Hayate no Gotoku Needs References to Stay Interesting. Also, Best Product Placement Ever
Posted by: Noirsword in Anime, Hayate no Gotoku
Hayate’s best reference joke in a long, long time.
Hayate no Gotoku!! has been stagnating since the Hinagiku birthday episode, and it’s been even longer since HnG has done what it does best, a proper reference joke. It’s all well and good that season two’s plot has been moving at a steady pace, but the plot alone isn’t strong enough to keep the show going by itself.
I don’t mean the plot is bad, it’s just that HnG needs reference jokes since they’re in the blood of the show. References are the reason we fell in love with with the series in the first place, and the show feels like it’s missing a part of itself without them. Previously, the only reference that was remotely memorable in S2 was the Butler Quest RPG way back in the third episode, and it’s a stretch to call that a reference since that was more of a take on generic RPG dungeons than anything in particular.
Did someone order a Trap Card?
I’m not asking for the barrage of references from S1, which was too much at times, but S2 really does need more of them. You could argue that it’s become more difficult to sling them around since the story is actually getting (somewhat) serious now, but good drama has comedy elements to lighten the mood between dramatic scenes, so there’s no reason not to have more referential comedy bits.
Collect them all at a store near you!
Aside from Hayate parading around as a bunny maid, the card game in episode 19 was the most fun I’ve had with S2 to this point. It came out of left field and awesome, a Yu-Gi-Oh parody that perfectly mimicked one of the show’s most memorable scenes. I wish this skit had gone a bit longer with more Explanation -> BS power ups -> Shock moments, but it was pretty good. I especially loved Nagi shouting the famous, “DORO CHARA CADOOO!” line . Having Hayate barge into the room to hold Nagi back and having her yell Yugi’s now memetastic, “HANASE!” would have been icing on the cake, but alas it wasn’t meant to be. Shameless product placement is such fun. Now I have to buy a couple packs of the Hayate no Gotoku!! TCG. Such shame!
gretchen on 
Entries (RSS)
I thought this at one point as well, because there was a time that I wasn’t enjoying the lack of references in the second season just like you. However, it’s proven to me that references alone aren’t what kept it interesting (contrary to your belief). The humor in this series can also come from the characters, and I find that the character driven humor in the second season is up to par with the reference heavy humor from the first, but that’s just me.
Tamad´s last blog ..Luminous Arc 3: Eyes – Another guilty pleasure.
I somewhat agree with Tamad.
Hello! Our selection committee compiled an exclusive list of theTop Anime Blogs, and yours was included in the Top 100! Check it out at http://thedailyreviewer.com/top/Anime
You can claim your Top 100 Blogs Award Badge at http://thedailyreviewer.com/pages/badges
@Tamad: Eh, I think the characters themselves are interesting but the overall plot just doesn’t hold up too well on its own. I liked the first season just fine where the references far outshadowed the story, but the second season hasn’t had the same magic, at least to me. So to me the references were more key to the show’s success than the proper plot. That’s not to say I find S2 uninteresting, but HnG feels kind of neutered without the reference jokes.
Where do you think we can buy the Hayate cards =P
@Flonne:
I went digging hard, and found the place selling the most packs to be here:
http://event.rakuten.co.jp/borderless/index_en.html
Go there and in the search box type in “hayatenogotoku” (No spaces)
I’ve been debating whether to get some of these or not…I really wouldn’t even think twice about it except for the fact that there’s virtually no group of english-speaking owners of these cards.
Let me know if you buy some; My e-mail’s kirby64a (_AT) yahoo.com (Yes that ‘a’ before the @ is intentional)
I may try and form some kind of mini-community or something for the Hayate no Gotoku TCG, so, seriously, if anyone who reads this is interested in buying cards, get in contact with me.
Thx. ^.^’
i was looking to buy some of the cards but how would u know wat they say i sadly cant read other languages
@aoto: I think that site only uses the super expensive EMS shipping, which puts a massive hurt on the wallet, but it’s not like I could do much better finding sites selling HnG cards aside from Hobby Search and ToysLogic. The language barrier is a huge barrier to starting a community just like for Lycee, but it does sound like fun if some translators jump on board. My other concern is the game’s overall longevity compared to something like Lycee, which has a lot more backing. The cards sure are pretty though. I just have to get an Isumi.
@horred: Yu-Gi-Oh rules in effect, make them up as you go along!