Reviewed by: James Zhang
Ratings:
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance
Year: 2000
Series Length: 24 Episodes

Keitaro wants to enter Tokyo Uni (Todai) – not because he likes to study, wants to be more cultured, or wants to help his community – but because of a childhood promise to a girl whose name he forgot.

Such is the basis to a romantic comedy where love is about as realistic as the Power Rangers, but it sure as hell is funny.

Keitaro is flunking his preliminary exams so things don't look good. His break comes when Grandmother Hina appoints him manager of her inn while she takes a holiday. His hormones get a kick, and he gets a kick up the rear, when he discovers the inn's occupants are all female, and most of them have the cherished feminine physique that appeals to the typified ronin, whose brains are 95% unused and the remaining 5% is reserved for thinking about babes, breasts, and buttocks (no surprise for his exam failure!).

He takes a particular liking to the voluptuous Naru, whose spirited personality is generally responsible for the instances where Keitaro is seen flying through the air in double-twisted somersaults, bouncing up and down the college corridors, or otherwise crashing into the walls or through the roof. 'Beating up Keitaro' becomes an art in itself!

Naru wants to enter Todai for a reason linked to childhood, and she is the age Keitaro's long lost beloved would be – could she be the one? Or perhaps it is the demure Otohime Mitsumi, a straight-A student prone to frequent bouts of unconsciousness?

Matters are complicated by the martial arts expert Makoto - she blames Keitaro for corrupting her maidenhood and will only allow him to stay manager on the condition that he passes the Todai entry test. He must prove his intellect is as big as his perverted-ness!

Throw in a mechanical turtle civilisation and an eccentric excavationist, and you get bazooka face-offs and a rendition of the Chinese epic The Journey to the West in a beachside amphitheatre.

I was too busy laughing to notice much of the music, but the opening theme fits the series perfectly.

Love Hina is crazy, creative, and comical – no anime fan's insanity is complete without viewing it.

Back to Reviews