Hayate The Combat Butler Chapter 509: The Chapter Title Is A Mouthful -- Review and Synopsis

Dat chapter title though...

Synopsis: Awright... real quickly, Hayate unleashes his trump card -- as correctly predicted by some smart person on the internet who is not me. He channels his bad luck to gain an advantage in the game of Reverse Old Maid. Everyone else follow suit, but eventually, it all boils down to Hayate vs Hina. Hina's final claim at "bad luck" is that the guy she likes won't ever notice her feelings, but eventually, it seems Hayate has won.. or so it seems. Cliffhata time!

Don't think she's actually lost just yet. This could have gone the other way based on ths cliffhanger... and Hata's track record.

Review: Hmm... interesting chapter, but still no sign of mai waifu... so meh! This looks like it might be the penultimate chapter to end the Level 5 arc -- as it's known in the manga. Still, there are quite a few things unresolved such as Ruri Tsugumi's involvement, as well as what's going on with Nagi? I don't buy for one moment that she just up and gave up on the competition since as I've mentioned before, it's "Hayate's life" and not the 150 million at stake for her.

Anyway, I guess there's room to throw out some wild speculations here.

Speculation Corner: Let's see... Hina's lose isn't enough to produce an explosion of negative emotions. She decides to confess to Hayate. Hayate is about to accept or does accept when Nagi storms in -- boom! Explosion of negative emotions. Final arc staaato!

I think this is consistent with the developments under chapter 413/Nagi finding Hayate hugging Ruka from behind and promising her happiness moment since I do not believe that event was really resolved.

Now there is a lot of room here to interpret the final panels of this chapter, but all of my interpretations might sound offensive to other shippers, so I shall refrain. It can also be interpreted in a positive way for Hina anyway.

Fanart Corner: Had time to finish that request before this chapter was out. Kudos to RHS for getting this one out early.

Lady Wedge's outfit from Ayakashi Ghost Guild... whatever that is.

Hayate The Combat Butler Chapter 508: Even Tonegawa Would Hesitate -- Review and Synopsis

Maria-san, Maria-san! Cleaning stop!

Synopsis: Hayate blackmails Kananiwa into letting him decide what the final orientation would be since he has a recording of her collaborating with those wannabe terrorists. Also, she's just 28. Wait... I'm older than her? Umm... nevermind... moving on. So Hayate calls up everyone except Nagi (who is still fast asleep) and has everyone play cards in order to decide the winner -- since it's Las Vegas and all. Anyway, Izumi has an awesome poker face and Hina's good at everything... including cards. She declares that she CAN NOT LOSE! Anywayz... end of chapter. 

Am I the only one who likes Kananiwa? I think I'll do some Kananiwa fanart next time. Btw, this scene is totally doujin bait.

Review: After last week's excitement, things are moving slower in this chapter. I guess that "there is a bomb between them" thing was just a setup for something that'll become important later... or buried in obscurity. Classic Hata style. Also, mai waifu is not present so Iyam disappoint.

Also, once again, Hayate affirms Nagi's "amazing luck," while Hayate himself has terrible luck... no, I'm totally NOT implying anything here ;).

Anyway, Hayate was rather amusing here, but there a few things that have me wondering:

1. Why'd he choose a game of chance? He either wants to lose really badly or he's got a fail-safe plan for winning -- and he'll still lose anyway.

2. Why is he interested in Kananiwa's King's Jewel and why did he ask her to participate?

3. He was totally lying when he said that Nagi didn't want to participate given the determination she's shown to win. For Nagi, it's Hayate's life on the line after all (even though that was a really stupid reason Ruri gave her.)

Anyway, with that aside, let's move on to the next chapter in a hurry, shall we?





Not even interested in guessing who is being hinted at in the cliffhanger. Hata might just decide that it's time to bring in Ruri Tsugumi again.

Fanart Corner: This one is a request. It's not quite finished yet, but the colored pens version has color at least.

Iloilo City: How Far Have We Really Gone?

So while having the car serviced at the Jaro Nissan Service Center, I took a little (long) stroll from Gaisano City to SM City cutting through the Iloilo Sports Complex Road. Started at 9:37 and arrived around 10:08. Anyway, as I took the overpass towards the entrance to SM, I noticed that there was an old beggar lady at the bottom of the overpass on the side of the Injap skyscraper. 

Not the least bit winded from the trip (because I have teh awesome cardio), the contrast of visual information struck me as a little bit sad; the Injap skyscraper, 7-11, Apec 2015 signs, a relatively brand new overpass and a pitiful looking beggar woman at the bottom of the overpass.

I thought about donating some of my loose cash to her, but I didn't. At the end of the day, I wouldn't be helping her -- I wouldn't be saving her from doing the same thing again. Giving alms at that moment would just be plain hypocrisy. I'd just be making myself feel better-- staving off the vague moral obligation compelled by this sight. There was realistically nothing that I could do for this person at that very moment -- except perhaps to let others know so that they may know.

I'm not noble nor pure-hearted, but I can't help but feel that there's just something wrong with this scenario. Iloilo City is obviously investing millions into infrastructure development and yet, the presence of such a sight feels (to me) like a failure on the side of social welfare and the delivery of basic goods and services.

What do you think? Was this a one-time fluke? Could we stand to rethink our priorities a bit?