Customer Reviews

Love Hina - Perfect Collection

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have to admit that I was skeptical about an animated romantic comedy series, seeing as how I seldom enjoy live-action romantic comedies. Still, after having this series recommended to me over and over again I decided to check it out. I was very pleasantly suprised. This is simply animatd entertainment at it's finest; great characters, engrossing storyline, hilarious slapstick comedy, over-the-top satire, and some of the most beautiful character designs I've ever seen make this series a no-brainer for all anime fans, and a great introduction to the art form for anime newcomers. Think of this series as Japan's answer to Friends. The story revolves around a young man, Keitaro, who becomes the manager of an all-girl apartment complex, Hinata, while working to be accepted to Tokyo University. You see, as a small child he made a promise to a girl he loved and was forced to move away from that when they were older, they would meet as students at Tokyo U and live happily ever after. Sure, he doesn't even remember who the girl is, but Keitaro obviously believes fate will guide him. Also living in Hinata is a wacky cast of female characters; Naru, the object of Keitaro's affection who sports a mean temper and is also working to get into Tokyo U (hmmm...), Su is the lunatic genius of the bunch who is very reminiscent of Ed from Cowboy Bebop, Kitsume is the drunken meddler who views the many conflicts and dramas of the series as her own entertainment, Shinobu is the painfully shy junior high student who comes to stay at the Hianta apartments when her parents get a divorce, and Motoka is a turtle-phobic feminist samurai girl who doesn't take kindly to a male managing an all-girl apartment complex. Plenty more memorable and (dare I say it?) loveable characters make their mark as the series progresses and the interpersonal dynamics between them never fail to produce hilarious and often touching results. Keitaro's endeering geekiness as he pursues Naru, Naru sending Keitaro flying with punch after punch, Motoko chasing him with a sword after she catches him apparently peeping, Shinobu's awkwardness with the whole situation, Su bouncing off the walls and building engines of destruction, Kitsune laying back with a drink in her hand and a big smile on her face as she watches it all go down, great, great stuff. Love Hina has really turned the whole romance-as-comedy genre on it's ear like Ranma 1/2 did back in the day and just went one step further by making the show more believable and emotional, but at the same time amping up the comedy to the ridiculous levels usually associated with shows like Excel Saga. How they managed to pull this off is beyond me. They even threw in some genius homages/spoofs to such classic films as Lady Snowblood, Mothra, Godzilla, Ultraman, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, fantasy RPG's in general, and much more. There's even an episode featuring Naru spoofing the whole Japanese pop-star/singer/voice-actress phenomenon which I can't help but see as a jab at the ubiquitous Megumi Hayashibara who has a bit part in the series as Keitaro's aunt Haruka (she also sings the series' theme song). True anime fans will love this stuff. All in all, you get the original 24 episodes of the television series, the bonus 25th episode (my favorite), the Christmas and Spring movies, and the series finale 3-episode OVA which brings the series to a very satifying close. You just can't beat this series, buy it now.

The other reviewers are all correct in certain aspects: the series is both brilliant and infuriating. I'd rate it as probably the best introduction to "no ultra violence, no sci-fi, minimal nods to Magical Girls and gadgets" comedy romance you can get. As a parent, I rate it "a-ok" for teens 13 and up.

The anime is substantially rewritten from the original manga but works well for the most part. I particularly liked Shinobu's introductory episodes. Sadly, the series ends with 3 movies which just kind of wrap things up in a cut'n'paste but without the Big Epilogue Ending. Leaving out Seta and Haruka's relationship (it was hinted at so that the manga readers wouldn't lynch the animators) and the lack of that all important epilogue was infuriating to me. There a few episodes where they frankly took less time than they should have getting the facial drawings and animation right. Several of the episodes suffer considerably from the animation budget allocations. The first few episodes are also somewhat disorienting in that the "fanservices" (risque bits) are censored in a jarring manner (gravity-defying towel placement, etc). The later episodes match the manga much better without being overtly offensive to more prudish types just by adjusting camera angles and such.

Of the series about 6 episodes are brilliant (most of the ones that focus on Motoko and the thoughtful philosophical ones. The ocean-side play performance actually worked better in the anime than in the manga). About 4 episodes are Pokemon-bad plot contrivances with the rest filling in the gaps in between. The movies, taken as a collection of set pieces, are pretty good but they suffer a bit from the "all animated movies must have at least one insipid song" syndrome and the uneven pacing from having to cram what should have been another 25 episodes into 3 movies.

Whatever you do, DO NOT watch the series in English dubbing. Whomever casted the English voices and wrote the dialog should be taken out, shot, flayed, field-dressed, and left in the sun. Watch in the original Japanese with English subtitles --- its not that hard and you might learn some Japanese. The original japanese voice casting is perfectly matched to the characters.

If you buy this set - please buy the books and vice versa: they are complementary packages in my view. Also BE SURE and don't miss episode 25 in the Christmas Movie disk Extras. It is key to the character definition of Motoko and Keitaro (and their friendship) -- and is really quite good.

Okay, I've listed most of the shortcomings... but overall I consider this a must have for any anime collection.

omg did I laugh my *** off with this anime. It's simple, yet complex in a light, not suffocating drama kind of way. There are so many quirks and differences between the characters that instead of making them annoying, make us love them. At first when my friend told me about it and told me what it was about, I thought it was going to be stupid and have no point at all. Well maybe there's no specific mission the characters have to achieve, but that's what makes it so fun!! It's a fun anime that will clear your head from whatever problem you have or anything that's bothering you and will transport you to a world of hot springs, girls and entrance exams. The characters are also in within reach, I mean that people can identify themselves with the characters because they're just regular kids messing around.
GREAT ANIME!! worth the buy

It's not that the Love Hina anime is bad, per se--with the exception of a few episodes (and most of the Love Hina Again OVA), it isn't. But it's a lot less good than the excellent manga--almost every change to the story (and there are many) is for the worst. In particular, the anime goes too far with some of the more absurd elements from the manga, which was (for the most part) a real-world story with some moments of absurd exaggeration thrown in for comedic value. The anime bases entire storylines around these absurdities (such as two entire episodes about Su's rampaging mecha-Toma robot turtles, Kentaro's giant rocketship, and Kanako's talking cat), however, and generally takes them way too far. Some of the changes to the story simply don't make sense. In the manga, Keitaro breaks his leg in a run of bad luck after being admitted to Tokyo U., leading to a strain in his relationship with Naru. In the anime, *Naru* is the one who breaks his leg, which makes all of the resulting drama difficult to swallow. Why is Naru so unsympathetic to Keitaro's plight when she's the one who caused it? The anime doesn't really bother trying to make sense out of the altered storyline.

If you haven't read the manga, it's worth checking out. Then again, the mange is even more worth checking out--it's much better.

if your a fan of anime this is series a must in my opinion, unlike some other animes that just sort of start out of nowhere this has a solid foundation and all good stories need a good foundation you will find yourself wondering what happens next.

love hina uses a very common theme with many girls and 1 regular guy, it may be overused but that doesnt make it bad, unlike some others like tenchi muyo all the girls arent always trying to kill each other

some other animes have many "filler" episodes that dont really mean anything to the story but this series doesnt have a single "filler" episode, if its not about keitaro and naru it is centered around one of the other characters and i feel its nice to know their stories too instead of them just being "extras" in a sense by the end of the series you will know each character and watch them develop as the series progresses and that in my opinion character development is one of the most important things in any series cartoon or not this series definatly has that.

the ending is also a true ending, although the series was suppose to end with the spring special i would recommed watching the 3 episode love hina again OVA as well, that puts everything together and even though it may leave you wanting more i think its good to not have a series end in a cliffhanger. honestly if i knew ahead of time a series would be incomplete i dont think id even buy the series i want to have a true ending and this series has that.

love hina has a little bit of fan service but it is nothing serious, everything is covered up in the original love hina series. in love hina again there are a lot more suggestive scenes especially in the first episode, if you have any younger viewers who would watch this id recommed you check out the first episode of love hina again before you let younger viewers watch it and decide for yourself if its appropirate, the other two episodes are a little better there are some nearly nude shots especially from kanako who always seems to be parading around in her underwear but other than that its just a couple butt shots and all the other typical love hina stuff. i still recommed watching the full series though as it just doesnt feel like it ends with the spring special.

overall this is one of the best anime ive ever watched and ive watched many, i have watched the series through 5 times now and i never get bored of it. even though i know the outcome it is still enjoyable and thats good enough for a 5 star rating for me.

I think that this is an absolutely amazing anime and am looking forward to purchasing it. The characters have their own unique personality, the artwork is great and Keitaro gets beat up repeatedly, which is hilarious.

My concern is that this website is overpricing this item. Best Buy has it for much cheaper. The problem is that my Best Buy may not have it.

Love Hina is a romantic/comedic harem style anime based on the shonen manga by Akamatsu Ken. Love Hina (Japanese Version Rabu-Hina) revolves around the main character Keitarou Urashima. Keitarou, a 20 year old, is trying to pass the entrance exams to got to Tokyo University (or Toudai in Japanese - Toudai is the Japanese equivalent of MIT) even though he has already failed three times.

Keitarou desires to go to Toudai because he made a girl a promise (when he was 4) that when they grew up they would go to Toudai and be together for ever. The little girl moves away and he can no longer remember anything about her, but he still tries to keep his promise to the girl to go to Toudai.

While studying for the entrance exams (again) Keitarou's grandmother, who owns the Hinata Inn - an all girls dormitory, decides to retire and ask Keitarou to take over as the manager. Keitarou readily agrees since he needs a place to stay and not knowing that it is an all girls dormitory. The girls of the dormitory initially reject a man coming to leave in the Hinata Inn but after mistaking thinking that he is already a Toudai student - which implies honor, responsibility, etc. - agree to reluctantly let him stay.

What follow after they find out he is only a want-to-be Toudai student is a hilarious comedy so Keitarou looks for the promised girl. As the anime continues and the supporting characters are developed, Keitarou has to overcome and survive flying turtles, renegade robots, entrance exams, broken hearts, crying girls, an angry samurai, a martial arts professor, and of course, the girls themselves.

Love Hina is a great comedy/romantic anime that you won't be able to put down until you complete the series.

This anime I was unsure about watching because I was more like the kind of person that likes action based anime, with a main hero character. (Like Naruto)

I highly enjoyed watching this series. It is one of the most hilarious anime I have ever seen. This anime series runs about 23 episodes in "Love Hina" and 2 movies (Episode 24 and 25 are movies.) Then there are 3 more episodes "Love Hina Again" which finish the story up with a really odd set of episodes.

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Hello friends, One important thing i have to say. This anime is GREAT, but to fully appreciate this anime, I suggest you read the manga/tokyopop novels. Well, watch the anime then read the manga comics after. You will be satisified.

I just have to say WOW! This is one of the greatest series I've seen so far! The characters just have such different personalities and interesting backgrounds! I especially love the storyline and all that happens between Keitaro and the female tenants.

Okay, this story is about a guy named Keitaro Urashima who failed the entrance exams to Tokyo University 3 TIMES! He then has to take over his grandma's job as manager of an ALL GIRLS dormatory. Now he spends most of his days being beaten by the tenants . First there's Naru, a violent/smart girl who Keitaro seems to fall in love with. He is always at the wrong place at the wrong time and gets his butt whooped by her. She tries to hide her feelings for him by calling him stupid and a dirty pervert. Then you have Kitsune, She likes to drink most of the time and enjoys all the drama that happens between The tenants and Keitaro. After her you have the Man-hater Motoko. She always finds Keitaro at the wrong place at the wrong time many times. She hates men and won't let one near her. She is a master swordsman and slashes Keitaro for most of the series. After her There is the loveable Kaolla-Su. This Jr. High genius has a mysterious past. She builds many dangerous objects that usually blows something up or causes some other sort of destruction. Lastly you have the incredibly shy Shinobu. She is in love with Keitaro but she is also extremely sensitive.

Well, that's pretty much it as for the characters. Other than that there is all kinds of comedy and I just love it. Oh, and for you Cowboy Bebop fans, I'm sure you'll find Su very much like Ed. This is a great series and worth each penny.