Review of Love Hina: Vol. 6

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. Unfortunately he`s not 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 ends up manager of an all girl dormitory, living with five girls with wildly differing personalities. He`s still determined to get to University though and find the girl he knew all those years ago.

Volume 6 is the last in the Love Hina series, and sees Keitaro and Naru back to work revising for the entrance exam to Tokyo U. Sorting out their personal lives would be useful too, but these four final episodes still provide opportunities for wires to be crossed, the wrong end of the stick to be grabbed, and hopes to be dashed. Will everything be resolved? Probably not, as there are still the Love Hina specials to look forward to.

Ep 21. Jealous Outburst? Two Lovebirds on a Boat: Tremble
To celebrate getting a step closer to Tokyo U, Keitaro is taking Naru out for dinner. But it`s not a date, Ok? So why is Naru taking this so seriously? Things are going pretty well by Keitaro`s standards, he hasn`t been hospitalised yet, when Mutsumi interrupts them. It turns out that Mutsumi made a pact with a boy she can`t remember to get into Tokyo U. Sounds vaguely familiar. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure is spying on the proceedings from the bushes.

Ep 22. Little Sister Mei`s Devious Plan: It Can`t Be!
Naru`s little sister Mei has come to take Naru home, and she`ll resort to anything to keep Naru and Keitaro apart, including a little guilt trip with an old family album. But the pictures provide a clue to the person to whom Keitaro made that promise.

Ep 23. Naru Narusegawa, Her Wavering Heart and Keitaro: Scattered
Naru is more convinced than ever that Mutsumi is the girl to whom Keitaro made that promise, and now Naru is working herself into a state. Keitaro isn`t doing too well either, with his practice exam scores unlikely to impress his sceptical parents. What`s worse is Keitaro`s grandma has returned to take up the reins as apartment manager, which means he is also out of a job.

Ep 24. Celebrate! Are the Blooming Flowers Tokyo U? Love? Everybody
Everything is up in the air, with Keitaro torn between Mutsumi and Naru, while Naru believes that Keitaro has already chosen the girl from his childhood promise. Shinobu and Kaolla decide to take desperate measures to help Keitaro, but it may already be too late, and Keitaro may never return to Hinata apartments.

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

For the last disc in the Love Hina series, there are few extras to see the series out. MVM certainly impress when it comes to authoring anime titles, and Love Hina is no exception, looking delightful. There`s the usual jacket picture that displays when the disc isn`t spinning (although in a slight mistake, it`s the image for volume 5) and the animated menus display over that odd theme tune. You`ll find a Photo Gallery for Mutsumi Otohime running to 8 pages. There is the trailer for Love Hina, and finally there are trailers for Gungrave and Full Metal Alchemist.

Conclusion

This is the sixth and final volume of the Love Hina series, but if you are looking for a neat resolution or happy ending, then you`re a little premature. For that, there will be the Specials, the Love Hina Again OVA, as well as the original Manga. It doesn`t matter anyway, as Love Hina wouldn`t work if the love was requited, dreams fulfilled, and if we had to worry about what happened the day after the `happily ever after`. Love Hina is more about the journey than the destination, and in this final volume we get to see how the characters have grown and progressed since Keitaro first entered their world a year ago.

The episodes in this final volume, while still keeping the chaos and mayhem quotient up, take a more serious turn as it comes to giving the relationships some resolution. While it may not be the wedding bells that many may hope for, it is a significant conclusion to the series that sees that promise resolved. It turns out that both Mutsumi and Naru were at Hinata when Keitaro was there as a child, and while it seems that Keitaro has to choose which one he made the promise to, it actually comes down to a more meaningful decision of whether he keeps on living in the past or moves on and starts living his life. The characters are still fun, with the typical mischievous character traits from Kaolla Su, Sara and Kitsune as well as the agonising crush that Shinobu still has. There are the usual pranks and pratfalls, and Keitaro is on the receiving end of Naru`s right hook several times during the final volume. But still the more tender character moments are handled sensitively, and if you have been following Naru and Keitaro`s relationship during these six volumes, wanting them to get together, then you may get a little lump in the throat during the last two episodes.

I`ve enjoyed Love Hina immensely during these six volumes, the sweet characters, the ribald humour and the sharp comedy has been great entertainment. While there is no conclusive ending as the credits roll on the final episode, we have seen the characters grow and change for the better during the 24 episodes. If anything, the hopeful and optimistic ending that we do get does better justice to the characters than a neat resolution would. Love Hina is a series that I will cherish.