ハヤテのごとく！/Hayate no Gotoku manga volume 28 review
Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 28

 –> PURCHASE FROM AMAZON!

Since I’ve already reviewed this volume based on the Japanese tankoubon, this review will focus on the Viz release as well as additional thoughts regarding the content of Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 28.

***SPOILERS***

Ruka Arrives

One of the major highlights of Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 28 is that Ruka’s story gets off the ground. I know a lot of fans did not like Ruka, but I did. Although her backstory mirroring Hayate’s and Hina’s was a bit contrived, I didn’t mind that. She was a fun character, and I wouldn’t have minded if Hayate ended up with her.

Ruka’s biggest contribution was to Nagi’s character story. Ruka became a proper rival to Nagi because both were amateur mangaka, looking to make a name for themselves in the doujinshi world. Plus, Ruka was a famous idol while Nagi was a former, mega-rich ojousama.

The “Harem”

Another plotline that really takes off in Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 28 is the new female residents at Yukari House. First up is Hayate’s true love, Athena. I remain convinced that Hata-sensei was desperate to “kill” her as Hayate’s love interest. As such, although Athena was needed for the plot, I think Hata-sensei returning her to her child Ah-tan form was to keep the Athena shippers at bay. (It didn’t work.)

Still, Ah-tan did provide for some comedic moments.

The next person to move into Yukari House is Hina-chan. The plot is contrived to get Hina there, but since I wanted her in the mix, I didn’t mind.

The Character Designs

Sadly, Hata-sensei’s character designs continue to shift to make characters a bit less appealing. He’s still a ways from hitting bottom, but one starts noticing it, especially since from some angles, the characters look like their old selves and from other angles, characters look like they have big hair.

Viz Stuff

By now, it should be mega obvious that Viz hates this manga series. However, they are apparently stuck with it. As such, Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 28 is released years after the the volume was released in Japan.

That said, it is a pretty standard release of the series for Viz. All (or almost all) Japanese honorifics are retained. All of the extras from the Japanese tankoubon release of this volume are included. And Viz has some ads for their other stuff.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Although Viz releases the series very slowly, and despite the ultimate ending, I don’t regret purchasing Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 28. The combination of the Ruka story arc and the Yukari House fun made the manga an enjoyable read. And yeah, the manga’s overall plot does advance a bit here.