Hayate The Combat Butler Chapter 444: This Is Not A Sign That The Protagonist Will Lose - Review And Synopsis

Nagi's WTF face.

Synopsis: Nagi asks Ikusa if he’d be ok if she paid the 8.92 million yen, and surprisingly, Ikusa says he’d be fine with that but only if Hayate admits that he’s a pathetic man worth less than a worn-out slipper who relies on little girls to get what he wants. Nagi blurts out that Hayate is worth at least a brand-new slipper, which doesn’t really alleviate the situation.

I like Nagi's playful expression here.

Something snaps inside of Hayate and he accepts the challenge and declares that he will win this bet which consists of bringing the seaside restaurant “Life” back to life within 3 days.

Hayate's mad now.

He puts Ikusa at the same level as his parents as “just another good-for-nothing relative.”

Hayate begins putting his plan into action – like a boss. He summons Kotetsu by using a “secret password.” (Stating that he plans to wear a swimsuit). Then he quickly puts Kotetsu to work by demanding that he rebuild the ruined restaurant within two hours.

Meanwhile, Kayura points out that Hayate might have the skills to pull out a win, but it wouldn’t be a good outcome since he’d never want to see his brother again. Nagi says that they should try to bring Ikusa’s memories back if this is the case, but when asked if she has a plan, she goes: “find out what his favorite foods are and seduce him or something…”

Naturally, she hasn't thought this through as usual.

Back with Hayate and Kotetsu, Maria and Hinagiku ask if there’s anything they can do to help and Hayate promptly puts them to work by making them wear bunny girl outfits to attract customers. To add insult to injury, he also tells Hina to go work in the back after comparing her chest size with Maria’s.

Alice approaches Hayate and tells him that he’s a lot like his brother because when he’s got a complaint, he gets a scary look and makes unreasonable demands. While holding her little power meter, she states that it’s about time…

Review: As predicted, it seems that this beach arc will be Hayate’s time to take center-stage as the main character – which is good, since as I’ve stated before, he really hasn’t received all that much character development despite being the main character. While he’s been put through a lot, he’s never really been made to confront his feelings directly like Nagi has in the previous arc.

Hayate's totally snapped

I like how we’re being a shown a darker side of Hayate here. We’ve seen this side of him a few times already in Ruka’s arc, but never to this extent wherein he actually makes unreasonable demands from innocent third parties like Hinagiku and Maria and even uses Kotetsu’s crush on him to his advantage. He also seems to be developing a serious resentment for his equally unreasonable older brother whom he used to idolize until they actually met.

Of course, this time, it looks Athena plans to intervene and put him back on the right track quickly. That little battery meter she’s holding is now full and this is a pretty obvious sign that she plans to “temporarily” regain her true form soon. I’m sure that all you A-tan fans will have a field day with this chapter and possibly with the next one – so have fun, I suppose. J Don’t read too much into nothing though – a little word of advice.

Hayate x Kotetsu flag triggered

It is my considered opinion that Hayate likes all the girls who are interested in him anywayz. He likes a little bit of Ayumu's naivete, a dash of Hina's tsundere nature, a pinch of Ruka's playfulness and some glimpses of Athena's wisdom... I hope you see what I did there :P.

That said, I like how this arc is going so far. It’s still the same light-hearted non-harem comedy that this manga used to be while also moving the plot along at a slow but steady pace.

That’s about all I have to say for now. See ya in the next chapter… oh yeah, if you haven’t heard of it yet, Hayate’s getting 3 new OVAs bundled with the next volumes of the manga.