Read or Die: Book Reviews by Emily

(Grade 9 and up) At the end of volume #7, Hayate inadvertently saw Nagi in the bath; our heroine is so embarrassed that she sends Hayate on a three day vacation away from the mansion! Of course, Maria-san gives him money to pay for lodging, but this is Hayate we’re talking about: within hours, he’s used up a whopping 1,000,000 yen helping people in need (and avoiding several characters who want to use mahjong to get their hands on his money)…which leaves Hayate in need himself. Fortunately, Hinagiku-san finds Hayate shivering in a park and takes him home. Of course, she mistakenly thinks that Nishizawa-san is his girlfriend, which leads to more than a few awkward moments between the pair. Will Hayate find a way to manage his (nonexistent) love life and return to Nagi? And what will happen to the kitten that Hinagiku finds in the street? 

Now with more dramedy than ever, “Hayate the Combat Butler” continues its impressive streak of simultaneous weirdness and excellence. The comedy here is as great (and disturbing) as always: for example, I’m a little worried that I’m the sort of adult who’s like Hinagiku-san’s mom. Great quotes: “Okay, how many onions does it take to kill a kitten?” (Apparently, onions really are bad for cats, so as Hata-sensei says, don’t feed them any!!!) “Are there any anime or manga that left you feeling unsatisfied?” (Hayate says this in an attempt to start a conversation with Hinagiku; she gets mad, but like Nagi, I could talk about this subject for hours…) Then, when Hayate suggests that Nagi start an SOS Brigade, Nagi tells him “You shouldn’t confuse anime with reality.” (…) Fanservice for me: Wataru recommends the Digimon movie to the (criminal mastermind?) nun. <3 As always, I can’t wait to pick up the next volume. (4.5 out of 5 stars)

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (August 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421516837
• ISBN-13: 978-1421516837 (Source of Publication Data: Amazon.com)