Hayate the Combat Butler (ハヤテのごとく! Hayate no Gotoku!) is a Japanese manga series, written and illustrated by Kenjiro Hata, about a boy who starts a new job as a butler and the events he experiences with his employer. Shogakukan have released 34 volumes in Japan. The English edition of the series has been licensed by Viz Media for distribution in North America. The style of the manga has a comedic gag with a slight harem feel and constantly breaks the fourth wall. The series includes numerous references to other anime, manga, video games, and popular culture. A 52-episode anime adaptation of the manga by SynergySP aired between April 2007 and March 2008 on TV Tokyo. A second, 25-episode anime season by J.C.Staff aired between April and September 2009. Bandai Entertainment licensed the first anime series in 2008, but the series went out of print in 2012. An anime film adaption produced by Manglobe was released in August 2011. A third, 12-episode anime television series by Manglobe, based mostly on an original story not seen in the manga aired between October and December 2012. A fourth anime season aired between April and July 2013. Hayate Ayasaki is an unlucky teenager who has worked since childhood to make ends meet due to his parents' irresponsible behavior. One day on Christmas Eve, he finds out that his parents shoulder him with a massive ¥156,804,000 gambling debt, the Yakuza (who the money was borrowed from in the first place) plan to settle that debt by selling his organs on the black market. While running away from the debt collectors he ends up meeting Nagi Sanzenin, a young girl who is the sole heir of the wealthy Sanzenin estate, and due to a misunderstanding, Nagi ends up falling in love with Hayate. After he rescues Nagi from some kidnappers, she hires Hayate as her new butler. Aside from performing his ordinary duties as a butler, Hayate must fight to protect Nagi from harm, a difficult task since her life is always in danger because she is the target of other individuals coveting her family's fortune, and sometimes deal with some extravagant requests from her, oblivious to Nagi's true feelings for him. In the later story, Hayate has to deal with the feelings of several other girls, Ayumu Nishizawa; his former classmate who harbors a crush on him, and Hinagiku Katsura; the student council president of Hakuō Academy who ends up growing attached to him. Hayate had a romantic relationship with a childhood friend, Athena Tennousu, who is chairwoman of the board of Hakuō Academy. Due to a series of events involving Hayate, Nagi, and Athena during Golden Week, Nagi ends up forfeiting her inheritance. With the last of her savings, Nagi moves with Hayate and her maid Maria to an old apartment building called "Violet Mansion" owned by her late mother, Yukariko, and rents its extra rooms for income: having Chiharu Harukaze; the secretary of Hakuō Academy, Hinagiku, Athena (in child-form), Kayura Tsurugino; an "elite otaku", Ruka Suirenji; a "singing idol" who develops feelings for Hayate, and Ayumu, as its tenants. The Hayate the Combat Butler 52-episode anime aired on TV Tokyo in Japan between April 1, 2007 and March 30, 2008, produced by animation studio SynergySP and with music by Kōtarō Nakagawa. The series also aired on the CS television network Animax starting on October 25, 2007, where it received its satellite television premiere, and was shown uncensored. The series was licensed in North America by Bandai Entertainment in 2008, but in February 2012, the company stopped releasing titles beyond February 7, and in April of the same year, the rights to the series were dropped, making the releases out of print. An original video animation (OVA) episode was released on March 6, 2009 in DVD and Blu-ray formats. A second anime season of Hayate the Combat Butler, titled Hayate the Combat Butler!! (an additional exclamation mark) aired 25 episodes between April 4 and September 18, 2009, produced by animation studio J.C.Staff. Unlike the first season, the second season retcons the events of the first season by claiming at the onset that a month has pass since Hayate became Nagi's butler. Furthermore, the second season is more faithful to the manga than the first season. On July 21, 2010, Animax Asia began airing the second season, including the OVA, with English dubbing done again by Red Angel Media along with Cantonese and Mandarin dub.

• published: 28 Aug 2013
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