However, when they adapted the story into an anime, I was more than shocked to see that the anime decided to not even follow the story (or even try to) of the manga. It's as if the writers only took the cast and "basic plot" of the original story and decided to write their own thing. The original story, while faulty and repetitive at times, still manages to hook the reader somewhat and create a funny yet cute tale about Keitaro and his quest for love. The anime, however, chooses to stray as far as possible from the original story, trying to stray and create its own story, even introducing its own characters. While some may praise it for being original and creating some arcs that feel better than the manga, the story does not fit together, and the anime ends up being a mess. The manga, while jumpy and random, manages to stick itself together, as at least character development is shown and the plot doesn't stray too far. However, one cannot forgive the anime as the introduction of too many characters and the lack of developing either of the main characters (as opposed to developing side characters for no particular reason) completely ruins the story.
However, if one looks at it from a non-reader standpoint, the story does look average at most, and the cast of characters, taken directly from the manga, is creative and original. The sound is good for its time, and the art is also pretty good, considering this anime was made in 2000.
As a fan of the manga however, I cannot praise the anime at all due to how poorly it followed the plot. It frustrates me due to the fact that I actually really enjoyed the original story. Therefore I have no choice but to give it a 6, because while it completely disregarded any original story of Love Hina, it would have been at least average on a neutral standpoint.
For readers of the manga, stay away. Others can choose to watch, but be cautious.
