What They Say:
Kenjiro Hata, notable for creating Hayate the Combat Butler, also created the new series Hayate the Combat Butler! Can’t Take My Eyes Off You. In this series, Hayate Ayasaki continues to work alongside Maria at the Nagi Sanzenin’s mansion. Nagi receives a call from “Area 51” inviting her to the universe but will she accept?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Hayate the Combat Butler didn’t do a lot to make things interesting overall in the previous episode as it all turned into a wild chase to get Hayate to kiss someone. That brings a lot of pressure to bear on the system, so to speak, as the whole premise of the series falls apart of Hayate actually starts to get close to someone. So many fans of the various other characters, and there are many characters, would become upset by it that it’d be all over from there. Because of this, you know that it’s all only going to go so far, so it’s a bit frustrating in that way as it’s hard to imagine that series really taking chances, especially after the previous eleven episodes of this season, and the season before that , worked hard to keep the status quo intact with what it did.
With this episode, bringing the season to a close, we get more overt attempts made at securing the kiss out of Hayate. There’s even a really amusing moment early on as Nagi and Hayate get close and are practically in for the final moment, but it’s his father that comes out of the blue and screws things up for them two of them. And that just shifts the chase back into action as Hayate is once again on the outside, wearing his magical girl style outfit at that, coming across other girls that are interested in getting that kiss and do their best to get as close to him as possible. For his part, Hayate generally looks to be confused by all of this and is just bouncing from one situation to another while trying to just deal with the situation and figure out what it all really means.
As the episode goes on, it deals with more of the characters along the way that come in and out of Hayate’s life and the way so many of them are wanting to step up and do their part to kiss him. Of course, it all has that wraparound subplot as well with the clock and tanuki that are playing the larger game with Hayate, and noting that he just doesn’t get it when it comes down to what he needs to do. It’s amusing enough at times to be sure, but it does all come down to Nagi once again, with a nod towards the black camellia that was so prominent in the previous season, as she makes her play for him in a straightforward way that actually makes sense. When she confronts him and them on the reason why the kiss must happen, it hits them all in the same way and pretty much sets it all back on a comfortable and expected path.
In Summary:
Thank goodness that’s over. Try as I might, and I do keep trying, I just can’t connect well with what Hayate the Combat Butler is doing at this point. I enjoyed the material that was released several years ago on DVD, but this season and the previous ones have been painful to watch most of the time and this two part storyline was just head to desk drawn out bad at times. Everything is built up into this big thing, resolved with the simplest of moments and just so empty of any real meaning that even as they try and force and cram it down with the mood, music and the watery eyes of so many characters, it’s hollow and empty. It’s nicely animated, though not above average to be sure, and the season had its moments (Hello, Maria!), but the two part finale just made it clear that where Hayate is today simply isn’t for me.
Grade: C-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
