Review of Love Hina: Vol. 1

Introduction

Love Hina is one of those anime that eschews uber-action and hyper violence for something a little more sedate, relationships. Of course these are the kind of relationships that only happen in anime like Tenchi Muyo. A shy clumsy unworldly teen somehow ends up living with several beautiful girls, all of whom in some way fall in love with him. Cue plenty of crossed wires, farcical moments and abundant slapstick. Realism isn`t exactly a priority in these stories.

In Love Hina, Keitaro Urashima is a hapless young boy, who fifteen years earlier made a pact with a girl to both attend Tokyo University. He soon lost touch with the girl, unable even to recall her name, but he remained determined to attend University just as he had promised. But as these first episodes prove, he`s not all that academically gifted. Having to make ends meet, he ends up manager of an all girl dormitory, living among the impish Kaolla Su, the schemer Mitsune `Kitsune` Konno, the warrior Motoko Aoyama, the thoughtful Shinobu Maehara and of course the girl with the devastating right hook, Naru Narusegawa.

This first volume contains the four opening episodes of Love Hina, and the series begins as it means to carry on, with utter mayhem.

Ep 1. All-girls Dorm with Outdoor Bath: Hot Spring
Keitaro is a boy of many dreams, one of which is to fulfil a promise he made to a girl years ago, and live happily ever after together attending Tokyo University. It`s just that he can`t pass the entrance exams. His parents would prefer that he stop chasing rainbows and get a job, so it`s fortunate that his grandmother is going away on vacation. That means he can take over as manager of the Hinata apartments and study for his exams at the same time. He doesn`t know that it is an all girls` dorm though, and Keitaro doesn`t make a good first impression, especially on another Tokyo U candidate, Naru Narusegawa.

Ep 2. The Hinata`s New Resident, Shinobu: Arrow Signs
Shinobu Maehara is having trouble at home as her parents are getting divorced. She`s heartbroken and doesn`t want to leave her school and Hinata. Bumping into a creepy guy who is drawing her in a sketchbook doesn`t help either. He panics and runs off, leaving the sketches behind. When she decides to find him and return his book, she winds up outside Hinata apartments, looking for Keitaro (the creepy guy). She may also have found the place to heal her broken heart.

Ep 3. Kendo Girl in Love? Swordplay
Keitaro continues his habit of bad first impressions when he meets swordswoman Motoko Aoyama. Motoko has returned from her spiritual retreat in the mountains, and finds to her dismay that the new manager at Hinata is a male. The shame is unbearable, and she has to take out her vexations on Keitaro.

Ep 4 The Tokyo U Promise From 15 Years Ago: Diary
The truth is out and everyone realises that Keitaro is actually a prep school student and not the University student he had let them assume. Motoko is all set to dispense some painful justice, but Naru opts for a compromise. Keitaro can stay as long as he passes next week`s preliminary exams. But with all his duties as manager, will he ever find the time to study. It`s when a diary literally falls into his lap that he finds a clue to who that girl he made that promise to may be.

Video

The picture for Love Hina is presented in a 4:3 ratio, reflecting the original television broadcasts. The image is clear and sharp throughout, and the animation is crisp and well accomplished. Like most modern anime while the initial sketches are done by hand, the colouring and animation is done on computer resulting in a pristine animation. Love Hina is certainly dynamic in style and is visually very effective.

Audio

You can listen to Love Hina in dubbed English DD 2.0 or the original Japanese track, again in DD 2.0. As always, I opted for the original language and found the dialogue to be clear and the on screen action adequately represented. There are two subtitle tracks on this disc; the default translates the various signs and captions that appear in the episodes, while the dialogue subtitles are translated rather than reflecting the dub. I must mention the title music, which is somewhat akin to an exploding arcade game, yet foot-tappingly addictive in its cacophony. The original language is still the way to go in my opinion, as the dubbed version definitely loses something in the translation.

Features

The usual MVM staple of animated menus and jacket picture grace this disc. In addition, you`ll find photo galleries for Naru Narusegawa, Keitaro Urashima and Keitaro`s Sketchbook, containing 8 pictures each. The disc is rounded off with trailers for Sailor Moon, Fruits Basket and Kiddy Grade.

Conclusion

I`m not one to often use words like `zany` but it is certainly applicable to Love Hina. The show has a certain charm to it that is remarkably endearing. I found myself chuckling through all the episodes, and was on occasion startled into some hearty guffaws. This opening disc does a fine job in introducing all the characters and setting up the situations, all the while keeping up the comedy and action. The third episode has a wonderful pastiche of silent movies, which gets funnier as they keep the gag going longer than it needs to.

What I like best about Love Hina is the mix of comedy and sensitive moments. While fists may fly, launching poor Keitaro into orbit, the story also takes time to look beneath the surface of the characters. Shinobu`s introduction to the Hinata apartments is sympathetically handled, and while the diary farce in the fourth episode is predictable, it concludes with a heart-warming moment in the snow. Love Hina has me laughing out loud every time I watch it, but it also gives me a good feeling watching it, and there are precious few programmes that can make that claim. Recommended.