Anyway, Himegami sure is proving himself to be one creepy Yukariko stalker. Hisui wasn't wrong in her assessment of him... as you're about to find out:
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| Presenting the unceremonious return of the Sanzen'in SPs. |
Synopsis: Himegami: I couldn't confirm the existence of this stone. It's a good thing you found it.
Hayate: Himegami san!
Mikado: Ah, so you've come as expected.
Hayate: As expected?
Mikado: You can tell he's a stalker from just his appearance.
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| I thought Himegami looked pretty cool here... |
Himegami: Eh? Anyway, I've got something good to talk to you about.
Someone: You don't worry about the details, do you?
Mikado: You might really die this time. Defend yourself.
Himegami: My, my... calling me a stalker hurts my feelings. You and Hisui are really cruel, old man.
Himegami: Anyway, I didn't come all this way just to fight.
Mikado: Nani?
Himegami: I've got a proposal that will bring happiness to all parties involved.
Mikado: Proposal?
Himegami: Sou.
Himegami: How about this? The Sanzen'in inheritance goes to Nagi and the Royal Power goes to me
Hayate: ....... 0_0 Hah?
Himegami: Ayasaki Hayate, you don't have a wish for the jewel do you? Neither do Nagi and Hisui.
Himegami: However, it's dangerous if the power and inheritance both fall into Hisui's hands.
The other day, Yozora gave her a power boost after all.
Himegami: Also, that power originally belong to us anyway.
Hayate: Us?
Himegami: Yup. It belonged to Yukariko.
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| Now he just looks plain creepy. |
Himegami: it was in order to help a goddess. Yukariko appeared before me with a stone.
Himegami: It was love at first sight, which is why I wanted to draw her feelings in.
Himegami: I showed her the place where the royal power was kept.
Himegami: Even in exchange for 50 years of my life, I wanted to draw in her feelings.
Himegami: She was very surprised.
Himegami: But there was no regret.
Himegami: This is why I promised her.
Himegami: "Someday, when you arrive at that castle where the goddess power resides, I will grant your wish."
Himegami: "Right now, I have a foolish wish that I really wish to be granted."
Himegami: The castle can grant a wish in exchange for a lifespan. But if you do that, you can't get out.
Himegami: But it's ok.
Himegami: I will help out.
Himegami: For the wish that hasn't been fulfilled, I can touch the King's jewel's again.
Himegami: Then, I will always come to help.
Himegami: Next time... inside that castle... I will.. As promised, until Yukariko reaches that castle.
Himegami: However, her wish was not fulfilled.
Himegami: Using the royal power. She used it for something else.
Himegami: I wonder if our promise was forgotten.
Isumi's grandma: A woman who fell in love at first sight cannot forget everything. What are you saying about touching the King's Jewels?
HImegami: Ginka oba-sama
Ginka: You never change, do ya? Dark guy?
Himegami: It was wrong to touch it. I never knew you couldn't turn back if you touched it.
Himegami: What's wrong? Just a little bit more.
Himegami: With the royal power, I can meet Yukariko again.
Himegami: That way, everyone will be happy. Even Nagi won't be lonely.
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| The face that launched... about 3-4 ships give or take. Seriously, girls. You can do better than this guy. |
A-tan: You want to get back the one you love in such a form?
Himegami: But you can't be killed!
Himegami: That's why it's ok, there is a way.
Himegami: That's why listen to my proposal! Yukariko can once again be.
Hina: However, even if you do meet her again, that person will not love you.
Hina: Your feelings will not reach her.
Himegami: This is the end of our negotiations.
Himegami: Fine then, no matter how much you prepare. Right now, Hisui is the strongest
Himegami: As originally planned, the power will go to Hisui.
Himegami: Everything will go to Hisui and I!
Mikado: WTF are you doing? Get after him! (to SP's)
Ginka: I think it's useless.
Hina: It seems pretty difficult right now.
Athena: With that said, all we can do is move forward.
Hayate: Hai!
Hayate: ......
Nagi: That Hayate. He isn't coming home today as well, isn't he?
Maria: Yeah, he's pretty busy at school today too.
Nagi: Fu~n
Nagi: But this kinda feels like a year ago.
Maria: Eh?
Nagi: When Himegami went away and before meeting Hayate. It was just you and me, Maria.
Nagi: I think... it was fun as well.
Maria: Then, because it's just the two of us... shall we do something fun?
Review: So, this is a bit of a transition chapter, but it does have a few highlights worth mentioning.
With Himegami's statements here, can we now put the theory that Yukariko=Kanzaki to rest? I know it doesn't sit well with most of you that Kanzaki was just some no-name individual only there for plot convenience 3.0, but I think that's just how Hata rolls (and trolls).
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| Mai waifu just wants to chillax a bit. |
What is amusing is that with a deranged look on his face, Himegami declares that he's totally fine with this. Of course, Hina bursts his bubble in the end and he resigns like a defeated child sour-graping all the way and proclaiming how strong Hisui is and how everyone's gonna get wtfpwned all coz they wouldn't agree to his selfish proposal.
Seriously, Himegami. Go home and admire your custom-made Yukariko figures and cry on your Yukariko hug pillow or something. Give it a rest, dude.
Well, here's a plot-based theory: perhaps Himegami is meant to be an analog for Hayate. A sort of deranged future version of Hayate -- a mere shell of a man who has failed at something very important to him before. Yes, I can definitely imagine Hayate going down this route if he doesn't get his act together. In fact, all the signs are there right now. Hayate's been slowly self-destructing since the start of this arc -- but his road down the depths of depravity really began when he started considering using failed love as a means to open the path to the Royal Garden. Now don't get me wrong and take this literally. I don't mean that Himegami = Hayate. I mean that Himegami is a parallelism to Hayate just like how Wataru x Isumi's parting words were meant as a recurring motif to really make the words "I loved you" strike home and its corresponding implications.
Now let's talk a bit about the butler boy. So many people are eager to criticize the Nagi ship nowadays, but people have become so caught up in the debate of "who deserves Hayate," that we often fail to consider, "does Hayate even deserve anybody?" At this point, I would say that my ship, Nagi, definitely deserves someone better than Hayate. Hayate hasn't really done anything worthy of note that would warrant him deserving someone like Nagi -- or anyone for that matter, at least considering that rescuing Nagi from kidnappers and such is pretty much the norm for someone with his abilities.
The other shippers often talk about reciprocity in order for Nagi to deserve Hayate -- I believe that's a flawed argument. I agree that there must be reciprocity on Hayate's part, but that's in order for him to prove that he is worthy of Nagi and not the other way around -- of course, I think Hata's working on this. There just needs to a bit more build-up towards the bomb and of course, Hayate's own emotional breakdown -- which really must happen at this point for the plot to make good storytelling sense.
I mean, just look at his pathetic face in this chapter. He's definitely thinking of a lot of things, but since we have zero insight as to what he is thinking most of the time, there's not even enough material to form some really concrete theories.
Finally, there's Maria initiating "something fun" together with Nagi. One has to wonder what this might be all about. Is it one last act of motherly care for Nagi? Beating Nagi at games as per usual? Or perhaps she plans to test out how far Nagi has become in a serious game of chess with something important on the line -- who knows?
How about this, though? What if Maria plans to give Nagi a bit of a makeover. Ya know, girly stuff. Let her hair down a little. Add a few more mature adornments on her than usual. Maybe even a little bit of lip blush. Cut her hair down to shoulder length, maybe? I personally prefer a long-haired Nagi, but it might be a good way to symbolize her ongoing maturity. Just like how Garnet cut her hair to symbolize her indpendence and new identity in FFIX.
Well, anything is possible with Maria, but it does add a bit of intrigue to things. I really like the way Hata is handling Nagi's dialogue nowadays. We still see a little bit of that ojousama snark from her every now and then, but she is definitely, and very certainly more mature than she was back then -- and that is concrete, tried and tested CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT based on actual events that happened in the manga. Yes, that last statement was aiming at certain remarks made online.
Fanart Corner: You know, I started out this week being bit sore at all of the anti Hayate x Nagi comments directly attacking my ship, but I realized that's the wrong attitude to take. Seriously, all this criticism is just a whole lot of cognitive dissonance -- or to use a simpler, more appropriate term, "salt." So here's a reactionary fanart from me~
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| If you're angry, that's because she's talking about you right now. |
By the way, my Nagi cat version figure has been shipped. Can't wait to receive it~. She should arrive by this week.
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| I waited for nearly a year for this figure thanks to delays from Orca Toys... she's gonna be sooo worth the wait though~ |
Reading through the manga at a go, I've been in awe of nagi's character development. From being an almost helpless girl, she turned fairly independent. Specially during the school trip level 5 arc, she just outshone everyone else and proved herself to be a true heroine. That's why it's one of my favourite arcs. And I agree with hayate not really deserving nagi, after all the love that she gave him. It's just that hayate ending up with nagi is what will make the latter really happy, so that's why I'm rooting for it. Also, I think it makes the most sense.
ReplyDeleteI read your replies on certain posts and I think those replies were absolutely remarkable.
Ah, thanks... truth be told, I probably was a bit more emotional than I wanted to be with those posts, but I really can't help it when we've just been sitting silently for so long and now when it's potentially our girl's time to shine, everyone wants to rain on our parade.
DeleteYes, because of Nagi's proven love for Hayate, it's really a certainty (at least in plot-related terms) that only Hayate can be the recipient of her love.
I wonder if you've ever read this old article? A lot of it still rings true today and it's one of my favorite Nagi-centric write-ups: http://reversethieves.com/2009/10/14/nagi-sanzenin-in-praise-of-the-ota-queen/
No, I never read this article before. I read it now and I absolutely love it. Apart from the "nagi is not a tsundere" thing, I agree with this article. But I also believe that nagi is a tsundere.
DeleteOne of the main reasons I love nagi is because she has made me love myself. I like the fact that the main character is a girl with flaws, striving hard to make her dreams come true and has mood swings. And I can just go on and on about her love for hayate. She loves hayate fiercely, ardently, with all her entire being. The imperfections of a normal person go beautifully with her which is why I think she's the most relatable character. Everyone is not a perfectionist.
After reading this post it makes me wonder whether the majority support the other ships because the other girls are actually relatable to them or because those girls are the ones they want themselves to become. If it's the former, then that means the majority is smart. The current condition of the world doesn't really support that.
I don't think its about deserving someone or not. As long as they have proper mutual understandings, and they themselves and the others get some fruitfulness from that, to me, that's the best.
DeleteHere they both understand and admit each other the most ( except some sudden issues which most probably will be fixed before long.). Hina soon gets furious on hayate's doings, and ayumu thinks him as a super hero or somethink like that. Nagi and Hayate know each others' flaws and they care for each other admitting that side too. Though hina and hayate are close enough to talk about his love and he doesn't often have so much normal chats with nagi but their relationships has been proven to be beyond the grasp of words. Most importantly they are overcoming their flaws depending on each other, again his part is yet to be shown, most likely. And in the anime they have shown as a complete circle who are incomplete without each other.
And in this chapter, she is willing to get back the essence of the period one year ago. So she may not have some outer changes like that. I wonder if that hikkikomori girl really had so much fun then.
DKThias translations are out early. Take note of what Ginka says... because it really adds more credence to my theory about Himegami and Hayate.
ReplyDeleteShe says that Himegami couldn't stand seeing the woman he loved being married to someone else. Maybe that's just me reading too much into things, but it seems like the theory is very plausible right now.
Just read the English version. Himegami looks pretty much yandere over there. The way hinagiku told himegami that yukariko won't love him back seemed to be referring to her own situation that, even though hayate cleared his debt, he will not love hina back.
ReplyDeleteMaybe hayate's dillemma,is soon to be cleared. As the title page foreshadowed spring with hina who was born in the spring. And spring normally describes good time
DeleteI'll get back to you on this, actually. The original Japanese raws really didn't have any pronouns just as DKThias' team translated it. I'll show you the full transcript when I'm back on my home connection
DeleteBack on my home connection... yay! So here's what Hina said to Himegami in Japanese: その人はあなたを。。。きっと好きにはならないわ
Delete届かない思いもあるのよ
Looking at it again, the firt line definitely refers to Yukariko not falling for Himegami even if they meet again. The second line could really mean "there are some types of feelings that never reach"
With that said, this is just Hina's perception so far. What we really need to move the story forward is Hayate's perspective -- which Hata seems reluctant to give us for now. At least I want to see him reflecting on what Nagi means to him instead of us having to speculate about it non-stop. Also, I'm pretty sure his initial answer will be in the negative -- that is, he'll definitely try to deny any ROMANTIC feelings for Nagi -- but that's also fine as it gets the ball rolling and speeds the story faster towards its natural conclusion. I never trust anything that comes out of Hayate's mouth anyway.
I just realized that for every romantic moment that hayate has spent with the girls, there has been a parallel moment that he spent with nagi. The rooftop scene with hinagiku at the clocktower is similar to the rooftop scene with nagi at sakuya's house. After the conclusion of ruka arc, the moment hayate spent with ruka was similar to the one he spent with nagi. Even the titles of the chapters were the same. There are many more such examples that just makes me really excited.
ReplyDeleteEven more than that, I've personally noticed that Nagi has a little bit of the good sides of every girl that Hayate has been somewhat attracted to. Athena's wisdom, Hina's insight (and tsundere-ness), Ruka's whimsical nature, Ayumu's purity (to some extent), Izumi's kindness, which combine together with Nagi's own unique persona to make her a very well-rounded and yet still believably human character -- perfect in all her imperfections.
DeleteBut wow... I've just noticed that you mentioned the chapter titles... that sounds like a great find!
DeleteCan you list some examples if you have the time?
Sure.
DeleteChapters 58,145,146 (Distance)
Chapters 430 and 432 (Shining Brightly)
Chapters 218 and 459 (Stone of Bonds)
There are many more examples like this as well as chapters with almost same titles.
Chapter 427 (No Regrets) and Chapter 537 (Last Regrets)
Chapter 2 (In English, Unmei means destiny) and Chapter 280 (Destiny)
Chapter 211 (Radical Dreamers) and Chapter 538 (Forever Dreamer)
Honestly, this is a really amazing find. Mind if I use it in a future chapter review? (with credits to you, of course.)
DeleteSeriously, this is just so much more fuel for our ship. It really adds a lot more concrete evidence that Hata really plotted out the story in advance despite some hitches along the way.
Yes, of course. Please use it. I'll give more examples of such kind if you want. Anything that strengthens our ship, I'm willing to work towards that.
DeleteYou are awesome! Thanks for that~
DeleteInteresting discussion between me and AstroNerdBoy over at his blog in chapters 556 and 557 at the moment.
DeleteOn the "amazing development" of Athena and Hayate's "one true love":
ReplyDeleteGuys, guys... um, when did Athena fall in love with Hayate again? I can't seem to remember. Hayate's falling in love with Athena was sufficiently developed, but Athena? Now this is a question worth pursuing -- coz I'm pretty sure there's not a lot of actual material in the manga to base that on.
Well I certainly can give instances of hayate and Athena gradually falling out of love. I don't think their current relationship status is anything other than former lovers. It was good while it lasted, I guess.
DeleteI think right now hinagiku is the last girl who's feelings are yet to be discovered by hayate. I don't want her to be treated unfairly and I hope she gets to tell him somehow. Maybe that'll also make hayate understand what he truly feels for Nagi.
I definitely agree with you there. Even though it seems like Hina is retiring early on her own, it wouldn't be fair to her to never take that shot at Hayate.
DeleteIt is consistent with one my favorite moments from her though: "A hero is someone who cannot show the tears behind the mask."
But if Hata is doing this in order for her to preserve her dignity, I'd at least like some insight as to what made her make the decision to pull out of the race for Hayate's heart.
Of course, what I'm really dying to see is a chapter of introspection from Hayate. What does Nagi really mean to him? I CANNOT ACCEPT THAT IT'S JUST A FEELING OF GRATEFULNESS AND A DEBT OF HONOR
-That inspires him to remember her despite a magical spell erasing his memories of her
-That spurs him to perform superhuman feats of rescue
-THAT EFFIN MAKES HIM CREATE A SPECIAL SUPER MOVE intended solely for rescuing her that is actually the main title of the series: Hayate no Gotoku!
(I think I forgot a few more reasons... help me out here~)
With that aside, I think he really will need to witness Nagi getting hurt because of him in order to spur him on to think of her seriously. Bomb... please go off soon and silence these annoying critics.
Exactly. And I hope, because of the pressure from the other shippers, the author doesn't deviate from hayate X nagi ending. If nagi indeed opens the path and becomes possessed by Midas, then I think all the moments that hayate spent with nagi will be backup enough for him to gather the strength to save her and of course, make him realise his true feelings for her. That's what happened in nisekoi (almost), and I believe that's what is going to happen here. And hayate is actually at a better position than raku as far as the number of special moments with the main heroine is concerned.
DeleteI thought this would be clear by now, but people still confuse fact with opinion.
ReplyDeleteFact vs Opinion:
Fact: Hayate has never SHOWN any romantic interest in Nagi.
Opinion: Hayate has zero romantic interest in Nagi.
I just re read chapter 522 because I remembered something interesting about the storyboard of nagi's manga, Almighty butler Hayata kun. On page 14 where nagi has written that something unfortunate happens between them, it seems hayate and nagi are being separated by something which grabs nagi's waist. At first I thought it's probably a claw similar to Dolly's, but now I think that hand is actually similar to the skeletal hand of King Midas.
ReplyDeleteGood one. That's probably foreshadowing on Hata's part. More confirmation that Nagi will be the one to open the path.
DeleteIt'd be interesting to see Nagi possessed by Midas/The Royal Power for a bit though. How will Hayate deal with it when Nagi's negative emotions because of her intense love for him come crashing down on Hayate himself? Will he just stand there and allow her to smack him around using Midas' power? I'm pretty sure he can't lift a finger to even hit her. It'd be a good parallel to the Golden Week arc as well.
Of course, while I want Hayate to realize his feelings for her, I also want Nagi to be able to overcome this curse due to her pure love for Hayate -- even better would be for Hayate to finally realize his love for Nagi this way so that at the moment he reciprocates her feelings, love conquers all -- even the royal power. It's an utterly cliched way of doing things and I believe it works!
In chapter 435, mikado tells athena some examples causing negetive emotions. There are instances like unfulfilled love,not being loved by anyone, having dreams not coming true and not having succes in writing manga in spite of continuous effort. It somehow looks like a foreshadow of how nagi can open the path.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, I think it's almost certain that Nagi will be the one to open the path. The only question is how exactly? Is it going to come from Hayate breaking her heart or something else?
Delete