wat u say

Well, I know I’m over a year late to the party, but with having finally finished the first season, I figured it was time to see what I could make of Hayate’s incredible harem. With the second season already started, I need to figure out who I really support the most, so I can make sure to thoroughly fanboy them when they get their screen time.

But there’s a problem. Hayate’s harem is just too good. There are too many girls that, given their own series, would probably win my heart. So how does one choose when faced with such tough decisions?

Well, I guess when it comes down to it, I have to just man up and organize them as best I can. It really goes to show you how awesome Hayate’s harem is when I can say that if any of the girls were inserted into another harem picked at random, the girl from Hayate’s harem would almost definitely be a favorite in the new random harem. Or it just shows that all other harems suck, you pick.

Nishizawa Ayumu

If there were one girl I can say might not be a favorite in any other given harem, it’d have to be Ayumu. While she is really cute and I admire the fact that she actually confessed to Hayate already, in a series full of tsuntsun and restrained love, she’s not really pushing the right buttons with me. It was pretty funny seeing her featured in pretty much every episode, always eating something and narrowly missing running into Hayate, but she doesn’t have much of a hold on me compared to the rest of the girls.

Saginomiya Isumi

Poor Wataru has it hard enough with Isumi not realising that Wataru has feelings for her, but she’s also infatuated with Hayate. The spacey, airheaded type has never been a favorite of mine, and I’m not about to snatch Isumi away from Wataru. I will say though that Isumi has a certain charm to her that most girls of her type don’t have. I’m not sure what it is, but I get the feeling it’s something she shares in common with Ichinose Kotomi, because both of them, even though they seem really silly at times, still managed to wrap me around their fingers. Whatever it is, Isumi’s got it.

Kijima Saki

This is where the list starts getting extremely difficult to decide and the slightest thing might suddenly make me change my mind. Kijima Saki amazed me the first time I saw her. A really cute meganekko with long green hair, a soft and sweet voice, and a maid to boot. She can be a bit clumsy at times, but it’s not very noticeable and it certainly doesn’t detract from her character. I had a really hard time deciding where to put Saki, because I really like her character, but she’s not as stand out as some of the rest of the girls, so I think she sometimes gets forgotten or neglected. I loved the episodes that focused on her and I just absolutely adore her, so it’s a bit hard on me to put her this far down.

Sanzenin Nagi

Well, if you’ve known me for any reasonable amount of time, you might be shocked that Nagi is not at the top of the list. As a blonde, twin-tailed tsundere loli voiced by Kugimiya Rie, I’m sure Nagi is also wondering how she failed to win me over completely. Honestly, I can’t really explain it either. Perhaps when I started watching Hayate, I was in a slump where I was tired of tsunderes and/or Kugimiya Rie for the moment. In any case, Nagi is another one of the girls who constantly shifts around based on my mood and what’s happening at any particular moment in the anime. I think perhaps she suffers from the same fate as Konata in the trying too hard department. I think characters who are otaku like the audience is cute sometimes, but it feels like they’re trying a bit too hard to reach us at times, so maybe that’s what it is. Regardless, Nagi is still adorable as hell and would definitely find herself the favorite of any other random harem. Perhaps it was just her bad luck that she fell into one of the toughest and most competitive harems.

Aizawa Sakuya

Ah, Ueda Kana. What more can I say? Sakuya is blessed by having the vocals of my favorite voice actresses, winning her major points. Not only that, but Ueda Kana lets her accent flow freely, something I’d not really heard much of before. While it makes it even harder for me to understand what she’s saying, I find her voice even more delicious. Sakuya’s character is also one I tend to enjoy. She doesn’t really take herself seriously and constantly plays pranks on Hayate, Nagi, and everyone else she can manage to jab. And if they dare to attempt a counterjab, they face the wrath of the mighty fan. But it’s not just all fun and games for Sakuya. As we see from the few flashbacks we get, Sakuya is very considerate of her friends and even goes so far as to give up her spot with Nagi and Isumi for the sake of Wataru, in the hopes of him being able to step forward with regards to Isumi. What an awesome gal.

Katsura Hinagiku

I admit, the Hinagiku ED for Season 2 has left me seeing pink. I tried to deny Hinagiku for a very long time. I tried to fight the power of Hinagikuism, but in the end it was an effort in futility. Hinagiku is fantastic. She’s got the body, she’s got the brains, she’s got the goods. But she’s not perfect. She’s afraid of heights and even more afraid of confessing to Hayate. Even though she’s fallen head over heels for him, she’s still very confused. She can tell that Nagi has also fallen for Hayate, perhaps even more than she has, but she still can’t help but follow her heart. In a word, Hinagiku is irresistible. She’s absolutely charming and rather than pretend I don’t like her, I admit, Hinagiku has won me over quite well.

Maria

Fooled you, didn’t I? While Hinagiku has surely won quite a large piece of my heart, the biggest piece belongs to my dear Maria-sama. If you asked me to explain why I love Maria, I’m not sure I’d be able to answer. There’s just something absolutely charming about her. Perhaps it’s her ability to quickly analyze and make sense of a situation, as she seems to have an almost inhuman grasp of what’s going on around her. It might be the way she’s gotten used to ordering and manipulating Nagi. Or maybe it’s her anger at being told she looks older than she is (which is something I find cute, as I don’t think she looks old at all). Or it just might be how cute she is when she gets flustered and shows her fear of roaches.

It’s quite rare that I’d like the girl that’s obviously set up (at least in the beginning) to cause conflicts between the main relationship, but Maria actually had me rooting against the ‘canon’ relationship. It really came as quite a shock to me. I’m not usually one to fight against canon, nor one to root against a tsundere loli voiced by Kugimiya Rie, so imagine my surprise when I found myself completely head over heels for Maria. I do find it strange that not many seem to share my love of the adorable maid and she’s rather shafted in screen time. Perhaps I just chose the losing side, but that’s fine with me. The Hinagiku brigade can have their fights over her while I enjoy being in the pleasant company of Maria and drinking her delicious tea.

This was totally not just an excuse to post a ton of pictures of Maria. Enjoy~ :3