Hayate no Gotoku! Heaven is a Place on Earth – Part 1

The movie is too long to be summarized in one post, so I will split this article into 4 parts, each part covering about 15 minutes of the 1-hour movie. Please visit other articles to see the rest of the movie content!

I still don't really get the title of the movie.

It was a very hot summer day. Nagi was lying flat on the floor of a certain house, and was forced to listen to a cicada singing very loudly on a tree nearby. The cicada soon became too annoying for Nagi, that she grabbed a watermelon rind and threw it out into the garden, attempting to hit the cicada which was nowhere to be seen. The cicada did go silent for several seconds, but then it began singing again. Nagi lost her patience and started yelling for Hayate.

Nagi: "*&^%$#@!"

As Hayate came upon her call, Nagi started complaining about everything: Summer was hot, the cicada was too noisy, and her hand was  dirty (because she grabbed the watermelon rind). She ordered Hayate to do something right now, or she was going to die.

This scene is key throughout the whole movie.

Well, Hayate could do nothing about the weather or the cicada, he could only help Nagi with her dirty hand. He took out a handkerchief, made it wet with some water, asked for Nagi’s hand so he could wipe it, and lectured that she shouldn’t make her hands dirty anyway. Nagi became annoyed embarrassed, so she pushed Hayate’s  hand away. She questioned why she was stuck in this place, and screamed out her protest as Hayate said it was to make her less useless.

Ruka's anime debut.

The OP, titled “Bokura, Kakeyuku Sora e”, was sung by Suirenji Ruka, who made her animation debut. After flashes of her on-stage performance, we are shown a recollection of how Hayate met Nagi and Maria, and his meetings with various girls. Most importantly, Tennonsu Athena made her only appearance in this movie in the OP.

Doujinshi. Game. Comic. V. Tachibana

The OP was followed by a little flashback. We come to Akihabara, and have a brief look at Wataru’s new store. It seems that his new business wasn’t about renting video, but selling doujinshis, games and comics. There are full of similar stores around Akihabara, so there would be serious competition. Yet, since Akihabara is considered the “sacred place” for otakus, it would surely be very successful if it was well-managed. Let’s see what Wataru could do with it.

Kayura's anime debut.

Somewhere nearby, Nagi was playing Monster Hunter in a coffee shop with a certain F91-Mask. Nagi told us that it was “2 weeks after Summer Comiket”, so it would be late August. She also called the F91-Mask “Kayura”, and manga readers would know who she was by now. Simply put, she was an otaku friend, manga fan (?) and tenant of Nagi. To a certain extent, she was a bit of a weirdo.

Oi! Manners!

End of August would also mean end of summer vacations, and Nagi was not happy about it. Just by thinking about schools days which were going to start soon, and remembering the places she had gone to during summer holidays, was enough to make her tired. Kayura went harsh and told Nagi to sleep for the rest of her life. Nagi did not even have the motivation to strike back, and changed the subject to new mangas and so on…

Chiharu: "Well, how should I put it...?"

Chiharu, who was filling juice for them, saw that it was no good. Of course, the Summer Comiket was very exhausting, and it was understandable that Nagi would relax as much as she could after such a stressful (but likely successful) event. However, it seemed that Nagi was a bit too relaxed, and if she did not pick herself up for the new school term, she would think of treating the school term like vacation.

Whose can was the third can?

Do note that during the Summer Comiket flashback, there was a scene with 3 emptied coffee cans. In Ch. 218 of the manga, Hata had also used 3 emptied coffee cans to suggest that a big event would take place between Chiharu and Nagi. If these two scenes point at the same thing, then we could say the said “big event” would be Summer Comiket.

Hayate: "What? Seriously?"

Hayate tried to argue that it wouldn’t be the case, but soon enough he saw Nagi discussing “autumn vacation” with Kayura. He knew that if he did not do anything, Nagi would refuse to go to school again. Just then, Ayumu entered the coffee shop, saying that she had an offer.

She was wearing the same maid dress as Saki's.

Ayumu invited her friends to her farmhouse. It was located in the countryside, where there were mountains, rivers, festivals, etc. Hayate thought that it was a very good idea to spend a few days in the nature and get ready for the new school term. However, Nagi did not seem interested, because she did not want to get ready for school, and that there would be nothing at countryside.

Nagi: "Go! Go! Let's go!"

Ayumu said that it is untrue that there is nothing at countryside. In fact, there is something called “nothing” at countryside. This is a catchphrase of Ayase Fuka from Yotsuba&!, so although it was complete crap talk, both Nagi and Kayura reacted very positively to it. Nagi suddenly realized that her otaku days were fun but empty, and it would be a good idea to visit Mother Nature, where there is “nothing”!

Nagi: "There really is nothing here..."

Nagi realized her mistake almost as soon as she reached the farmhouse. There really was nothing at countryside. No game stores. No Shonen Jump (I thought she would mention Shonen Sunday instead of Jump!). No TV channels other than NHK plus two. No air-conditioning. Not even iPhones could pick a signal here. She did not bring her NDS or PSP with her. In such a place with nothing, Nagi would die of boredom. She got very frustrated and threw her shaved ice at Hayate, who could only think of playing chess with her. “Butler is surely a difficult job,” said Chiharu.

Kayura was being philosophical.

Somewhere else, other guests were enjoying themselves. Risa messed up with the ants, while Miki got angry (for nothing) and used “hosepipe attack” on her. Kayura admired the sunflowers, but questioned their existence if they would die at the end. Izumi picked some sunflowers, and Miki and Risa used “hosepipe attack” on her. Hina stopped the hosepipe flow with her heel, and released it when Miki and Risa checked on the hosepipe, thus splashing a huge amount of water on them – a rare instant of Hina playing tricks on her friends. She finally turned off the tap.

Ayumu: "When was the last time we were alone in the same panel?" Hina: "Well, I forgot..."

Ayumu approached Hina and asked for a comment of the area. After hearing Hina’s compliment, Ayumu mentioned that the summer festival would also be fun. According to the legend, the earth god of the area would answer to a person’s thought – a thought on someone, instead of a wish. Both girls agreed that it was very romantic.

Hayate always meet women, dead or alive.

Back in the house, Nagi was still in mourning mode. Hayate, who apparently had given up inviting her to play chess, tried to cheer her up by other means. He stood up and looked over the garden, but halfway through talking about the beautiful view he stopped. He suddenly saw a strange woman in a white kimono with a small bell at her chest. He noticed her blue hair and purple eyes, and her mouthing of some inaudible words. He was shocked.

Chiharu: "We see nobody!"

Maria asked if there was anything wrong. Hayate turned to her and said that he saw someone, but as his eyes returned to where the woman was, she was already gone. Chiharu suggested that Hayate might have seen an illusion, but Hayate wasn’t convinced. After all, he saw the woman with his own eyes.

Critical Hit!

Nagi picked up on the word “illusion”, and said that such boredom and “nothingness” would make people see illusions. “People become useless when they are out of iPhone signal range,” she said, and had decided to go home. Hayate tried to stop her, but she was struggling so hard that Hayate could barely handle her. “Butler is surely a difficult job,” said Chiharu (again).