Why Choose Yamamoto?

What I liked about Yamamoto from the beginning was his upbeat personality and kindness. He helped and befriended Tsuna, a social outcast without a second thought. He always makes sure he smiles. His first appearance also showed he wasn't a one dimensional character when Yamamoto nearly jumped off the school roof because he injured himself playing baseball. I was definitely intrigued by a character who already had depth after a single chapter. Yamamoto is an all-around good guy which really appeals to me because he's always willing to stand up for his friends. That being said, while I loved his personality from the beginning it wasn't until the Kokuyo Arc that I started to favor him over other characters, and it wasn't until the Varia Arc that I completely commited to making a tribute to him.

Yamamoto first held a sword when Reborn tricked him by making him believe it was a training baseball bat. Yamamoto continued to insist it was all just a game and that turned me off somewhat because I struggled to believe he could be that blind to the world around him. When he sacrificed his arm to Ken's teeth depsite the consequences it would have on his upcoming baseball game it encouraged me that he was realizing everything wasn't a game and that he would choose his friends over baseball when the time came. It wasn't until the Varia Arc when he lost to Superbia Squalo that things really started to turn. The pain and disappointment as well as the determination he felt after that humiliating defeat really made me like him even more. He started to take lessons from his father, a sushi chef and retired swordsman. Yamamoto commits to his father's style even when Dino tells him it won't be enough to defeat Squalo and pushes himself until he is able to best a master swordsman, even if he was only able to do so because Squalo underestimated him. At some point it becomes clear that Yamamoto knows that this is not just a game despite his continued insistence that it is, and his commitment to pretending in order to make his friends smile, and Tsuna believe he hasn't dragged his friend into the darkness of the mafia made me adore Yamamoto even more.

he moment when I finally decided to make a tribute to him wasn't until later in the Varia Arc. During Squalo and Yamamoto's battle Reborn commented that Yamamoto was a "natural born hitman". That line really stuck with me. Yamamoto who had no ties to fighting or the mafia, the most inexperienced of Tsuna's guardians at the beginning of the series was a natural assassin? From that point on Yamamoto really intrigued me and I haven&'t really been able to get him out of my head since. His personality is fantastic and although I wouldn't have expected he would go from a character I enjoyed to my favorite I have always felt his up-beat nature helped him stick out from the colorful cast of characters in Reborn!