March 24th, 2012 
AstroNerdBoy ハヤテのごとく！/Hayate no Gotoku manga volume 20
Hayate the Combat Butler Tankoubon Volume 20
–> Purchase Japanese tankoubon from YesAsia!
*SPOILERS!*
Because Viz is released the Hayate the Combat Butler manga so slowly, I’ve made the command decision to go ahead and catch up with the releases in Japan. Obviously, I’ll continue to purchase and review the Viz releases, because I REALLY want the manga to succeed here. However, I’m not confident at all that Viz will release the whole series, as seen by how they continue to fall further and further behind Japan. So, I’ll have to support my favorite, comedy manga series directly then by purchasing the Japanese tankoubons.
Because I’m going to be rapidly plowing through the series, I’m not going to bother much with a summary, but instead will put some highlight points that I wish to comment on. I will say that this volume concludes the Las Vegas vacation story for Sakuya, Wataru, and Saki. Izumi, Risa, Miki, Hina, and Ayumu make it to Turkey with little problem. In Japan, Nagi gets Hayate to take her to Animate store, where she manages to sneak down to the adult section, only to find Chiharu working there. Then, they fly to Greece, where to Nagi’s dismay, they encounter Hina and company.
During the gambling contest between Saki and Wataru’s mother, I laughed out loud when they changed to roulette, then consulted Hayate by phone to bet on the opposite of what he would do.
We got to see our first look at Nagi’s father, who looks a lot like Hayate, complete with butler uniform.
It is a shame about Wataru’s mom though, since she wasn’t fully committed to having her son live with her despite her words.
Leave it to Hata-sensei to have Nagi use a Louise doll from Familiar of Zero to “accidentally” drop it down the stairs into the adult anime/manga section of the store. For those who don’t know, Nagi’s seiyuu, KUGIMIYA Rei, also is the voice of Louise in Familiar of Zero. That series is something I’m aware of and should watch sometime.
Speaking of parodies, I loved the nod to Martian Successor Nadesico and Space Battleship Yamato. One of the posters on the wall of the store was a shout out to Toradora, which was also cool.
I liked that Hina and Ayumu had a nice chat about their feelings for Hayate. Of course, there’s Izumi to consider, to say nothing of Nagi. Then, there’s the greatness of Risa and Miki stirring the pot for awesome fun. ^_^
I also liked that Ayumu and Nagi were able to be closer as well. Their little adventure in the treasure room under the villa in Greece helped. ^_^
This volume finally links to the omake chapter in volume 4, where Hayate was sent to the past to save Nagi from the mafia. I like that Nagi didn’t remember whom it was that saved her back then, but still remembered the incident, and had believed in that person. There’s also a sweetness to how Nagi’s mom is watching over Nagi, combined with the “magic” (for lack of a better term) of Hayate always coming to Nagi’s aide whenever she calls. It appears that Nagi realized that it was Hayate that saved her in the past though, which was sweet too.
There’s also the awesomeness of Isumi showing up unexpected in the treasure room. She was in Las Vegas, then she’s somehow transported to Greece. However, the best moment is a dolphin showing up unexpectedly to provide her transportation. *lol* It’s those unexpected moments that help make Hayate the Combat Butler so funny.
So, there’s a lot of fun in this volume, and the trip to Greece continues, which was always more interesting than the Las Vegas trip.
Posted in 
Tags: 
Hayate looks like Nagi’s father and Maria looks like her mother
In that one image, you are right.
If Nagi’s father look like Hayate, does this mean they have a connection?
I don’t know. I haven’t read further.
It’s hard to imagine a Nagi/Hayate connection that makes any sense. Nagi is an only child and so was her mother, both of her parents are dead and Hayate’s are still alive, ect.
My only guess is that the implication is supposed to be that Nagi’s mom married someone who was much like Hayate. There’s an earlier subtle hint in that direction during the onsen trip where Hayate wonders aloud why a rich couple would have gone on a working man’s honeymoon–If Nagi’s father was relatively poor, it would make sense.
Hata-sensei does do foreshadowing, but his work is so couched in comedy, it is easy to miss it. Your citation is clearly a bit of foreshadowing lain out in a comedy moment.
[…] Combat Butler! Can’t Take My Eyes Off You established in the manga as canon. I forgot that in volume 20 of the manga, Chiharu worked there during Golden Week since Sakuya was in Las Vegas with Wataru and […]