Hayate The Combat Butler Chapter 429: Ten Years From Now - Review and Synposis

Nagi cover FTW!

Synopsis: Ruka and Nagi discuss how things played out during the competition. Nagi is predictably insightful and points out that Ruka lost on purpose because having just one copy left is a little too convenient, but Ruka says she lost because of the mask that Isumi gave her. She makes up a cockamamie reason that between a mysterious masked person (Ruka) and a cute little girl (Nagi), you’d definitely buy the cute little girl’s book.

Best reason evar!

Ruka then brags that she won in terms of book quality and this urges Nagi to challenge her again. Ruka suggests that they should do this again in ten years since that would be just the right time for her to quit being an idol and pursue her dream of being a mangaka again – to which Nagi makes a bold claim that she’ll keep working hard during those 10 years so that Ruka will be so far behind her that she won’t even see her back.

Bold claim for someone who'll start playing video games as soon as she gets home, Ojou-sama.

Chiharu then arrives with iced coffee for both girls and everyone goes off happily to see the fireworks.

Happy Birthday, you impossibly oblivious butler, you!

Meanwhile, Kurosu and Hayate are having a little chat outside. Kurosu thanks Hayate for helping out Ruka’s parents and asks Hayate about his own parents – to which Hayate responds that they would never feel sorry for what they did. He then talks about finding his brother, Ikusa and describes the cross-shaped scar that he has. Kurosu asks if he has mean eyes and a strong sense of justice… which ends this chapter.

Review: As everyone expected, Ruka seems to have lost to Nagi on purpose… unless you actually believe that silly reason she gave. I love Ruka when she’s cute and funny like that. Interestingly, there’s no mention of Hayate anywhere in the conversation. Perhaps Ruka really has given up on Hayate.

Also, someone on mangahere actually mentioned that Isumi’s mask might have been the cause of Ruka losing and while I’m pretty sure that Ruka just made it up for this chapter, it was funny to see her actually using this as her excuse for losing on purpose – as we all know she did.

I've noticed for a while now that Ruka is pretty short if she's just about an inch taller than Nagi.

I like the promise that Ruka and Nagi made to have this competition again in 10 years time. It’s also a great foreshadowing for perhaps a time-skip epilogue for this manga if, as everyone expects, it actually ends in December exactly one year since Hayate first met Maria and Nagi.

At this point, Ruka and Nagi are finally friends again and it seems that all the tension from the doujinshi competition has at last been lifted. I liked how Hata subtly brought the rumor back in again in this chapter through the interactions between Nagi, Ruka and Chiharu. It just makes me chuckle whenever Chiharu gets called “glasses girl” by Nagi.

In any case, a pretty nice transition chapter with not a lot really happening. It does bring up an interesting plot point as to Kurosu’s larger role in this manga however since it seems she actually knows Hayate’s brother. For now, let’s wait and see. It seems that Hata’s dead-set on keeping on advancing with the plot with no Fumi and Sharna sidestories in sight – which is a good thing in my opinion. Let’s all wait and see where this development takes us in the next chapters.

PLOT TWIST!