In Volume 17 of Hayate x Blade (はやてｘブレード), three things of major importance happen. All at once. Then a fourth important thing happens afterwards which isn’t important, but I want to remember to tell you about it. ^_^

Important Thing the First: Ayana and Hayate are now A-rank and their next battle will have to be against the single Special A-ranked team at Tenchi, Kamijou Maki and Soumeya Yukari. Yes, at last, Ayana will have to face her former friend and shinyuu and, as a result, her own past.

This is made slightly difficult by the…

Important Thing the Second: The ranks of the students at Tenchi have been swelled by the “Black Group,” an allied group of talented fighters who (we are told in the final pages of the volume) want to “steal the fighting students of Tenchi” from Hitsugi. What this means, really, or why, we don’t yet know. We do know that Hitsugi knows of the existence of the “Black Group” and appears to be supremely uninterested. In fact, she’s out haunting the B, C and D Hoshitori areas in a costume, masked, on a white horse.

The Black Group attempt to stop Ayana and Hayate from reaching the A area and commencing their battle, which lead us to…

Important Thing The Third: As Hayate and Ayana are surrounded by the Black Group, they find that their friends have come to rescue them…again. This leads to a pun on page 106 that is so excruciating, so egregious, that 1) I think Hayashiya-sensei has written 17 volumes of this manga solely for the purpose of creating the pun and; 2) I hope she laughed until she made herself sick. I really do.

(You know the famous Japanese folk tale of Momotarou? If not, go read it first or this will mean nothing to you. Also Momo=Peach, Inu=Dog, Saru=Monkey, Kiji=Pheasant.)

So The Black Group surrounds Hayate and Ayana, and in steps, Momoka, Isuzu, Kiji, Michi, Mizuki and Sou to let them go running off. As Hayate runs, she screams, “Thanks, Momo, Inu, Saru, Kiji!” and I groaned for an hour.

I believe that all 17 volumes of the series were created to lead up to that one joke.

Akira and Sae face down Hajime and Shingetsu (who appear to be the leaders of the Black Group, but are not) and learn their somewhat allegorical intention.

And the volume ends with the Hoshitori in full swing.

Which brings us to the final Important Thing: The cover, inside pages and slip cover all contain very cool cut-out-and-entertain-yourself things. As the Black Group points out in the omake, “Do It Yourself” is the theme for this volume. In other words, this is all so complicated, you do it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9 I always know exactly who I am looking at and why. With this many characters, that’s genius
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 0
Service – 0

Overall –  10

Momo, Inu, Saru, Kiji. Really?

A new school term has begun and things are changing at Tenchi Gakuen as Hayate x Blade, Volume 16 (はやてｘブレード) opens.

Superficially, the uniforms are different, and the rules of the Hoshitori are going to change. New students have arrived and new pair of shinyuu are arrayed for combat. Even the Student Council is different, as members who were seen as unmovable have fallen from the S-rank. Ayana and Jun have moved up into the high school at Tenchi, and Hayate and Momoka and their friends are now no longer first-years. Everyone is on pins and needles waiting for that first Hoshitori bell, signalling the new era.

In the middle of the chaos, we turn towards Momoka. Hayate’s stalwart friend and supporter, whose trials and travails in finding and keeping a partner, some of the very first arcs we were able to enjoy in English, is once again center stage. In a cast as big as this manga now has, it’s refreshing and nostalgic to remember where we started. Hayate relies on Momoka, as does Isuzu, her adoring and adorable partner. But who can Momoka rely on? Ultimately, her desire to be reliable undermines her confidence every time, and once again, she has to face the toughest enemy she has…herself.

She has seen Hayate, someone who is appreciably smaller and stupider than herself, rise through the ranks. Hayate and Ayana are poised on the brink of Special A-rank, with only Yukari and Maki in their way.

Let me digress for a moment here – in any other series, the battle with Maki and Yukari would have been epic. Yukari and Ayana, former shinyuu, with years of hard feelings and miscommunication between them…youch. But, you know…that’s all unimportant now. Ayana purged her demons when she fought Ensuu and Meiko. And Yukari purged hers *before* she and Maki did the same. They have nothing between them now – nothing except the desire to face one another and see who wins. This fight, when it comes, will be several steps beyond epic. Maki vs Ayana, Yukari vs Hayate. Think about it. It’s going to be nuts.

But back on planet Earth with the rest of the mortals, there’s Momoka, staring at Hayate who works too hard, plays too hard, eats too freaking much, sleeps like the dead and starts all over again at the beginning. Every day. Momoka knows she’s outclassed by Hayate, but can’t figure out why. And that pisses her off. She can see Hayate only has the settings 0 and 10. Why can’t she get to her 10? The only way she’s ever going to know is when she stands toe-to-toe with Hayate. And Isuzu, ever by her side, agrees to take on this suicidal task.

Ayana and Hayate vs Isuzu and Momoka. In a straight up, full-out, no tricks, no goofball moves, honest to goodness Hoshitori battle.

What’s lies beyond epic? This.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Yuri – 1
Service – 1

Overall – 10

What a fucking fabulous series this is.

So, Volume 14 came and with it, the greatest fight ever seen at Tenchi Academy. Sae and Shizuku, out of the fight and only Hitsugi and Akira left to battle it out. Students and guests were on the edge of their seats and so were readers, I can assure you.Well, at least this reader was.

The battle ended as it had to. Bloodied, on one knee, but unbowed and unwilling to give up, Hitsugi defeated Akira. Phew, because if Akira won, Tenchi would have been disbanded. And here, in Hayate x Blade, Volume 15, (はやてｘブレード) we finally learn why.

We know that Akira’s father is a bastard – we’ve known that for a long time. We know he favors that prig Ryouichi and treats Akira like dirt, merely because she is a girl. And we learn why, exactly he let her come to Tenchi Gakuen – to destroy the Amachi family and the school. Having won the battle, Hitsugi cheerfully pronounces Akira’s punishment – to take over the school as chair. Akira now holds in her hands exactly what she was sent to get, and she runs off to give it to her father, and maybe, finally, get approval from the old man. But…Akira has undergone a transformation, and so has Sae, and together they walk away from what they were told would be their fates, in the quirkiest way possible. I won’t spoil it, but I will tell you that it involves a plastic bag from a convenience store (this time, the late, much lamented AM/PM) cut into a mask.

And so Akira and Sae return to school to find that nothing has changed – except everything has changed. The new trimester has begun and Tenchi Academy is moving! But before that, there’s new uniforms. And more epic battles between “randomly” chosen opponents who are so unrandom that everyone in the audience questions Hitsugi’s honesty. Ayana is once again paired with Yukari; Yuho returns, and Hayate meets (as in “meets in battle”) Nagi’s shinyuu-to-be, Kanai and lots of stupid shit happens.

I was recently discussing Hayate x Blade with Bruce and I said that generally I really dislike physical comedy. Hayate x Blade has a ton of physical comedy  – that makes me laugh out loud. The story that wraps the comedy is so smart-dumb that it’s impossible not to laugh. In my imagination, Hayashiya-sensei is Hitsugi, pulling strings and manipulating characters, just to get the best damn story she can out of them. Which, she does.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Yuri – 1
Series – 1

Overall – 10

Once again, Hayate x Blade is the manga I wait with greatest anticipation for monthly issue and tankoubon alike. I pray daily that this manga becomes the longest-running story ever, because I cannot imagine my life without it and I expect to live a long time.