Sunday, June 13, 2010

Love Hina + Love Hina Again + X'mas&Spring Specials


Description
Keitaro Urashima is trying for the 3rd time to get into Tokyo University, the most prestigious University in Japan. Why? Because of a promise he made to a girl when they were both children. But that was long ago, and he has forgotten who the girl was. His parents who only see him as loafer, are constantly nagging him. So when his grandmother invites him to visit her home, the Hinata apartments, he figures he can crash there.

Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Love-Romance, School-Life

Love Hina - 25 episodes + 2 special episodes
Love Hina Again - 3

Review
Story - 2 (Below Average)
Overall the story is about Keitaro trying to get into Tokyo University to fulfill his promise to a childhood love. After constantly failing his exams, he suddenly ends up being a manager at the Hinata Apartments.. but the trouble is, is that it's strictly an all women's dorm! So the story jumps around relating to Keitaro and his crazy encounters with the women who live there. For instance, he's always getting beat up by one of the tenants Naru Narusegawa for being so perverted and clumsy, wacked around by a serious swordswoman who has men phobia, and a carefree girl who likes to attack him with missiles and other contraptions. As Keitaro tries to survive at the inn, he continues to try and pass his exams and to confess his love to the person he likes. If you're one of those people who wants a goal-oriented story, this anime may get on your nerves since it can be so random and the characters can be so indecisive lol. The point of the story can get lost as you encounter such ridiculous and random events.

Love Hina Again has somewhat of a similar story relating to a promise Keitaro has to fulfill. Everything is pretty much similar to the series but with even More Ecchiness.

I just gave the story a below average rating because it almost feels like the story isn't important and isn't always the main focus.... (Keitaro trying to fulfill his promise but he doesn't even remember who it is! yet they keep bringing it up, and another goal would be confessing his love). Sometimes the story may hook you because you want to find out who the mystery lover really is.. but overall it's the characters and comedy that make the story instead.

Music/Sound - 5 (Great)

Art/Animation - 4/5 (Good/Great)
The Love Hina series as good graphics. It seems like they improved the graphics for Love Hina Again though. But overall :) both are nice to watch.

Character - 4 (Good)
You'll get to know a bit about every character who lives at the Hinata Apartments. They all have their own stereotypes and they pretty much remain consistent through the series. Although some characters may change a little because of what they have learned from previous episodes.. but they all still have their same quirks and such. There are several episodes that focus on developing one character's personality and background too (so it's like.. there's no real story but just about getting to know that certain character). Since the characters are all so different, it's fun to see them all interact and cause chaos for each other. Although you don't get to deeply learn about each character, you know enough about them to enjoy the anime :)

Humor - 5 (Great)
This is the best about Love Hina. The comedy in this anime is absolutely hilarious. I've laughed out loud many times when I watched through.. mostly because of just how bizarre and random some of the encounters were and how the characters react. Some characters are just so amusing as well.. like Mutsumi who is constantly daydreaming and absent-minded that everyone has to worry about her or the aunt who hates being called old. Everyone is just so silly. Although, some of the humor can be repetitive (like Keitaro always being beat up and blasted around) it can still be funny because you expect it and the character themselves expect it! ;p. Most likely.. If you were to watch this, you must be open-minded to the randomness and absurdity or you may not enjoy it. It's not supposed to make sense lol. The humor is really exaggerated as well, like people getting punched all the way to the stars or bouncing around on the walls and such. Character expressions/sounds are funny too.

Overall - 3 (Decent)
If you're looking for pure comedy with harem/ecchi humor (one guy surrounded by many girls) and don't mind random craziness, then you may have fun laughing along with this series. It's not going to be an anime that hooks you unless your sense of humor matches. Just a fun one to watch if you want something easy-going and funny on your free time.