Hayate the Combat Butler “2nd Season” Ep. 16
ハヤテのごとく！！Episode 16
Hayate no Gotoku!! – 16

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

As Hina and Maria discuss Hina’s “friend’s” love life, they are blissfully unaware that Ayumu and Nagi are being chased by assassins. Ayumu has managed to elude them and as she pedals down the road, Nagi tells her that she should toss the bike and take the train as it is impossible to bike to Shimoda. Ayumu won’t follow that advice as the mountain bike is a gift from her mother. Hearing this, Nagi steps off the back of the bike and tells Ayumu to go on as Hayate will soon be there. After all, Nagi doesn’t want to be responsible for breaking a gift from Ayumu’s mother.

Back a ways, Hayate is on their trail and finds Ayumu’s cell phone when he’s attacked by Ginka. She wants Hayate to go to the Shimoda onsen where Isumi currently is so that Isumi can be cured. Hayate lets Ginka know that he’s already going down there with Nagi but has to save Nagi and Ayumu. He promises that once he’s done this, he will help Isumi get her powers back.

Nagi is sitting on the wall separating the road from the beach when Ayumu returns with a cold beverage for her. Since Ayumu is bad at understanding things and bad at giving up, she’s not going to give up on getting Nagi to Atami. Before they can go, Ayumu finds her beverage can shot as the assassins have found them. Ayumu and Nagi are back on the bike but this time the assassins are staying with them. Things look bad until two traffic light polls come crashing to Earth, causing the assassins to wreck. Having kept her promise, Ginka tells Hayate to keep his end of the deal and then proceeds to deal with the assassins.

Hayate gets Nagi and Ayumu to Atami Station safely where they meet Maria. Since Ayumu is determined to still bike the rest of the way to Shimoda, Nagi orders Hayate to bike her there since he has the ability to do so. Hayate protests as he’s concerned for Maria and Nagi, but Hina arrives to tell him to do this. Further, Hina reminds Hayate that he owes Ayumu a White Day present. He’s still uncertain until Hina literally puts her foot down hard on his, feeling she’s doing the right thing.

Ayumu is happy to be alone with Hayate though the incredible speed he’s pedaling at has her scared. He slows down but then a snooty rich couple in a convertible pull up and make fun of the two of them before leaving them in a cloud of dirt. Hayate and Ayumu are agreed upon revenge, so Hayate pedals and soon smokes the convertible to the shock of its occupants. Ayumu and Hayate have a laugh about this before Hayate asks what Ayumu wants for White Day. She mulls it over for a minute and then says she wants nothing as she has everything she needs.

At Shimoda, Nagi has crashed and slept in her clothes. She has a dream-memory about her mother and upon waking, finds Sakuya there. They head out to try to find the secret onsen where the meteor crashed and find throngs of people. Coming to the base of a long steps leading to a secluded onsen, the old lady warns of terrible dangers and won’t let them pass without paying ¥4000 each. They pay and are soon in the onsen, which has Nagi drunk somehow. Hayate rescues her from the onsen and upon coming to her senses, Nagi is not happy to be seen naked again.

Feeling the onsen story may be fraudulent as she experienced no improvement, Nagi wonders if maybe a UFO crashed rather than a meteor as no traces of a meteor have been found. She prays to her deceased mother for an alien encounter and almost immediately, something crashes into her room. It is what appears to be an alien.

Thoughts/Review:

The episode marked the beginning of new materials and in all honesty, it shouldn’t have. For some inexplicable reason, the anime production team completely removed the funny chapter with Kotetsu coming to the onsen and trying to hit on Hayate. I’ve no idea why they did this. The manga ends volume 11 with Hayate rescuing Nagi in the onsen and then volume 12 would start this whole alien thing. So why not do it this way for the anime? I can’t make heads nor tails of it.

One thing the anime did do was make me realize that the “Yukariko-neesama” that Isumi’s mother spoke of must be Nagi’s mother. In the manga, I didn’t make that connection (as of volume 11 at least) but somehow hearing Isumi’s mother speak the words turned on the light with me. Well, if Hayate does resemble Nagi’s mother somehow, then it would make sense as to why she trusted him so quickly. Then again, can you trust something Isumi’s mother says? It would be interesting to see the relationship between Isumi’s mother and Nagi’s mother.

Ginka’s appearance in the anime has an edge over the manga because of the animation factor. I can’t help but like this nutty old woman and wonder how she’ll be used in future after Isumi gets her powers back.

Even though the moment comes off about the same in both anime and manga, I like not only how Ayumu and Nagi continue to be friends and rivals, but how gracious Nagi can be. For her to just let Ayumu have some time alone with Hayate as thanks for saving her bacon says a lot about Nagi as a character.

Speaking of Ayumu, I felt that the loss of the Detective Conan story was handled pretty well, though the chat Ayumu and Hayate had there is lost. The writers attempt to compensate for the loss though and I think they pull it off pretty well.

So another good episode with the one troubling removal of the Kotetsu story. From here on its all new territory for me so I’m looking forward to new stories. ^_^