few days ago I caught Christmas Vacation at our local theater that will occasionally showcase older films and Merry Friggin’ Christmas is the perfect contemporary take of that film and is essential holiday viewing for everyone! For more past Christmas film coverage, click here! Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hercules: Reborn Hitman Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past