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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The fun in the sun has begun, August 19, 2003
Book 4 of the Love Hina series ended with Naru realizing that her former crush, Keitaro's boss Seta, had returned to Japan. Now in book 5, Naru struggles to sort out her feelings for Keitaro and Seta as the gang hits the beach for the summer.
The first half of this book works the best, as the gang goes to a summer festival, works at Haruka's seaside cafe, and does their own screwy rendition of Saiyuki, a famous Oriental myth/legend. Some classic bits include Motoko's martial arts battle with Seta, Naru's role as Goku the monkey, and Shinobu accidentally kicking Keitaro in his "delicate place."While I wouldn't say the second half of the book was bad, it definitely comes off as disappointing after the gang returns from the beach. Motoko gets a good story about her kendo training, but the rest feels unusually pointless. Shinobu's story about her first kiss comes off as embarassing, while Kitsune's prank in the last story only sets back the progress of Keitaro and Naru's relationship. This is also the first time Su transforms into an adult, and it's something I wish Ken Akamatsu had never included, as it doesn't get much developement throughout the series. The anime highlights this part of Su much better, and I would've been completely lost if I hadn't watched it first. All in all, while I don't mind stand-alone, "day-in-the-life" filler stories, at this point they should be much better and maybe even have a running theme. Speaking of the anime, there's one scene that I feel it does much better than the manga, and that is the kiss under the fireworks. Naru's misunderstanding here (which results in Keitaro being punched yet again) just doesn't work for me, and it feels like a cheap trick to prolong the series instead of letting the characters get their feelings out. While the mood is also spoiled in the anime version, it's due to a third character's interference, and even without the kiss, you know that Naru and Keitaro shared a meaningful moment. Here, the moment is completely spoiled. Book 5 starts out with a five-star adventure on the beach, but drops to a three after the characters get back. Because of that, I'm giving this one four stars.
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by Ken Akamatsu
by Ken Akamatsu
by Ken Akamatsu
by Ken Akamatsu
by Ken Akamatsu
