Ryohei Sasagawa
Encyclopedia
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 novel
s. Ryohei is portrayed as one of the series' protagonist
s, and is introduced as the energetic member of the boxing
club at Namimori Middle School
. He would often attempt to get the main character, Tsuna Sawada
, to join his club, and in response, Tsuna's home tutor, Reborn, attempts to get him to join Tsuna's personal Mafia
family. His role is initially minimal, usually only having brief appearances since his introduction. Becoming the Vongola Family's Sun Guardian is what leads to his first significant and recurring involvement in the story.
Every time he sees Tsuna and his friends doing something strange, he gets fired up and always wants to be a part of it, though appears to be unaware that it is Mafia-related. Due to Ryohei's enthusiasm, he often rushes into things without fully evaluating the situation, which often ends in his humiliation. He can get flustered at times, however, as shown when he sees a picture of his adult self and Hana Kurokawa together in the future. He also has a short memory and forgets many important details, something his adult self solved by writing memo's. He often uses the word "extreme".
In the future, Ryohei has greatly improved in his abilities, learning Lussuria's footwork techniques to move at great speed, and using it to upgrade his Maximum Cannon into "Maximum Ingram
", which deals multiple blows. His Sun Dying Will Flame, which contains "activation" characteristics, can increase the rate of recovery in his own skin cells, and can also be used to overload other box weapons. He also carries a special box that releases a kangaroo named , but only uses it for support since he relies on his own strength. The kangaroo generates boxing gloves that multiply his healing capabilities, and a pair of boots that grants him the ability to fly. When young Ryohei replaces his older self, he is given the Sun Vongola Box Weapon, The Knuckle of Maximum Break, which hyper activates his nerves and muscles making him much stronger and faster. However, this power is overwhelming on his body so he can only use it for three minutes. When his Vongola Ring is destroyed by the Shimon family, it is replaced with the Vongola Bangle which, in its Cambio Forma mode, removes the three minute time limit and also converts damage received from enemies into flame energy which can be used in a powerful attack.
In the initial parts of the story, Ryohei plays a small role, randomly appearing only a few times to take part in what are usually Reborn's schemes. When the Kokuyo Gang later appears in Namimori Town, Ryohei is targeted due to his status as Namimori High's fifth strongest student, and loses a fight against Ken Joshima, resulting in his loss of five teeth as well as being temporarily hospitalized.
Ryohei is later entrusted with the Vongola's Ring of the Sun and is trained by Colonnello. Despite facing major disadvantages, he defeats Lussuria in the Vongola Tournament's first match against the Varia. During the final battle, in which the fighters are injected with poison, Hayato Gokudera
cures Ryohei, who goes on to cure Lussuria despite their differing allegiance. He later saves Takeshi Yamamoto
, Chrome Dokuro, and Gokudera from Mammon's illusions.
In the series' alternate future
story arc
, after returning from meeting with the Varia in Italy, adult Ryohei finds and delivers the past's Chrome to the Vongola base at Namimori, along with the information he retrieved concerning the Vongola's plan to attack the Millefiore Family. During their siege of the enemy's Japanese base, he encounters and defeats Millefiore member Baishana. After Ryohei and Gokudera get separated from the others due to the base's rooms being rearranged, they encounter Gamma, whom subsequently defeats Ryohei in battle. Ryohei, however, is able to protect Gokudera from Gamma's attack with the last of his strength, and his Kangaryū's abilities helps Gokudera gain the upper-hand against Gamma. When his past self appears, the Vongola Rings are united, protecting the others from being teleported away with the base. After being explained the situation, only to comprehend who is the main bad guy, Ryohei undergoes training on how to use the weapons of that era. In the battle against the Six Funeral Wreaths, Ryohei is wounded while protecting Uni. However, he still takes part in the final battle against the Millfiore later on.
In the Inheritance Arc, he is one of the guardians who go to see Tsuna officially become Vongola the 10th. His Vongola Sun ring is destroyed by the Shimon Family as revenge for Primo's betrayal of their first boss. Afterwards, the Vongola Sun Ring is upgraded to Vongola Gear: Bangle of the Sun, Version X. He accompanies Tsuna, Gokudera and Lambo to Shimon's hideout where he faces Koyo Aoba in a boxing fight where he demonstrates his Bangle's power. The match ends in a tie and both he and Koyo are imprisoned by Vindice. He is later released after Daemon Spade's defeat due to a contract made between Tsuna and the Vindice.
He also stars in one of the Hidden Bullet light novels called Extreme Memories, which is set before he met Tsuna. The chapter shows how Ryohei and Hibari first met and why he has never asked Hibari to join the boxing club.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and manga
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...
series Reborn!
Reborn!
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...
created 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...
. He has also appeared in other media from the Reborn! franchise including video games and light novel
Light 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. Ryohei is portrayed as one of the series' protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s, and is introduced as the energetic member of the boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
club at Namimori Middle School
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
. He would often attempt to get the main character, Tsuna 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...
, to join his club, and in response, Tsuna's home tutor, Reborn, attempts to get him to join Tsuna's personal 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...
family. His role is initially minimal, usually only having brief appearances since his introduction. Becoming the Vongola Family's Sun Guardian is what leads to his first significant and recurring involvement in the story.
Personality
Ryohei is the older brother of the Tsuna's love interest, Kyoko. He is a boxing-obsessed student who often prefers to fight his opponents head on and sees any disadvantage as a chance to improve his fighting skills. He is always hiding the truth of what he is doing from Kyoko due to an incident that happened when they were still in primary school: some high school students who did not like Ryohei used Kyoko to lure him into a trap, which resulted in the scar on his left temple. Though Kyoko feels responsible, he was not dissuaded and continued to fight.Every time he sees Tsuna and his friends doing something strange, he gets fired up and always wants to be a part of it, though appears to be unaware that it is Mafia-related. Due to Ryohei's enthusiasm, he often rushes into things without fully evaluating the situation, which often ends in his humiliation. He can get flustered at times, however, as shown when he sees a picture of his adult self and Hana Kurokawa together in the future. He also has a short memory and forgets many important details, something his adult self solved by writing memo's. He often uses the word "extreme".
Abilities
Ryohei is an excellent boxer who possesses greater strength than the average human. His boxing training resulted in his proficiency in hand-to-hand combat, and ability to take and give a huge amount of physical punishment. Even the Dying Will Shot, which increases a person's strength by removing the body's limiters, has no effect on him since he always lives "to the extreme." His body's potential strength is exemplified during his training with the Arcobaleno Colonnello, who told him that his naturally strong muscles and his superior cells are at its best after his body is rested, thus Ryohei only uses his left fist in order to keep his right in perfect condition. Colonnello also shoots him with a spiritually condensed bullet to unlock his potential, which enables him to unleash "Maximum Cannon", a blow strong enough to break boulders.In the future, Ryohei has greatly improved in his abilities, learning Lussuria's footwork techniques to move at great speed, and using it to upgrade his Maximum Cannon into "Maximum Ingram
MAC-10
The MAC-10 is a highly compact, blowback operated machine pistol developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964.-Design:The M-10 was built predominantly from steel stampings...
", which deals multiple blows. His Sun Dying Will Flame, which contains "activation" characteristics, can increase the rate of recovery in his own skin cells, and can also be used to overload other box weapons. He also carries a special box that releases a kangaroo named , but only uses it for support since he relies on his own strength. The kangaroo generates boxing gloves that multiply his healing capabilities, and a pair of boots that grants him the ability to fly. When young Ryohei replaces his older self, he is given the Sun Vongola Box Weapon, The Knuckle of Maximum Break, which hyper activates his nerves and muscles making him much stronger and faster. However, this power is overwhelming on his body so he can only use it for three minutes. When his Vongola Ring is destroyed by the Shimon family, it is replaced with the Vongola Bangle which, in its Cambio Forma mode, removes the three minute time limit and also converts damage received from enemies into flame energy which can be used in a powerful attack.
Plot overview
Ryohei is later entrusted with the Vongola's Ring of the Sun and is trained by Colonnello. Despite facing major disadvantages, he defeats Lussuria in the Vongola Tournament's first match against the Varia. During the final battle, in which the fighters are injected with poison, 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...
cures Ryohei, who goes on to cure Lussuria despite their differing allegiance. He later saves 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...
, Chrome Dokuro, and Gokudera from Mammon's illusions.
In the series' alternate future
Alternate future
In science fiction stories involving time travel, an alternative future or alternate future is a possible future which never comes to pass, typically because someone travels back into the past and alters it so that the events of the alternative future cannot occur.An alternative future differs from...
story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
, after returning from meeting with the Varia in Italy, adult Ryohei finds and delivers the past's Chrome to the Vongola base at Namimori, along with the information he retrieved concerning the Vongola's plan to attack the Millefiore Family. During their siege of the enemy's Japanese base, he encounters and defeats Millefiore member Baishana. After Ryohei and Gokudera get separated from the others due to the base's rooms being rearranged, they encounter Gamma, whom subsequently defeats Ryohei in battle. Ryohei, however, is able to protect Gokudera from Gamma's attack with the last of his strength, and his Kangaryū's abilities helps Gokudera gain the upper-hand against Gamma. When his past self appears, the Vongola Rings are united, protecting the others from being teleported away with the base. After being explained the situation, only to comprehend who is the main bad guy, Ryohei undergoes training on how to use the weapons of that era. In the battle against the Six Funeral Wreaths, Ryohei is wounded while protecting Uni. However, he still takes part in the final battle against the Millfiore later on.
In the Inheritance Arc, he is one of the guardians who go to see Tsuna officially become Vongola the 10th. His Vongola Sun ring is destroyed by the Shimon Family as revenge for Primo's betrayal of their first boss. Afterwards, the Vongola Sun Ring is upgraded to Vongola Gear: Bangle of the Sun, Version X. He accompanies Tsuna, Gokudera and Lambo to Shimon's hideout where he faces Koyo Aoba in a boxing fight where he demonstrates his Bangle's power. The match ends in a tie and both he and Koyo are imprisoned by Vindice. He is later released after Daemon Spade's defeat due to a contract made between Tsuna and the Vindice.
Appearances in other media
Besides his appearances in the original manga series and its anime adaptation, Ryohei has appeared in various other Reborn! works, including several of the series' video games.He also stars in one of the Hidden Bullet light novels called Extreme Memories, which is set before he met Tsuna. The chapter shows how Ryohei and Hibari first met and why he has never asked Hibari to join the boxing club.