Love Hina

Also Known As: LH

Genre: Romance/Comedy

Format: 24 Episodes

Allegiance: TV Tokyo

Director: Iwasaki Yoshiaki

Vintage: 2000

Intelligence Agency Report by: Djudge

Due to one childhood promise that he can barely remember, Urashima Keitaro is on a quest to gain admittance into the prestigious Tokyo University. The only problem is that he is a complete klutz when it comes to the academics department and has failed the university entrance exams twice. In order to give himself some fresh air, Keitaro has just accepted an invitation from his grandmother to visit the apartment complex that she owns. Little does he know, however, that the complex is actually a girls’ dormitory and that he’s been set up to be its new manager!

Field Agent Report by: Djudge

Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio

8.00
8.75
7.50
9.00
8.50

Overall

8.25

(not an average)

Love Hina is undoubtedly one of the most popular romantic comedies in the world of anime today. Based on an equally beloved manga, Love Hina serves to show that a title of this particular genre doesn’t necessarily need prodigious amounts of fan service to keep its audience watching. This, coupled with the personalities and energy of the main plot, keeps this series in the limelight.

One of this title’s biggest pluses is the great digital animation employed in its production. Right from the start a viewer will notice the cleaner and crisper look that this title has over its older, cel-animated counterparts. This not only helps flesh out the character designs better, but can also enhance the drollery peppered throughout each episode. Love Hina also benefits from having a great cast serving to voice its characters. Some of the funnier scenes in the series are heightened by the clear chemistry of the voice actors. Not only do they genuinely, and accurately, portray their respective characters’ on-screen status, but they also consistently play off each other adding a sense of actual conservation (not just mere script reading) to each episode. This one trait may be hard to comprehend just by reading about it and is definitely something you have to hear/watch to appreciate.

Moving on to its presented plot, Love Hina undoubtedly suffers from the same ailment that many romantic comedies are afflicted with: the dreaded plague of unoriginality. Although the characters complement each other well, many, if not all, of them are “cookie-cutter” personalities that have been seen time and time again by seasoned anime viewers. To compound this weakness is a whole slew of bland filler episodes that only serve to drag down an already watered down version of the original plot by creator Akamatsu Ken. Had more of the twenty-four-episode run been dedicated to the running storyline, Love Hina would have easily been a much, much stronger title than what it currently is.

Despite its shortcomings, Love Hina manages to give fans, both new and old, of the genre something to talk about. It clearly is near the pinnacle of romantic anime comedies and will most likely serve as a benchmark for future series to look back on for reference. When introducing someone to anime, Love Hina serves as an excellent piece, exhibiting both great strengths and obvious faults.

Field Agent Report by: Drake

Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio

8.00
8.50
8.25
9.25
8.75

Overall

8.50

(not an average)

Love Hina is not your typical harem anime. It doesn’t have immense amounts of fan-service every two seconds and actually focuses more on plot and character development than appeasing the demands of ecchi fans. Don’t worry - this series will still have you laughing the whole way through at the constant jokes and occasional ‘Naru Punches.’

While the plot is not the most original, it is carried on by a brilliant cast of characters. They aren’t your everyday paper cutter characters, devoid of life. They each come with their own stories and problems to attend to, and they’re all developed as the series progresses. Despite the filler episodes tossed in generously throughout the series, Love Hina also does a great job propelling the main romance story of Keitaro and Naru, even though it finishes a bit weaker than expected due to a lack of closure.

The technical aspects of the series were very well-done and did a great job to help move the series along. Each song in the soundtrack flawlessly fit its scene like a glove and was a delight to the ears. The animation is simply amazing, fresh, energetic, and full of life.

All in all, Love Hina is an absolute must-see. In my mind, this is the standard that new harem anime should be measured against. If you get the chance, I urge you to check this series out, or else face the wrath of a Naru Punch!