Hayate the Combat Butler Episode 29
ハヤテのごとく！Ep. 29

SPOILER Summary: Wataru-kun comes to Nagi’s house all worried about Saki and an omiai (marriage meeting) she’s to have. Apparently when she returned from spending the night at her parent’s home (after staying out late with friends), her parents made an omiai for her. Because Wataru wasn’t concerned at the time, an annoyed Saki tells her mother to proceed on, thus making Wataru concerned. All of this was overheard by Hayate, Maria, and Sakuya. Maria suggest they all go.

After they leave, Maria-san has a fantasy about an omiai where she’s is back in feudal times and the meeting is where the samurai lord is about to “have some fun” with her. Tama hears about the omiai and wants to know more. They arrive at Isumi’s house a fancy Japanese restaurant to spy on Saki, whom it turns out is meeting with Kaoru-sensei from school. Sakuya and Nagi tease Wataru about this because it increases the fun for them. While Kaoru-sensei blathers about his hobbies (which get a lot of censor bleeps), Saki recalls how she’d met her two high school friends and after staying out too late, she called Wataru so he wouldn’t be worried about her, only to find out he wasn’t worried. Thus her being mad with Wataru lead to her present situation.

The two end up getting lost in the woods of the place and Hayate, Nagi, Sakuya, and Wataru tail them. Hayate states he can lip read and will tell the group what Saki and Kaoru-sensei are talking about. Their talk is about how Kaoru actually likes someone else (Katsura-sensei) and has for years. However, Hayate “reads” this as Kaoru-sensei confessing his love for Saki and how he’ll do certain “things” for her to make her “happy” which Saki agrees to. Wataru has heard enough, especially when Hayate’s translations get worse and worse. He’s about to barge in, but a whack from Sakuya’s harisen stops that as she tells him they need a plan.

Hayate decides to use an old plot device where Wataru will be the hero in Saki’s eyes. Nagi and Wataru are very impressed by this plan, but Sakuya isn’t because its so old. Hayate tells her that since Wataru apparently doesn’t watch these kinds of dramas where this plot device is used, its OK. So Hayate enlists the help of Tama, who just arrived on scene. Tama will play the fierce tiger and Wataru will be the hero. All seems well except that Tama senses something stronger than he and beats a retreat. That something steals Kaoru-sensei and Wataru comes out to be the hero. However, upon learning it isn’t Tama, everyone wonders what beast is there. Turns out it is Katsura-sensei, who’d been at an omiai a day or so earlier and had been thrown out and subsequently got lost. Now saved, she drags a protesting Kaoru off for some heavy drinking at his expense. Wataru takes Saki by the hand and they go home while Sakuya beats Tama with her harisen.

Back at the academy, Kuzuha plots her capture of Hayate, to the shame of the young Shion. Kuzaha despatches her first combat butler who attacks Hayate at Nagi’s mansion. Using the special field to take them out of the real world (as Shion had done), the new butler uses a deck of game cards and sets out some bug creatures for battle. Hayate-Yugi uses a card of his own, Klaus, which destroys all of the bugs. Then Hayate-Yugi gets anther card which summons a swimsuit-clad Nagi and Maria to defeat the butler. The butler flees and the announcer indicates there will be more battles to come, much to Hayate’s unpleasant surprise.

Thoughts: Finally — I got a decent laugh when the scene was clearly at Isumi’s house but the announcer swore it was really a fancy Japanese restaurant and not the backgrounds for Isumi’s house being reused. OK, maybe that’s something silly to laugh at, but there ya go. Then there was Hayate’s totally screwing up the lip-reading which was funny for me. And there were more laughs. So maybe this series hasn’t jumped the shark just yet. ^_^

Detective Conan got another nod this week. However, I think a lot of people were happy about the Yugioh! parody at the end of the episode with Hayate becoming both Yugi and Atemu. I’ve never seen the show, but I immediately recognized it.

Basically, a really funny and well-crafted episode.