Love Hina

This really is a blast from the past for me, it was one of the entry romcom anime for me back in the day. I rewatched it, and it still holds great. Frankly, it's better than 90% of romcom animes that came out during the last 20 years.

This is practically Konosuba of romcom anime, because just like Konosuba does not take isekai genre seriously, but instead gives you a ton of wacky fun - so does Love Hina but with romcom.

Another decent comparison would be Kaguya-sama - 90% of the show instead is silly fun that works rather than drama and heartbreaks, while the ... remaining 10% are the touching moments and relationship progression.

You get a very basic story and premise, a great cast and a ton of wacky fun. And it all makes a great show you watch for sheer fun.

As a current student who understands the struggle of attaining a place to attend a high ranked university, it seemed appealing to watch an anime about a student who was striving to attend a prestigious university.

Despite the main character, Keitarou, failing the entrance a few times, i admire how he perseveres to pass and attain a place. What's more noble is that his resilience stems from the fact that he made a promise when he was young to another girl his age that they will meet again at Tokyo U and get together.

Alongside studying for exams, Keitarou becomes a manager of a female ... dormitory. Since this is a harem anime, one may speculate that keitarou eventually causes all the girls to develop a crush on him. However, keitarou doesn't really have many qualities that appeal to the girls so it's not an anime where the girls are constantly attempting to impress the main character.

The anime does have a plot which consists of Keitarou managing the dormitory and studying for the entrance exams while interacting with the female residents and learning more about them. However, the story does not progress so much as the majority of the episodes are comedy. A few of the episodes do continue from the previous one, however most episodes are non-progressive comedy.

Also this anime is tagged as an ecchi anime where there are certainly scenes when the girls are in the hot springs. However compared to the average ecchi anime, this anime doesn't show as much cleavage or lude content.

I would recommend love Hina to anyone who wants to watch a casual romcom. The majority of episodes are non-progressive so one does not need to worry about suspense or cliff hangers.

For those seeking a dramatic romance, I would highly suggest watching a different anime. Personally, I prefer drama romance animes so the premise of love Hina was appealing however the non-progressive structure did decrease the enjoyment of the show.

SPOILERS:
[spoiler]
The repetitive physical harassment on keitarou from Naru becomes tedious to watch especially due to it occurring from misunderstandings. It seems like Naru is a sadist as she is violent towards keitarou whenever she has the opportunity; majority of those opportunities are based on assumptions of perversion.

Keitarou would have been much more of a likeable character if he displayed courage and confronted Naru about the harassment, however he continues to tolerate it. Keitarou is presented as quite feeble, probably lacks testosterone, as he has no resentment towards Naru and does not display any form of fury towards her. Instead he develops a crush on her due to the superficial rudimentary reason which is that she is physically beautiful.

Although he is superficial, keitarou understands that the feelings he has for her are not mutual so does not explicitly express them or portray them through his actions. He even conveyed to Seta's daughter that Naru will never perceive him as a romantic partner, this was when she saw the photo booth image of both of them. This is interesting, as keitarou has the intellect to know that being a simp will yield no benefit, where he continues to have a crush on her, however does not attempt to impress her. He does say in the latter episodes that he would love to go to Tokyo U with Naru , however does not engage in typical simp activities such as constantly complimenting or gifting which i admire.

Keitarou is stupid though for not considering to date mutsumi and staying tenaciously in a crush with Naru. Even though mutsumi and keitarou hit it off when they initially met and mutsumi has expressed her love to him explicitly, he continues to keep her hanging.

The last few episodes were the most enjoyable to watch due to the drama. This drama was initiated by Mei due to her having an urgency to send Naru home. The scene where Naru kisses keitarou after witnessing them on the floor nude is surprising, as it's so sudden. Also there is not much reasoning behind the kiss as Naru has shown no signs of liking towards keitarou throughout the entire show. A girl will not be violent or risk sending the one she loves to hospital if she were to truly love or have a crush on them. Despite that, a few episodes preceding the kiss, keitarou and mutsumi were on a date where Naru was observing them like a hawk. This aligns with female behaviour as when a male is surrounded or liked by pretty females, he instantly becomes more attractive.

Or perhaps the kiss was more of a farewell sign as the photograph found by Mei will potentially lead to keitarou and mutsumi establishing a romantic relationship.

Overall, I rate this anime slightly higher than average. The lack of progression is unfortunate ; I would have scored it lower if it was not for the last few episodes where Mei initiated some interesting drama.The backstory of Naru and kaolla are also interesting so I appreciate that.
[/spoiler]

When I was in high school, I really liked Love Hina. I used to think this was a really good romance story, and genuinely wanted to see Keitaro and Naru get together. But as I've gotten older, I've really gotten harsher on this series.

Let's start with the most important aspect of a romance anime: The romance! Keitaro and Naru's relationship simply does NOT feel believable, not in the least. Naru spends 95% of the series being angry and even outright violent toward Keitaro, who in turn is kind of a wet blanket who never stands up for himself or does anything that interesting. There ... is basically zero chemistry between these two, even on the rare occasions where they're getting along. I can barely buy them as friends, much less lovers.

But I've given romance anime a pass even when I wasn't sold on the romance, like Chobits, for at least having an interesting setting and supporting cast. This is not the case with Love Hina. The side characters are all incredibly one-note, and none of them really stand out all that much. Most of them get one or two focus episodes (except Kitsune, who doesn't even get that much) and are relegated to extras most of the time. Of these side characters, Kaolla Su is probably the *most* interesting - having a mysterious past from an unknown country, and being a genius inventor who fills the series with all sorts of wacky contraptions. But even she's not a super well-realized character.

Mind you, I haven't read the manga as of writing this review. I'm willing to give the Hinata Inn crew one more chance and see if their original story is better than the anime. For this adaptation, though, I recommend passing on Love Hina.