Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 11 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

Hayate Ayasaki worked various part-time jobs, since the tender age of nine, to pay his parents’ gambling debts.  After selling off their son’s organs to pay their debts, these degenerate parents disappeared.  Fate lands Hayate into the hands of a teenage heiress named, Nagi Sanzenin.  Nagi, called “Ojô-sama,” is also frequently the target of kidnapping plots (including one by Hayate) and various schemes by people trying to get her money.  Hayate becomes Ojô-sama’s butler, and he zealously protects her, while she falls in love with him.

In Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 11, Hayate, Ojo-sama, Maria (the live-in made at the Sanzenin estate), and their circle of friends and rivals head for Izukyu Shimoda Hot Springs, where a meteorite landed and is said to have given the springs supernatural powers.  A girl might even be able to increase her bust size by bathing in the springs, or so it’s said.  The trip becomes a bumpy ride, especially when Ojo-sama and her rival for Hayate’s affections, Ayumu Nishizawa, end up traveling by bicycle.  It gets even worse when assassins hunting Ojo-sama catch up to the duo.  Will Hayate get there in time to save his charge?  And boy detective, Conan Edogawa, makes a special appearance.

THE LOWDOWN:  This 11th volume of Hayate the Combat Butler is one of the better tankoubon in the series.  This series is known for both its slapstick humor and its parody and referencing of other manga and anime properties.  The 11 episodes in Vol. 11 give readers some of both.  The Detective Conan material will be a treat for fans of the boy detective.  However, the Shimoda hot springs storyline is fun, an almost perfect mixture of romantic comedy and madcap adventure.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  With its odd vibe and pop culture references, Hayate the Combat Butler can appeal to a broad cross section of readers.

B+