- Attempting to fulfill a promise to his childhood sweetheart, Keitaro Urashima is determined to enter Tokyo University. After being rejected twice, he decides to leave home and stay at his grandmother’s apartment complex to study. But when he arrives, his grandmother is gone and he finds himself under attack by the all-female residents. Will the girls accept him as their new apartment manager? Will
Attempting to fulfill a promise to his childhood sweetheart, Keitaro Urashima is determined to enter Tokyo University. After being rejected twice, he decides to leave home and stay at his grandmother’s apartment complex to study. But when he arrives, his grandmother is gone and he finds himself under attack by the all-female residents. Will the girls accept him as their new apartment manager? Will his bones ever mend? More importantly, can he concentrate on his studies when he discovers that one of his tenants might be his long lost sweetheart?Based on the manga by Ken Akamatsu, Love Hina (2000) is one of the best-loved examples of the “harem comedy” genre. When he was five years old, Keitaro Urashima promised a girl that they’d attend prestigious Tokyo University together. Now he’s 20: he’s failed the entrance exam twice, and is attending cram school, hoping to fulfill that promise. His life grows very complicated when his grandmother retires, making him the manager of the Hinata Apartments, which serves as a high-school girls’ dorm. The residents include an assortment of standard anime types: painfully shy Shinobu, violently anti-male kendo champion Motoko, irrepressible Su and brainy, pretty, hot-tempered Naru. Keitaro’s kind heart wins over the girls, despite his low self- esteem, poor study habits and over-active fantasy life. Many of the episodes play off other series. In “Kendo Girl in Love,” Motoko dreams herself into an old video game that spoofs Sailor Moon and El Hazard. (American viewers may not realize that the Dragon Palace and giant turtle refer to the Japanese Rip Van Winkle story “Urashima Taro”, a play off Keitaro’s last name, Urashima.) In another episode, the cast stages a slapstick adaptation of the classic Chinese novel “The Journey to the West” that brings down the house–and the theater–when they accidentally uncork a hidden hot spring. Further complications ensue when Keitaro blows the entrance exam yet again, and his grandmother returns from her travels, throwing his future into limbo. When he goes off to brood by himself, the other members of the cast reflect on how much their favorite goofball means to them, despite his shortcomings. Everyone may not live happily after, but by the end of Episode #24, they sort things out in a way that’s appropriate to the story–and leaves openings for sequels. (Episode #25 is included with the Love Hina: Christmas Movie). Rated TV 14: comic violence, risqué humor, brief nudity, tobacco use.) –Charles Solomon
(1. All-Girls Dorm with Outdoor Bath: Hot Spring, 2. The Hinata’s New Resident Shinobu: Arrow Signs, 3. Kendo Girl in Love? Swordplay 4. The Tokyo U Promise from 15 Years Ago: Diary, 5. Wow. A Trip to Kyoto! 6. Keitaro’s First Kiss Is With…? 7. First Date. Keitaro’s True Feelings. 8. Kendo Girl and the Legend of the Dragon Palace, 9. The Case of the Missing Hinata Apartment Money: A Mystery, 10. Who Is the Beautiful Woman Wandering in the Moonlight: Transformation, 11. The Idol Shooting for Tokyo U Is a Prep School Student: Sing, 12. Changing After the Wedding? Swordsmaster Makoto’s Sunday Best: Feminine, 13. The First Kiss Tastes Like Lemon? Marshmellow? Grown-Up, 14. Naru’s Crush Is Now a Tokyo U Professor: Turning Into Love? 15. I Love You! Romantic Confession Inside a Cave: Tall Tale, 16. Monkey Performance at the Seaside Teahouse Hinata: A Kiss? 17. Mesmerized by Naru on the Haunted Island! Something’s Fishy! 18. Girls Dressed in Yukata for the Summer Festival: Let’s! 19. Marry Into Money? A Prince From Across the Sea: Warm, 20. A Sepia-Colored Promise with a Sleeping Girl: A Trick? 21. Jealous Outburst? Two Lovebirds on a Boat: Tremble, 22. Little Sister Mae’s Devious Plan: It Can’t be! 23. Naru Narusegawa–Her Wavering Heart and Keitaro: Crushed, 24. Celebrate! Are the Blooming Flowers Tokyo U? Love? Everybody)
Buy “Love Hina: Complete Series Box Set” For Only $30.17
April 27, 2008
#1
Despite the silly picture depicting this series, it is basically an equally silly story about just-pre-college kids somehow living without any means of support in a spectacularly neat area in Tokyo. The hot-baths alone would pay more taxes each year than I made in 20 years.
But that all could be ignored if there were any real writing in the series which is little more than teenage angst.
On the other hand, there is no massive murder and death. No aliens invading the earth from outer space and feasting on human flesh. No universe saving by some uneducated boob who somehow can use mental telepathy all of a sudden to move spaceships through the light years between stars.
In short, though this does continuously make silly sex jokes, and though it doesn’t have a detectable story line, it is not a bad series. It just isn’t a good one either.
April 27, 2008
#2
For someone who has read all the Love Hina manga, I find the anime series lacking. I suggest you read first, watch after.
April 27, 2008
#3
I enjoyed this Anime collection very much. You can find other reviews that will tell you all you could want to know about the story and content. So in summation it was amusing and enjoyable.
April 27, 2008
#4
I had taken some time to pick this up because it is “all over the place”…
In retrospect it would have been a better choice to pick it up sooner…
This is good clean fun that I really think should be “all over the place”!
1) The art is very good.
2) The story, while not remarkably original, is done well and fun none-the-less.
3) The audio is good.
4) The characters are well developed.
5) The plot could have been stronger moving somethings along a little better but overall it was solid.
There is a quality to this anime that keeps you wanting to know the truth and plot twists that make this very worth watching.
As harem anime goes this is pretty darn good.
Fan service is light on this and it is done in good taste.
Remarkably without a lot of fan service, the women and girls in this all maintain a very good balance of sexy and funny that rounds this anime out very well.
At the end of this anime you look forward to the next installment expecting to see old friends in new situations.
It is pretty warm and fuzzy like that.
Definitely one to keep for your collection.
April 27, 2008
#5
The series is very light-hearted so don’t expect to much drama or seriousness which is pretty much o.k. for this kind of show. The series main male character Keitaro pretty much is the main focus of the hilarity of the series, as he tries to find his lost childhood sweetheart while being the manager of an all female apartment complex. Unlike the other series I recently got SHUFFLE Keitaro isn’t the ladies man that they all fall for but is more of the abused toy that they take their frustrations on, either because of accidental mishaps or plain clumsiness on Keitaro’s part, involving the usual tripping into the woman’s chest or catching them undressing an the like. The series characters are more fun to watch while listening to the series subbed instead of dubbed as with some animes the English voice cast seem to have at best a 30/70 decent voice cast, I can’t see 50/50 as there only seemed to be about only two to three dubbed actors/actresses who actually were doing a good job. The video is standard format with the usual English/Japanese audio and a couple of extras mostly trailers and textless intro/ending songs, but again it just seemed that if you’re going to watch the episodes it was better watching them subbed. So for the price and if you’re looking for a light-hearted romantic anime give this a check out….