Customer Reviews

Love Hina, Volume 2

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a huge fan of manga. Sailor Moon being my first series. This is my second. I just fell in love with this book and all the ones in this series. It is about a guy who is trying to get into Tokyo University to fulfill a promise to a girl he knew a long time ago. They promised eachother that they would go to Tokyo University so they could live happily ever after as the legend states. The only problem with this is that he can't remember the girl's name or anything else about her for that matter. After failing the entrance exams his parents kick him out of the house so he goes to live at his grandmother's inn. There he runs into another problem. It is no longer an inn. It's a girls dormitory! Upon arriving he runs into a lot of problems with the residents. His aunt then stops by with some surprising news! His grandmother has given him Hinata House! He then becomes the new landlord but the ladies aren't too excepting of him and give him a lot of problems. His problems continue into this volume of Love HIna but now the most violent resdent at Hinata house may very well be that girl he made a promise to so many years ago. He's developed a crush on her but does she really like him underneath all the abuse? Very funny comic! I highly reccomend!

If you're a big Love Hina fan like I am, you'll probably end up buying every book anyway, and there's nothing wrong with that - all of them are hilariously written (translated), drawn, and feature the same great characters that you love.

However, in the grand scheme of the series, nothing of real importance happens in book 2. Naru and Keitaro take the Tokyu U exam, and Keitaro begins to believe Naru might be his promised girl, but all of this is pretty much negated at the beginning of book 3 (hey, the series lasts another 12 volumes! these things take time). What book 2 does end up being is a collection of "day in the life of" stories. If the job of book 1 was to introduce the characters, book 2 further fleshes them out and shows us a typical day, so that Ken Akamatsu can shake up the formula later (trip to Kyoto, introduction of Seta, etc). It also allows him to rehash jokes later on, after Keitaro has gotten more familiar with the Love Hina gang (the Guri-Choco). All of this is fine, but it's not very memorable - I'd have trouble telling friends what book 2 was mainly about if they asked.

Those wishing to read Love Hina in order may wish to purchase book 3 at the same time, which introduces the fan-favourite Mutsumi and is better at developing the overall plot. Those who are short on money or have seen the anime may wish to come back to book 2 after reading the later, more relevant installments.

Certainly the scenic route is not the shortest, but if you're in such a big hurry, take the expressway. While my knowledge of Japanese culture is limited to the Iron Chef and about a score of films directed by Kurosawa, Ozu, and Itami, even such a brief acquaintence with the art of this remarkable culture reveals a persistent fascination with atmosphere and character. If you need a plot as tight as a snare drum, go elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you share my enjoyment of the details, the nuances of the location, and the wonderful quirks that make the characters so lovable, then you, like me, will be utterly enchanted with the second volume of "Love Hina."

No matter how many times I read the volumes of this series, it is never enough. I even translate as much of the katakana as I can make out, just so I don't miss a single drop of Akamatsu's intoxicating elixir. I'm sorry there are only fourteen of them, but, as with the nine symphonies of Beethoven, they improve with familiarity.

Many thanks.

The second volume of Love Hina is wonderful. Less fanservice (but there are still *some* boob shots, for all you horny guys out there!) and more plot. Is Naru the girl from Keitarou's memories? We still don't know! While this book does leave you wondering, there are a lot of hints, and the plot development is fun. If you've read the first book, then you have to buy this. Plot-wise, it's a lot deeper than volume one, and the characters are explored a bit more, too. Overall, a great read. Give it a go.

This is the second volume of the Japanese comic book series. It's hard to catagorize it, but I would say it's a "romantic comedy with lots of slapstick". It continues the story of Keitaro and the girls who live at Hinata House. You get a better idea of the individual girls personalities this time around, especially Su, who was pretty underdeveloped in the first book. The intriguing love-hate relationship between Keitaro and Naru continues. Will they end up together? I would think so, but I don't know, I have only read the first two books in the series. But you better believe I plan on reading the rest of the books and finding out. Fans of manga comedy should really enjoy this. I think it will have a lot of appeal to teenage girls (not that I am a teenager, or a girl, for that matter). But of course you should read the first book in the series before you read this one.

Ken Akamatsu, Love Hina vol. 2 (Tokyopop, 1999)

More adventures in the Hinata girls' dorm, featuring Kitaro, the hapless headmaster trying to get into Tokyo U. So's Naru, the oldest of the bunch, and despite Naru's hatred of Kitaro, the two of them agree to study together, more out of necessity than anything. Kitaro's klutziness combined with the antics of some of the inhabitants who are less fond of Kitaro keep getting him into sticky situations from which he can't extract himself. Good times! ****

this was a great book. it was a comedy with a little romance in it, and i happen to love those kind of genres. it all about a college student who lives in an all girls dorm. he's trying to find his childhood sweetheart so they can go to Tokyo U together.his grades are pathetic, his the girls are at the dorm are all psychos, and he keep getting into situations that make him look like a perv. way to go Keitaro!

This book was just as enchanting and hilarious as the first. It kept me laughing and entertained. I give it 2 thumbs up and 5 stars! Can't wait to read the next volume!

This was an overall "ok" book. IT starts slow and sotr of picks in the end. It keeps going back to the Promise to get into Tokyo U. One story the girls think Keitaro failed his first exam and try to cheer him up (Ie. they take a bath with him)only after they find out he passed. He gets a sick nad has a weird dream. In the end we kind of get a hint that Naru may be the girl Keitaro made the promise too. No great plot movements but a good book nonetheless, but it could be easily skipped and you wouldn't lose a sense of the plot.

Well, here we are, the second momentous manga of Love Hina. Keitaro Urashima, the new landlord of Hinata House, even though he has a 0% chance of passing the Tokyo University entrance exam, decides to press on anyway. Keitaro will have to sublimate his lust for the girls in his dorm and their frankly destructive tendencies to distract him from studying. He still hasn't figured out whether Naru is the girl he promised to attend Tokyo U with and vowed to marry. If that isn't enough, he's physically ill, and also finds out that he will be competing against Naru for a place in the University.

To me, the novelty of this series is already wearing thin. Just writing this review reveals the shallowness and pointlessness of Love Hina. Writing about such stuff as if it really mattered. This book is at its best when it utilizes its characters, but they are all underused in this second volume. I don't know if I'll continue reading them or not.