The setup follows the pattern of Maison Ikkoku. Take a young man, studying for college entrance exams, put him in a boarding house with some colorful characters and a woman with a short temper, sprinkle in a bunch of misunderstandings and watch love bloom. For bonus points, have them both go on vacation at the same time and meet up! Unfortunately, Love Hina lacks a lot of what made Maison Ikkoku work so well. Naru's violence is played for laughs, but Kyoko's outbursts and emotional immaturity are serious character flaws (and she knows enough to try and hide them). Keitaro is a nice guy who is loved by everyone and just needs to get into university, but Godai's outlook is a bit more bleak and he has a lot of real character growth to go through before he can win anybody's heart.
What does work for Love Hina is the cast. The individual characters are tiresome, but as an ensemble, they work very well. The show promises silly adventures with wacky people, and that's exactly what you get. Should you watch it? Maybe. It's a fun show, the humor just hasn't aged well.
