Hayate no Gotoku manga (raw discussion only)

[Anh_Minh]

Well, according to the terms, Nagi can't lose. (They didn't say first to sell out, just "most sales".)

So, yeah, probably a tie.

[Sol Falling]

Thematically, Nagi's inspiration <- drawing manga for the sake of wanting to succeed at manga itself, for her earnest will rather than any ulterior alternatives, should produce a better manga than Ruka's <- I'm giving up my dream of becoming a pro mangaka in order to chase after a secondary goal of winning over Hayate/achieving romantic love. Kayura called Ruka's earlier concept lacking/lukewarm; if Ruka did not manage to overcome the disconnection of her goals and channel for expressing them, then she should probably lose.

On the other hand, I find it somewhat unlikely that Kayura would leave Ruka alone or say she'd made a good manga if there were still such lingering problems underlying it. So perhaps Ruka did manage to fix it up, and we simply haven't been shown any of the resolution.

[zibi88]

my guess is that nagi sold 100copies... while ruka sold 99 copies.... nagi belives she won and is the best... only to learn ruka sold 99copies becouse she left 1copy to give it to nagi... kinda to share her work and heart she put it in making it... but still she sold 99 copies so she says nagi won..... but I guess that would lead to nagi paying 200yen for the copy saying now she sold 100copies as her so its a draw

then hayate will appear and the question is what now.... no one won and no one lose who is going to keep hayate.... and we might get to learn what was hayate doing (my guess is that he found rukas parents and he brings them there...rukas parents died in an accident and there was a last will along wiht 150mil. yen to pay off rukas dept and free her and give her a choice go to las vegas to sing or draw manga as she wanted)

but personaly I belive ruka will go for now the way of idol... like "she will become the best idol to steal hayates heart" since he mentioned that when he first saw her on stage singing he throught of her as a goddess... so she will go to las vegas but promising to come back.

[AdventSleeper]

Gaaaaaah what a teasing cliffhanger ><

[MCAL]

Oh Hata, you glorious bastard! Way to leave us on such a big cliffhanger! And I once again like when Nagi cried tears of joy after she sold all her manga. The "manga looks poorly drawn, but people like it for the story" remind me of the works by Yokota Takuma.

Who was Maizumi again though? I know he appeared sometime during the beginning of the Doujinshi arc, but I can't remember when and why?

[madmac]

Maizumi is the established circle guy who came around during the first event and started bashing Ruka's "Fly Dolphin" manga. Nagi got defensive and ended up challenging him to a doujin selling contest.

At the second con, Maizumi showed up, did a silly little skit and then flaked out because he didn't end up finishing anything and Nagi refocused on beating Ruka instead. (This is the one where she ended up humiliated and screaming on the roof.)

Basically he's just a guy who was kind of a dick before so Nagi is a little taken aback when he starts being nice to her and buys her manga.

[Mephis]

Come on Hata... let it be a tie... PLEASE....

[AstroNerdBoy]

Originally Posted by Mephis

Come on Hata... let it be a tie... PLEASE....

A tie allows for Hayate to return to Nagi while allowing Ruka to give a friendly, "I'm not giving up on Hayate" statement to Nagi, whereby they remain friends and rivals. A tie would also be a win of sorts for Nagi, who was expected to lose against Ruka and lose badly.

So I can see a tie as an outcome.

[Mephis]

Or, Ruka might lose then she goes into massive despair and the main story about the King's Jewel comes in where she gets kidnapped by Yozora and is used for opening the way towards the Royal Garden just as said in Mystery Room arc, then Hayate goes to save her.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Mephis

Come on Hata... let it be a tie... PLEASE....

Tie = status quo

so yes, it will be a tie.

[AstroNerdBoy]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Tie = status quo

so yes, it will be a tie.

You are probably right, though with Hata-sensei, one never knows just how he's going to go. I can see him having Ruka lose and tie that in with whatever Hina, Hayate, and Kurosu are/were doing.

[ChronoReverse]

Now I wonder why Ruka had one unsold copy stashed away...

[MCAL]

Oh Hata, you sly bastard. First making me think I had read the last chapter wrong or it was a mis-translation, then making me think it was a tie as I thought, but then having it shown that Nagi was the winner all along. Damn you!

And more character growth for Nagi. Just some icing on that cake.

[~Yami~]

Originally Posted by ChronoReverse

Now I wonder why Ruka had one unsold copy stashed away...

she saved it for Hayate??

well.... we know that this contest isn't really deciding who will be with Hayate at the end since Ruka hugged Hayate in apartment yard
congratulations, Nagi... finally you are in the right way to be a proper heroine

[madmac]

Fake-out or not, I really like that moment where Chiharu tries to jump in and protect Nagi and she tells her to stop. Nagi gets to be cool to the end, as it should be. She's come a long way over the summer.

Hayate will step in and make it a draw, but more importantly he'll probably say something to Ruka to settle things. He's been dodging her long enough.

I still have no idea what he's been up to the last two weeks, though.

[AstroNerdBoy]

Someone called it earlier (maybe here...I didn't see it immediately on my blog comments) where they said that Ruka would sell 99 and actually hold back a single copy. That's what seems to have happened here. I don't think she held it back for Hayate specifically, but she had decided what to do with her own future and had given up on marrying Hayate. Holding back one copy but carrying on with the doujinshi contest allows Ruka to save face and not actually appear to be quitting or giving up.

Looks like Hayate is going to buy the last copy though.

Hata-sensei really has surprised me of late by not obsessing about the need to have a comedy chapter or throw in comedy just for the sake of it, whereby it would derail the story. I'm happy to see Nagi's character development and how things have proceeded.

[Mephis]

Wait, but Kayura said she wants to buy Ruka's last copy though o.o

And wtf why Ruka only sell 99?!!!

[madmac]

Wait, but Kayura said she wants to buy Ruka's last copy though o.o

And wtf why Ruka only sell 99?!!!

It's not Kayura speaking in the last two panels. It's almost certainly Hayate, but there's an outside chance of something more surprising, like her parents.

That's what seems to have happened here. I don't think she held it back for Hayate specifically, but she had decided what to do with her own future and had given up on marrying Hayate. Holding back one copy but carrying on with the doujinshi contest allows Ruka to save face and not actually appear to be quitting or giving up.

Since Ruka attributes it to "one copies worth of difference in passion" I suspect it's at least partially an acknowledgement of Nagi's feelings and what not. That said, one copy isn't much of a handicap. If Nagi hadn't sold out, she still would have lost.

I think what happened is that while Nagi spent the entire event caught up in the bliss of selling her manga, Ruka spent the entire time thinking about the contest and the consequences. Perhaps she just couldn't bring herself to sell the last copy. It's been several weeks since we've been inside Ruka's head so it's hard to judge what she's thinking.

[GlassesLady]

I also feel like Ruka deliberately hid one copy so she couldn't win, since so much already points towards her realising she doesn't "need" Hayate and all. This is her way of backing out.

At any rate, good job, Nagi.

[mitsuganae]

Having this whole arc end so facilely (with Hayate arriving to tie a ribbon 'round the whole thing) seems vaguely unsatisfying, so I suspect Hata has a few more things up his sleeve.