Title - "Love Hina"
Alternative title(s) - "Love Dolls" (if you want a rough translation)
Genre(s) - Comedy, ren'ai, drama, etc.
Okay! This is my first review! Here we go! ^_^
In 1998, Akamatsu Ken-sensei came up with a manga series that to this day, people not only in Japan, but in America and the rest of the world as well, still talk about. Then, a couple of years later, the anime came up. So, what series is it? The series I am talking about is "Love Hina".
For those who don't know, "Love Hina" is a romance and comedy series. There are 24 episodes, a hidden episode 25, 2 specials: one of winter and one of spring, an OVA series known as "Love Hina Again", a Love Hina Final Selection which is a recap for the most part and a live concert. The concert is average and so is the final OVA series if you want my opinion.
15 years ago, Urashima Keitar
made a childhood promise with a girl to go to Tky Daigaku or Tdai - *1 for short. Legend has it that if a couple attends the school together, they will have eternal happiness. Fast forward 15 years. Keitar is now 20 and a lot has been going on. He forgot his childhood sweetheart and he is still having trouble getting into Tdai. He failed three times already.
Somehow, Keitar gets a job at Hinata Sou, an all-girls resident hall his grandma runs. (I don't like using the word "dormitory" because rearrange the letters and you get "dirty room". I bet you never knew that, huh?) His grandma leaves for a while, pondering about retirement and he becomes kanririn - *2. There are a few girls over there, but the one girl that strikes his attention is Narusegawa Naru. Could she be Keitar's promised girl or is it someone else?
Fun - 8
You have to love the fact that this series has a lot of spirit. It has an aura that makes people talk about the series still, even though it has been over for a while. Seriously.
Of course, the anime has its problems. Obviously, it's not the manga. You have to remember that Akamatsu-sensei wanted the anime and the manga to be similar, not totally the same. Besides that, Sakata Kentar felt out of place in the anime. Sure, I like his seiy
(Okiayu Rytar-san), but I hardly paid attention to Kentar overall. Finally, there's the fact that towards the end and in other parts, the anime starts losing its charm.
Life - 9
Long series, it is worth watching over again. I've watched it a few rounds.
Story - 8
If you have seen or read "Maison Ikkoku", it's a lot like that. No fresh new flavor, but still solid never the less.
Audio - 10
I like the music overall. It gives an uplifting feeling. Despite the fact that people say it is forgetable, it's not. The songs are poppy and they're stuck in my head.
The seiy: nice group indeed. Besides Hayashibara Megumi-sama playing as Haruka, Keitar's aunt or cousin rather, there's also people like Ueda Yji-san playing as Keitar and Horie Yui-sama as Naru (which is no doubt her biggest role up to this day). A note I want to say about Megumi-sama is that the opening theme song, Sakura Saku/Cherry Blossoms Bloom, is sung by her and there's a Eurobeat version of this song as well. The Eurobeat version is sung by Nakajima Erina-san and it's as good as the original. The dub: let's pretend that it never existed.
Art - 10
Please note that this series as a whole lacks originality. I know that is true. Still, the charm, the energy and the fun in the series makes up for that.
Okay! The art is nice as a whole. The backgrounds are so bright and lively. The girls look like girls from various ren'ai games.
There weren't many flaws to notice here overall. "Love Hina Again's" art is at times a question mark. Still, art gets a ten from me.
Overall - 9
If you're going to get into "Love Hina", watch the anime first, which is enjoyable and then read the manga. That's what I did. If I did it the other way around, I wouldn't enjoy the series as I do now.
I heard a rumor saying that there will be more "Love Hina" anime soon that will have the sincere ending which is like the manga. True or false? That rumor is actually false. In the "Love Hina Again" soundtrack, there's the cast and the farewells. So, if you wanted a better ending out of the anime, get that particular album. (At least, that's what I have read.)
+
Nice art, nice music, nice group of seiy, the anime is fun overall.
-
It's not the manga obviously. Besides that, there's the bad dub, the lack of originality, the fact that it started losing the spirit towards the end of the series and other flaws not at the top of my head now.
Date of creation - 11/28/02 (11/22/02 is the real date.)
Last update - 8/10/04
*1. Tky Daigaku/Tdai is one of Japan's big universities. It's the Japanese equivalent of universities like Stanford, Harvard or Oxford.
*2. Kanririn means manager.