SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
On the streets below, Hayate looks at Ruka's note and wonders whether he made the right decision or not in turning her down. Hayate becomes annoyed when he notices all the romantic couples around. Naturally, one really lovey-dovey couple wants him to snap a picture of them, which he does, capturing the two kissing.
Hayate returns home to find no one else there. Checking his phone, he sees the texts from Ayumu, stating where the group is watching the fireworks. Since Hayate missed it, he looks at Ruka's note, feels depressed, and starts to think about what might have been with Ruka again when Nagi shows up, wearing a mask, and calling herself Life Ender-chan. Nagi makes a failed attempt to cheer Hayate up, then she gives him a present -- a sketch of himself, signed by her.
Hayate remarks on this messy doodle, leading to a retort by her. She takes off her mask and says that it is the first thing she's signed, but while it is worthless at the moment, one day it will be very valuable in ten years. Her earnest attitude actually causes Hayate to feel better and he accepts her gift.
Hayate asks how the doujinshi sales went, to which Nagi says assuredly that she naturally sold out. After acknowledging the help she'd received, Hayate praises her for her hard work in such a short time. This causes Nagi to blush, after which she tells Hayate they need to go to the beach.
Thoughts/Review:
And so the doujinshi arc has now concluded. In some ways I'm glad, but in others I'm kinda sad. I'm glad because there are lots of other plot threads that need to be picked back up, so it will be nice to advance those stories. It is sad because I did like Ruka.
I know some didn't like this, but I liked Hayate's pondering about whether he should have gone ahead and hooked up with Ruka or not because it is realistic. I can't imagine that people haven't made a major decision in their lives, then after the decision wonder, "Well what might have been if I'd made a different choice?" Let's look at Hayate's position for a moment.
From Hayate's perspective, at the moment, Hayate's in love with Athena, based on his remarks to Hina during the Golden Week trip to Greece. However, Athena is currently an unknown quantity. At the moment, Athena has lost some of her memories and she's in child form. But, assuming that she returns to her young adult form (which I think it is safe to say will happen), there's no guarantee that she would get into a relationship with Hayate, even if he confessed his feelings to her. There could be any number of reasons for her declining to be with Hayate romantically. Therefore, Hayate's love for Athena may be unrequited.
With Ruka, there is no uncertainty about where Hayate stands with her. He knows Ruka loves him deeply. Ruka is a hot, popular idol. She's witty and intelligent to boot. So, if Hayate had decided to be with her, even if she wasn't number one in his heart, he'd at least have a beautiful someone he cared about and who truly cared for him. However, if he did go this route, it wouldn't be fair to Ruka because Athena would always be number one in his heart. I think Hayate was very much aware of this.
As such, when Hayate sees the romantic couples, he gets annoyed because he has no one. Naturally, he begins thinking, "well, maybe I should have just taken Ruka up on her offer, then I could be among these happy couples." That's his mindset when he returns to Yukari-chan House, and thinking he's alone again, starts pondering about what might have been as he thinks about Ruka. It was all very realistic to me, and made for a good way to end the Ruka element of the arc.
(As I said before, I think Ruka will get the occasional cameo or name drop, but I don't think she and Hayate will ever speak again, at least not for the foreseeable future.)
Nagi being at the house didn't surprise me since she'd made her excuse of being tired earlier. For Nagi, she'd not only won the doujinshi contest and accomplished the near impossible, proving she could do things she set her mind to, but she had allowed for Ruka and Hayate to have time together. For her, there's no doubt that this was pretty difficult considering how the initial drive for her to defeat Ruka was to prevent Hayate from going off with her. However, it is moments like this that make me think that when the manga is ending, Nagi would be able, even though it would pain her to do so, to allow Hayate to go with the girl of his choice if it isn't her.
Nagi has grown, and that growth shows in this chapter. Nagi is still Nagi, so she gets a little agitated at her portrait of Hayate being called a scribble, but then she concedes that in fact it is a worthless scribble, but she plans to make it worth something in ten years. I like seeing that her drive to continue moving forward is still there.
Speaking of Nagi, I did like the little nod to Sailor Moon that she did. I couldn't get into that manga myself, but I liked the nod just the same.
So yeah, I do like this chapter a lot for the closure it brings to the arc, and the realistic reflections on Hayate's decision to not be with Ruka.
As to what's coming up, I suspect gag chapters, but Hata-sensei can often be full of surprises. I'd love it if he actually pressed forward with things. I think last year around this time, he teased the main plot again, so he might go that route this year as well.
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