Hayate no Gotoku!! 4
And so it begins.
LOL at how deftly Miki set Hina up so that there was no way she could refuse her chocolates. No mention, however, whether all the chocolate that Hina received as obligation or love chocolate. 
In a perfect Hina-centric aniverse, we'd get to see a sample of the girls presenting their chocolate to the real star of this series and some background to their motivations for doing so. I guess that's more grist for the fanfic and doujin mills.
And how can Hakuou Academy *not* have an official Hina Fan Club like the way Tama-nee or Jun Watarase have theirs?
Now that I see it again and in animated form, the roots of Hina's coming torment are that much clearer. Firstly, it's a case of timing - if it weren't for the events of the free style marathon, Hina might not have felt so inhibited from exploring her own feelings wrt Hayate. Secondly, this is Hina's Hero Complex being her own worst enemy again - like the way she climbs trees to save cats even though she is afraid of heights. But given the innate Goodness of her Hero Complex, it's heartening to know that all this pain and confusion will form the foundation of a strong friendship with Hamster.
There are aspects of Hayate no Gotoku's comedy that I like very much such as sending up anime tropes or breaking the fourth wall; sometimes it excels at doing both at the same time. However the comedy derived from misunderstanding riles me in the way that the lies of Onegai Teacher frustrated me - normatively it's not the good basis of a relationship. Or comedy. Because it just stores up a world of hurt for the future. Which is why I find it so hard to support the inevitable Nagi x Hayate coupling. How in the blazes is the series going to cut this Gordian knot without destroying its light hearted tone?
Or maybe I should have more faith in the mangaka? After all, at this point, the Hina x Nishizawa dynamic looks terrible too. And it just seems to just get worse for Hina. But manga readers will know that it is resolved positively. Yet I'm sure if this parallel with work for our main couple. Hina struggles. She knows what is right. Nagi remains blissfully unaware of the intended meaning of Hayate's original words: 'I want you.' Hayate does not struggle with it at all. Maria continues to do nothing to nudge either of them towards a clearer mutual understanding.
Hina's inner torment might have been caused by a combination of bad timing, her own silliness at the time and a lack of communication but it's that vulnerability and a greater self-awareness that sees her grow as a character. And not surprisingly, it's her partner in this dance, Nishizawa, who grows as well, winning over fellow Hinagikuist Kurogane. It's one of those reasons that, I'm guessing, accounts for Hina's overwhelming popularity among the Japanese manga fanbase. Sometimes I think that a vote should come with a good reason in order to count. I'd love to hear *why* others love Hina too, beyond the obvious: She's cool. She's hawt etc.
Just to clarify. I'm not against dramatic irony per se. Just the way the misunderstandings are predicated on and perpetuated by some kind of dishonesty. This kind of premise is fine for suspense thrillers or psychological dramas featuring conspiracy and deception but it's not my favourite thing for romantic comedy. For example, the Maria scenes in this episode employed dramatic irony (Hayate being unaware that Maria has no romantic experience and that the chocolate was meant for him) to wonderful, gut-busting effect.
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April 27th, 2009 - 15:30
Agh, I hate this show as much as I love it. Each time it rotates to showcasing a new character, I have a better opinion of that character, so each time I watch a new episode, my entire ranking is thrown into chaos.
But yeah, I’m with you on the whole romantic misunderstandings and stuff like that. That’s why I liked the show. It seems that the relationships are mostly there to create situations that cause misunderstandings and bring out the laughs. I guess it’s part of just my personality of not taking things seriously, so I like that the series itself doesn’t seem to take much seriously and just uses everything it can to get us to laugh. But then it still does have situations where it tries to be serious, which completely turns me off.
Perhaps it’s because Hayate’s harem is so huge and has so many worthy bishoujos, but this is one show where I wouldn’t mind if they just never resolved any of the relationships. If they even tried, I think it’d just feel like a huge mess and likely involve something that’d feel rather contrived (at least to me). Plus, even if they did resolve the Hayate/Nagi stalemate, then the rest of the cast would be left out. I’m all for a harem end in this case~
April 27th, 2009 - 15:34
Golden Phoenix Chocolate is awesome. I want one!
Why do I get the feeling that Hinagiku is the only female character in Hayate no Gotoku that has the biggest character development up to date? (manga included)
Edit:
@Nazarielle. Ending this in a harem route is too boring.
April 27th, 2009 - 16:13
>>Each time it rotates to showcasing a new character, I have a better opinion of that character, so each time I watch a new episode, my entire ranking is thrown into chaos.
My feelings exactly, but I like it that way actually.
April 27th, 2009 - 18:16
@ Nazareille
LOL ‘worthy bishoujos’ – very Stripeyesque turn of phrase. I’m with Bill against harem endings; it just cheapens the whole harem (including the harem lead) collectively.
@ Bill
IIRC Hata-sensei recently remarked that he needs to get Maria-san’s chara development going in order to advance the story. I suspect it will greatly spur a tidal wave of Mariaism when that happens.
BTW could you actually bear to eat such a beautiful chocolate?
@ Kurogane
I agree, mostly because all of Hayate’s candidate girls are more than decent. Even Nagi, who is my least favourite of them, is smart, can be affectionate and , deep down, quite compassionate (under her tsun shell).
April 27th, 2009 - 18:36
@Zyl.
Yes, I can eat beautiful foods made by beautiful meidos… Even the beautiful meidos too.
Regarding Maria, there’s already too many question surrounding her personality currently in the manga. Oh geez, the manga does not actually stop in giving questions rather than answering them which makes me feel a lot uncomfortable on what’s going on.
And I predict Mariaism will never beat Hinagikuism.
April 27th, 2009 - 18:48
Oh, I just realized I forgot to mention three things.
1. The train thing is just too cheesy. And it’s awfully mean to Nishizawa. And later to Hina. Augh.
2. I also liked how Maria at least managed to get consolation in the form of chocolate from Hayate even though she failed to give him chocolate. Least he could do after us having so much entertainment at poor Maria-san’s expense.
3. If one accepts chocolate on V-Day, doesn’t it mean the receiver has to reciprocate on White Day? I don’t think this is covered in MariMite either but I would love to see Hina give after taking.
@ Bill
I commend your culinary courage and taste!
That’s a bold prediction; I agree cuz I’m biased. But I think Hina also has a formidable head start. I do find their interactions interesting though as Maria-san was Hina’s predecessor as School Council President. And Maria-san’s quite good/cruel at putting down Hina too.
April 27th, 2009 - 18:52
Much better than Season1. Bravo JC Staff. Now just spend some money on the OP/ED!!!
April 27th, 2009 - 19:08
@Zyl
1. What part is cheesy? Nishizawa hugging and confessing to Hayate?
2. I liked it as well but… Hayate’s message is not quite good. It somehow fails on me. Of course, a huge portion of quotes in every anime are like that. I’m not sure but Hayate seems to be dying on me. It is not like this in the first season.
3. I welcome you to the White Day arc.
Thanks for the commendation.
Anyway, Hina is Hina. There is that kind of appeal that really attracts people (otakus) to her. Her personality is somehow flexible. She can be cute at one point, then she can become cool on the next. I have never seen Maria act like that before. For me, she is just a mysterious meido who is able to do many things perfectly yet fails to appeal in romance. Beside, the character of Hinagiku is much more developed than Maria’s personality. And even if Maria really got a huge development, it will never be enough… Unless, Hinagiku’s personality became a trainwreck in a character development gone wrong which is unlikely to happen.
I miss Aika and Chiharu.
April 27th, 2009 - 21:08
What’s “terrible” with the Hina-Hamster relationship? If anything, I’d say it’s pretty wonderful
… I mean seriously, in this episode were NO misunderstandings whatsoever (with one single exception – Hina now believes that due to Ayumu’s happy reaction, she’s now going out with Hayate).
But otherwise? Hayate understood clearly that Ayumu confessed her love to him, he explicitly said so later. Ayumu managed to pull it off too, but simply waived to hear an answer (that’s no misunderstanding though).
Hina isn’t “in love” with Hayate right now, no misunderstanding here either. She feels drawn to im, she’s interested in him, and he managed to royally piss her off. But she’s not actively pursuing him. The small chocolates she had were a peace offering in my opinion, and she kept them in order not to mess with Ayumu’s grand confession.
Maria isn’t “in love” with Hayate either. She likes him to a degree, and like she put it, he’s “the only boy in her age” around. But here’s nothing to misunderstand from Hayate’s angle either. And her white lies about the choco not being for Hayate were wonderfully tangled up to trap her eventually
And why do people love Hina so much? Including me – I’d say that if I met a fairy who would grant me ONE wish to give an anime character the ending I wanted, my choice would be her.
Because she’s such a diverse character. She’s very warm-hearted and exceptionally helpful (she spends most of her time helping out others). She is very capable, but not stuck-up or arrogant in the least. She can be strong and courageous, but can be very vulnerable and weak at the same time. She has a real temper (poor Hayate will remain the target for quite a while), but she’s also deliciously embarrassed and delicate at the same time. She’s usually so open and honest, but Hayate will bring out the tsundere in her which she never was at the beginning. It’s her dual nature which makes her so interesting to watch.
In summary, you’re blessed if you’ve got someone like her as your friend. And being more than just friends would be extremely exciting
April 27th, 2009 - 21:19
>>Because she
April 28th, 2009 - 14:15
Well with the Nagi x Hayate misunderstanding I think it is winding down in its impact. I think Nagi is slowly realizing that Hayate doesn’t actually like her but she still is completely head over heels for him.
An example is that in one of the manga chapters Hayate is talking to Nagi’s mom’s grave about how he will stay by Nagi’s side. Nagi hears this but quickly reminds herself that since it is Hayate he probably is talking platonically, not romantically.
Ah well, my hope is to either have a Maria ending or a Hina x Hayate x Nishizawa ending. Go threesomes!
April 29th, 2009 - 09:17
@ Bill
I’m not as bothered about Hina’s relatively showing in SaiMoe. She’s hardly the typical type of moe chara that would do well in that category. I think it’s more important that she has been and continues to be hugely popular among the Hayate no Gotoku fanbase.
@9t
I have to confess that I’ve not watched or read the non-Hina parts of the manga and anime with much attention. You’re probably right – Nagi *is* a smart girl. The main challenge, for her, is to gain the emotional maturity to accept this. But if she does manage to do this, she will be able to awaken something in Hayate. Such as his inner lolicon.
April 29th, 2009 - 09:20
>>>“And how can Hakuou Academy *not* have an official Hina Fan Club like the way Tama-nee or Jun Watarase have theirs?”
When the whole student body would be members, what’s the point of making a club?
May 3rd, 2009 - 15:31
well,…. lets see the next episode.
April 27th, 2009 - 21:21
Cheesy. I meant the train coming along and the noise covering up the words of Nishizawa’s confession.
April 27th, 2009 - 22:03
Yes, you’re right there’s no misunderstanding in this episode – I was thinking more about the Nagi x Hayate misunderstanding from the first episode of the first season that forms the foundation of the series.
re: ‘terrible’ – ah, what I meant (and should have said more clearly) was: at this point, it could have gone down the route of ‘Hina gives Nishizawa inferiority complex’ and ‘Nishizawa makes Hina ever more irritated with Hayate’ into a terrible downward spiral. I’m glad it didn’t and their friendship as it’s developed in the manga is one of my favourite things about this series.
Thanks also on sharing about your reasons for loving Hina. On a related note, the scene that made me support Hina x Hayate was the culmination of the birthday arc (heady feeling of freedom?) when they stand on the balcony together and the Hina flag is triggered – it just made me think that he did not just help her to overcome a weakness but also turned it into strength (emotional honesty). And that she had such faith in him that the phobia could overcome if only for that precious moment – the subsequent return of vertigo in the morning after suggests to me it’s more psychological than physical.
April 29th, 2009 - 16:16
Hontou ni so omou?
I think that the general Hina template (strong personality, capable, a bit tsuntsun, but overall kind, easily embarrassed) is very popular. Think Kyou. Think Kagami. Think Shana.
Yes, it doesn’t fit the “moeblob” template which ALSO does well in Saimoe, but most of the finalists in the last years in the various competitions have been closer to the Hina brand… and while it’s true that Hina is hugely popular with the HnG crowd, that alone wouldn’t make anyone a serious contender.