Alright, Chiharu is fine.
Well, it has been another tough week again. The bad news of the week is that Red-Hawk, our resourceful and reliable scanlation provider, is closed. According to their announcement, burdens of real life have caught up with members, and they are forced to quit. This is a very real thing with us – just look at Doughnut Gunso, who has now developed a tendency to delay and delay the Chapter Reviews. Damn it, while I am writing this stuff, the next chapter is already out in Japan!
Anyway, it is a very sad news that yet another great companion has left us. As I have said before, we have seen too many of our friends (and foes, if any) joining and leaving. It has been 5 years of following the manga for me, and 10 years for those who started from the very beginning. How many of your very first comrades are still here with you today? Just how many of us would still be here when this series comes to its inevitable end?
This shirt is causing me negative emotions…
In any case, it is grateful that we are still having English scanlations, with qualities just as good as before. To be honest this is great help for (lazy) people like Doughnut Gunso. You know, if suddenly I have to start translating the whole chapter before offering my review, I might as well stop blogging entirely. Seriously.
Ah… enough of that. The time as I write this line is 7 pm on Thursday, and I was kindly reminded that the raw version of Ch. 512 is already out. I should move on, really…
Okay, first thing first, no opening of the path to the Royal Garden yet. It seems that Hayate has been able to keep his big fat mouth shut and let Nagi (plus everyone) have a peaceful night. After all, if he is this stupid to break Nagi’s heart in less than 16 pages, you should rethink why the heck you are still pairing your favourite girl with him.
May those things be returned to you as birthday presents.
Hayate seems very keen to keep his financial status, i.e. staying out of new debts. His worries about the “kochikame pattern” is actually very real. After all, isn’t our numerous problems with credit cards just the same thing? Some people never learn to control their spending habits, so their problems revolve around struggling to repay their credit card debts and then “rewarding” themselves by spending huge money with their credit card. Sometimes you just have to tell yourself to stop. But then, Hayate might just be a little too “careful” with new spending: seriously, toilet paper and sand as souvenirs?
Then there is Hinagiku, who doesn’t seem too be that heartbroken even if she has lost the School Trip. The main reason, of course, is that the outcome is still the one she desired; it jus just that she hasn’t been able to repay his debt with her own hands, thus earning the status of his life in itself (sparkling!) his gratitude.
Somehow her room remains dark.
Hayate repaying his own debt by himself has arguably taken away an easier opportunity for Hinagiku to express her feelings. Think about it: when Hinagiku offers her prize money to Hayate, he would definitely ask why she is doing this. What better thing to say for Hinagiku than “It is because I love you?” Now that things have taken a surprising turn, all these would never materialise, and Hinagiku will need a new action plan. Given the capabilities of her in matters of love so far, it is unlikely she will come up with one.
Still, a lot of Hinagiku’s achievements have not come from planning.
Elsewhere, it seems that Kananiwa is not done with School Trip Level 5, and she suggests an additional orientation. The official reason she gives is that she actually has her final orientation planned already, and she would not want all the preparation work wasted. Given that the orientation is revealed to involve 10 million yen worth of gold coins buried in the Grand Canyon, that seems to be quite some preparation work.
Look at the size of that thing!
For reasons not entirely clear, Hayate thinks he is being dragged into the “kochikame pattern”, so he strongly opposes to having the additional orientation. Yet the others are very keen about an additional competition: Yukiji wants a chance of “redemption”, Isumi fires up just because there is a new competition, while the other students are just glad they have a chance to earn some fast money. On the other hand, nothing is said about Hayate’s own prize money, so it can be argued that the additional orientation would not do Hayate any harm.
Yet there are indeed potential risks. For one thing, Yukiji’s eyes do not seem to be fixed on the gold coins, although it is unclear how she could turn the 10 million yen gold coins into 28 million yen to pay off her whole debt. For another thing, the “Reverse Old Maid” orientation did not lead to the opening of the path to the Royal Garden, but Kananiwa had no control over it. Now that Kananiwa has her intended orientation resumed, it may work “better” than the poker game because Kananiwa knows what she is doing this time.
I am not afraid of this one.
Sure enough, the chapter has informed us that Hayate is once again in trouble, starting with his passport. In this case, may I suggest that I am actually glad that Hinagiku did not get to repay Hayate’s debt in the first place, as such efforts would have been wasted anyway. You know, the realisation that the guy has wasted all your efforts just because he is stupid or unlucky might actually trigger an explosion of negative emotions that… you know what it does.
As for the last bit of the chapter that involves Sakuya, Mikado and Tsugumi… well, I would just sit back and see what is going on between them.
Hayate Report 