It’s official, Hayate x Blade 2 (Nyan) はやて×ブレード2（ニャーン） is out of the starting blocks and gaining speed!
The students of Tenchi academy have made their choice to be part of the Tenkuu or Daichi dorms, representing the Amachi group and the Black Group, respectively. For a brief moment, we turn our eyes toward Nagi, Hayate’s sister, and we are kind of surprised to see how bitter she’s become. But, then, we have to recognize that her sister was supposed to take and hold her place at Tenchi and instead went and became a rising star. Okay…yeah…that makes sense. Because Nagi’s and Hayate’s father (adopted) is Hajime’s master, Hajime attempts to recruit Nagi to the Black Group side. Nagi, contrary about everything, refuses, but then is scooped up by her shinyuu Kanai and forced to be a Tenkuu. Where Hayate was boke enough to break Ayana down, Kanai will clearly play that role for Nagi.
We also learn how Nagare encountered Hayate and Nagi. Not surprisingly, it was both absurd and poignant. In a train station, high school student Nagare finds herself accosted by twin infants who have been left in a row of lockers.
In the first few chapters of the new series, everyone is settling in – even Yagyuu Makoto has a new follower. But now that we’re all moved in and everything is ready to go…the First Tenchi Academy Ultimate Hoshidori (a portmanteau of Hoshitori and Randori, I believe) is ON!
Students have been given new stars, this time worn around their wrists, which makes them much harder to protect and the format of the randori has shifted considerably. The first round will consist of several fight cycles. Survivors move to the second round, the rules of which have not been announced. There’s gonna be a lot of fighting coming up. And in the middle of it, I bet Nagi and Hayate are going to have to have it out once more. Nagi has a wound that only Hayate can lance.
Ratings will be forthcoming when the actual volume is released.
There is no other manga I read where I exclaim “cool!” so often as this one.
Why “Nyan”, you ask? Look at the image above. ^_^
Quick aside question…I recently saw some HxB discussion that said that Kurea’s name is actually “Claire”, but it’s pronounced “Kurea” in Japan. Her sisters apparently have western names as well, so does she actually have one, too? It interested me because the name does make me look at the character/their history a bit differently (not in any negative or positive way, just more of a cultural/flavor thing).
That is an interesting perspective!