Review of Love Hina: Vol. 1

Introduction

Generally speaking there are two broad types of anime: the battle/mecha based epics, and the relationship-oriented dramas. Of course, there are many examples of OVAs that straddle both of these boundaries: Rurourni Kenshin and Tenchi Muyo are two excellent animes that take from both types.

Love Hina however, is firmly based in the relationship/drama subgenre. Our main character, Keitaro Urashima, is a 20yr old high-school student and an anti-hero of sorts: poor in class, hopelessly clumsy and terrible around girls. Keitaro is motivated by one thing: a promise that he made to a girl before she moved away 15yrs ago that they would both go to Tokyo University. With his kind of marks at school, this seems impossible, but then by some sequence of events he ends up as the resident manager of his grandma’s all-female dorms, the Hinata Inn.

Episode One": All-girls Dorm with Outdoor Bath: Hot Spring"
Keitaro’s parents force him to get a part-time job to help him with his (failing) studies. Fortunately Keitaro receives an invitation from his grandmother, the manager at an all-girl dorm in the mountains, and is offered a job.

Episode Two: "The Hinata`s New Resident Shinobu: Arrow Signs"
Shinobu is a shy student who, despite not having made many friends at school, is upset when her parents’ impending divorce seems set to force her to leave the town. However, when Keitaro and the girls find out about this, they are determined to get her to stay.

Episode Three: "Kendo Girl in Love?: Swordplay"
Motoko, a female samurai living in the dorms, is horrified to think that a man will be her resident manager – will it sully her maidenhood? Or is she only so shocked because she has fallen for Keitaro?

Episode Four: "The Tokyo U Promise From 15 Years Ago: Diary"
Keitaro has to pass his preliminary exams to even be considered for entrance to Tokyo U, but things don’t look hopeful for him as he has the pretty girl lodger Naru stuck in his head…will he be able to pass and stay on course to enter the University and meet the girl from 15 years ago?

Video

The animation is excellent, having a polished finish similar to the Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu OVA. The quality of the animation can be seen in the opening of the third episode, where ‘Kendo girl’ Motoko is featured in a short battle scene that reminds of the fantastic fights in Rurourni Kenshin. The transfer is clean and crisp, as with most newly-mastered animation.

Audio

The original Japanese stereo track is included, thankfully – I find the overly-American dubbing of animes incredibly annoying. The subtitles are very readable, in yellow with black outline, so they can be read on all colour backgrounds.

Features

As with most anime DVDs released in the UK, we’re pretty low on extras. There is a ‘character photo gallery’, ‘Keitaro’s sketchbook’ (featured in the fourth episode) and some trailers for other OVAs such as Sailor Moon.

Conclusion

Love Hina is a firm favourite of anime lovers because of the character-driven story and humour. This first volume of the 25 part series contains four episodes that neatly sets up the drama, introducing all the main characters effectively. I’ve heard much about this series, and after seeing the first volume can’t wait for the other five!