Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Hayate The Combat Butler Chapter 542: Boy Meets Girl -- Review and Synopsis

Still think Wataru x Nagi is a thing?
Synopsis: Nagi: I... want to make a movie!

Hayate: ......

Hayate: What's the punch line? Why do you wanna shoot a movie?

Nagi: Eeeeh?

Nagi: Haven't you seen The new Godzilla movie? (I think) Are you some kinda shut-in?

Hayate: Corz not, but current events is a litte...

Any chapter with tons of Nagi is a good chapter!

Nagi: Nevermind... awesome, ain't it? New Godzilla? Definitely awesome. There are several things I'd like to mention but...I see, you haven't seen it yet.

Nagi: Or... do ya mind spoilers?

Nagi: The preview doesn't really show you anything about the story... I'd like to tell yu but... AAAAAH! HOWEVER....!

Nagi: Arghh! I don't have any patience. I really want to tell!

Hayate: Eh... wait... ojou-sama!?

We shift to Wataru x Saki

Wataru: New Gozhira is selling. We stockz up on it!

Wataru: Blah blah blah business talk

Saki: This is a real powerful movie ain't it?

Wataru: Of course! This is a rare chance!

Saki: I see... it's interesting ain't it? This movie.

Wataru: Eh?

Wataru: It couldn't be... you haven't seen it?

Saki: Well of course.

Saki: Coz Godzilla is a children's movie, right?

Wataru: >(

Saki: People in a dire situation, an ugly giant monster breathing fire? It's a childrens movie like Mothra and Gamera, right?

Wataru: Chitsu.... chi....


Nagi: It's simultaneously screened with (whatever)! The new Godzilla is nothing like that!

Nagi: Seriously, show some respect for the creator... kids these days

Hayate: S-sorry about this outburst.

Wataru: Nope, I understand.

Saki: !?

Wataru: The biggest problem with this city... has been presented to us in the form of a movie!

Nagi: You understand, Wataru!

Wataru: I understand! I definitely understand!

Nagi: Well then, do you have the figure from the first to the third reproduction?

These reactions from Nagi are so cute!

Wataru: Of course, 3 dimensional undertanding is important!

Hayate: Haha... those two are real buddies aren't they?

Saki: (sulks)

Saki: Hayate-sama... I'm gonna see Godzilla for a bit, ok?

Hayate: Eh? Wait a sec! Whose gonna mind the store while Wataru is givin a movie lecture?

Saki: I'll leave that to you, Hayate-sama!

Hayate: Eh? I'm busy... Saki-saaaan!

Saki: Honestly... waka is such a handful.

Saki: Hmph! I'mma watch this move and then I'll be able to appreciate it and have fun talking with him too! (show em how it's done, Saki-chan! I support thee!)

Saki: Well, it's not a children's movie, but what does waka see in this? I'll find out myself.

Saki: (dumbfounded)

Saki: Mataku... I didn't get it.

Saki: I understand that there were many amazing things but... the dialogue was so fast I couldn't understand what they were saying. I also couldn't read the effin subs. Why were they so scared of Godzilla? Isn't he an ally of humans? I couldn't get it at all!

Saki: Eh? Really? Did those two really get it?

Saki: (mentions some censored copyrighted stuff) these three are the point... I get it, I get it!

Nagi: In other words, that person's identity was...

Wataru: What? What?

Saki: Why is it these two understand that difficult movie so much?

Hayate: Ah, welcome back. How was teh movie?

Wataru: Ah, Saki! You've seen the movie.

Nagi: How waz it? How waz it?

Saki: Eh?

Was it interesting/ Was it intersting?

Saki: Eh... well.....

Saki: Yes, it was very intersting.

Nagi: Wasn't it? It's the best as expected!

Nagi: Yosh! Now that Saki has seen it too. Shall we go to the Tomogawa defense line?

Wataru: Ooooh! That's definitely necessary!

Nagi: Uwaaaa! This is the Tomogawa absolute defense line!

Nagi: Awright, now let's go to intercept the tank batallion, Hayate!

Wataru: Sugeee... it's real exciting seeing it in real life.


Saki: I think understanding Wataru and Nagi ojou-sama is difficult for me.

Saki: As expected, those two are really well-matched. They get along well with each other.

Saki: For waka's future... really, meeting a girl like Nagi ojou-sama is the best.

Wataru: Ha?

Wataru: You... didn't understand the movie, did you?

Ah, Nagi~tan! Why is even your silhouette so cute?

Wataru: To be honest, I don't really understand this place either.

Saki: Eh?

Wataru: This place was shown three times in the picture and yet... the character's starting position is still unknown. The last part I didn't understand either.

Wataru: However... even if I don't know... I still love it...

Wataru: It's love... therefore, I think... love is being by someone's side. Love is wanting to know more about someone.

Wataru: What do you think?

Wataru: If you give me love... I would be very happy but... (blushes)

Saki: Suki desu yo...

Saki: Understanding might take a lifetime but... come what may, to wherever and even in death.

Nagi: Oi Wataru! Come take a look. This is the bridge that was broken.

Wataru: Oh!

Review: Quite a timely chapter we have here today. Godzilla is premiering in Philippine theaters right now. I'll probably get to watch it this friday.

Anywayz, I absolutely loved this chapter. It starts with Nagi being her random, whimsical self. Naturally, Hata uses her to channel his love for Godzilla. As it happens, Wataru happens to be a big fan of the movie as well and they get pretty chummy with each other. This visibly upsets Saki who wants to have a fun time chatting with him as well. I really love what she does next.

She makes an active effort to watch the movie and to try to understand what Wataru (and Nagi) see in it. Of course, since she's not really all that genre-savvy, she fails to get the point... BUT, she hides this fact because she really wants to be in on what Wataru likes.

It's this active effort from Saki that I really like. I believe this chapter shows us a lot about Hata-sensei's views on love. He's not the "one true love" type of guy. In fact, what we see here is that Saki admits that Nagi is probably a lot more compatible with Wataru than she is when she notices how Nagi and Wataru are having fun with each other.

However, Wataru is not to be underestimated and he sees through Saki's initial bluff. What he says about love is basically a confession on his part -- something that Saki has actually been waiting for from him for quite a while... age gap be damned.

In fact, Hayate could stand to learn a lot from Saki in this chapter. He clearly wants to find someone to love, but he can't even sort out his feelings and goes out of his way for all the wrong reasons. Here, Saki's efforts were not in vain because Wataru noticed and indirectly refuted her assumption that just because he and Nagi seemed compatible that they'd be better for each other.

Here, Hata is clearly challenging the readers' conventions on what love is all about. It's not about initial compatibility. It's about how each party feels about the other and making an active effort to actually understand the other person. So yeah, maybe we should stop thinking about whether x is better with x because of their personalities. Wataru and Saki have proven in this chapter that personalities don't matter as much as wanting to be by that person's side. Understanding another person takes a lifetime of commitment.

Anywayz, I've always felt that Wataru x Saki represented a cleaner, less complicated version of the relationship between Hayate and Nagi, so I'm glad that their ship has finally sailed undetterred in this chapter. Also... I'm glad that despite the initial shipteasing, the Wataru x Nagi ship has been sunk for good. TAKE THAT!

Finally, to top things off. It seems Hata has been systematically giving various side characters their "happy endings" quite recently. We have the first couple in this chapter in Wataru and Saki, but we've already seen some satisfying conclusions for Ruka, Yukiji, and most recently, Izumi's own personal stories. I believe that instead of treating these as fillers, we should think of these as preparatory chapters for the harder-hitting plot-related ones in the near future. Anywayz, this was an enjoyable chapter over-all. I have no complaints.

Photo Corner: Today is 8/31 in the Philippines and Japan. It is the birthday of my favorite singer in the world, the one and only Hatsune Miku! To commemorate this ocassion, Nagi doll has donned a Miku-inspired outfit partially sewn by me. Anywayz, see you in... 9/14. If you liked thse pics of Nagi doll, do check out my 365 photo project blog at where you'll see a new pic of Nagi doll every day for 365 days.

Miku: That's it, Nagi-chan! Step to the right like this~
Nagi: Happy Birthday, Miku! Thank you for almost a decade of amazing music!
Conquer the world... with shining hair via Lux Shampoo.

Extra: Here's my translation of the song for that Lux Miku commercial btw:
(come now) Living straightforwardly
(heartfully) Look at me! Walk out with confidence!
(From here)Yearning will transform into the real stage
(Dazzling) Wrapped in the light
(Starting) My story
(Let's go forth) Conquer with shining hair!


  1. Can't comment on the chapter yet, but:
    "It seems Hata has been systematically giving various side characters their "happy endings" quite recently."

    If Hata will keep on with the previous foreshadowings, it'll all end before 593 (if I took that one right).
    So it's about time...

    1. Yeah, this manga is ripe for the ending. It's still going to be a long ride though, I think. Still lots of stuff to be resolved with the King's Jewels business... also, resolving the misunderstanding between Nagi and Haytate.


