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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The new girl in the harem, July 3, 2003
You knew it had to happen. With just three books left to go, the Lova Hina saga is slowly winding down and coming to an end. And like a good television soap opera, one final new character is introduced, bringing with them startling new revelations to shake up the ongoing plot one last time before the big hurrah. In this case, that character would be Kanako Urashima, the little sister of our hero Keitaro. It's fitting, actually. Remembering how Love Hina basically runs through the archtypes for female personalities (the indecisive love interest, the pre-teen princess, the foreign girl, the ditz, the man-hater, the brat, the party girl, the older woman), what's the last archtype we haven't run into? That's right, the blood relative. Fortunately, since Kanako isn't Keitaro's sister by blood, it's not as bad as it sounds, and let's the series' most perverted fans play out their incestous fantasies without actually crossing the line. Character-wise, Kanako is completely different from the other members of the harem; she's completely obsessed with her step-brother, which makes her more than a little insane, and not in the funny, laughable way the other girls are. She has a huge bag of tricks and costumes, and is an expert ventriloquist (no, the cat does not talk, though the anime interprets it that way). For the first time, the gang has a true antagonist, and it'll be interesting to see how the tension plays out once Keitaro is re-established in Hinata House (he's gone overseas with Seta for the majority of the book). At the same time however, Kanako gets some subtle character development. She wants to fit in, though she's cautious and not very trusting. She has an undying loyalty to her step-brother, and is the only one that loved him even before he improved himself (which in turn shows us the better side of Keitaro when he was still a loser klutz). She is also probably aware that her love for her brother is incest (though *technically* it isn't), and aware of the implications that come with this. Add Ken Akamtasu's playful (yet sometimes annoying) brief hints of a shrouded past and yet another childhood promise, and Kanako makes a worthy addition to the Hinata harem. Since the whole book is about Kanako's introduction, it has a reasonably tighter and stronger pacing, which makes it a more involving read. My only gripe is that the main plotlines, such as the Naru/Keitaro relationship, and even the Haruka/Seta relationship are completely put on hold. However, there is a really nice character moment in the opening airport scene that makes up for this, and Kanako's inclusion in the series is basically the catalyst that will eventually get Naru and Keitaro together. Don't worry, nothing's been forgotten. Those who hate this volume will probably enjoy it a lot more once the series is complete, and they see how Kanko fits into the overall scheme of things. For everyone else, vol 11 shakes things up, dares to be different, and is a great success. However, it's also a reminder that Love Hina is coming to an end.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
After 10 excellent volumes, the first disappointing volume is here., November 26, 2008
After much re-reading over many days, I finally got through Vol. 1-9 and moved onto Vol. 10. I've just now finished reading Vol. 11.
I liked Vol. 10 as much most of what came before. It started out good, with Keitaro and Naru dancing around kissing each other after there had finally been some progress made in their relationship. Then, after the usual 'almost but not quite' comedy, the not-so-lucky couple went on a trip with Mutsumi to her parents house. Although this little trip slowed down the relationship progression, I didn't mind a great deal since the trip provided more information about the childhood of the three and the promise they made. The volume then ended (after a nice chapter showing that Naru plans to be a teacher) with Keitaro deciding, right when his relationship with Naru was getting good, that the best thing to do was to bugger off to America for 6 months...which made me want to a punch the fictional idiot for not thinking with the right body part.
Vol. 11 started with one of the best chapters in the manga so far. There was a confession from Naru, some moving words by Keitaro, a kiss and a semi-depressing separation. Although I wasn't happy that Keitaro abandoned Naru for half a year to pursue his dream (which would be relationsjip suicide in real life), it even got me a little watery-eyed. You know the author has done good when he/she gets that sort of emotional reaction; that sort of feeling for his/her characters.
Sadly, the rest of the volume failed to deliver for two reasons. The first reason is that, for the first time in the entire series, Keitaro only appeared in the first chapter and last page of the volume. A harem series just doesn't work without a male, and Love Hina is no exception. The second reason is a random new character who, out of nowhere, was introduced into the story. The character is Keitaro's 'sister', Kanako, who arrives to become the new landlord of Hinata House and remove any threats to her relationship with her 'brother'. With Keitaro out of the picture and the focus being on the comical goings on surrounding the new character, the whole volume (aside from the first chapter) was pure filler that, unlike the Keitaro chapters, developed NOTHING whatsoever.
After reading Vol. 11, I'm a little worried about the remaining 3 volumes. If Kanako is going to feature as much as she did in Vol. 11 then all she's going to do is further slowdown the relationship between Naru and Keitaro, which FINALLY seemed to be progressing with the end in sight. Since she wasn't mentioned at all in Vol. 1-10, I can only see her as a filler character the author came up with to extend the length of the story...and she's a bloody annoying character.
Talking of the remainder of the story, I wasn't impressed with Keitaro's enterance at the end of the volume. It looks like the author has lazily merged together Keitaro's character with Seta, giving Keitaro Seta's clothes and driving skills... I won't be pleased if that's the case. I'm hoping the old Keitaro will return and not a badly edited version.
Overall, as much as I love Love Hina, Vol. 11 disappointed me. The action was over the top, stretching the belivability factor too far, and nearly all the volume was filler. In every other volume there has been plently of space filling chapters, yes, but most (if not all) developed the characters at least a little, pushing the story to its conclusion. All Vol. 11 did was extend the story. Here's hoping the final 3 are better!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Series slips a bit here., November 19, 2008
Ken Akamatsu, Love Hina, vol. 11 (Tokyopop, 2000)
Keitaro's off to study in America for half a year with Seta. The girls couldn't handle a week without him, how are they going to handle six months? But a new problem crops up-- Keitaro's sister Kanako has been named landlord with Keitaro's departure, and she wants to get rid of the girls' dorm. Looks like everyone's going to have their hands too full to think much about Keitaro... Akamatsu goes overboard in this one. It's still fun, but it's not up to the standard of the rest of the books to date. We're getting close to the end-- I hope the series isn't going to fall off a cliff. *** ½
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