[Impressions] Hayate no Gotoku! « Borderline Hikikomori

What impresses me is that this went 52 episodes .. with plans for a second season in the future. I know there are ridiculously longer series, but not one of this genre I think. Maybe Galaxy Angel went for several seasons, but Hayate no Gotoku! is memorable for its consistent comedy and self-mockery without fail.

Here I catch up on the last four episodes finally and review the whole series. It actually had its ups and downs for me, but there are things you cling to when you’re starting to feel detached. Sometimes the crack humor, sometimes it’s Nagi or Hinagiku .. or even Ayumu at times. Hayate? Well, he’s just a trap in the making.

Synopsis

In ep 49, “Normal Story,” we follow the student council members in their special “You-to-be” video project. Hayate thinks it’s a great chance for Nagi to be social and less of an otaku, so he allows himself to be part of the council’s films. Then, everyone spends the second half of the episode telling stories. Kind of a general episode, as Xebek and Zyl also say. But if you go into the episode expecting little, it’s actually pretty funny. Because the stories just end so randomly and nonsensically. Ayumu even finds a giant peach flowing down the river.

Ep 50, “Written as ‘Rival’ and ‘Read’ as Friend,” Nagi and Ayumu (as Main Character and Hamster) compete in the 4256th High School Quiz competition against ten thousand other teams. The announcer is the narrator, who is extraordinarily tall. As teams get questions incorrect, they are violently ejected out of the stadium (very humorous). Teams even get lifelines, and Hayate is sad that he isn’t chosen for help. Challenges get pretty ridiculous as the busty assistant teases the crowd ~tima. Actually the slide challenge in the second half of the episode is pretty awesome. And the Ayumu-Nagi scene at the end is rather touching.

Ep 51, “Spring,” returns the plot to Hayate’s original 150,000,000-yen debt (Adun is happy about this). The ep starts with the high school’s graduation ceremony; Nagi and Hayate have passed their finals and can advance. Hayate gets sent on an errand (albeit harshly), which has him running into a butler dispatch company who offers Hayate all the money he owes the Sanzenin family. But he refuses and ends up instead on a long journey to get the item he bought for Nagi back home. We meet lots of characters on the way. But it was all a scam for a surprise graduation party for Hayate. The box is a present for Hayate — a watch that will run for a hundred years. The person behind the butler network’s award is revealed to be Master Sanzenin, who says Hayate passed the test by refusing the instant money. The episode ends with the original OP, suggesting this is the final episode, although there’s still one more. Other notes: Did I get some ShionxSuperintendent love!? :D And some moe Hinagiku as well. And lol on reusing the YouTobe joke.

The last episode, “Radical Dreamers,” has Nagi, Hayate, and Maria vacationing in Greece. Nagi is being a total hikikomori, though, about it, and Hayate has to force her outside. Meanwhile Hinagiku and company are touring the world, too, it looks like. And soon they end up on Greece with Hayate. Ayumu and Hinagiku bond a little more; it’s sweet. Hayate somehow ends up going back in time, meeting a younger Nagi from when she lived in Greece. He takes this opportunity to break Nagi’s hikikomori personality before it begins and asks her on a date. However the Mafia interferes (and speaks Italianese?), and the series gets some serious action out of nowhere. Hayate saves young Nagi’s life … and earns his way back to the present. Nagi makes the connection here that Hayate was the person she remembered from the past. …And the end credits are supported by more scenes from the other characters in the cast, all watching the stars together. Poor Klaus and Tama.

Impressions

As the ED credits quickly scroll through the best scenes of all 52 eps, I realize that Hayate gets a piece of almost every girl character in the show. What a player, even though he seems to get a piece of himself every now and then when he (unwillingly) crossdresses. Moe-est male of the year, says Kurogane. But it’s the one good thing of having a cast so large in the show. There are lots of opportunities for stories, especially with an “anything goes” plot and progression.

Adun there also compliments how the 4th ED of the series has secretly foreshadowed the final episode this whole time. I would never have guessed, but it’s a very nice touch that feels like it wraps up everything once the season is over.

While Hayate’s name is in the title, much of the series revolves around Nagi, the main heroine. And that’s great, since she’s a lot of what I’d love to have in a best friend .. or an object of adoration. She’s a rich little girl with an ambition to change the world, and she really just is seeking her own happiness. Luckily Hayate is always around to cater to her every whim and do it with a smile, too. Sometimes I would find myself losing patience if I were Hayate, but what’s nicer is that Nagi often realizes the kindness people provide her, and she shows thanks. That’s hardly spoiled behavior.

Hinagiku seems to be everybody’s dearheart. Some discussion after episode 41 pointed out why Hinagiku should have been the star .. or at least the moe-est female of the show. She’s just perfect girlfriend material or a much better example of tsunderekko than Nagi is. For the episodes (like 48 and some scenes of 50 and 52) that have her in it, I really do agree. Perhaps as a side character she gets just enough exposure while Nagi is probably too vocal at times. Or as a result we get to like Hinagiku as the ‘underdog’ character. Either way I think the animators could really cash in with a Hinagiku-centered OVA.

That or a Maria one; Maria gets a lot of love, too, as evidenced in the recent saimoe tournaments. We often forget she’s just 17 (but don’t worry; her anger will remind you very quickly), but remembering it just makes you want to fall in love with her all over again because of her general intelligence and the way she was brought up. Regarding her success, she ought to be doing something better than maidservice (although I vaguely remember her giving an explanation for this somewhere…), although I guess working for the Sanzenin’s in any fashion is pretty high on the social ladder already. In any case, Maria is quite responsible, and I’d love to be served tea by her any day.

Hearts for Shion for being lolier than Nagi. I guess she got enough screentime for being a minor character, but I’d love to see more of her. Sure this means we’ll need to have the superintendent appear with her, too, but that should be fine. I don’t mind her that much.

I’ve enjoyed watching these two. Maybe they’ll never actually get together because the shyness is what makes this pairing so awesome. But it would just be so nice in the end since they fit so well together. They’re just the right height, too, heh. Isumi hasn’t gotten too lost recently, has she? But she’ll be all right as long as Wataru is always with her~

Sakuya, you tease. A tsukkomi-ko with a killer figure and an accent, how could people not enjoy you? You’ve had episodes dedicated just to you, and you got your own blushing moments with Hayate all alone in recent episodes. It’s too bad you’re further down the line than Hinagiku and others, but at least you’re still a good candidate for Hayate’s heart overall.

Oh Hayate, how you’ve easily made yourself an icon in the modern anime world. Are you a man? Are you? You dress up so easily and sometimes with so little protest. Sure you say it’s for your ojou-sama, but you seem to enjoy it yourself, too, at times. Regardless we the fans just facepalm or giggle or let our jaws hang open. You are something else, especially for a guy who was really down on his luck .. but yet can jump high and fight and get into enormous amounts of debt and be totally used by your parents. People say a little bit of debt is always good; while calling your situation ‘debt’ is an understatement, you really are getting an awesome return for your years of work. Great relationships, a luxurious estate … all for a bit of crossdressing and a bit of physical abuse? Sure I’ll take that.

Back to the series as a whole, the best fun is its presentation of humor, consistently breaking the fourth wall and including many, many trademarked names. They all have to be bleeped out, but context clues get you to most of them, and it seems SS-Eclipse is able to pick up the rest. ^^; It’s comedy that ties the show to real life and the audience, so we feel attached to it. It’s more than the “it’s funny because it’s true” nature of Lucky Star.

The Butler Networks at the end of each episode I sometimes forget to watch, but they’re entertaining. And if the main show wasn’t already a connection with the real world, this one does get to address the audience and advertise products like character singles CDs.

The artwork I’ve always called ’simple,’ although it has quality to it. I mean the character design isn’t very round and diverse; all characters seem to be tall and thin. Yet if you look past that, they all have unique qualities and quirks. And everything is colored in well. The budget gets big enough to include CG where necessary, such as the nice ocean water in ep51. And then with all the different commercial references, the art team does go through a lot of different things. So praise to them; this series has been very nice on the eyes.

The official website has some decent flash on it. It opens with the three main characters, describing them as “Maria the beautiful maid,” “Nagi the hikikomori princess,” and “Hayate the combat butler.” Nice English.