If you have talent, what will you do?
Reincarnation no Kaben (リィンカーネーションの花弁 ; Petals of Reincarnation) is a manga created by Konishi Mikihisa. It is in an ongoing status, and the author post new chapters on his official Twitter
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The story follows Touya Senji, a high-school student who has excellent academic results but is never satisfied due to his inferiority complex born of years of being compared to his incredibly talented older brother by their family. Desiring talent over anything else, Touya crosses paths with his absent classmate Haito Le Buffet.
Later on, he found out that she isn't just someone who has talent, but someone who "took" the talent of herself in her past life through the Branch of Reincarnation, a tool allows them to get a hold of a talent from a previous life. And, those who "took" the talent from their past lives, are also known as "Returners. What talent will he be returned, and what kind of Returner will he be once he becomes one of them?
Reincarnation no Kaben contains examples of:
- Alas, Poor Villain: Originally, the Sinners was a group of Returners who simply wanted to join the Forest of the Greats. The reason they now oppose the Forest is that the Forest had almost mortally wounded their beloved leader Kouu, an act interpreted by the Sinners as the Forest rejecting all Returners with a criminal origin like them with zero regard for the people wielding those origins.
- Always Someone Better: No matter what he did, Touya was always compared to his older brother Seiya, which led to his serious inferiority complex and desire for talent.
- Art Evolution: Mikihasa's art has shifted over the years, going from somewhat stiff lines to smoother ones.
- Badass Crew: The Forest of the Greats and the Sinners consist of Returners with awesome talents that can kick anyone’s butt with ease. And each antagonizes their counterpart.
- Bad Powers, Good People: Some Sinners are relatively decent people themselves, despite receiving powers based on the most notorious people throughout history. Depending on case, some Sinners are able to remain decent people, others feel increasingly compelled to carry out sins in spite of themselves, which is one of the reasons using a Branch of Reincarnation is a huge risk.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
- For beginners, we have Caesar, The Mole for Kouu’s Army who lurked inside the Forest.
- Nightingale is a whole new level. She has been the mastermind behind all the tragedy, like brainwashing Da Vinci then making him fight with his closest friend Kouu, resulting in Da Vinci's death, Kouu's mortal wound, and the founding of the Sinners.
- Big Fancy House: Touya lives in one, since he comes from a wealthy family.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: It deserves a big place here when most of the Forest of the Greats are brainwashed into being Nightingale’s minions and start wrecking the world.
- Cherry Blossoms: The blood-red petals falling from the Returner’s neck actually have the shape of cherry blossom petals. It fits with the series’ “death and reincarnation” theme.
- Death-Activated Superpower: People can gain supernatural powers by using a Branch of Reincarnation. A Branch looks like a knife. A person uses it by slashing their necks, a not so subtle metaphor for committing suicide for greatness. In two senses, the ritual does in fact kill them. Firstly, the user slowly gets Lost in Character, forgetting everything about who they were and embracing the role of the person they supposedly reincarnated from, effectively suffering Death of Personality. Secondly, they become bound to the Branch. If the source of the Branches is destroyed, they will die with it.
- Good Powers, Bad People: Just as not all Sinners are as evil as the people they inherited powers from, not all Greats are as good. Take Nightingale for example, who received powers themed after one of the most famous nurses and uses those powers to turn people into her brainwashed slaves with apparent plans to commit global genocide so that she can rule over the ashes.
- Last Kiss: Kouu and Charlotte share one in Chapter 32, before they depart to death.
- Reincarnation: Those who use a Branch of Reincarnation receive powers themed off of the life and character of a historical figure with great accomplishments, good or bad. Most of those who use these branches believe themselves to be the reincarnation of said figure. However, there are signs that this might not be true.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Many members of the Forest of the Greats and the Sinners are eliminated in a few chapters at best and right after their introduction at worst.
- The Worf Effect: Members of the Forest of the Greats are no doubt very powerful, and had there been no conflict against the Sinners the organization would be virtually invincible. But since it’s no fun that way, in their confrontations with the Sinners, most of the members were killed to show how mighty their Evil Counterpart is.
