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Really, ever since the introduction of Hinagiku to the Hayate no Gotoku serie, this has to be the one episode that we’ve all been waiting form and just like the title of this episode, it was full of Hina Love. Hinagiku I’ve always seen as one of he best characters of the series yet she somehow switches a lot between background character and main line yet it happens in such a way that there is enough to make the fanboys go crazy. Though when Hinagiku becomes the focus of the episode, it’s a totally different ball game. Not to mention I’ve actually watched this episode 3 times already (once from screen capping and twice subbed).
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Impressions
Of course this being Hayate no Gotoku, the love letter was too good to be true. But that does bring many amusing misunderstandings for both Hinagiku and Hayate since they thought the letter came each other, only to have it all ruined by a background character. I was kind of expecting to be coming from one of the student council trio, but I guess since Azumamiya hasn’t been around, this works. Despite Hinagiku’s tough exterior, it just goes to show she is also a normal girl, and even the talk of love can set her mind wondering. This episode we see so many wonderful sides to Hinagiku and she is definitely better tsundere than Nagi. I guess the way you could interpret that is that Hinagiku is more of a mature type of tsundere where she can be straightforward where as Nagi is still kind of childish.
To me, I see Hinagiku being the most suitable person for Hayate as they’re both about the same age and they’re both pretty average people. Plus the chemistry between the two is much better as I always see Hayate more as a bigger brother with Nagi, Isumi and Sakuya. With Maria it seems that she is in a league of her own, and with Ayumu they can’t be anything more than just friends. Though it’s such a shame that Hayate has bad luck not with just money, but with women.
It’s a shame really since the seriesis coming ever so closer to the end and this will be the most we’ll ever see of Hinagiku. With the current pacing I still can’t help but think the final episode will just be one huge rush as trying to end a series as random and comedic as Hayate, it won’t work the same as other series. But at least with this episode, I would say this is somewhat similar to the Nanka episode of Da Capo II. So much Hinagiku awesomeness, but that’s all we’ll ever get to see. That is unless the series goes longer than 50 episodes, which I certainly wouldn’t mind.
Next episode we’re featuring the student council trio. I swear they get more screen time than Hinagiku. Well hopefully they can bring us many laughs.
Preview:
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I think I said here that Hina is a better tsundere (she’s more tsun-tsun when she needs to be - witness Volume 6 of the manga), but can get QUITE dere-dere when the situation calls for it (I’m thinking of a certain two-page spread in volume 10)… and she’s more elegant than Nagi is, which means she can actually attract and HOLD Hayate’s attention. Plus, she doesn’t labor under the ’she’s too young for me’ handicap that Nagi has - Nishizawa and Hina are definitely more in the running at the moment, even if it looks like they may not stay that way with the more recent manga volumes.
And yes, those two do have better chemistry; they’ve got similar backgrounds… and Nagi has a hard time understanding Hayate’s world, just as he can’t really seem to ‘get’ the world of rich people - which provides a major barrier for understanding, which is PART of why things have gone the way they have in manga and anime (I’m thinking of Nagi’s attempt at being the cold tsundere type in Volume 5 during the Titanic incident, and its anime adaptation… and Klaus blew her away with his own cold, tsun-tsun attitude which got Hayate blushing).
Nevermind - made the comment elsewhere. But yes, she’s a better tsundere.. and one which is actually GOOD at it, and looks good doing it. Plus, she and Hayate have bonds that he and Nagi don’t have due to age differences as well as the sheer gap that exists between them due to their lifestyles and how they grew up; he just can’t get past the idea of NOT having to worry about money, and seems quite bothered by the idea of thoughtless waste which Nagi embodies (remember when she shattered a chair on Wataru’s head which cost as much as a furisode would have - or about $50000).
Ah, someone else who agrees Hinagiku is a better tsundere than Nagi. Although I only have read upto whatever the scanlations of the manga, I can tell that Hinagiku can be quite dere-dere. Hina is definitely the most suited for Hayate, but I Ayumu is nowhere near that level, but at least she fares better than Nagi ever will. The only other thing that bonds Hayate and Nagi together is definitely the debt that he has and it really can’t go any further than that, unless we get some kind of unexpected development, but that’s something we won’t see in the anime. Hayate will never see Nagi as anything more than the one person who saved him since 1) he is pretty dense, and 2) he likes older girls.
Adun: He likes girls older than Nagi, because he’s pure and honest and not a pervert, unlike Stripey.
He can’t get past the idea that she’s too young right now to think of like that… just as he can’t think of Isumi or Sakuya the same way. The reason he said ‘older girls’ to Maria in the beginning was because he thought he’d tripped her relationship flag, and if he’d said he liked younger girls that path would’ve closed right there and then.
At the same time, Hina’s warmth is something he can understand and appreciate, while NAgi… doesn’t quite have it. She covers for her own actions too well for her own good; he thinks she’s being benevolent because of pity, and the fact she throws money around like it’s water makes it worse in terms of the whole ‘love-love’ situation - he can’t think of being rich while saddled with that debt, and she can’t imagine him NOT thinking of riches or money. Which means she can easily (and has, in some instances) by admitting to casual impulse buying on a scale which he can’t even imagine… because she’s never had to worry about money. Sorta like how the Host Club tends to offend Haruhi Fujioka at times because they have a ‘rich person’s way of thinking’ and their ‘common sense’ and attempts at understanding commoner values comes off as extremely patronizing.