K-san, the manga expert.
So, after a shouting match (“The winner is me! Me !! ME!!!”) in the rain, both Nagi and Ruka must go back to work. Time, as we have been told, is very limited.
We already know that Nagi is in a critical situation. She has the storyboard, but she hasn’t finished a single page of her manga. It is widely presumed that a professional mangaka would need about a week to draw a 16-page chapter. Now Nagi has about the same amount of time, but as she is an amateur we might better not expect her to finish 16 pages. Can her story really be completely told in less than 16 pages…?
“The winner is me! Me… Me…?”
So, how is Ruka doing? Funny enough, she is in exactly the same situation. Finished a storyboard? Check. Not finishing a single page? Check. Not enough time? Check. Desperation? Check. In a sense, Ruka and Nagi are two of a kind. The only difference between them at the moment seems to be that Ruka is all alone while Nagi has an ally in Chiharu.
Somehow it is disappointing to find Nagi and Ruka spending so much time on Hayate and shouting matches that they lack progress in the one most important thing: working on the manga. A little less talk and a lot more action should be asked of these two, because you will never become a great mangaka by keeping on shouting “Hayate is mine! Mine!! MINE!!!”
Unless, of course, being a great mangaka is not important at all.
Nothing fishy, huh?
For Ruka, while she has made fearsome progress with her romantic pursuit of Hayate, she is moving like a snail with her manga. While she could make a move to kiss Hayate in six seconds, she couldn’t finish a page of her manga in six hours. It doesn’t help her that the so-called Ruka’s circle is currently disbanded: Hayate and Hinagiku have both gone off somewhere. While Ruka is very sensitive with her potential love rivals, it is interesting that she does not consider Hinagiku a threat, despite the fact that she is currently the one physically closest to Hayate.
Even if Hinagiku (admit it, Hayate was utterly useless with Ruka’s manga in Comisun) was present for advices, I have doubts on whether she could be of much help. Everybody, including Hinagiku herself, knows that her “teaching policy” focuses on improving the basic techniques, and could only lead to a “grade of 50” manga. A new methodology would be needed for Ruka to make a better manga than her previous one, and I am not sure if Hinagiku could provide her with that. After all, we never saw Hinagiku studying manga anymore.
K is definitely not for “cosplay”.
So, who could beat Hinagiku on manga methodology? Kayura has proven herself to be a strong candidate, as she was able to criticise Hinagiku’s approach. Sure enough, she comes to Ruka’s rescue in a parody of “Comic Master J”. Doughnut Gunso has never read that series, so whatever.
Wait, I thought it was Nagi who handpicked Kayura to stay at the Violet Mansion to help her with her manga…
Anyway, it is now proven that Kayura is more than just a manga encyclopaedia. There are people who could talk about manga like an expert but couldn’t draw a single panel – you need some specific skills to draw properly, after all – but Kayura is not one of them, as she was able to draw a manuscript better than Ruka’s. It must be a pain for her to watch two inferior people competing under her very eyes.
Now, Ruka is a child to parents whose dreams of being artists were not fulfilled, while Kayura is a child to parents whose dreams of being mangakas were not fulfilled. They were both burdened by their parents’ dreams, and were highly skilled in their particular business because of that. So it is natural for Ruka to find something in common with Kayura.
K is also not for “catch phase”.
One of the funny things about Kayura is that she could provide some words of wisdom from time to time. This time, she advises Ruka to search for the path that will make her happy. I don’t know Ruka well enough to figure out what makes her most happy. Is it marrying Hayate? Becoming a successful mangaka? Staying in the idol business? Reuniting with her family? Honestly, I doubt if even Ruka herself knows what makes she happy.
Anyway, Ruka decides to ask Kayura to comment on her storyboard. It is a good thing that she is once again inviting criticism in order to improve herself.
For many girls, love is the most important thing.
Ruka has a habit to put her wishes or thoughts into her manga. Her first manga was about a dolphin which wanted to do well, but suffered from ridiculous misfortune – that was her own story. Her second manga was about a girl who gained eternal life – something she would have wished because she was (and still is) in very bad health. This time, her manga is about an author who once focused on becoming the best in the business, but later found that love was true happiness – needless to say, this is what she is currently thinking.
Upon finishing Ruka’s manga, Kayura decides that she would tell a story. In usual cases, it is expected to be a heavy story with a serious message, but knowing Hata, it could be something totally different. Anyway, we would find out the answer next week.
Hayate Report 