We all know that Hayate no Gotoku! is filled with references and allusions to other anime and what not. I probably only catch the obvious ones because I’d imagine that others are hidden with clever “bleeping,” are too obscure, or I simply don’t know about what is being alluded. What Hayate needs is a bibliography at the end of each episode.

I originally thought that the show would run for the standard 26 episodes. Imagine how extremely pleased I was when it kept going. Really, you can stop now and imagine. I’ll wait.

For this post I thought I would point out a few of the references I found in episode 31.

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Episode 37 finds Nagi discovering that Hayate prefers “normal” girls. In a bold move to be more appealing to her combat butler Nagi ventures off to discover how to master being normal.

Hilarity ensues.

Yeah, normal people, why do you always have to flaunt your normalcy? You and your, “Ohh, look at me. I’m so normal. Neh-neh-neh.”

I’ve written about being normal before. Although, overall that post was mostly a commentary on otaku collection habits.

To quote myself:

It is the relativity of the social construct that is normalcy that makes using it as a measure of worth a double-edged sword. These ideas have lead to disputes among social groups, friends, family, neighbors, religions, nations, and pretty much every division humanity has placed unto itself. Our disputes, many times, are grounded in divergent ideals. Your normal is not someone else’s normal.

Everyone has to stop and wonder about their place in the world, if only for a scant few seconds. For many it is a simple thought game, but for others it defines their beings. Some of us may question our goals and the path that we have taken. Where am I going? What will I do when I get there? These are questions raised without answers given most of the time.

I’m not one to say that everyone is the same because there are major differences between peoples. The fact still remains that one cannot deny people are largely more alike than they are different. We may have differing cultural identities, but we are all the same species. That alone makes all of us more similar than different.

That is unless one where to take themselves as some type of evolutionary disparity. This would more likely make you insane that evolved. Oddly, that would make you different or not normal from the perspective of the sane. Yet, you would be complete normal with regard to the insane.

Humans exist within a world of dualities. We are alike and different at the same time. It’s all a matter of perspective. As a matter of worth it seems that most people tend to aim for their idea of normal rather than super-normal or some exceedingly grand ideal.

So, next time some one implies that you are “normal,” just say damn-straight!

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edit: oops, misspelled “introspection” in the title originally. Although, you have to admit that “instrospection” sounds like a pretty cool word.

The last episode of the season was the best yet. They went all out with this one. It’s pure Hayate no Gotoku~ishness straight through to the end.

An OCD thing:

Every time I see one of those still image pans in an anime I have an urge to put it back together. At any rate, I put these two images back together after watching the show. Keep in mind that the quality of the image is only as good as the source, which wasn’t too bad.

Click on the images for the larger version.