Anime: Hayate no Gotoku!

Note: This review applies to Hayate no Gotoku's first and second seasons. I will update this again once the new season will be out...if the new season will be out. It is also based on SS-Eclipse fansubs.



Originally drawn as manga by Hata Kenjirou and directed by Kawaguchi Keiichiro (Zettai Karen Children) Hayate no Gotoku[/b] is a romantic comedy which weighs heavily on parody gags. It tells a story about a multi-billionaire "ojou-sama" Sanzenin Nagi and her debt-ridden butler Ayasaki Hayate. Since our rich girl is hikikomori otaku and possess tsundere attidude and since our main character is a kind boy who never had more than a dollar in his pocket this show succeeds at being mildly entertaining due to parody and money jokes. I myself found the romance aspect of the story the most entertaining, however the director's stubborn attitude to never let any relationships develop past the point of platonic kind of killed the fun. Though Hayate no Gotoku had a potential to become an above average romance story with good characters it was degraded to a romantic comedy which doesn't go anywhere and is only mildly funny. I kind of get the feeling that manga is much better since the quality between what seems to be adapted storyline and fillers is visible by naked eye. Just for reference I'll mention that a very similar situation also exists in School Rumble which created an awesome lot of cool characters and intervening story paths, but ultimately failed to piece them together and degraded to a brainless comedy in later seasons. Thankfully the second season of Hayate no Gotoku follows manga more closely and appears to take itself much more seriously on romance aspect. The relationships don't develop far in the second season either though, but we can always have hopes for the third, heh. Well, at least it's nice that didn't take Hinagiku more than twenty five episodes to make her mind up.

Animation: 7/10

What never degraded in Hayate no Gotoku is its attractive animation done by Synergy SP (Major). Though backgrounds are not really awe inspiring, they are colorful and have enough detail to feel alive. I particularly liked that they remained consistent from the beginning to the end never dropping in quality. However, what makes this show really shine is not backgrounds, but character designs. I don't think I'd be overstating if I said that the character design is the most important animation part of romantic comedy genre and Hayate no Gotoku has very few contenders at how good it makes its gals look. Though Hayate himself is not special, apart from mid-long blue hair and feminine constitution, the designs of female characters, even the side ones are drool-level attractive. None of the body parts are exaggerated, all of them have cute faces and they change their clothes every few episodes, going from cute to cuter. I must really commend that whoever does the designs of their clothes has a great fashion sense. It's been awhile since I've seen such non-blatant fanservice too, rather than a billion annoying panty-shots thrown at your face you only seldom notice one erotic (as in art form) picture once in a few episodes. Facial expressions are pretty good as well, though the lines are pretty basic. All reactions appear realistic and embarrassed face of Nagi stays as one of the cutest things in my memory. Fluidity of animation as to be expected from a romantic comedy doesn't shine. It looks realistic enough, but you wont gape at any technicals here. But do you really need to? I must say I quite liked Hayate no Gotoku's animation, mostly due to the really attractive female character designs. Though it doesn't exceed in technicals, it exceeds in charm.

Sound : 5/10

Hayate no Gotoku has two different OPs and four different EDs. None of the songs exceed in one way or another since most of them follow default jpop standards. I myself liked the first ED Proof by MELL - it was calm, soothing and it utilized attractive character designs perfectly in its animation. Second OP Shichiten Hakki*Shijō Shugi by KOTOKO is also slightly better than the others since it's an upbeat and really optimistic song, never really got around to skip it, so in that sense it's pretty good despite being forgettable. All other pieces of music are boring though and I was skipping them left and right. As a side note, there are those special pieces of music sung by seiyuu of each character in this anime's OST and I must say they surpass its OPs and EDs in all ways that count. I've always found seiyuu singing their songs when in tune with their characters better than those totally random pieces of music used for virtually all anime. I wish they switched OPs (with the exception of second one) and EDs with those character songs, heh. Second season is a little bit stronger at this department, I'd almost call the first OP Wonder Wind by Elisa awesome, while the other songs aren't half bad either.

Background music composed by Nakagawa Koutarou (Code Geass, Planet ES) never goes beyond the level of meh. There are some extremely forgettable classical music tunes which create that rich people atmosphere when stuff takes place in mansions and there are other tracks which suit those scarce emotional situations or happy moments, but to tell the truth that music was so bland and indistinctive that I pretty much can't recall a single track from the show with precision, despite having watched it yesterday. Where the nice tunes found in Code Geass and Planet ES had gone to I can only wonder, hope Nakagawa Koutarou tries better in his next show.

Voiceacting is everything but bland though. And it's obvious since Hayate no Gotoku has an all-star cast, it even shows off with the original voice-actors of the episodic characters used for parody (Lelouch and Viral for example). Anyway, the main cast spurts two of my female favourites - exotic songstress Tanaka Rie (Gundam Seed as Lacus Clyne, Chobits as Chii) and best tsundere specialist in today's market Kugimiya Rie (Shakugan no Shana as Shana, Zero no Tsukaima as Louise). I must say that Kugimiya Rie outperforms Tanaka in this show mostly due to the fact that she is in her ultimate role, while Tanaka got mature "onee-san" character to voice, for which she is a natural, thus losing her 'exotic' factor. I still hold her Lacus Clyne performance as the best seiyuu work ever though. We can even notice Wakamoto Norio (Code Geass as The Emperor, Cowboy Bebop as Vicious) working as a narrator here. He still sounds awesome even though he doesn't get to display all of his talents with this comedy relief role.

Story: 5/10

The story of Hayate no Gotoku is set in a very simple setting. It's all like normal world, thus becoming slice of life, except that the main heroine has more money than the real world ever printed. Wow, really nothing to comment on apart from that, it's simple and it's realistic. It sets the stage for romantic comedy relatively well and that's it.

The plot in Hayate no Gotoku is extremely inconsistent. By that I mean... well for starters it has a brilliant first episode. I must confess I was astounded by how well was it carried out. It introduced, though slightly stereotypical, but very interesting characters. It introduced a great element of money + luck vs talent + misfortune, thus making it really interesting to observe the possessors of those respective elements have a romantic affair. Finally the comedic misunderstanding which led two main characters stick together was brilliant and set the stage for both great romance and many cute jokes to come. And so the story uses the fuel gained in episode one while slowly degrading due to its mild parody jokes and slow pace, finally completely stopping at episode 16. I must say I was devouring this anime with twice the pace I usually watch anime since episode one, but everything past episode 16 turned out to nearly break my stomach. You get no more character development, plot doesn't advance, relationships don't advance and pretty much nothing happens. They just walk in circles repeating stereotypical situations or doing parody jokes, but it doesn't advance the plot whatsoever. You get some "bonus" episodes for the last ones of each season where you can actually notice some romance going, at least in Nagi's perspective, but it doesn't really advance anything. The last episode of the show is the most inconsistent as I got the impression it was thrown there from the later chapters of the manga which anime forgot to follow. It was good, but characters knew each other even though they weren't supposed to and the plot took place in another country out of the blue. I am pretty sure anime staff stopped following manga past episode 16 and I say if you didn't like Hayate no Gotoku beforehand you'd best drop it at that episode since it only degrades with all the following ones. Most of them are filler and the only redeeming aspect you can find in the later half are parody jokes, though not funny, it's interesting taking it up as a sport as to see how many parodies you will actually get. I was counting shows they'd parody and I went to awesome numbers indeed. I liked how they approached parody not with blatant and obvious things, but with tiny details like famous phrases or costumes taken from the show you'd get a parody of. It doesn't make the plot good though, nor it makes it have a conclusive ending since it simply stops with "wait for the next season" message.

Second season appears to start new from the "infamous episode 16" and follows the romantic side of the show more closely. It doesn't really go that far and ends up on the "wait for the following season" note too, but the romantic situations with Hinagiku, who got the most attention in this season, are still much more satisfying than that filler galore. If it continues like this, season three might actually even be good. Well, I'll better not expect too much.

Characters: 7/10

Definitely the best aspect of Hayate no Gotoku is its characters and it makes the meaningless plot (of season 1) even so more frustrating. Main character has(!) a personality. He led a life full of poverty and misfortune, having penniless idiots for parents. He is also a near genius at everything he does, except that his terrible luck reduces all of his efforts to nothing. In contrast the main heroine of the show is one of the richest girls in the world, has a tsundere attitude and doesn't even understand what poverty is. However, unlike the usual pampered ladies, she has that boyish attitude and is only interested in otaku'ish art pursuits. Never attending parties and the like. It's definitely the selling point of the show that Nagi actually thinks that Hayate is in love with her and is dating her while in reality he is not. The whole tsundere appeal becomes incredibly cute when she pretends to be all stubborn and "not-letting" while having all those erotic fantasies even though Hayate doesn't even understand what she is talking about. The quality of main characters, the chemistry between them - all is top-notch. Too bad the clumsy realization of the plot never lets them to reach the pinnacle of their potential.

Side characters are also pretty good. Every single one of them has a personality and spurts interesting background. Though I got the feeling that the amount of side characters was unnecessary big. Some of them never really had any function besides some very mild and not important comedic content, even though they are full-fledged. It's kind of weird how they build up their characters and then don't do anything with them, well, maybe season three. Anyway, I found most of the males quite funny, while Hinagiku and Ayumu hold great potential for future romantic situations. Fights over Hayate between Ayumu and Nagi are the highlight of the show, especially in the second half. I also found Katsura-sensei very annoying, but she was necessary for many stupid jokes, heh.

Maria - ESFJ (C)
Kijima Saki - ISFJ (C)
Sanzenin Nagi - INTJ (B)
Katsura Yukiji - ESFP (F)
Ayasaki Hayate - ISFJ (C)
Aizawa Sakuya - ESTP(D)
Katsura Hinagiku - ENFJ (B)
Tachibana Wataru - ISTP (D)
Nishizawa Ayumu - ISFP (C)
Saginomiya Isumi - INFP (C)

Show Spoiler

Value: 5/10

Though comedies usually possess more re-watch value than usual shows, Hayate no Gotoku is not really that funny and most of its jokes don't work the second time around. The amount of horrible fillers also scares me away from a re-watch. I will keep it in my collection though, mostly due to the brilliant first episode and cute female designs. Parody of everything really wasn't as interesting as I had expected it to be.

1. Conclusion[/u]: If you have it for romantic comedy and tsundere type girls you might want to watch Hayate no Gotoku, at least up till episode 16. If you are turned on by parody jokes - you can give it a chance as well, but I must stress that you must have watched a lot (like in hundreds) anime to fully catch the jokes. It doesn't exceed in anything and it's not intelligent, you might want to check it out when you are bored and tired, when watching complex anime doesn't strike you as fascinating. Other similar anime I've watched and found better than Hayate no Gotoku is Seto no Hanayome, Bobobo, Fullmetal Panic?! Fumoffu. Shakugan no Shana, Zero no Tsukaima and especially Toradora! are also pretty nice light romance tsundere shows.

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Overview[br]Hayate is a not-so typical teenager whose life changes from the moment his parents leave him as a payment to 'very generous people' for a huge debt. While escaping from this people, he finds a rich girl named Nagi and plots a kidnapping in order to get the money, however things turn arround when she is actually kidnapped by somebody else and Hayate feels he must save her.[br][br]Rating[br][br]Animation[br]I couldn't help but trow a good score here. Character designs are great, specially the girls, battle scenes are fast and detailed, and CG's are well integrated. This would had been a 10 but some designs are childish and contrast the detailed environment. Also, the series is filled with "fanservice" wich really doesn't seem like it, since the girls are too young, and it really doesn't show much despite they constantly explicitly add pictures.[br][br]Sound[br]I really can't deny the 10 here, great voice acting, good openings, good endings, good character themes. Hayate no Gotoku has some famous people voice-acting in this area and really gives a good touch to the series, even the narrator is preety good at wath he does. [br][br]Story[br]In my opinion, story is the weakest point in Hayate no Gotoku. It does has a development and it does has some interesting plot twistes, but some of the best are never concluded. The series is a love-comedy, and therefore never promises a good story, however it does have one, but its obscured by the unnumerable gags. Also, writers tend to bend the story in order to favor the audiences favoritism for the girls. I also felt the series was a little to lengtened just to not give us a decent finnale. [br][br]Character[br]This is a hard part, the series has way too many characters, each of which has a unique personality and is well developed. I justify the series been 52 episodes long just to develop this great cast correctly. The counter part is that characters fight over for screen time, I mean, they literally complain about the short screen time they are getting. [br][br]Value[br]Talking about rewatchability and sentimental value, I dont think this series has much. However, this doesn't mean it is not good to watch, i think its a great series to watch once, since its long and has some down episodes.[br][br]Enjoyment[br]Very enjoyable series. You really only need one episode of this to enjoy your day. Its enjoyment value increases as more series you watch, since its so full of anime references that really impress you if you understand them. This series has about 200 other anime gags, sometimes a little overwelming thou. Here, you will see everything, from hayate wearing a golden armor, to Nagi been geass'ed. Its not only anime references, you will find the student council trio fighting againt slimes in a dragon quest like game. Throught the series, you can really feel how the developing team is having fun, and that is wath really makes this worth to watch.[br][br]Conclusion[br][br]You really need to be an anime expert to enjoy this series to its fullest, however, I believe it has a value even if this is the first series you watch, since many jokes seem very funny, but they are not original. If you are just starting in Anime, watch this if you dare, I recommend it. If you are an Anime guru, then watch this, I command you. [br]

Overall-
It's hard to say anything complete after that good final episode that wraps up everything and leaves you with a good impression, especially since the negative thoughts I had about this show has been wiped with time, for 52 full weeks. Thus here's yet another sectioned review from me on Hayate the Combat Butler.

I might add some things later. For now, first review on AniDB!


Animation-
Great quality upkeep for 52 episodes. Not only that, but the integrated CG, wacky animation styles, imitations of cheap animation from before digital, and a whole ton of parodies to keep you entertained. Sexy character designs and manga design adaptions; needed more fanservice.


Sound-
I think I'm falling in love with all the girls from I've, which includes Kawada Mami, KOTOKO, MELL, IKU, and a few others. Every single OP and ED were performed by these girls, and they are all excellent. In addition to the themes, I have all the character songs, my favourites being Nagi's and Hinagiku's (Rie Kugimiya and Shizuka Itou FTW). This area would have been a ten if it were not for that annoying trumpet track and a few other BGM pieces.


Story-
Despite promising a plot about getting the debt money back and getting power levels, HnG is essentially a romance/gag-comedy teasing you every which way for 52 episodes. There are some weak and boring episodes where not much happens, then there are some awesome episodes filled with excellent character humor in addition to the gags and references found in almost each episode. In fact, the best episodes are found at the end of the 3rd quarter, which is anime-original but actually carries the theme of combat butlers for this short but excellent arc. Otherwise, most of the episodes are your standard fling-flair in which relationships seem to advance even though they actually go nowhere. But that's where the fun is found in a romance/comedy that's light on romance and more on the comedy. HOWEVER, if the producers actually stuck a plot to it as well as advance relationships like crazy, HnG might as well have been the best conceived romance/shounen/comedy EVER.


Character-
Time for the best part of HnG, which is also its greatest weakness. There sure are a lot of characters in this show, and vast majority that are girls are certainly damn hot and sexy and underage. Each girl is unique, with some damn cute traits to go along with their various personalities. You'd just wish Hayate would get half those hormones in his head and have an actual FLING with each of the girls, further pushing your love-life/fantasy-life into despair. As always, there are always going to be favourites out of this shackpot, and my two awards go to Hinagiku and Nagi. And as with any huge cast of characters, the greatest weakness is the screen time each of them get. Sad to say for all you fans of the peripheral characters, Nagi (and Ayumu) gets prime screen time in every single episode, while you have to wait a couple episodes before your favourite even shows up for a line or two, and further episodes for an entire devoted story. So despite the cute and attractive cast of girls, there are simply too many of them to make full use of them.


Value-
And here's the text wall that I failed to conjure until now.

Reference gags have always been the cheapest form of comedy conceived, referencing for the sake of "oh look! they did that thing from this show! awesome!". There's nothing wrong with having it in there - it's just that they won't connect with the viewers who don't get it, which makes it a waste of time to even put the gag in. This reason, and that references are free commercials, are why references gags don't garner a lot of points in anything.

Hayate relies on A LOT of reference gags. 96% of the episodes contain them, and there are anywhere from 1 to at least 25 references in a single episode, and this doesn't just include blatant acts or background drawings - it may be as subtle as the very dialogue they are saying or the shiratori game they are playing at each eyecatch. I'm not saying that reference gags are bad; I'm telling you that to get MAXIMUM enjoyment out of HnG, you should really not look into this anime until you horde at least 150 at-least-popular titles, at least 20 recent popular titles, and most of the others from before the millenium and the 90's, spanning from all genres.

And that's the reason why value is a 5. It could be lower, but decided against it. And that rant was pretty lengthy. I'll doubt you even read it because it's such obvious/useless trivia.


Enjoyment-
Despite not getting at least 70% of the gags, I 98% enjoyed all the character interactions in HnG, especially all the Hinagiku-centric episodes. Here's to a second season.