Hayate the Combat Butler “2nd Season” Ep. 15
ハヤテのごとく！！Episode 15
Hayate no Gotoku!! – 15

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

A meteor crashes on the Izu peninsula at Shimoda so Nagi has decided a trip down there is in order seeing as how there are reported side effects of improving one’s stature, improving one’s bust size, improving one’s math scores, and regaining lost powers. Naturally, this also catches the interest of Hina, Ayumu, and Isumi. On the morning of the trip, Ayumu sets out from her house on bike, believing she can traverse the distance to Shimoda in a day.

Meanwhile, Hayate is horrified to learn that Nagi wants to make this a normal trip seeing how she and Maria are so naive. On board the luxury compartment of the train, Hayate produces three ekiben‘s and explains that all train stations have different types. Nagi somehow gets off the train to buy one and gets left. She’s not worried because she has her train ticket like Hayate instructed her, only the wind carries it away.

Back on the train, Hayate is about to leap out to get Nagi when Hina comes up, allowing Hayate to pawn off Maria onto Hina and go after Nagi. He jumps out of the train and lands safely in the road, only to be run over by a delivery truck.

As Hina sits with Maria and attempts to discuss her current love troubles (disguised as if speaking of a friend), Nagi finds herself more lost than ever but then finds herself in front of a ramen shop in the middle of nowhere. The giant man in pink has her inside and a bowl of shio ramen in front of Nagi before she can bolt. Nagi thinks she can pull off the old, “this is nasty” trick and get a free meal (since she has no money), but the ramen is too good. Nagi cries as she eats, leading the ramen owner to think his ramen is so good, it moved Nagi to tears. Thus, he gives it to her free.

Nearby, Ayumu is distressed to learn she hasn’t traveled as far as she thought and decides to get some food. She stops at the ramen restaurant Nagi is at. Upon seeing her, Nagi decides it is time to leave but not before muttering “baka hamster” under her breath. Ayumu isn’t going to take that and follows Nagi out. Eventually, Nagi lets Ayumu know that she got separated, so as Ayumu gives Nagi a lift on her bike, she also lets Nagi use her cell phone in order to contact Maria.

 Nagi is not happy to learn that Ayumu has a print club sticker photo of Ayumu and Hayate together and lets Ayumu know as much. Nagi calls Maria who then relays the information to Hayate, who’s been tracking Nagi. Unfortunately, a car full of assassins pulls up with orders to kill Nagi. Since the description they have is a girl with twin tails, they decide to kill both girls. Ayumu doesn’t wait around and pedals like mad, causing Nagi to lose the cell phone.

Thoughts/Review:

This story arc is a favorite of mine from the manga (and one I have not completed so after episode 16, it will all be new to me) because it is so funny. The anime writers, as they’ve done all this series, have proven yet again that sticking to the source material makes for the best stories. ^_^

Despite knowing that Hayate would not only leap out of the train but he’d get run over, the moment comes off so much funnier in the anime that I could not help but laugh out loud. It is a pure moment right out of Looney Toons or even a Road Runner cartoon and is older than the hills. Yet despite this, the joke worked well in the manga and even better in the anime. Sometimes the classics, in the hands of a good director, never get old. ^_^

Another moment where the anime trumped the manga was the tough guy ramen shop owner. It was funny enough for this giant of a man to come out, grab Nagi, and shove a bowl of tasty ramen in front of her. In the anime, having him wear and outfit with lots of pink in it made me laugh out loud because I honestly didn’t expect it (the black-and-white image was too ingrained in my head I guess). So kudos to the production staff on this one as well.

The other moments, including the assassins showing up and targeting Nagi, comes off about the same as the manga to me in terms of humor and enjoyment. Its just really good stuff that I’d love to see on my anime shelf. ^_^

Next episode, I’ll get to see how the writers handle the loss of the Detective Conan chapter where Ayumu and Hayate had a moment together since that carries over into the story in the next episode.