Hayate no Gotoku!! (2nd Season) - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

[Pellissier]

This thread is to be used for discussing the entire episodes of Hayate no Gotoku!! (2nd Season) ... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, expectations and hopes about the DVD only footage etc.

A few subjects you might want to ramble on about:

• General impression of the series.
• Opinions on the overall story, writing & plot devices.
• Thoughts about the animation quality.
• Characters/Character Design
• Voice Acting
  
  
• Which kind of footage (DVD only) you feel you'd really like to see.
• What the show meant to you.
• What could the creators/animators/writers have done better.
• What you do expect in the future.

And so on.

The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example:

Animation Quality: 1-10
Voice Actors: 1-10
Script: 1-10
Soundtrack: 1-10
Editing: 1-10
Enjoyment: 1-10
Emotional Involvement: 1-10

Average = Total Series Rating

Or a combination of the two. Or your general gut feeling.

Feel free to discuss and more importantly, have fun

[Midonin]

My condolences to the narrator.

I liked the second half of the first season. And the first half of the first season. And the third half. It was one of the greatest comedies I've seen, and it wasn't even aimed at my demographic. Truth be told, if episode 16's hodgepodge of sketches hadn't referenced Kamen Rider Den-O, the odds of me finding this series would be low. A delightful comedy ensemble, the ability to break the fourth wall at ease and a nice touch of sentimentality beneath it.

The second season, I felt, was diluted and a shadow of what came before it. I'm not very interested in petty teenage romance melodrama. I'm interested in petty teenage melocomedy. There were a few good moments sprinkled throughout - Obi-Wan Squirrel, Izumi's butler's antics, the teleporter baseball player, episode 19-21, the finale and maybe episode 14 if the poll results had not been a dream. Two years ago, Hayate and crew could've conversed with the narrator with no problem, but then they had to try and pretend they had a fourth wall. For a show that I used to look forward to every new episode, the second season was barely on my radar most of the time.

The new characters - particularly Izumi's butler, Isumi's family and Regeoster were nice, but the show just felt so lacking. It became somewhat better after the OP/ED switchover, but not enough. A whole season spent on something that could've been resolved in a much quicker and funnier way in another show. From what I've picked up on, what I'm looking for is very likely to not return, but I would watch another season, maybe. I still like the characters.

This show did lead to me doing some self-reflection about the nature of comedy and my tastes, but in the end only served to strengthen my resolve. Also, I have no problem with the art style change and whatnot. That was never a huge deal to me to begin with.

So from where I stand at this point in time, I prefer the first season by a pretty good-sized margin. I don't necessarily dislike the second one, it just...exists. However, I will say that the second season had great character songs. Very upbeat, very fun to listen to; I will be remembering them. Can't say the same for the show that created them.

[serenade_beta]

An... unfortunate season, hmm...

The first OP was just... no...
The second OP was better, but the part where they move unnaturally and flash fanservice in my face was... no...
The first ED was probably more infuriating than that Kanokon anime. Rather, that was still "fun" in its own way, but I was simply shocked at the stupidity of this thing...
The second ED was nothing great to listen to, thanks to Kugimiya's ever-so-irritating singing voice, but hey, anything better than the first ED.

The episodes itself... The first half of the season was, like the ED, far too focused on Hinagiku. Nope, not happy or that impressed. It had its own good moments though.
The second half was good, finally getting away from HinagikuHinagikuHinagikuHinagikuHinagikuHinagikuHi nagikuHinagikuHinagikuHinagikuHinagiku.
The heroine(?) finally gets time on screen, and it was enjoyable... For the most part. There were a few episodes that were boring though.

And as always, introduces characters that get forgotten later... The kendo boy and his bulter, and this time Siesta...

If you want me to find something this season that actually could be considered a pro... I can't really say there was one.

7/10

[qwertyman]

First to give it lower than a 7. 6/10 from me.

The series was good in terms of what we were treated to in the previous season content-wise, but this season left a bad taste in my eyes. After I realized that most of the animation was a direct 1 : 1 adaptation with the manga panels, I felt like I was watching a manga, not an anime, which made some scenes incredibly awkward, and sometimes even painful to watch (for instance, ep 10 when Hayate was surprised to see Hina). And at other times, it felt like some of the better jokes were killed because J.C. Staff doesn't seem to know how to work those dramatic line flashing backgrounds (or just backgrounds during jokes in general).

Both OPs were pretty boring; Wonder Wind especially, since it lacked... life. It felt boring compared to what the other Hayate OPs were like. The second OP was decent I guess, I just don't like it because I actually don't like KOTOKO at all. The EDs were fine though. I just wish the last ED was just Hayate singing, or Hayate + Maria.

The voice acting is great though; I love the Hayate no Gotoku voice cast. The majority of the characters have good VAs, so I have no problems there.

All in all, the series was good. Nothing too special, since it suffers from a strange circumstance where the season needed to cover quite a bit of actual plot-content, which meant that the charm of Hayate in manga form (at least, for me) had to be left out.

[xKeen]

Hmm I won't be typing a review since my english is bad.Weird why the spelling check marks the word english wrong when I type it.I'm just gonna give my comments

Second season was long,but it went by just like a gust of wind xD It was fun to watch and same thing for Season 1. I like the OP though,maybe I'm a sucker for KOTOKO...The comedy in HnG is funny and probably one of the funniest anime's I've watched.Looking forward to future productions.

[Mentar]

In essence, the second season did right what the first season failed to do, particularly in the second half: Presenting a proper storyline and character development. For those people who just want funny fluff without any form of depth, S1 may have been better. For those who have emotional investments in the characters, it certainly was a boon. As a simple example, episodes 13 and 24 had more impact on me than anything the first season threw at me - by a large margin.

JC Staff stayed very close to the original manga in art and content, so they certainly have to be commended in my book.

Overall a solid 8/10 from me, and a vast improvement over the disastrous second half of season 1.

[-Sho-]

8/10 .

It was entertaining and hilarious so i liked it .
Too bad it was short compared to the first season .

[VRMN]

Hayate's first and second seasons are undoubtedly different, and other than the second acknowledging the first in its title, have very little to do with one another. This is fine, since I always had to consider the manga and anime to be separate (but both very good) works.

Now, the first season, which I saw before I really knew anything about the manga, both prompted me to get that manga and be especially excited about this season going in. As much as I love the first season, it's undeniable that it largely skipped on the plot, offering only occasional two-episode plots that always ended with the status quo being restored. It was the type of series that the first was, for better or worse, and I enjoyed it for that. Indeed, I still consider it to be one of the greatest anime comedies of all time, both for the great cast and the irreverence with which it treated them and its glimmers of plot.

But when I got the manga, I saw something more that was not in the first season, its divergence from the plot therein aside. These characters, which I had fallen in love with over the past year, not only had the traits and ability to play off each other that I found appealing in the first place, but actual depth. I wanted to see that depth animated, and was incredibly hopeful to see some variant of the terrific Hinagiku/Ayumu story in the manga animated.

The second season, as news came out, both promised JC Staff taking the reins (a move I was anxious about) and hinted at following the manga much more closely (something I was skeptical of and happy for all at once). And, indeed, the story backed up all the way to the divergence point of the first season, revised the timeline, and went off on the plot thread I (and many other manga readers) wanted to see from the outset.

Now, JC Staff certainly stumbled in their early handling of the series, and there was definitely a disconnect evident from the start. I think this season suffered because they did skip over chapters, both those that Synergy SP did in season one (the Saki Arranged Marriage chapter that was done in S1 was right after the Hinagiku Birthday arc, for example) and ones that remain undone (a rather amusing chapter centering around Hayate getting trapped in a restaurant with the series' money-grubbers and later a robber) in favor of more or less straight plot.

The manga shines because it has a balance between its plot and more humor-centric chapters, especially in this stretch of more melodrama, which had a lot of one-shots scattered throughout to break the tension, but less so here for whatever reason (episode budgeting). In large part, JC Staff was screwed over by the first season and by what they had to accomplish in the time they had. And, considering that they came in just under the wire in getting that plot fed through in a single season...I'll call it a "moderate success" in that regard.

It took JC Staff a while to find their footing on the franchise, but once they did, it was pretty damn good. And even the stuff before that point wasn't awful in my eyes.

Indeed, I found myself enjoying the series for what it was now rather than just wanting more of season one. There was less comedic gold than in the first season by a fair margin, but I still enjoyed myself a lot (in part because the character-driven stuff isn't anything I dislike even if I enjoy the comedy more) and will not mind another go at it by JC Staff.

No, it's not "one of the greatest anime comedies of all time" like the first season was. But I got character development and a decently interesting plot in exchange for less fluff. That's a fair trade in my book and I'm hopeful that JC Staff, having picked up an effective balance between the comedy and drama in the second half, will build on that experience for a third season. I'll be looking forward to it. 9/10

[Megacrash Gr]

season was a blast, but s1 was better. but since its about overall series of the 2nd. gave it a 10. rly liked it.

[SwiftStrike]

9+
great story( it had a lot of...Hina emphasis--not that it was bad), great comedy...thought it was funnier than most of the "first" season
the different character design I got used to(and I like it, but i still prefer the first) after like the
2nd ep

[velvet]

I have to rant about Norio Wakamoto a.k.a Ten no Koe.
Sorry, but I just have to. More tsukkomi please. [/rant]
That out of the way...

Not much I could say, but it sticked to the manga, pretty much carbon copy, add color and music, and there.
And well J.C. staff did not hurt my eyes througout the season. Really thankful for that.

Am I allowed to post about pairings here? Just a little bit then.
This show (specifically said S2), brought me to lean on one side of the girls in HnG.
This girl never even comes close to my favourite when I read the manga, rather she was right at the bottom.
Not Hinagiku.
When did I notice this again? Ah.. the opening scene in Ep 18. Fully Animated, fully colored, fully voiced scene of Ayumu and Hayate, in a bike. (No wonder it has no special touch for me in the manga)
Over the course of the season, I noticed that I started to see her as the one that will accept Hayate, for who he is, and everything he is. I can't really explain why, sadly.
She still is at the bottom of my list. But now I see her in a different way.
And if I continue with this, I'd probably step on a land mine getting warns (or maybe I already did?),
So I'd put in a little reasoning here, that it was all my impressions of the 2nd seasons compared to the manga, that simply put Ayumu under my radar all the time.

And at the end, let the wait for S3 begins. Cheers.

[IndoViking]

8/10

It was good because it finally follows the manga, we finally have a base story for what's gonna happen later on, but i feel the same as qwertyman, it's too much of a carbon copy from the manga, not that it was unenjoyable though, just that the sense of surprise is a bit lost.

[justsomeguy]

Positives:
* JC Staff actually follows Hata's plot! (<== most important part)
* Hinagiku
* Cruel Angel's Thesis

Negatives:
* Wonder Wind sucks. Hopefully they never get ELISA to sing again.
* there's nothing wrong with the two EDs, but I preferred the classier ones from the first show.
* scene composition lifted right out of the manga. what works for still images fails for animation.
* art style. too bright, too much color saturation.

I think I gave the first show 7/10, so I'll give this one 9/10. JC Staff will have to be more creative with their art directing in order to get a full score.

[rurupeceaue]

I'm giving this series' season a 8/10
It was funnier than the first season(I almost dropped that one -_-)
Although the OP's for this season sucked, I find the first Ed for Hinagiku cute ;P

[Eisdrache]

D:

I looooooved the first OP and I like the 2nd one as well, not as much as the first one though. As for the ED, the Hina one was fun for a while but for a show that is not only about Hina it was used for too long. The 2nd one is just adorable.

I greatly enjoyed the 2nd season and thats all that counts for me.

[WhiteWings]

Animation Quality: 7
Voice Actors: 9
Script: 8
Soundtrack: 8
Editing: 7
Enjoyment: 9
Emotional Involvement: 10

Total Score In General: 8

This series is something I enjoy to enjoy as it is. I mean the series does spend a good portion of the time talking about various other animes and so forth. Everything is generally lighthearted though personally I'm not into crossdressing because it gives me the creeps. But in anime that's not that unusual so I'm used to it.

Personally, unless something big comes up I see Hayate and Nagi more like a brother and sister than anything romantic.

Hinagiku taking the spotlight was very nice and I found myself rooting for her. Hayate does seem to find her attractive and they do make a nice pair when they aren't busy trying to pretend that they aren't attracted to each other. But I just wonder what's going to happen in the next season. I mean....

Spoiler for Not really but just in case for those who haven't read the manga yet:

Hayate's ex Athena is coming back and though publically she's indifferent to Hayate in private she doesn't seem to have gotten over him. And Hayate admits he still loves Athena (and in true manga fashion exactly before Hinagiku is about to confess to Hayate that she loves him).

And oh yeah. Hinagiku is the reason my emotional involvement was given a 10 out of 10.

Ayumu is sweet and the other characters is a riot to watch though I don't care that much about Tama. Suprisingly he feels a bit out of place to me after a while in the first season.

What I want to see? I haven't decided on that yet.

[MaxMaximilianMaximus]

Wonder if they're going to make 3rd season? There're still lots of storyline left from manga.

[Wolfnagi]

i don't know why but i will always vote Hayate No Gotoku 10/10.

[P0tat0Phun]

I enjoyed the second season, but the first one was funnier to me. They got rid of a lot of references this season, and that was really upsetting. All of the references in the first season were what made the show so funny in the first place. I can't complain about the Hinagiku screen time though.

[Sabrac D'Sabre]

Well I give 9/10 (EXCELLENT)

The pictures are very good, the storyline, well I agree with Wonder Wind is sucks, I prefer to have Kotoko for the OP n ED . . .
She has a nice voice n song for Hayate no Gotoku . . .

The last episode is the best episode of all in the 2nd season since it is how hayate no gotoku should be . . . .