Search - Love Hina - Perfect Collection on DVD

My take on it is thumbs up with some qualifications

Vexxed | Oregon USA | 11/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The other reviewers are all correct in certain aspects: the series is both brilliant and infuriating. I'd rate it as probably the best introduction to "no ultra violence, no sci-fi, minimal nods to Magical Girls and gadgets" comedy romance you can get. As a parent, I rate it "a-ok" for teens 13 and up.

The anime is substantially rewritten from the original manga but works well for the most part. I particularly liked Shinobu's introductory episodes. Sadly, the series ends with 3 movies which just kind of wrap things up in a cut'n'paste but without the Big Epilogue Ending. Leaving out Seta and Haruka's relationship (it was hinted at so that the manga readers wouldn't lynch the animators) and the lack of that all important epilogue was infuriating to me. There a few episodes where they frankly took less time than they should have getting the facial drawings and animation right. Several of the episodes suffer considerably from the animation budget allocations. The first few episodes are also somewhat disorienting in that the "fanservices" (risque bits) are censored in a jarring manner (gravity-defying towel placement, etc). The later episodes match the manga much better without being overtly offensive to more prudish types just by adjusting camera angles and such.

Of the series about 6 episodes are brilliant (most of the ones that focus on Motoko and the thoughtful philosophical ones. The ocean-side play performance actually worked better in the anime than in the manga). About 4 episodes are Pokemon-bad plot contrivances with the rest filling in the gaps in between. The movies, taken as a collection of set pieces, are pretty good but they suffer a bit from the "all animated movies must have at least one insipid song" syndrome and the uneven pacing from having to cram what should have been another 25 episodes into 3 movies.

Whatever you do, DO NOT watch the series in English dubbing. Whomever casted the English voices and wrote the dialog should be taken out, shot, flayed, field-dressed, and left in the sun. Watch in the original Japanese with English subtitles --- its not that hard and you might learn some Japanese. The original japanese voice casting is perfectly matched to the characters.

If you buy this set - please buy the books and vice versa: they are complementary packages in my view. Also BE SURE and don't miss episode 25 in the Christmas Movie disk Extras. It is key to the character definition of Motoko and Keitaro (and their friendship) -- and is really quite good.

Okay, I've listed most of the shortcomings... but overall I consider this a must have for any anime collection."

A disappointment for fans of the manga

Benjamin E. Sones | Rochester, NY USA | 11/23/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's not that the Love Hina anime is bad, per se--with the exception of a few episodes (and most of the Love Hina Again OVA), it isn't. But it's a lot less good than the excellent manga--almost every change to the story (and there are many) is for the worst. In particular, the anime goes too far with some of the more absurd elements from the manga, which was (for the most part) a real-world story with some moments of absurd exaggeration thrown in for comedic value. The anime bases entire storylines around these absurdities (such as two entire episodes about Su's rampaging mecha-Toma robot turtles, Kentaro's giant rocketship, and Kanako's talking cat), however, and generally takes them way too far. Some of the changes to the story simply don't make sense. In the manga, Keitaro breaks his leg in a run of bad luck after being admitted to Tokyo U., leading to a strain in his relationship with Naru. In the anime, *Naru* is the one who breaks his leg, which makes all of the resulting drama difficult to swallow. Why is Naru so unsympathetic to Keitaro's plight when she's the one who caused it? The anime doesn't really bother trying to make sense out of the altered storyline.

If you haven't read the manga, it's worth checking out. Then again, the mange is even more worth checking out--it's much better."

HILARIOUS!!

[SaB] | Tampa, FL USA | 05/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"omg did I laugh my *** off with this anime. It's simple, yet complex in a light, not suffocating drama kind of way. There are so many quirks and differences between the characters that instead of making them annoying, make us love them. At first when my friend told me about it and told me what it was about, I thought it was going to be stupid and have no point at all. Well maybe there's no specific mission the characters have to achieve, but that's what makes it so fun!! It's a fun anime that will clear your head from whatever problem you have or anything that's bothering you and will transport you to a world of hot springs, girls and entrance exams. The characters are also in within reach, I mean that people can identify themselves with the characters because they're just regular kids messing around.
GREAT ANIME!! worth the buy"

A great series

Bobby | 03/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"if your a fan of anime this is series a must in my opinion, unlike some other animes that just sort of start out of nowhere this has a solid foundation and all good stories need a good foundation you will find yourself wondering what happens next.

love hina uses a very common theme with many girls and 1 regular guy, it may be overused but that doesnt make it bad, unlike some others like tenchi muyo all the girls arent always trying to kill each other

some other animes have many "filler" episodes that dont really mean anything to the story but this series doesnt have a single "filler" episode, if its not about keitaro and naru it is centered around one of the other characters and i feel its nice to know their stories too instead of them just being "extras" in a sense by the end of the series you will know each character and watch them develop as the series progresses and that in my opinion character development is one of the most important things in any series cartoon or not this series definatly has that.

the ending is also a true ending, although the series was suppose to end with the spring special i would recommed watching the 3 episode love hina again OVA as well, that puts everything together and even though it may leave you wanting more i think its good to not have a series end in a cliffhanger. honestly if i knew ahead of time a series would be incomplete i dont think id even buy the series i want to have a true ending and this series has that.

love hina has a little bit of fan service but it is nothing serious, everything is covered up in the original love hina series. in love hina again there are a lot more suggestive scenes especially in the first episode, if you have any younger viewers who would watch this id recommed you check out the first episode of love hina again before you let younger viewers watch it and decide for yourself if its appropirate, the other two episodes are a little better there are some nearly nude shots especially from kanako who always seems to be parading around in her underwear but other than that its just a couple butt shots and all the other typical love hina stuff. i still recommed watching the full series though as it just doesnt feel like it ends with the spring special.

overall this is one of the best anime ive ever watched and ive watched many, i have watched the series through 5 times now and i never get bored of it. even though i know the outcome it is still enjoyable and thats good enough for a 5 star rating for me."