ハヤテのごとく！/Hayate no Gotoku Chapter 379
Hayate the Combat Butler Manga Chapter 379

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Nagi is not impressed with how Ruka looks as she suns herself on the porch (engawa) of the apartment-house. She tells Ruka that Ruka no longer seems like a god to Nagi. Ruka’s attempt to claim to be a goddess is interrupted by a coughing spell. Nagi learns that Ruka has been constructing a bucket list, even though she’s not expecting to die. Ruka is too embarrassed to show Nagi her bucket list, but encouraged Nagi to write one. Nagi rattles out her usual wishes — to be a manga-ka with a trillion sales, to create a masterpiece, to make an anime, etc.

Ruka reluctantly agrees to tell one item on her bucket list — go to Rome and eat ice cream. This puzzles Nagi, but Chiharu comes out and says its from the 1953 movie Roman Holiday.  Nagi is still not impressed, saying that Häagen-Dazs is better, letting it be known that she still has a home in Rome. Nagi wants something with more impact, so Ruka asks for help from Chiharu. Taken aback, Chiharu suddenly thinks of Sakuya expressing her thanks for Chiharu being her maid. Flustered for a moment, Chiharu recovers and says she’d be happy if people close to her felt they needed her, which Ruka finds to be nice, stating that life is about the small blessings.

Nagi rejects this notion, saying that losers think this way. In her mind, life isn’t about winning, losing, or the like, but doing something special. She cites the first time she saw Ruka on stage at a concert, where Nagi confesses that Ruka then was close to being her ideal.

Meanwhile, Hayate takes a call from Ruka’s manager, Atsumari, telling him that she neglected to mention that Ruka does have health issues, citing the instance where Hayate found her collapsed on the floor. Atsumari says that Ruka is quite worn out, based on the medical tests, so she doesn’t want Ruka pushing herself. The call ends and Ruka enters, whereupon seeing Hayate, she looks at her bucket list to the specific entry where she wants to get a nice boyfriend.

Thoughts/Review:

Interesting how Hata-sensei decided to go here.  I had expected a medical emergency, but instead, we were treated to Ruka pondering her own mortality as she made her bucket list. Without the constant demands of an idol to keep her mind off of things, Ruka is now thinking about her health and the fact that she doesn’t have a boyfriend.  Of course this is on top of her now considering life without the good money that being an idol brought in, especially with such a large debt hanging over her head.  It will be interesting to see where things go, especially with her wanting to date Hayate.

As to Nagi, I’m surprised she let Ruka know that she’d looked up to Ruka from the moment she saw Ruka on stage as an idol. Nagi is being set up to be the catalyst that gets Ruka back on track.  I still sense a medical emergency for Ruka with Nagi being part of helping Ruka get back on her feet.

As to Chiharu’s flashback, the bubble aspect makes it seem like her moment with Sakuya is a romantic one, and I’ve heard some folks ponder this.  I don’t think that’s the case, but simply her recalling her good feeling at being appreciated by another person.

So which I don’t find a great deal to talk about, this was a nice chapter in terms of the look at mortality, Nagi’s source of inspiration, and friendship in general. I’m looking forward to the next chapter.