Hayate no Gotoku! Cuties  (Manglobe) – Genre: Comedy, Harem, Parody, School

Episode 01 – “Hayate Ayasaki”

I have to admit that I was quite cautious going into this next season of one of my favorite comedy series of all time. After the disappointment that was the first spin-off series from last season, I wasn’t sure if could get back into the Hayate no Gotoku series, especially since this is essentially just another spin-off. However, this first episode re-instilled my faith and reminded me of all the things I loved in the first two seasons. Perhaps my biggest complain about Can’t Take My Eyes Off You was the completely awkward character designs that made it difficult for a long time fan like myself to watch. That problem is no more in this new season, as the character art has reverted to what it used to look like for the most part and is definitely a massive step up from the previous iteration.

The “catch” with Hayate no Gotoku! Cuties is that each episode will highlight one character, and this first episode was centered around our favorite unfortunate butler Hayate. The setting is different from the first two seasons in that now Hayate, Nagi, and Maria live in a dorm with most of the other girls from his school including Hinagiku, Chiharu, and even Nishizawa. This makes his “harem” that much closer to him at all times, allowing for hilarious situations to arise much more frequently. What I love about Hayate no Gotoku is that even though it may appear to be a harem series, it doesn’t ever feel like one at all. It’s all about the comedy here.

In this episode, we get a look at Hayate’s daily routine which involves cleaning, making breakfast, preparing Hinagiku’s running shoes, waking up Nagi, and studying in order to keep his place a Nagi’s school. I like how we’re already seeing a lot more Hinagiku because even though I said “it’s all about the comedy,” I kind of lied. Hayate and Hinagiku are one of the very few pairs in anime I feel like I “ship.” So yeah, always nice to see them together, and Hinagiku even offers to help Hayate study for the test. However, his luck strikes like it always does and all of the girls get sick the next day, leaving it to him to care of them all. To make matters worse, he ends up getting sick on the day of the test! Hayate forces himself to play it off so as to not make Nagi feel responsible for it. After a series of trials of tribulations and the breaking of a PFP, Hayate manages to take his test.

Something I realize is missing from these spin-off series is the awesome original BGM and the awesome narrator too. Those really provided a lot of personality that made the original two series great. However, I really like the OP for this season, sung by Hinagiku (CV: Shizuka Itou) herself. The ED’s will most likely change with each episode to match the character featured each week, which is something to look forward to. I was worried for a while that I wouldn’t be able to come to this series, but I have high hopes for the rest of this season. While it may not be the official season 3 that we’ve all been hoping for, it’s definitely a nice diversion until that fated day.

B.W.