Rating: 7/10

Impressions:

I once thought that Hayate would turn into an action-shounen after the introduction of the other combat butlers and their finishing moves, but I guess it’s just going to remain a parody the entire way. Everything is so random, I don’t know what to think. It’s best to simply watch and laugh as I do, as thinking about it seriously would surely ruin all the fun. Anyway, I like both the new OP and ED, though the OP wins out by a little for me. Compared to the first OP, I would have to say that this one is far better. I never liked the first OP anyway, even when the show first started airing.

Rating: 7.5/10

Impressions:

This episode turns out to be quite fun, especially as how Nishizawa plays a part as well. Nagi is still under the impression that Hayate likes her, but the recent events make me wonder whether this will last for the entire duration of the show. Being such an episodic comedy, I doubt anything drastic will happen. The current arrangements are likely to remain, but it would be interesting to see how far Nagi or Nishizawa takes it. It’s a shame how Maria is never anyone significant, despite her constant appearances. Perhaps certain developments between her and Hayate will change that. =D

Rating: 7.9/10

Impressions:

Ah, the conclusion to one of the better mini-arcs of the manga—it’s always sweet (and extremely funny) to watch the bonds (and misunderstandings) between Nagi and Hayate strengthen. The animation quality is again rather high, and the purple lighting used for the underground scenes are particularly effective. I have to wonder how long this will last though. Aside from the quality, I’m also hoping for some extended arcs as well—not serious ones which build on plot or anything; just something like this episode and the last one. Oh, random note: being the Neon Genesis Evangelion fan that I am, the cross-shaped explosion is priceless. xD

Rating: 7.5/10

Impressions:

Heh, Hayate no Gotoku goes back to volume 3 and finally animates one of the more important parts of the manga—important because it solidifies the misunderstanding between Hayate and Nagi, which of course is great in terms of comedy. =D It’s also one of my favourite parts of the manga. I’m looking forward to seeing the mecha fight next episode, which is (and everything involved with it) hilariously ridiculous. Is it just me, or has the quality gone up a bit? I’m noticing Nagi gets drawn far better than I usually expect, especially as she has a few extra emotional faces, this time round.

Rating: 7/10

Impressions:

Ah, another Yukiji episode! I find those that involve her are usually fun and lively, as that’s exactly what her personality is. However, this episode is slightly more random than funny, though there are some scenes that I just can’t get over. Her impersonation of Light from Death Note is certain scenes are comedy gold, while Izumi’s continuing habit of calling Hayate ‘Hayata’ is equally as funny. There’s also an unusual abundance of chibi scenes in this episode, which I find rather contradicting with the outrageousness of the show. Chibi and Hayate-type random does not work well for me.

Rating: 7/10

Impressions:

It seems that there will be a second OP by KOTOKO, and I assume it will replace the current one from episode 27, which marks the midpoint of Hayate no Gotoku. Perhaps there will be a new ED as well (though I can’t remember when the last ED change was). Anyway, this episode continues with playing on the misunderstanding with Hayate and Nagi, which I still can’t get enough of. You can argue whether such scenes are good for development, or just for comedy purposes. The thing is, these two aspects are combined for the majority of the show anyway, and I’m hoping Maria and Hinagiku get similar treatment in the future,

Rating: 6.5/10

Impressions:

For me, neither the anime nor manga versions of Eight’s side-plots particularly interested me, so I can’t say this episode turned out to be a bang. It just seems that the ridiculousness of Hayate has worn off, and trying to reintroduce such themes with a retarded robot doesn’t pay off too well in my books. It wouldn’t be too bad though, if Eight came into Nagi’s mansion permanently, like a certain other ridiculous character (Tama). It would make for a pretty funny cast, though without him, there are more than enough characters in Hayate for material. I’m still waiting to see more of Hinagiku. =)

Rating: 7.2/10

Impressions:

I don’t understand why the producers make the anime jump around so much in terms of the manga sequence. It would be much easier, wouldn’t it? And I doubt many fans who’ve read the manga would be praising the anime for its originality in rearranging scenes. Well, being a light comedy, it doesn’t really matter, and this episode nicely follows a sequence of two chapters. The story this time is fairly straightforward and less comedy-orientated, though it’s nice how they keep bringing in the misunderstanding between Nagi and Hayate. I wonder if Nagi will ever find out the truth…(hmm, that could mean the end of the anime…)

Rating: 7.8/10

Impressions:

With the focus on two pairings, Hayate x Maria and Saki x Wataru, this episode becomes heavy on the development of relationship side, though at the same time, the comedy is much richer and sensible than the last episode. My favourite pairing is still Hayate x Hinagiku, though a distressed Maria can be pretty cute at times. This episode also makes me more fond of both Wataru and Saki. It’s strange how the pairings don’t even have any romantic love in them, yet they still work out so well. If Hayate is to continue, it definitely needs more episodes like this to balance the plot-rich or comedy episodes.

Rating: 6.8/10

Impressions:

It would have been great if this episode actually went somewhere—there’s a limit to how random a show can be before it becomes uninteresting. Sure, we got a lot of random Hinagiku-in-bikini shots and anime parodies (probably most memorable is Code Geass), but the randomness fails to convert to comedy. And there’s no character development at all unfortunately. It’s understandable being an anime-original, but I was hoping for something more like episode 10, which remains my favourite (it was an anime-original as well). That episode successfully converts all its absurdity into wonderful entertainment, and the quality is so much higher.