I have returned to do a write-up of the fourth episode of the new Hayate no Gotoku season Cuties. In case you are wondering why it has taken so long, please read the previous post, reader. This episode features two of Nagi's closest childhood friends, Isumi and Sakuya. This will likely be an interesting episode as it features two people. Onto the write-up! (After the jump, as always.)
The episode opens with Sakuya introducing herself and Isumi. Sakuya then convinces Isumi that they must show off how funny they can be and asks Isumi what she wants to do. Isumi decides that she wants to do something with a rubber band. This is shown to involve Isumi holding a large rubber band in her teeth while Sakuya pulls back the rubber band. Saku tells Isumi to not let go, but Isumi eventually does and Sakuya gets hit with the rubber band. (It was kind of funny to see Saku hit, I guess.) At this point the intro plays.
After the intro, Isumi is shown asking her mother why she doesn't have a maid. She points out that Nagi and Saku have one and that she is around their age. Her mother points out that acquiring a maid is not something that happens when one reaches a certain age. (Quite wise for Hatsuho.) She then says that Nagi has a maid because she is helpless and Saku must have a maid to overcome her failings. Saku has overheard this conversation and gets angry at Hatsuho for thinking she has a deficiency. Her mother's comments get Isumi to think that she is the most responsible of the girls; this displeases Saku. Hatsuho decides that even if Isumi is responsible that she as her mother should find a maid for her daughter. (The Saginomiyas really overestimate how competent they are.) Hatsuho then asks Hayate for help finding a maid. Hayate tries to get Hatsuho to leave by saying that Isumi is responsible, but Nagi reveals that he just doesn't want to help. Hatsuho then reveals that Isumi need a maid to compensate for her one flaw: a lack of skill with smartphones. (Both Hayate and Nagi are not convinced that electronic illiteracy is Isumi's only weakness and I kind of agree.) Nagi tells Hayate to help Hatsuho until she bores of searching of a maid. Hayate decides that handing out fliers announcing the job opening is the best way of finding a maid and Hatsuho agrees with this plan. As they post the fliers, Fumi gets one of the fliers and decides she must try for the maid position. Sharna, who is of course with Fumi, is dubious about Fumi's qualifications as apparently Fumi is unskilled with smartphones. Fumi throws this objection away and says she will compensate with other skills. After some time passes, Hatsuho has decided on a maid for Isumi, so Hayate, Isumi, and Saku gather to see the choice. Hatsuho has chosen Fumi. (Fumi at this point seems to be a bit violent and seems to be suggesting that she will beat Isumi in a fight or something.) Isumi, astutely points out that Fumi is a dud and asks her mother why she chose Fumi. Hatsuho says that since Fumi's face looks like an emoticon, Fumi must have much smartphone skill. Isumi wonder out loud what sort of qualifications her mother was looking for. Fumi decides that she must redeem herself so gets the attention of everybody and brags about how she can do anything a smartphone can. Hayate and Saku are unimpressed, but Isumi and Hatusho are so Isumi asks Fumi a question. Fumi responds by telling Isumi to google it. Hayate returns to the apartment where Nagi is reporting that the maid hunt was unsuccessful and asks Nagi why Isumi doesn't have a maid. Nagi responds that Isumi has a mother for all the things that a maid would do. (She responds with a more wordy response, but that is the gist of Nagi's response.) We cut back to the Saginomiya household where Isumi notes that her phone is vibrating and her mother tells her to throw it away because it must be broken and the connecting theater plays. (This segment was inspired by chapter 341.)
The first half features Isumi bragging to Saku that she has a smartphone that can do many things an old phone can't. Saku is impressed and asks Isumi what function of her phone she is going to use. Isumi responds by saying that she is going to use the phone function and the texting function. Sakuya is now unimpressed and notes to herself that the phone function and text function was present in old phones. In the second half, Saku tells Isumi that she needs to get some apps on her phone and rattles off what some somewhat basic apps do. (Check weather, use Twitter, that type of things.) She then asks Isumi what apps she wants and Isumi replies that she wants an app that shows the user manual for her phone. Sakuya is unimpressed, again, and notes in her head that Isumi should just read the owner's manual that came with the phone.
With the Isumi half done, the Sakuya half opens at the Aizawa manor, with Saku calling for Haru-san. Saku comes out of her closet (or something) and asks Haru to bring her some clothes. Haru scolds her for not having any clothes on when she came out of the closet. This reminds Saku of a time earlier in her life and a flashback begins. Saku calls for Makita and Kuneida to bring her clothes while she comes out of her closet/changing room. The butlers seeing Sakuya's sparsely clothed body, that is quite womanly, scold her for wearing little clothing around them and decide it is time to find a maid for Sakuya. (I find it slightly funny that they have like a minute long conversation with Sakuya while she wears only her underclothing.) They reveal that their plan for finding a maid is to run a maid café and choose from the employees. Saku is unimpressed with the people there at first and says that her maid must be cheerful and funny. Haru (who we know is Chiharu) begins work at the café, is funny and cheerful and the butlers are impressed by her; Saku then announces that her maid must be efficient too. Haru proves to be efficient, but Saku isn't quite convinced and leaves the butlers. She then goes to the Sanzenin mansion and asks Hayate why he isn't a maid; Maria says she would prefers Hayate as a maid too. Saku then asks Nagi why she chose to employ Hayate and Nagi replies that it was fate. Saku ends up at an arcade for some reason and ponders Nagi's response. Saku absentmindedly puts a coin in a light gun game and realizes that she doesn't know how to play. Chiharu steps in to help Saku and they play the game and win together. Chiharu then buys a drink for Sakuya and Saku decides to make Haru her maid. The flashback ends at this point and Saku has dressed. Haru complains that Saku reminisced too long and Saku lets Haru go home because her work is finished. (I agree with Chiharu that the flashback took awhile, but I can't think of how it could have been shorter. This segment was inspired by chapter 175.) For the final segment, we go to the Violet Apartments where Nagi is working on her next manga. Saku enters the room saying that she can help and spots Chiharu; Chiharu then takes Saku aside and tells her to not reveal that she, Chiharu, works for Saku and tells Saku she thinks Nagi has potential in manga. Saku agrees to the not revealing request and then Nagi gets Chiharu to come with her to find inspiration. Saku wants to come too, but Nagi shuts her down telling her that she is useless for manga production. Nagi and Chiharu leave and Saku asks Hayate if Nagi and Chiharu are friends. Hayate says he doesn't know but he does know that Nagi relies on Chiharu; this causes Saku to reminisce about how Nagi relied on her when they were children. Saku then gets angry at being designated useless and asks to see Nagi's manga. Saku tries to understand the manga with Hayate's help, but finds it impossible. Isumi then shows up out of nowhere and calls Saku dull for being unable to understand Nagi's manga. (Isumi is of course ever the badass, able to get to the Violet Mansion while trying to get around her own house.) Saku asks for Isumi's help to be funny and Isumi puts her in an absurd costume. Isumi gets Saku to do a few things in the costume and gets Saku to try reading the manga again. Saku, of course, cannot understand it and yells at Isumi. A time later, Nagi and Chiharu return from idea getting, Hayate tells them that Saku left and Nagi is slightly saddened because she wanted Saku's help. Isumi and Saku return, having heard Nagi's voice, and they each try their hand at reading Nagi's manga. (I am not sure if I believe they heard Nagi's voice. I mean her voice is high and all, but I don't believe it.) Isumi understands the manga and Saku gets angry at Isumi for understanding the absurd manga, ending the episode. (This segment was inspired by chapter 309.)
Afterward is the ending, featuring Isumi this time (with quite a bit of Sakuya too). No exciting comments on the ending this time, besides that it was nice to see the childhood friends together once in the ending.
This was another great episode in my opinion. The order of things was a bit dissatisfying (i.e. having the Isumi and Saku segments fairly segregated) until it occurred to me that the segments progress from a Isumi alone segment, to a Sakuya alone segment, to finally a segment where both of them are important. So the segments aren't quite as split as I thought. The only real complaint that I have is that the end was a bit quick and sudden, although the foreshadowing of the closeness by Haru complaining about the length of Saku's flashback makes it a bit more tolerable in my mind. I also like how the hiring of Haru segment was framed as a flashback with Saku thinking that a similar thing happened before; it does make me a bit sad though that Makita and Kuneida were more indirect with their concerns about seeing Saku in a state of undress. In the manga their actually more direct saying that they mind seeing Saku in her underclothes even if she doesn't care if they do. It's okay though, as the episode cut the end close even without such conversation. This is also the first episode that doesn't really reference the previous one, unless Fumi's love for money can be considered a reference.
That is the write-up for this episode so look forward to the next write-up soon, the write-up of episode five, featuring many people's favorite young woman, Hinagiku Katsura.
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