The time has finally come to do the final write-up of the Cuties season. This episode will mark the end of the original story that was begun in the previous episode. Let the final write-up commence! (After the jump!)
The episode opens, five minutes to midnight, with the girls (and Armageddon) gathered around him, asking him who he is going to kiss and then the intro plays. (Still think that last episode has a shorter pre-intro segment.)
After the intro, Hayate appears in a tree and declares he will fight Yukiji for a kiss (wearing female clothing). He jumps down for an attack, but Yukiji uses some sort of drunken magic to knock him back and out. (There are even scorch marks on the ground.) Hayate resumes consciousness in the dream world and the freaks ask him how it is going with the kiss. (Due to comments Hayate says, it seems this is the first time he entered the dream world after the first dream.) He tells them he is trying hard and the clock offers him tea. We cut to Maria trying to wake Nagi while things that look like portals open in Nagi's floor. (Maybe that curse is more intense than I first thought.) Then, Hinagiku is shown running out of the apartment and wondering where Hayate is. (Alice is shown in the background with Armageddon. Apparently he like cornets so much he has become Alice's dog. Maybe I'll call him Ragnarok while he is with Alice.) Returning to Hayate, we see him being lectured by Kayura about how idols can't be tainted. (I like how Kayura wears a male uniform.) Ruka is then shown leaving and promising to return his butler uniform. (It seems that Hayate traded his butler uniform to Ruka for some of her clothing. Why, I have no idea. Maybe for mobility.) Kayura then suggests to Hayate that he should kiss Chiharu as she is weak under pressure and would likely comply. (Kind of like Hayate.) He then calls Chiharu and convinces her to leave her work early to meet with him. Hayate thanks Kayura for her help and she gives him a final tip to getting a kiss from Chiharu before leaving for business. Hayate looks at his outfit (which is quite nice, but a bit theatrical) and decides to wait at the apartments until going to meet Chiharu. We cut back to Hina, who thinks that she should have just stayed at the apartments instead of running. (Yes, you should have Hina.) She spots a couple in a restaurant and thinks about how maybe she should be the one for Hayate to kiss when she runs into Ayumu. Ayumu realizes Hayate's situation when she meets Hina and they both think about how pathetic they are before the Three Amiga invite them to all talk together. Back at the apartments, Hayate thinks about his situation while Alice comes in and comments on his outfit. Hayate then explains the situation to her and she says that if he wouldn't have problems if he had explained earlier and says she is okay with kissing him. Hayate thanks her and is about to kiss her when Father Regeoster stops them. Father says that doing such a thing is a crime and Hayate tells him to just go away. (Well, Father is correct, but Hayate really needs some age changing candy so that such issues won't be a problem in the future.) Father spouts some line about Alice being an angel and Hayate says a girl is a girl. Father and Hayate argue about how any girl is fine, which angers Alice and she uses her stun gun on both Hayate and Father before walking away. Hayate is about to put on a spare jacket before heading out to meet Chiharu, when Ragnarok shows up and steals his jacket. Hayate chases after the dog and after awhile decides to just go with the clothes he got from Ruka. We cut back to the apartments where a phone is ringing and it is shown that it is Hinagiku trying to call Hayate and failing which disappoints her and Ayumu. (Miki's speech about the importance of kisses occurs in the background. She has a decent point with "kisu", kiss, read backwards is "suki", love. Gotta remember that point.) Risa then informs everybody that an odd looking person is outside and it is shown to be Ruka. Ruka comes in and says that she has been looking for Hayate as she needs to return his uniform. Hina asks why she has his uniform and Ruka explains with a (quick) flashback. She was doing a shoot that involved her riding a bicycle when Hayate ran in front of her and she hit him, knocking him into the water. (Ruka has officially entered the "I Hit Hayate with a Bicycle Club" along with Ayumu and Maria. A prestigious club indeed.) Ruka then apologizes for hitting him, Hayate apologizes for running out in front of Ruka, and she says the wardrobe staff will take care of his uniform. She then asks what he came to talk about and guesses that it has to do with the dream. She then tells him that she is okay with kissing him, even if she doesn't know the specific reason, as he wouldn't ask for a kiss for a silly reason. She then moves in to kiss him, but it is interrupted by Kayura punching him and telling him it isn't going to happen. Kayura then explains that Ruka is an idol and idols are like gods to their fans, so something like Hayate kissing Ruka can't happen (especially in such a public place). This causes Kayura to lecture longer and leads to the scene earlier, which ends the flashback. Hayate is at the park, but Chiharu isn't so he spends his last ten Yen on a pay phone to call her. She says that she hasn't gotten off of work and that she tried to call the apartments. They speak for a bit off screen and Chiharu says something about a part timer when the doorbell rings and Wataru and Saki walk in. (Yay, Wataru and Saki get another appearance.) Wataru asks where Saku is and Chiharu wonders the same thing. Saku and Isumi are then shown at Yukkyun's gravesite. (I'm guessing they used a plane or something as it took around twelve hours by train during the Shimoda arc and they left about noon.) Back at the restaurant, Risa comments on Ruka's boldness, Ruka says she couldn't resist helping, and another weird person (Kayura) shows up. Back at the pay phone, Hayate feels a bit uncomfortable with the looks he is getting from random people. (Understandably, as he didn't choose his clothes.) Hayate then spots Ragnarok walking by and tries to get his coat back, but ends up getting hit by a truck and put in an ambulance by the two detectives from the restaurant robbery. (It seems a bit pathetic that Hayate couldn't catch Ragnarok, but he's wearing sandals which are very bad running shoes. He also couldn't take the sandals off as he is wearing thigh-highs and it would be a shame to have them ruined further than they already are.) Back at the restaurant, Kayura is impressing the Three Amiga with her cosplay and references. Ruka then asks Kayura where Hayate is, but Kayura is distracted by Miki and doesn't answer the question. Back at the pay phone, the phone is ringing and Hayate runs up to answer it. Chiharu says that she is glad to get him and says that she is still at work. Hayate is a bit worked up, so she says that if she knew what he wanted she would be more able to help. Hayate decides to tell her about the kiss plan and she hangs up and wonders why it is that. (It seems that Hayate was on the phone with Chiharu so he doesn't know that Haru and Chiharu are the same person.) Chiharu then thinks about what Hayate said about something happening to Nagi as the time left approaches a half hour. Back at the restaurant, Kayura finishes her simple explanation of her cosplay, Izumi notes that it is eleven-thirty, and Hina decides that she must go find Hayate. Miki asks what is going on, Risa asks if Hayate disappearing isn't normal, and Kayura says where Hayate is. Chiharu then calls Hina and tells Hina that Hayate is acting weird. A short cut to the park shows Hayate running around looking for people to kiss. Hina finishes the call with Chiharu and decides that Hayate really needs help so she is going to do her best to find him and help him. (She also handles some skeptical comments from Miki while giving her speech.) Her speech encourages Ayumu and Ruka to do their best to and they (along with Izumi and Kayura) run out of the restaurant. Miki and Risa follow behind slowly and Risa says that it is unfortunate that Hayate is mad about her to which Miki asks what she is talking about. (Good job there Miki correcting Risa's bizarre misunderstanding.)
Back at the park, Hayate continues searching and is stunned when he sees Yukiji. He sees that he has little time and decides to go for kissing Yukiji. As he apologizes ahead of time, Yukiji wakes up and beats the "kid who looks like Ayasaki" back. He then asks for a kiss saying he'll explain later and Yukiji agrees to let him on the condition that he defeats her. Cut to Chiharu, who decides that she can no longer stand around doing nothing on the pretense of work and decides to change her clothes and head out. Back at the park, Yukiji finishes her booze and the fight begins. Yukiji appears to have the upper hand for a bit before they jump up and fight in the air. Once they land after the air fight, Yukiji passes out. Hayate sees that she passed out and is about to claim his kiss when Kaoru, who heard the fight, calls out for Yukiji and runs up. (I'm impressed by Kaoru as he has slight plot importance again.) Kaoru sees Yukij on the ground and picks her up. Yukiji says something that would have been aimed at Hayate, Kaoru is confused by her words and he ends up deciding to take her home (or something) when she calls for more booze. The restaurant group finally enters the park from some entrance and meets up with Chiharu coming from one direction and Alice and Ragnarok coming from a different direction. On some bridge Hayate thinks about his actions and realizes he can't force anybody to kiss him just to save Nagi when the girls (who probably found him with the dog) walk up to him, with Ruka telling him to change his clothes before anything else happens. In the dream world, the freaks watch as Hayate gets into a bad situation with the multiple girls as Nagi finishes the game that she was playing. Ayumu, Hina, and Ruka end up asking Hayate which girl he is going to kiss. The tanuki says that maybe they set the bar too high for Hayate's success and the clock says it was her idea. The tanuki then says that this is their last chance to play with him and the clock starts calling Hayate useless. The tanuki notes that Hayate is really trying his best, but the clock says it isn't enough and starts yelling at the screen they are using to watch Hayate. Nagi then asks what is going on and the freaks explain to her that Hayate is faced with the ultimate decision to save Nagi. Nagi is irritated that such weird things happen when she stops watching Hayate. At the bridge, the girls gathered press Hayate to make a decision, but he is stopped when Nagi calls out and says that a decision isn't necessary and asks what he is doing, aided in walking by Maria with Saku and Isumi in the background. Maria tells Nagi she shouldn't strain herself, but Nagi says that she was just dozing and walks toward Hayate. Hayate then sees that Isumi has Kurotsubaki, remembers the tanuki's words, and realizes that the curse isn't broken yet. Nagi tells Hayate to come home with her, but Hayate and the girls object and say that Hayate has to kiss someone if the curse is to be broken. Nagi then asks the girls if they are okay with kissing for such a reason as saving Nagi. Nagi then tells Hayate that he doesn't have to do so much for her and that though she may not be able to buy manga or watch anime in the other world, she doesn't mind because she has Hayate. She continues her speech by saying that none of this weird stuff matters to her as she has Hayate as her butler. Nagi then passes out, Hayate catches her, and he tells her that he has learned that kisses shouldn't given easily and should be treasured. He continues by saying that he can't take something from any of the girls so easily (all the girls that pressed him become at least a bit embarrassed when he says this, except for Kayura who is emotionless and Miki who is impressed at his philosophy) and says that he doesn't want her to be asleep forever either, so he kisses Nagi on the forehead (a bit hard to tell with the angle though), seconds before midnight. (This act seems to impress the freaks.) Nagi wakes up embarrassed (a much better angle is used here) and everybody runs up to Hayate and Nagi and the ending theme starts. (A bit of heavyhanded symbolism happens with swan boat heads forming a heart.)
Many of the girls give Hayate grief for going for a forehead kiss as they definitely would have consented to a kiss if they knew it was that and not a mouth kiss like many thought. Hayate then tells them to use some common sense and nobody can accept Hayate talking about common sense so they shout at him for that comment. The two freaks begin sparkling and comment how Nagi sure is in good hands, what with both Hayate and her friends. The picture on the freak's television pans over to Isumi and Saku who ask if the freaks got what they wanted and noted that it was a close call. The tanuki, who is now shown to be Yukkyun, says she is glad Hayate succeeded and the clock, who is shown to be Shin, asks if they are to leave now. Yukkyun says yes and she and Shin have a moment before passing on for real this time (I hope). We return to the park where everybody is shown gathered around Hayate and happy. The next day, Nagi is heard calling for Hayate and Hayate is shown to be running to her aid.
I have to say that this was a fairly good episode for ending the Cuties season as all of the girls got at least somewhat of a moment to shine throughout both this and the previous episode. The people that got the least time these two episodes would have to be, probably, Maria and the Three Amiga, especially Izumi. Maria's moments were mainly last episode with the television and her being the first one Hayate talked to about kissing. Izumi was mainly upstaged by Risa, the one who suggested that Izumi be the one kissed, and Miki, who gave the kiss speech in the restaurant, got Kayura on her cosplay rant, and shut Risa's misunderstanding down. I was overall impressed that just about every character of any importance, except maybe Tama and Shiranui (and Azumamiya, I guess), got an appearance in the last two episodes. (I keep coming up with more that I am forgetting. Sister Sonia also didn't appear. If Golden Week is ever adapted she'll have plenty of airtime though.) I guess about the only thing I really have to comment on though, is the story. In my opinion, the story was fairly good. The time jumps kept it from being too predictable and kept the tension up somewhat as I kept wondering why certain things happened the way they did. The ending wasn't too surprising, except for the fact that Nagi powered through the curse to give her talk to Hayate. I have to also say that this episode got on my good side (and thus my judgment may be kinder) as I am a sucker for kind-of philosophical speeches like the one Hayate gave before kissing Nagi. It reminds me of Hina's Birthday and the end of the Valentine's Day episode from the second season, which are two of my favorite parts of the anime.
So that marks the end of Cuties write-ups, but I will likely back soon to do an overview post of my thoughts about the Cuties season like I did with CTMEOY so look forward to that soon.
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