Love Hina

Love Hina, Volume 5: Summer by the Sea (Episodes 17-20)

The plot of this popular slapstick romance veers into the supernatural as the summer ends. The gang from the Hinata Apartments prepares to leave the seashore and resume their studies when Naru is possessed by the ghost of a woman who drowned years earlier. Motoko uses her training in martial arts and Shinto exorcism to defeat the spirit. Kaolla Su, who has the unnerving habit of metamorphosing into an older version of herself, is joined by her brother, who looks like a handsomer version of Keitaro. The resemblance between everyone's favorite loser and Crown Prince Lamba Lu produces foreseeable complications. The disc concludes on an wistful note, when the characters stumble into an unused part of the building and find Moé, a century-old automaton. She mistakes Keitaro for his great-grandfather, suggesting an ill-starred romance decades earlier. (Rated 13 and older: comic violence, risqué humor, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Love Hina, Volume 1: Moving In (Episodes 1-4)

An agreeable loser in the tradition of Keiichi in Oh My Goddess, 20-year-old Keitaro Urashima promised a girl when he was 5 that they'd attend prestigious Tokyo University together. He's in prep school, struggling to fulfill that promise, when his grandmother retires, making him the manager of the Hinata Apartments, which serves as a high school girls' dorm. The residents include an assortment of standard anime females: painfully shy Shinobu, violently anti-male kendo champion Motoko, irrepressible Su, and brainy, pretty Naru, whose temper makes Akane in Ranma look placid. Keitaro has a talent for turning up in the wrong place at the wrong time: he inadvertently infuriates the girls--who beat the sushi out of him. But Keitaro also has a genuinely kind heart, which eventually carries the day, overcoming his low self-esteem, poor study habits, and overactive fantasy life. Rated 13 Up: Comic violence, risqué humor, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon

Love Hina Movie Set (Again/Spring Movie/Christmas Movie)

Christmas Movie
This "movie" is actually a 2000 holiday special. With Christmas and entrance exams approaching, the Hinata Apartments are in a typical uproar. The gang decides the popular superstition "if you declare your love for someone on Christmas Eve, your wish will come true" should apply to Naru and Keitaro, who are trying to study. They decide to assist the pair--and succeed in making pests of themselves. Of course, everything ends happily, despite Keitaro's sprained ankle and a long series of comic mishaps and misunderstandings. The disc also includes a new episode of Love Hina in which champion swordswoman Motoko must redeem herself in the eyes of her older sister to remain the heir to the Shinmei School. Christmas cheer notwithstanding, nothing's changed at the Hinata Apartments. An excellent gift for fans of this popular romantic comedy.
Spring Movie
This second television special picks up where the so-called "Christmas Movie" left off, with Keitaro, Naru, and Mutsumi taking the Tokyo University entrance exam for the umpteenth time. Convinced he's blown the test by falling asleep, Keitaro accepts Mr. Sato's offer of a job on the South Pacific Island of Pararkelse. When she finds out, Naru sets off to bring him back. Shinobu, who's upset because a boy likes her and she adores only Keitaro, follows--as does the rest of the regular cast. On Pararkelse, Keitaro and Naru help a girl named Nyamo look for her grandfather, who disappeared searching for the ruins of an "ancient turtle civilization." As Keitaro, Naru, and Mutsumi all pass the entrance exam and Naru finally admits she loves Keitaro, this adventure seems to mark the end of the Love Hina continuity.
Love Hina Again Movie
The popular romantic comedy Love Hina seemed to end with the Spring Special Movie, when Keitaro and Naru finally got into Tokyo University--and admitted they were in love. In this new three-part adventure, Keitaro breaks his leg at the class welcoming ceremony and has to skip a semester. Keitaro got into the university to keep a childhood promise; now he needs a goal of his own. He decides to assist Mr. Seta and study archeology. While they're away on an expedition, Keitaro's stepsister Kanako arrives and makes life miserable for the whole cast. Keitaro returns and has to deal with Kanako's misplaced affection, Naru's fear of commitment, an abandoned, magical resort, the Hinato residents' well-intentioned meddling, and his own clumsiness. It all adds up to kind of affectionate nuttiness Hina fans expect and enjoy. (Rated 16 and older: comic violence, risqué humor, brief nudity, tobacco and alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the Hot Spring! The laughs and romance of all three Love Hina movies (Christmas, Spring, Again) have all been collected into one DVD box set! Follow the life of Keitaro and his quest to fulfill a life long promise to a long lost love and enter the prestigious Tokyo University. He'll find himself fighting off the girls of the Hinata Apartments, but better yet, a chance at love…if it doesn't kill him first! There's gonna be a whole lotta lovin' goin' on!

Love Hina, Volume 6: And the Winner is... (Episodes 21-24)

Consternation reigns, as this romantic farce concludes (except for the 25th episode, which is included with the Christmas Movie). Years ago, did Keitaro actually promise to attend Tokyo University with Mutsumi, rather than Naru? Circumstantial evidence suggests he did, which increases tensions among the characters. Further complications ensue when Keitaro blows his entrance exam yet again, and his grandmother returns from her travels. If she resumes her place as manager of the Hinata Apartments, what will become of Keitaro? When he goes off to brood by himself, the other members of the cast reflect on how much their favorite goofball has come to mean to them, despite his flaws. Everyone may not live happily after, but they eventually settle matters in a way that's appropriate to the story--and that leaves open the possibility of future sequels. (Rated 13 and older: comic violence, risqué humor, brief nudity, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Love Hina, Volume 4: Love Hurts (Episodes 13-16)

The course of true love seldom runs smooth--especially at the Hinata Apartments. The residents of the building find they're broke and the bills are due, so they need to make some money in a hurry. The hapless Keitaro finds a job babysitting the thoroughly obnoxious adopted daughter of Noriyasu Seta, a dashing Indiana Jonesesque professor of archeology at Tokyo University. Naru nurtured a crush on Mr. Seta several years ago, when he was her tutor. Keitaro and the rest of the group assume Naru is still in love with him, despite her insistence that she isn't. The romantic misunderstandings reach an outrageous climax when the cast stages a slapstick adaptation of the classic Chinese novel The Journey to the West, which brings down the house--and much of the theater--when they accidentally uncork a hidden hot spring. Rated 13 Up: Comic violence, risqué humor, brief nudity, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon

Love Hina Anime Legends Complete Collection

Attempting to fulfill a promise to his childhood sweetheart, Keitaro Urashima is determined to enter Tokyo University. After being rejected twice, he decides to leave home and stay at his grandmother's apartment complex to study. But when he arrives, his grandmother is gone and he finds himself under attack by the all-female residents. Will the girls accept him as their new apartment manager? Will his bones ever knit? More importantly, can he concentrate on his studies when he discovers that one of his tenants might be his long lost sweetheart? Genre: Romance/Comedy.

Love Hina, Volume 3: Secret Lives (Episodes 9-12)

This slapstick romantic comedy takes some odd turns as it reaches its midpoint. The earlier episodes depicted a farcical reworking of everyday life as nerdy Keitaro, the manager of the Hinata Apartments, pursued his dreams of entering prestigious Tokyo University, and winning the heart of fellow prep school student Naru. These adventures leave reality behind: Naru becomes an overnight sensation as a pop star in episode 11--only to give it up to continue studying for college. The relentlessly energetic Su somehow transforms into an adult version of herself in episode 10, and martial arts champion Makoto battles her aversion to feminine clothing, her phobia about turtles--and a giant robot in episode 12. The humor remains the same, with perpetual fall guy Keitaro getting pummeled by the other characters, but the story lines often fail to reach satisfactory conclusions. Rated 13 Up: Comic violence, risqué humor, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon

Love Hina, Volume 2: Go West! (Episodes 5-8)

After Keitaro and Naru fail the entrance exam for prestigious Tokyo University--she for the first time, he for the third--they set off independently for Kyoto to think about life. They meet on the train after breaking their glasses, fail to recognize each other, and become fast friends--until an optometrist resets their lenses. The recognition scene feels improbable, even by cartoon standards, but their new friendship suggests future complications for this popular romantic comedy. The stand-out episode on the collection is the very funny "Kendo Girl": man-hating martial artist Motoko dreams herself into an old video game that spoofs Sailor Moon, El Hazard, and other anime series. The Dragon Palace and giant turtle are references to the Japanese folk tale "Urashima Taro," which plays off Keitaro's last name, Urashima--jokes American viewers may not catch. Rated 13 Up: Comic violence, risqué humor, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon

Love Hina, Volume 5: Summer by the Sea (Episodes 17-20)

The plot of this popular slapstick romance veers into the supernatural as the summer ends. The gang from the Hinata Apartments prepares to leave the seashore and resume their studies when Naru is possessed by the ghost of a woman who drowned years earlier. Motoko uses her training in martial arts and Shinto exorcism to defeat the spirit. Kaolla Su, who has the unnerving habit of metamorphosing into an older version of herself, is joined by her brother, who looks like a handsomer version of Keitaro. The resemblance between everyone's favorite loser and Crown Prince Lamba Lu produces foreseeable complications. The disc concludes on an wistful note, when the characters stumble into an unused part of the building and find Moé, a century-old automaton. She mistakes Keitaro for his great-grandfather, suggesting an ill-starred romance decades earlier. (Rated 13 and older: comic violence, risqué humor, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Love Hina, Volume 1: Moving In (Episodes 1-4)

An agreeable loser in the tradition of Keiichi in Oh My Goddess, 20-year-old Keitaro Urashima promised a girl when he was 5 that they'd attend prestigious Tokyo University together. He's in prep school, struggling to fulfill that promise, when his grandmother retires, making him the manager of the Hinata Apartments, which serves as a high school girls' dorm. The residents include an assortment of standard anime females: painfully shy Shinobu, violently anti-male kendo champion Motoko, irrepressible Su, and brainy, pretty Naru, whose temper makes Akane in Ranma look placid. Keitaro has a talent for turning up in the wrong place at the wrong time: he inadvertently infuriates the girls--who beat the sushi out of him. But Keitaro also has a genuinely kind heart, which eventually carries the day, overcoming his low self-esteem, poor study habits, and overactive fantasy life. Rated 13 Up: Comic violence, risqué humor, tobacco use. --Charles Solomon