ハヤテのごとく！/Hayate no Gotoku Chapter 397

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Hayate reports back to a shocked Nagi and the others of his promise to marry Ruka if Nagi loses. He explains his reasons, but says that there’s nothing to worry about providing Nagi wins. Put on the spot, Nagi says she’ll win but she know that she’s almost sure to lose, meaning she’ll lose Hayate. Further to this, Nagi has only two weeks to complete her manga.

Nagi heads into Tokyo to visit a bookstore on accomplishing her goals, accompanied by Chiharu and the others. Chiharu states that reading those books won’t help Nagi win, but since she has no other suggestion, Nagi starts reading. Nagi becomes frustrated when she realizes the self-help books are no good for working a manga. Ayumu asks Ashibashi-sensei what Nagi can do. In response, says there is a method of making a good manga, then recounts a story of him riding a bicycle in the city at three in the morning. It turns out to be a horror story where the person he encountered had an ofuda (talisman) on his face, implying a supernatural encounter.

With that, Ashibashi-sensei explains that the most interesting stories come from interesting experiences one wants to tell people about. With that, tweaking it into a good story and expanding on the characters makes for a great story, since the original experience was already interesting.

Nagi decides she has two days to spare, so with that, she’s going to have to take an interesting trip with the group.

Thoughts/Review:

I like how Hata-sensei continues to stage things in a natural progression to keep the plot moving while forcing characters to step beyond themselves.

For Team Nagi, it is humorous that all the girls, save Chiharu, have a thing for Hayate, so it is in their interest to make sure Nagi wins. As such, I’m interested to see how this trip results in the manga Nagi will create.

I also like that Ashibashi-sensei is still involved in the storyline. His advice is spot on when it comes to making an interesting story. Nagi has always gone the surreal route on her stories, which results in an audience of one (Isumi).

If I weren’t still recovering from the flu, I’d probably have more to say, but as it is, my brain is mush, for which I apologize. Still, I’m eagerly looking forward to the next chapter.