A few things about Hayate no Gotoku
Posted: March 31, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized 4 Comments »
So after three weeks of on-off marathoning, I’ve finally finished Hayate no Gotoku, the first anime I’ve ever finished with more than 30 episodes (save DBZ, but I watched that wayyy back).
So this post will be about two things:
- The second Hayate OP.
- The differences between the OVA (aka S2 00) and S1.
P.S.: I’m passing up my final verdict on Rideback (K-ON! 01 came out, so I need to watch that ASAP!).
P.P.S.: God, did I get owned with that K-ON! “release.”
The OP. I love this thing for its lyrics and the message that the lines convey.
Sadly, I cannot find the OP with the right lyrics, so just listen to this song and pretend the lyrics are the ones in the screenshots below.
Hayate the combat butler OP #2
Translated lyrics:
I don’t believe in “absolutes!”
Nothing is impossible!
The future rests in the palm you open.
Sayings like you lose when you show your true intentions, (<—wtf?)
Or living your life punching numbers into a calculator,
If it means you have to lie to your heart,
Then all the suffering and honesty will be once in a lifetime experiences!
Whenever I see you’re in a jam, I get worried.
There really is no reason to rush your life.
I’ll leave the treasure map in your hands.
I will follow you anywhere, even on a little detour!
Too lucky of a result.
I won’t get lost for answers!
It’s simple! Everything is for you.
I don’t care about rumors!
I won’t give in to a sense of inferiority!
The moment to dash out is now.
Despite what I see as some pretty rushed translation (line 4 is pretty nasty…), the meaning is clear: live your life without regret and strive to be the best you can be by deciding your own future (of course, this is somewhat of a love song, so it’s not exactly the same…).
Have you ever felt strongly moved by something?
Well, that’s what I got from this song.
To me, this song tells a valuable life lesson (especially “There is no reason to rush your life”), and represents the kind of life I want to live.
I don’t want to live my “life punching numbers into a calculator.”
I don’t want “all the suffering and honesty [to be] once in a lifetime experiences.”
I want to take advantage of this moment and “dash out” following my own “treasure map.”
And I truly believe that “absolutes” aren’t absolute.
Anything is possible, as long as you open the right palm.
This “thinking” thing is getting to my head, so I’ll just move on to a lighter topic…
"The quality of the OVA, I mean... and not exactly in a good sense."
So basically, the OVA has some radically different art compared to the art of the first season.
First, we have Hayate.
Uh, yeah. He looks pretty different.
A big issue I have about the new art is the lighter color palette that’s used.
As you can see, Hayate is much darker in the first season than in the OVA (his hair, his eyes, his skin… et cetera)
Still, it’s nice how they made the uniform darker (the ribbon thing is redder, the suit is just darker in general) -the OVA butler uniform looks a lot more “professional” than the faded tones that Hayate wore in the first season.
It’s also nice to see that the same hair-shine thing has been used (as in… this).
However, the “new” Sanzenin butler looks… well, different, to say the least. There’s a lot more hair on his head, and he looks like he’s going to die of starvation (you know, when you’ve got a body that can go faster on a bike than a car at full throttle, you’re probably buff, not skinny like this).
tl;dr BRING BACK THE OLD HAYATE.
Nagi‘s hair is a lot less pale and more yellow, as vibrant as Hayate’s new blue hair. Her eyes have turned a bit more green (a little darker) and her skin is more tanned (hey, maybe she’s been going out in the sun after episode 52!) as well. Other than that, I see no major changes.
Usually, I can stand Nagi’s new look. It’s not all that bad, really.
However, sometimes I just want to yell “WHO THE HELL IS THIS?” …
Indeed, who the hell is that short blonde girl standing next to our Hayate?
I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s seriously wrong with Nagi in this picture, and it’s definitely not the deeper colors alone that’s making it awkward.
tl;dr Nagi is better than Hayate, and her new design is usually tolerable
Well, I guess I’ll say it again: more vibrant colors.
Besides that, the biggest issue I have with this group is Miki’s eyes.
Holy crap, are they different…
Instead of being flat on top and on bottom, the bottoms of the eyes are now rounded, and this just makes her look weird.
What the hell.
Uh…
What the hell.
Isumi looks completely different.
- Blue hair instead of purple hair
- No nose in most scenes
- Much lighter skin
- Eyes got flipped upside down – rounded bottoms instead of rounded tops/flat top and bottom
This last one makes her cute “I’m lost” appeal vanish.
There’s no “awwww” from the audience when you see somebody who looks like she’s high being lost (as opposed to a cute loli with worried eyes being lost).
tl;dr What the hell.
Sakuya is a lot more childish. Instead of the comedy figure, she’s more of the “Look at me, I’m drawn different” loli figure.
Wataru isn’t all that different, which is quite nice.
I like his signature pose in the screenshots above. :]
Saki… Well. Basically, a lot of what I said with Hayate:
A lot darker hair, eyes, skin with a nicer uniform.
tl;dr: Sakuya looks worse, but Wataru is okay and Saki is tolerable.
Maria‘s the best out of the whole lot, I’d say.
She retains her “maid” and “motherly” impressions and the color palette change looks quite nice on her (though the original was nice too).
tl;dr: Maria’s good.
Hinagiku looks awesome in this episode… heh.
But really, her new design isn’t bad. The darker pink of her hair is … off, but tolerable. Her eyes aren’t bad either, and…
HOLY SHIT.
Well, Hinagiku’s a 50-50 shot. Half the time in the OVA, she looks as good as she did when we first met her back in season one. But the other half of the time, we get crap shots like the one above that shouldn’t’ve been aired.
tl;dr: Hinagiku is okay half the time and crap half the time. Still, fanservice.
Nishizawa (or rather, Ayumu) looks pretty damn bad.
Her eyes have undergone a complete makeover, and her hair isn’t just a darker shade – it’s a completely different color.
If Isumi weren’t as crappy as she is, I’d say that Nishizawa’s new character design/art is the worst, hands down.
As for the rest of the bunch (Yukiji, Klaus, Tama, etc.), I didn’t find any big problem with their new designs.
Though Klaus has developed an enormous chin.
tl;dr tl;dr (tl;dr of all the tl;drs up there): Hayate no Gotoku S2 doesn’t seem like much artistically.
Oh, but it’s nice to hear the same cast of seiyuu and the same line of jokes, which still work pretty well.
P.S.: A DannyChoo.com Post
ok note to self, dont look at this blog while torrenting, you have enough jpgs to choke a giraffe….oh wait thats my connection, damn. and in response to tl;dr to the third power, i noticed you focus/harp on art alot, i dont really get it to be honest. i watch anime for the stories/character interactions. i get bitchy when the story is shit but as for art i can let that slide here and again….i take that back minami-ke s3 art fail pissed me off but thats another story.
my own tl;dr—>looking forward to HnG s2 regardless of art.
Yeah, I bitch about art wayyy too much, but this is kind of like a Minami-ke turnaround. Usually, it’s S1 ~ S2 in art and stuff, and you’d expect the same kind of art in Hayate S2 as in S1 (considering its popularity and all), but to see this kind of art… D:
Still, I’m looking forward to Hayate S2 just as you are – the jokes aren’t any less awesome in the OVA, so I’m hoping for another awesome run.
For me, it’s the same thing with Minami-ke… I got pissed as hell at Okawari’s art (oh god…), but I went ahead and enjoyed myself with it anyway. However, I started CLANNAD at around the same time, so I never got around to finishing Minami-ke S2. *whistles*
truly, the ending of okawari was the best, rumors are abounding of haruka going to study abroad, chiaki goes into deep depression mode, kana even gets teary, its really a heartful ending. looking forward to seeing how okaeri ends…currently torrenting atm
Oh wow, that sounds very… not-Minami-ke-ish. It sounds quite interesting nonetheless.
I think I’ll watch Okawari and Okaeri on “off” days this season when nothing airing is out.