Hayate no Gotoku! – 19 - Random Curiosity

Summary:

Nagi is watching a cursed video she got from Wataru, but both she and Maria don’t believe in the curse. One week passes with nothing happening, and when Nagi forgets to return the video, Wataru comes to the Sanzenin mansion to collect it. Wataru explains that the video can lead to a certain cockroach appearing, which Maria is surprisingly afraid of, but Wataru has something more important on his mind. It seems that his maid Saki has been acting strange, and when Hayate mentions that she can participate in seijin shiki since she’s 20 years old, Wataru is reminded of a conversation he had with her earlier in the year when he had offered to get her a furisode as a present. He now thinks that Saki might be depressed because he forgot, so he asks Hayate if it’s that important. Hayate believes that it is and accidentally asks Maria about her own seijin shiki, only to realize a second later that she’s only 17 years old. After going back home and learning that Saki celebrated her birthday alone this year, Wataru returns to the Sanzenin mansion and asks Nagi about giving a furisode as a present. She hands him the location of a store and tells him not to buy a cheap one, but since Wataru doesn’t have the money, Nagi offers him a suitcase full of cash.

Hayate meanwhile arrives in the kitchen to find it completely spotless and filled with cockroach traps thanks to a scared Maria. Since she screams at the slightest noise and runs into Hayate’s arms in fear, he promises to protect her if a cockroach appears. As it just so happens, a gigantic cockroach suddenly crashes through the window, so Hayate carries Maria away to safety. The cockroach has to go through Klaus and the security robots before catching them, and when it does, Hayate tries to attack it with a kick. However, the pendant that he’s wearing glows and seems to drain him of his power while in mid-air, giving the cockroach an opening to smack him down. With Hayate on the ground, Maria gets between him and the cockroach and refuses to let it touch him. The cockroach eventually backs off and heads back to the mansion, but Hayate and Maria then realize that Nagi could get attacked. By the time the two return however, they find Isumi alone after having already gotten rid of the cockroach with her own charm. Nagi also arrives at this moment and thinks that Wataru already talked with Isumi, but when Isumi doesn’t know what she’s talking about, Nagi sends her to Wataru’s place.

Isumi thus surprises Wataru at his home under the notion that he had a present and something important to say to her. Wataru, however, can’t give the yukata he bought for Saki to Isumi, so he instead gives her a DVD box set and tells her about the leading actor before sending her on her way. Saki then comes home and can smell that another girl has been in this room, so Wataru turns her attention to the yukata that he bought her instead of a furisode that he couldn’t afford. However, Saki reveals that she had been feeling troubled lately because she couldn’t decide on a color for her cell phone, not because of him forgetting his promise. In the aftermath, Nagi learns that Wataru had intended to buy the present for Saki and not Isumi like she had thought. It seems that Wataru hadn’t wanted Nagi’s money because he felt that there was no meaning to a present if he didn’t pay for it himself, and that’s why he bought a cheaper 50,000 yen yukata. The sound of nearby fireworks then prompts all of them head out to the local fireworks display where Wataru and Saki have also come.

Preview

Between the security robots’ Jet Stream Attack and the exploits of the legendary housemaid that was Saki’s grandmother Kijimi Rei (whose physical appearance I believe is a reference to Kamen no Maid Guy), I was pretty amused by this episode. The whole Ring parody wasn’t quite as good as those, but it did show that even Maria has some weaknesses and it once again highlighted the pendant that Nagi’s grandfather gave Hayate (though I’m not entirely sure why it activated).
As for next week, it looks like Ayumu will be coming back into the story again instead of just making weekly token appearances.