Review of Love Hina Again

Introduction

Squeezing a long running manga series into a short anime show is a hard ask, and often shows just offer a glimpse into a world and certain characters, leaving you to pick up the rest of the story in print form after the end credits have rolled. Love Hina was one such show, which after a successful 24-episode run still hadn`t had a satisfactory conclusion. Rather than go the expensive way of another full blown series, we got a couple of OVA specials to continue the story, and it was all concluded in a three part OVA called Love Hina Again. At least it was for the Americans, who got the shows in short order. We`ve had to wait three years for the final instalment, but MVM have finally relented, and we at last get to see if Keitaro and Naru can spend more than an hour together without Keitaro ending up in casualty. Ah! True Love!

In Love Hina, Keitaro Urashima is a hapless young boy, who fifteen years earlier made a pact with a girl to attend Tokyo University. He soon lost touch with the girl, unable even to recall her name, but he remained determined to attend University with her just as he had promised. Unfortunately he wasn`t that academically gifted, and after twice failing the entrance exams, his family urged him to get a job to support himself. Which is how he wound up manager of an all girl dormitory, living with five girls with wildly differing personalities. Everything pointed to the volatile Naru Narusegawa as the girl in the promise, and even though that was later disproved, Keitaro`s affection for her grew. Soon he was determined to go to Tokyo U with Naru. It took some effort, and no little pain, but at the end of the Spring Special, Keitaro and Naru had achieved the impossible and made it through the entrance exams. Keitaro had confessed his feelings to her earlier at Christmas, and Naru had admitted the possibility that her constant violence towards him actually masked a deep affection. Surely it would be plain sailing from then on…

All three episodes of the OVA are presented on one disc from MVM.

1. Kanako
It would have been plain sailing, had not Keitaro gotten over-excited and broken his leg on the day of induction. So while he healed, Naru had to live out their dream by herself. Seeing that he was wasting an opportunity to fulfil his ambitions, Keitaro deferred his entry to go on an archaeological expedition as soon as he was well enough. That meant that Hinata apartments needed a new manager. Enter Kanako Urashima, Keitaro`s stepsister. As luck would have it, she has a crush on Keitaro herself, and is determined to win him back. That means a little undercover infiltration to stir up trouble, and when that doesn`t work, simple alienation of Naru and the others.

2. Keitaro
Keitaro returns bearing gifts, although he gets the recipients and sender mixed up, leading to a nosebleed situation. He`s surprised to see Kanako, but she sees her chance to win his heart by arranging events in Hinata apartments so that she can be alone with him. Meanwhile Keitaro has finally worked up the gumption to pop the question to Naru. He`s found the perfect place too, the Cupid Inn, which is annexed to the apartments. The legend goes, if a couple profess their love there, they will be fated to stay together for all eternity. Only the wrong girl shows up.

3. Naru
Has destiny been undone? The spell has taken effect, and Naru and Keitaro can`t get within fifteen feet of each other without some mishap occurring, while fate seems to be working towards Kanako and Keitaro`s eventual nuptials. Naru will have to finally stop running away from the truth and fight for the man she loves.

Video

A 4:3 regular transfer that is up to the standards of the rest of the series. It`s clear sharp and colourful, once the usual NTSC-PAL conversion issues are taken into account. The trouble with Love Hina Again is that rather than keep the animation style of the series and Specials; the look has been altered to match the manga. Character designs are different, Keitaro is taller, Motoko has a different hairstyle, and Kaolla Su and Sara actually look terrible. The whole thing has, for want of a better word, more of a 2-D feel about it, and on the whole the change isn`t one for the better.

There was a burst of pixellation and a corresponding sound glitch at 16:38 on my check disc.

Audio

Simple DD 2.0 English and Japanese as per usual, along with translated subtitles and a signs track. Japanese is most definitely the way to go here. There are good dubs, and there are bad dubs, and Love Hina`s needs to be avoided to protect one`s sanity.

Features

There is a character gallery with 19 images, and an artwork gallery with 66 images, textless credit sequences for all three endings and the opening, and finally there are trailers for Trinity Blood and Black Cat.

Conclusion

I had misgivings about Love Hina Again, after all, why else would it take so long for MVM to release it? It hasn`t had the best of reactions from fans, with good responses outweighed by the bad. Two years down the line, I guess fan demand to complete their DVD collections outweighs any debate about quality, and MVM have finally given in, and are probably ready with a satisfied smirk and a justified `I told you so`.

On first acquaintance, Love Hina Again wasn`t as bad as I expected, it was worse. At the end of the first episode I was saving up all the vitriol I had, ready to dish out in a scathing review. The immediate visual impact is disappointing, and while there may have been some merit in changing the animation to better resemble the manga, the result just looks as if the budget has been slashed. The contrast is stark when compared to some flashback sequences in the first episode. This doesn`t usually matter if the story is up to scratch, but the first half of Love Hina Again is dire.

The OVA nature of the show means that no longer must the animation be toned down for television audience sensibilities, and some of the raunchiness and ribald humour of the manga can now come across. That means mild nudity, plenty of panties, butt cheeks and red faces. But the heart of the show is missing. That is quite obviously Keitaro, who vanishes after five minutes on an archaeological dig. Without him, Naru is just a fifth wheel, with no one to pummel. Enter Kanako, Keitaro`s stepsister, and new manager of the Hinata Apartments. A more pointless and annoying character I have yet to encounter. She has a crush on her brother, which raises more than a few queasy questions, despite the fact that they aren`t blood relations. It doesn`t say much for continuity when Keitaro was introduced as a loser, repeat Tokyo U failure, who dreamed of one day having a girlfriend, and prior to that whose only female relationship was with a fellow toddler so long ago that he can`t even remember her name. You`d think he would have noticed sis perving on him. And don`t get me started on Kanako`s talking and flying cat. For a moment I thought I was watching Sailor Moon.

Kanako`s whole purpose is to win big brother`s heart, and to do so by removing the competition. She initially does this by disguising herself as Naru, and molesting Motoko, groping Kitsune, and giving Shinobu a panty exam. What narrative purpose this serves is beyond me, but fan service aficionados are duly compensated for their investment. Then when Keitaro returns, she contrives situations where he`ll run into her in a state of undress.

You`d think that this is classic Love Hina harem antics, but what`s missing here is the heart, the romance, and the life beat of the show that is the Naru Keitaro relationship. Kanako hogs the limelight far too much, and the whole point of the story is forgotten, for the first half of the show that is. At the halfway point, we get back some of the Love Hina magic, when Keitaro decides to propose to Naru. Finally the main characters are in focus again, and the story returns to building them up, putting them through adversity, and giving us that vicarious glow as they inch inexorably closer together.

At the end of the series, the two of them promise to get into Tokyo U together, in the Christmas Special Keitaro declares his love, and in the Spring Special Naru admits to herself that she likes Keitaro. Now all that is left is for Naru to admit to Keitaro how she feels and the wedding bells can start ringing. Of course she`s being wishy-washy about the whole thing, and we learn that there is a reason for her hesitation. Kanako`s purpose finally becomes clear when she gets in the way of Keitaro`s proposal, and the magic of the Cupid Inn misfires. So now, not only must Naru admit out loud how she feels about Keitaro, she has to fight for his love as well.

Despite the first half of Love Hina Again, this is a show that gives Love Hina fans what they have been waiting for. The final scene makes no doubt that this is a happy ending, and it`s a perfect place to draw a line under the Love Hina anime franchise. If you care at all about Keitaro and Naru`s punch drunk relationship, than Love Hina Again is essential. It`s just that you`ll have to sit through 40 minutes of fan service torment before you get to the good stuff.