Love Hina, Vol. 01

ラブ ひな [Love Hina] #1

by Ken Akamatsu, Simon Lundström (Translator)

Vad gör man när man har lovat sin barndomskärlek att man ska träffas på Tokyos bästa universitet när man blir stor, men inte är speciellt smart? Keitario Urashima vägrar att ge upp, trots att han somnar över läroböckerna istället för att lära sig något ur dem. När han blir utsparkad av sina föräldrar ser han sin chans att plugga ostört inför inträdesproven genom att flytta till mormor som driver ett hotell. Vad han inte vet är att hotellet har blivit ett flickpensionat.

Genres: Manga, Romance, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Comedy, Humor

186 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 1999

About the author

Ken Akamatsu (赤松 健, Akamatsu Ken, July 5, 1968 -) is a Japanese mangaka from Tokyo.

In his teenage years, Akamatsu failed the entrance exam to Tokyo University, and applied for Film Study instead (it is speculated that this is where he got the idea for Love Hina). Eventually, he became famous as an illustrator featured in Comiket (short for Comic Market, a comic convention bi-annually held in Japan). He used the pen name Awa Mizuno (水野 亜和, MIZUNO Awa). Akamatsu, still in college, then proceeded to win the Weekly Shonen Magazine award twice. His "A Kid's Game for One Summer" was awarded the coveted 50th Shonen Magazine Newcomer's Award soon after he graduated.

After a big hit with A.I. Love You, he finally made a grand success with his new manga, Love Hina. The series appeared in Weekly Shonen Magazine and has been collected in eleven volumes (with fourteen volumes in total), which have sold over 6 million copies in Japan, and received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen in 2001.
Akamatsu had added elements of his own life experiences to the story, and this was said to have induced a unique feeling to the manga especially for Western readers, whose lack of familiarity with Japanese culture for the most part added to the effect. The series, published in America in 2002, was especially well received in many overseas countries - Akamatsu was surprised that even foreign readers found Love Hina to be "cute" and to their liking.

He is now married to his wife 'Kanon' Akamatsu, who was previously a singer/idol. He is currently working on his latest manga series, Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, which is his longest running manga so far. Like Love Hina, has also been made into an anime series. A second independent retelling of Negima was made called Negima!?. Both series were produced by XEBEC (Negima!? was produced by SHAFT).

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Torn on this one...some funny moments - but the girls are MUCH too young. I would be much more comfortable with this book if everyone was over the age of 18. A friend gave this to me because this series has quite a fan base; just a little uncomfortable with the age of the characters and the situations that the girls find themselves in.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mind-numbing harem heterosexual male wish fulfillment filled with mostly unlikable or dull characters and very little to no substance. I did kinda like Mitsune, but even then - the writing does her little favors.

Ken Akamatsu's work is basically what you've come to expect from any harem manga (and anime - as the two are tone-wise the same) that relies on a Tsundere lady lead and a boring spineless "nice-guy" protagonist. Lots of female-on-male abuse meant to be 'funny' because "hahaha women can't really hurt men!" and sexist ideas about how women act and think that require a man to come in and fix their problems. The same jokes over and over to the point of even the ability to be offended fading and general nonsense of that flavor.

I'd comment on Keitaro as an annoying character meant to be the author, but he's barely even that much of an actual character 95% of the time.

Check out only if you wanna scratch yer head at how this book was popular when it's not even bad enough to be so-bad-it's-good.

[Mira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this when I first started getting interest in manga (and anime). Though it happens to be some time ago, I still do remember how entertained I was when reading about Keitaro's miserable life. You never really feel bored when reading it because it contains a big amount of humor and there is constantly happening something. Though I might admit that I would feel kinda irritated reading about Keitaro being smacked by the other girls continually.

I'm not really that into harem, but Love Hina was certainly a pleasure to read! It is a truly entertaining manga, that I definitely would suggest you to read if you need a laugh. Also I would recommend you to read the manga instead of watching the anime, since it is much lesser corny and I personally also find the characters and plot better.

[Mr. Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously, what a disappointment. I really wanted to like this series, but it was cringe, after cringe, after cringe. Not a recommend.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for the complete series



Keitaro just doesn't seem to be successful at anything - he failed his university entrance exam twice, was thrown out by his parents and just generally seems plagued by bad luck. Wanting to give the entrance exam another go, he decides to find accommodation in his grandmother's hotel. Upon arrival, though, it turns out that the hotel has now become a girl's dormitory where he is anything but welcome. But luck might be coming Keitaro's way after all when he learns that his grandmother has transferred the dormitory's ownership to him!

Love Hina seems to be a case of people either loving it and considering it a classic, while others think of it as a sexist work full of fanservice. I find myself in neither of these groups, though I have read other works by the author that really deserve being called out for sexism. In any case, let me start by saying that I love Akamatsu's art - especially in Love Hina. His earlier works weren't as nice to look at while I find that post-Love Hina works lost character and just look very generic.

So apart from loving the art, this was also one of the first manga I read and bought and therefore also has some nostalgia effect on me. As I was still new to reading manga and didn't know much about the different genres, because I had seen a lot of pictures of it and just generally liked the look of it, I decided to give this one a try. I didn't realise until much later that I wasn't even the target audience for this series, and even back then, it was never a huge favourite of mine, though I certainly did always enjoy reading.

I first and foremostly enjoy Love Hina as a comedy, it is one of the most hilarious manga I have read and often has me laughing out loud. A large chunk of the comedy can certainly be called 'dirty jokes', yet it's a far call from what people give it - I don't think that these jokes are sexist, indecent or demeaning towards women in any way. The girls in this manga all have very different personalities, but with the except of shy Shinobu, they're all pretty tough and know how to deal with the male characters of this series (although Keitaro is more often blamed when actually innocent than not).

The characters are another strong point in this series. I find Keitaro a very likeable main character - he draws bad luck like no other but is very kind and caring. He learns and recognises his weaknesses and definitely grows as the story progresses. Still, bad luck seems to stick with him all the way to the last chapter. In any case, I love the original cast of the girl's dormitory, they are such a varied but well-balanced group. They are great friends, a bit crazy together and there's at least one for every kind of reader to enjoy. My personal favourites are Naru, Mutsumi, Shinobu and Motoko - which actually surprises me as Shinobu and Motoko were among my least favourite when I read this series initially.

Another thing I love about this series and that speaks against the harem sexist accusations is the fact that not all the girls are in love him Keitaro. I am very sure that several of them are just interested in a platonic kind of relationship, e.g. I don't believe that Su sees in him anything but a big brother. Only some of them are genuinely interested in him and I think all of them have feelings that are well-developed and according to their personalities. I also think the female bodies are nicely drawn and natural-looking - there are no extremely overshaped breasts or curves as one can find in most other 'fan service' series.

Nonetheless, there are a few things that I also don't enjoy about Love Hina. At around the tenth volume, the story starts to drag. Ten volumes seems a good amount to wrap up this kind of story, instead, we get some additional characters that are utterly annoying and just unnecessary. Sara has to be among the most annoying little girl characters I've ever come across! But at least she still adds to the story while the whole Kanako arc felt like a major filler to just drag everything out. The fact that it was never mentioned that Keitaro has an adopted sister made it feel all the more as though it was an afterthought to keep the show running. I find Kanako a very unpleasant character and wish her part would have been left out. Since her appearance, the series felt more and more estranged from its original genre as there was a lot of over-the-top action going on.

But hey, annoying characters and arcs aside, Love Hina has one of the best endings, or rather epilogues, out there. It brings the whole series to a nice round conclusion and gives you a nice idea of what's become of everyone - it was really the best way this series could have ended!

[Aoife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Hina is a series where Akamatsu came into his own. He improved in art, writing and characterisation to an admirable degree and in my opinion, the animated version utterly failed to capture the charm and humor of the cast.

Less distasteful than his previous 'A.I. Love You' and perhaps lacking the formidable cast numbers of 'Negima' Love Hina is a 'harem comedy' that manages to dance the right side of funny and teasing.

Our 'hero' Keitaro is retaking college entrance exams (once more) in an attempt to fulfil a childhood promise and attend Tokyo University. (The fact that he has no idea what course he wants to do doesn't strike him until much, much later.) He goes to stay in an Inn run by his Grandmother but unbeknownst to him it has been turned into a female dorm. He takes his place as the dorm manager and 'shenanigans' ensue.

What makes the series work is perhaps the 'restraint'. Make no mistakes this is certainly a comic aimed at teenage boys. There is plenty of female fanservice and cosplay, Keitaro is constantly walking in on the girls in the bath and vice versa (although he always bears the brunt of the punishment.) But compared to other Harem-style series on the market Love Hina is postively 'chaste'!!

Despite the slapstick and Keitaro getting punched into space with regularity it takes several chapters and (in some cases) volumes before any of the female cast are 'in love' with him. The girls are characters in their own right. Akamatsu devotes time to their motivations, desires and feelings as the series progresses. They are not merely arm candy for the series protagonist but individuals for the reader to observe and/or empathise with. They struggle with feelings of inadequacy and search for direction in fields that may be supported and/or inspired by their interactions with Keitaro but he is not their driving force in life. The relationships grow through their interactions and have their ups and downs like any other.

No one is immediately or randomly love here. It grows through their (mis)adventures and remains pleasingly sincere. Keitaro is your imperfect everyman (Repeated F-student)who over-reacts constantly. He does not deny his attraction to the girls but he is well-behaved by comparison to other 'harem-heroes'.

That being said, this IS a comedy and one of the slapstick variety. Samurai-style action, Indiana Jones adventures, magic and mecha. Akamatsu pays homage to many movies and series thoughout. It's fun and light-hearted but it can strike a serious tone when it needs to.

Of all the Harem series I've encountered (and unfortunately, there are a lot) this is definitely the best of the lot.

I suggest you read all 14 volumes and ignore the animated version. It's a series that has a lot of fun and a lot of heart too.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a playful, slightly crazy manga! I felt so bad for Keitaro for the situation is finds himslef in. ANd these girls are no help to him. Poor guy. Although I don't get his obsession for getting into the college. I get why but the time, so many years of failing already...some childhood promises just need to go. He obviously is not high-end college material. And it is sad that that isn't okay. It frustrated me that he never stands up for himself in this though. Still, the situations he keeps finding himself in are hilarious. Great book to read to put me in a lighter mood!

[The Crimson Fucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

mediocre at best... i remember loving the tv show... but this is anything like it! my sister is making me read manga this month! yay! she claims to have read over 600 of them! so i'm hopping things will get better soon!

[Bobby Hougen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

[Malou Sloth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure nostalgic chaos, and I loved every page. Keitaro is an absolute disaster, and the girls give him zero slack (which he 100% deserves). The slapstick humor and misunderstandings are constant, but instead of dragging, it feels lighthearted and fun. Revisiting these characters was like catching up with old friends, and I grinned through the whole thing. Comfort read vibes, even with its more dated quirks.

[Josephine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gross. An adult man, Keitaro, who can’t get into college, ends up a caretaker of a girls’ dorm. Then he ends up in all these weird, vouyeristic situations including with one dorm resident who is 15. And the whole plot is like “Oopsies! He’s a nerd so the peeping and wandering in on the bathroom and bathing areas are all accidental. Tee Hee.”

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huippuyliopistoon pääsystä haaveileva opiskelija muuttaa nuorten naisten kansoittamaan asutolaan, ja sitten toistetaan samaa tirkistelyvitsiä sivusta toiseen.

Jos pidit Maison Ikkokusta, niin pidät myös Love Hinasta? Suositus meni pieleen. Ei jatkoon.

[Redfox5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite mangas. It's been years since I read this so it was nice that I still enjoyed it as much this time round.

Keitaro keeps failing his entrance exam for Tokyo University and instead of going home as a failure. He decides to stay in his grandma's hotel and study. But Grandma is on an around the world trip and the hotel is now an all girls dorm!

He manages to upset every single girl in a series of accidents which make him look like a massive pervert. All the girls are beautifully drawn with the typical manga panty/boob shots. Although did we really need a 15 and a 12 year old to be in the dorm? They also all have pretty likeable and fiery personalities. And even though he is a massive nerd, you can't help but like Keitaro

This is a great start to the series which made me laugh out loud at times. I can't wait for the rest of them :)

[Starbubbles · Rating 2 out of 5]

i must say, i'm glad i got 7 books for 10 bucks. i would feel ripped-off if i had paid more for it. this style of plot never appeals to me. they are situations that spiral out of control, and then keitaro gets to take all of the blame. then the girls have the nerve to boss around their own landlord. i say kick them all out! mwahaha! i'll try another book or two, but i'm not holding my breath for it to get better

[SoRay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depicts women as hysterical sexual objects, even 12 yo girls. They even inserted 2 pages to introduce those characters, and they included their measurements!!!! Yes, even the 12 yo character… the only storyline is aimed at producing situations where the female characters will end up nude or with panty shots. Truly despicable imo.

[Andria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still as amazing as I remember back when I was a teenager. ^_^

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recall, albeit vaguely, reading this series in high school, deciding that was enough for me, and contenting myself with never reading it again. It had pushed the limit of acceptability for a manga categorized as comedy, I had felt, even if I hadn't been able to quite identify back then what bothered me. But of course, as an adult, things change. I have been asked by one of my mother's friends to screen various manga and anime titles for this friend's 13-year-old daughter, and give general warnings and criticisms about which series contain...eh, we'll call it questionable content. And to be honest with all of you, I am given to the impression much of Ken Akamatsu's work contains questionable content based on my experiences with both Love Hina and Negima!. But, I was asked to give an overview of this, so that's what I'm going to do.

As usual, I already have to say that this series has pretty much gone out of print thanks to being a Tokyopop-licensed title, and as is the unfortunate reality of something under the Tokyopop imprint, the editing of panels, of grammar and dialogue, and general overall physical quality is rather poor and lazy. In the event you want to read this series, you'd better be prepared to scour the internet for scans or shell out money to buy secondhand copies. That being said, this series was plugged with the rating of "OT: Older Teen Age 16+"; personally I struggle with the idea of introducing some of this content even to 16-year-olds.

The general plot of this first volume (and the series overall) is that our protagonist, Keitaro, is trying and struggling hardcore to get into Tokyo University, based on a goal set to a childhood sweetheart that they would meet back up, attend the college together, get married, and live happily ever after. Keitaro has incredible low academic scores however, and has already failed the entrance exam twice, so he decides he's going to leave his parents' home and not come back until he's officially a student at the college (because reasons??) which leads to him seeking out his eclectic grandmother's hotel. Unfortunately when he gets there, through a series of mishaps of the sort involving accidental nudity, flashing, etc., he finds out that the hotel was failing and in order to save it his grandmother turned it into a leased apartment housing complex for young women, called the Hinata House. Most of the residents are younger than him, with the oldest girl being his age, and the rest being middle- and high-school-students. The girls have mixed feelings about him from the start, which only get worse when his grandmother abruptly names Keitaro the new landlord of Hinata House and he's forced to stay there, while the majority of the girls work tirelessly to try to get him to quit and generally physically assault him at every turn.

When I was a teenager, the series seemed generally funny. As an adult, I cringe quite a bit. Not because of the level of ecchi present, per se. Growing up exposed to an over-saturation of anime and manga with the boom of the late 90s-early 00s era, that's very commonplace in the medium, and especially in "comedy" series that focus on a hapless unattractive protagonist surrounded by cute girls. That's not what bothers me; what I have a problem with is the level of misogynistic undertones insisting that Keitaro's constant arousal and fantasizing can't be helped and is perfectly normal for a young man, and that the girls around him at the house are blowing their reactions out of proportion when accidental situations occur where he either sees them exposed or has physical contact with any of them in an accidentally inappropriate manner. Equally annoying is his fantasizing or arousal at the younger girls (the 12-year-old in particular) when situations occur, and how these are rarely addressed at all, and even then only in a comedic "die, pervert!" manner by the other girls that leaves him protesting loudly.

"But Cy!" you may say. "It's just an anime/manga gag. Stuff like that happens all the time, lighten up."
Uh, no. In hindsight, I should never have read this as a teenager myself, and much as I appreciate the various female characters as individuals, I do think it doesn't send a healthy message to any teens (myself included, back in the day!) about the interactions of young men and women. Each of the girls, who range from 12 years old to 19 years old, are constantly objectified throughout the story, and the narrative repeatedly goes out of its way to reassure the audience "oh it's okay, all the situations are accidental, so Keitaro can't help his fantasizing afterward because he's a healthy young man with a sex drive and he's been so sexually repressed you should sympathize with him." I'm not okay with the thought of any teenager reading this and buying into that thought process.

This doesn't make the series itself inherently bad, but I do feel like it detracts a lot from any potential substance the story could have had, at least in the early volumes. Anyone who says that "comedy doesn't need substance" or that it's a slice-of-life comedy, so it doesn't need to be deep or meaningful should probably go through and analyze more comedies and slice-of-life stories. Both comedy and slice-of-life, as well as the genre overlap, can have substance and at its heart, probably should. Going back through this first volume of Love Hina, it has very little substance going for it. The promise Keitaro made to his childhood sweetheart and his struggle and drive to get into Tokyo University almost constantly takes a backseat to the ecchi so we can have shenanigans where he winds up ogling more than a regular at a strip club, takes a clobbering for it, and fantasizes anyway.

If you've never read Love Hina and you're thinking about giving it a shot, and you happen to stumble across this review of mine, I'll be trying to make my way through the whole series for a second time in my life and leaving reviews. Right now I would say don't waste your time unless you've read the first and you're really desperate to know if it gets better, and you can read from an objective standpoint that questions a lot of the thematics and undertones in this story.

[Mladoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Premier tome d'une petite série de shônen un brin petites culottes bien sympathique.

Keitaro est un étudiant qui cherche désespérément à entrer à Todaï, fac prestigieuse. Mais son niveau est loin d'être excellent. Mis à la porte du foyer parental, il se retrouve bien malgré lui, gérant d'une pension pour jeunes filles.
Menteur, maladroit, potache et un brin idiot il faut bien l'avouer ce personnage est néanmoins très attachant, tout comme le panel de personnages féminins qui jalonnent ce premier tome de présentation. Chaque fille a ses particularités. Mes préférées : la combattive Motoko et la petite Shinobu, même si j'apprécie le duo Naru/ Keitaro qui sont comme chien et chat.

C'est drôle, ça détend et c'est déjà pas mal.
Une série qui se lit comme on regarde la version animée avec plaisir et un sourire fiché aux lèvres devant les situations dans lesquelles se met sans cesse le héros. Je lirai la suite pour voir comme cela évolue.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este primer volumen se siente mucho como una introducción generalizada a todos los personajes y al tipo de situaciones que estaremos viendo el resto de la historia. Tenemos a nuestro personaje principal, Keitarou, quien ya ha intentado varias veces ingresar a la universidad de Tokio sin éxito y sus padres deciden enviarlo a la posada de su abuela. Pero cuando llega descubre que la posada se ha convertido en un dormitorio para chicas, por lo que es el único hombre que vive con ellas, y por supuesto se mete en todo tipo de malentendidos posibles.
Al principio pueden ser situaciones un poco hilarantes, pero es mucho de lo mismo y al menos en este primer tomo la historia todavía no se mueve mucho. Me recordó mucho al tipo de comedia en Ranma 1/2.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't gonna review this because it speaks for itself in my opinion but THIS, this is what started it all for me. My downward spiral into anime (and playing the NG sim but eh) and manga. I've read this manga multiple times along side the novellas and light novels. I remember when I was younger and at the mall I'd find myself in book stores haunched down at the manga section reading as much of this as I could until it was time to go. Pure bliss and innocence with a dash of lewd.

Solid 5/5 for good times

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parece que ahora me ha dado por leer manga de mis años de juventud y todo debido ha haber empezado con Sakura CardCaptor... ♥ Y a mi amiga, por hablarme de ellos (de Love Hina) y prestármelos.
La verdad que conocía los personajes, pero no la historia. Me estoy riendo mucho leyéndolos y me va genial para mis ratos muertos, pero sobretodo para desconectar.

[Doremili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me había olvidado totalmente de esta historia, recuerdo lo general, pero leerla ya adulta (Era adolescente la primera vez) me hace entender mejor los chistes.

[Sam Riner · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine is you like the genre. Wish one of the female leads were the main character, though

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is time for silly antics and trying to get into Tokyo U. Welcome to Love Hina. Sadly… there were many issues.

I decided that with the extended lockdown it was high time to reread some more of my old manga. I decided that this one would be fun to try out again. I knew I had some issues with the series back when I first read it, and was wondering if it would work out many years later.

Meet Kei, a guy who has been trying to get into Tokyo U for years now. I would say go to another university since it is apparently a very tough one to get into, but Kei has a promise. Which is cute and I found it sweet that he just kept going. I loved that he was 19, much older than many of the protagonists in manga. I did think that it was a bit sad that he kept getting in so many accidents (as in entering at just the worst moment, not thinking about the hole in the ceiling and what room it may end up in), he is quite accidentprone.

Ah yes, Naru, the worst girl in the world or at least a good contender for a top 5/10. Really, with reading this first volume again, I totally remembered all the crap she pulled in this series and how violent and horrible she is. I am sorry, but yes, Kei goes in the bath, but he didn’t know it was a dorm, he didn’t know the place was female only. Instead of going all violent and chasing him, maybe just understand that it was a freaking misunderstanding? She constantly goes off again him. And yes, some is partially Kei’s fault, he is a clumsy mess, but no one deserves what shitstorm he gets over him every time. She is abusive. Other instances: He just grabs a tissue, she enters and immediately calls him names (guys also use tissues for other things than well you know), she doesn’t lock the damned toilet door and is pissed that someone (Kei in this case) enters. Do you want me to go on?

Kitsune just was horrible, she forced Kei to touch her boob and then cried that he was assaulting her. WTF. Those kind of jokes I never liked. Disgusting.
The other girls, with the exception of Shinobu, are pretty hurtful as well. They are violent, they give him crap, and there is other things. At times I just wanted to hug Kei and tell him to just go. Screw it that you are landlord, this isn’t what anyone should go through.

Mehsi, was there anything you did like I hear you ask? Oh yes, plenty. I loved Shinobu for instance. She is really sweet and caring and I love how she, as the only one, doesn’t use violence on Kei when he haplessly does something accidental. I love how she is motivated by Kei and how he helps her with her homework. I loved that Kei keeps on trying. I love how he figured out why Shinobu was feeling unhappy on the 15th. I love the whole dorm and that it has hot springs. I love how big and roomy the rooms are, I definitely want to see other character’s rooms as well. Naru keeps hers pretty clean, and what we see of Shinobu’s she has a pretty cute room, but I wonder if Su’s is that clean or pretty. 😛 I also love the art in the series. It is a fun and energetic style that keeps things dynamic. I had a big laugh about grandma and her travelling the world, I cannot remember if she ever returns or if she just stays away. I love that Kei remembers the promise and cannot wait to see when Naru and Kei remember their past. Though again, I would rather see Kei with someone else. There are some scenes that made me laugh.

I am just not sure if I will continue this series. When I first read this story I found it problematic, but I could still enjoy things more. My tolerance was a bit higher for this kind of thing. Now I find it way too problematic and it just has way too many issues. The abuse isn’t funny. But I may give the second volume a shot. If I still have these feelings or if they increase I will just put the books back on the shelf.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Sebastien · Rating 2 out of 5]

Il arrive que des mangas que nous ayont trouvé excellent il y a de cela plusieurs années se retrouvent finalament à être des histoire qui vieillissent mal, qui ne sont pas aussi bonne que l’on s’en souviennent ou voir même qu’elle soit (après avoir lu plusieurs autres séries) en fait décevantes. C’est le cas de Love Hina. Quand je l’avais lu pour la première fois il y a de cela 12 ans est des poussières, j’avais trouvé le manga très drôle, fucké mais quand même bon. Assez pour me le procurer en vente dans un libraire et avoir très hâte de le relire question de me détentre avec quelque rire bien placé. Ce ne fut pas le cas et voici pourquoi.

L’histoire de base de Love Hina est c’est de Keitaro qui veut entré à tout prix à Todai (Université de Tokyo) l’université la plus réputé du japon. Comme ses parent l’on mis dehors il décide d’aller vivre chez sa grand-mère qui tien une pension. Au comble de la surprise, cette pension est une pension pour fille où Keitaro devra s’adapter a vivre (ou survivre) car les filles ne veulent pas de lui. Keitaron devient donc gérant de la batisse et décide de continuer ses effort pour devenir étuditant à Todai avec l’aide de l’héroïne de cette histoire comme prof privé. A priori l’histoire de base laisserait présagé une belle histoire d’amour avec des revirement de situation, des intrigues et des moments fort. Seul problème ce manga est en fait une histoire d’amour ridicule qui se développe bizarement et qui est le 3/4 du temps assez ridicule. Il ne faut vraiment pas prendre l’histoire au sérieux car du premier au dernier tome c’est souvent du gros n’importe quoi. Je sais que les japonnais aime le n’importe quoi, mais là j’en ai soupiré une claque. Histoire étiré, mal cadré, trop répétitive en j’en passe. Le même gag revient toujours en boucle pendant 14 volumes, Keitaro matte les filles nues, elles le voit et le punch dans le ciel et lui dit “pourquoi moi”. Rince repeat, rince repeat, rince repeat... et ainsi de suite sur 14 volumes. Il a bien sur des gag qui m’ont fait rire, mais 90% de l’humour de ce manga est pervert/baffe du siècle.

Autres points qui m’on fait soupirer c’est qu’aujourd’hui, il existe 3 facilités ou type de manga qui font grincé des dents plusieurs fan du genre. La première est le Fan Service. Le fan service est l’action d’un dessinateur de mettre des filles au gros sein ou des fille nue toutes les 5 pages (et voir plus) pour attiré l’oeil des jeunes lecteure et des adultes. Aujourd’hui le fan service est considéré comme le fast food du manga. La deuxième est le type Harem manga. Le harem manga est l’action d’un auteur de mettre seulement un personnage masculin dans son histoire et de l’entouré d’une dizaine de personnage féminins qui tour à tour tomberont amoureuse de lui, créant des scènes cocasse mais totalement invraissemblable. Style qui attire beaucoup les jeunes lecteurs qui n’ont pas de succès avec les filles. Donc si le Fan Sercices est le Mcdo du manga, le Harem serait le PFK. La troisième et dernière catégories et la surenchère. La surenchères est l’action d’un auteur/dessinateur de toujours haussé la barre plus haut pour atteindre soit un niveau de puissance impossible à gérer (voir shaman king) ou de voir une perte de contrôle dans l’histoire rendant l’histoire confuse et chiante à lire (Bastard est un exemple). Quand elle est bien dosé, la surenchère pourrait être vue comme un fast food genre subway, pas le meilleur mais loin du pire, mais quand elle set mal géré et qu’on se retrouve dans le ridicule on atteint le niveau du pizza hut. Dès qu’un manga touche a une de ses trois facilités et qui en plus ne donne pas de raisons valable pour les mettre en place, on tombe donc dans le manga facile, incohérente, ridicule, risible et insultant. Voyez vous Love Hina contient la grande trilogy du fast food dégeulasse de type crise cardiaque.

C’est carrément dégradant pour les filles de les voir tout le temps toute nue (bon on voit pas les mamelon et le poile) et de les voir scènes après scène se déshabiller pour se faire matter puis cogner le personnage masculin dans le ciel. Sa arrive juste à tous les chapitres. En plus de ça on a droit à des moment plus ridicules les uns que les autres. Le niveau de ridicule qu’atteint le volume 13 est tellement sidérent que j’ai failli abandonner cette relecture et tout simplement donner la note de 1 étoiles pour oeuvre abandonné. J’ai dû me force a continuer et en plus, le derniere volume est pas bien bien mieux. On a encore droit à du fan service, on a encore l’idée du harem et bien que limité, l’auteur essaie encore de surenchérir sur le ridicule de sa série. On a droit au plus grand melting pot de facilité, de pervesion et de ridicule que j’aie jamais lu. Dire qu’avant cette série a fait partie des incontournable de plusieurs site de critique. Je sais pas pourquoi mais depuis 2 ou 3 ans les sites se réfutent et retire cette série des bestsellers. Pourquoi demanderez-vous, bien c’est simple. Quand ce manga est sortie, le fan service existait pas, les harem il y en avait presque pas et la surenchère, bien que critiqué, était accepté comme un style japonnais. Aujourd’hui ce manga sortirais et il ne ferait jamais le tabac qu’il a fait à l’origine. Ce manga a vendu des millions de volume au japon seul. S’il sortait aujourd’hui il passerait soit à la trappe ou il serait classé underground.

Ce manga n’est pas de mauvaise qualité, bien que le dessin soit pas très réaliste, il est tout de même très bien rendu. J’en ai juste eu à souper de toujours voir les personnages faire leur face de yeux fermer qui pleurent avec la bouche ouverte en criant un truc. Sinon pour le reste c’est quand même bien présenté et surtout original. Ce qui gâche tout, le fan service et je ne repartirai pas sur le sujet.

Au niveau de l’univers, on a droit à un monde totalement ridicule où le simple fait de se rependre plusieurs fois te permet d’entrer dans la plus prestigieuse université du japon. Un univers où les tortues volent et sont capable d’influencer la vie d’autruie. Un univers où on peut puncher un humain quasi en orbite et il survie. Un univers où tout est possible mais qu’on s’en fou tellement c’est apporter de manière ridicule.

Je le dirai, l’auteur a eu du pot de penser à son manga dans les années 90, car aujourd’hui sa passerait pas. Ce manga vieilli affreusement mal et ne mérite en aucun point son titre de série culte. Ce manga n’apporte rien de bon en aucun point. Même au niveau de la persévérence et comme je ne veux pas spoiler personnes je m’en tiendrai à dire que personne dans ce manga semble arriver a quoi que ce soit sans chance. La vie est bien plus cruelle que ça. Bon on me dira que ce manga est un manga d’humour, mais l’humour sa se doit d’être varié pas toujours le même gag. J’ai pris 12 jours pour lire ce manga et 6 de ces jours je me suis forcé à continuer. Je voulais le finir pour pouvoir écrire cette critique. Si le ridicule, le fan service et les harem vous plaisent, vous avez possiblement le pionier du style entre vos mains. Si vous êtes insulté quand la femme est représenté comme une connasse qui tombe amoureuse de n’importe qui et qui est conne à pas comprendre, bien vous serez insulté par ce manga. Je ne peux en toute honnêteté recommander ce manga aujourd’hui sauf peut-être à des jeunes lecteurs. L’humour pipi-caca les fera bien rire et ils pourront comme mois regretter cette série plus tard. Si après avoir lu ma critique vous désirez lire ce manga, vous saurez au moins à quoi vous attendre. En attendant je passe à la prochaine série.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this series many years ago when I was in high school. I borrowed it from my local library and wasn't sure what I was in for at the time and the art style was pretty, now I am just sad I will never get the hours I wasted on this series back. This series is about a young man who after failing the Tokyo University entrance exam for the second time is kicked out of his parents house, however his grandmother takes him in and allows him to live as the caretaker for Hinata House, however unbeknownst to him it is a girls only dorm; now he lives with 5 other young ladies.

While I thought the overall art style of Love Hina was very pretty, the characters themselves were annoying and the jokes became old and repetitive. You can only laugh at a guy being beaten up for accidentally walking in on a girl changing so many times...

I have never been one for the romance genre within manga or anime, and this series is one of the major reasons why; it is a highly recommended series by anime and manga lovers (for some reason) but recycles its lame, boring jokes in an attempt and being original and it makes the whole series a chore to read. This series is pretty old (it was originally published in 1998 within Japan and then released internationally in 2002), but was very popular in Japan and internationally and I cannot fathom why; the entire series is filled with recycling the same joke and a silly love triangle that anyone can see through. The other characters never got as much development as the main female and male character, making them just pretty image fillers and time wasters; the entire story could be told without them there and it wouldn't change anything.

Overall I feel that even though this series is popular and has been reprinted many times; it doesn't change that it is bland, uses the same wash-rinse-repeat joke and useless characters makes this the WORST manga series I have read to date.

[María · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mmmm no sé qué decir al repecto, lo encontré por ahí junto con otros 20 tomos más tal vez, así que no tenía ninguna expectativa... es mi primer manga y me resultó como la fantasía hecha realidad de un tipo virginal e inseguro, que su mayor anhelo es estar rodeado de chicas con enormes senos y tener varios encuentros accidentales pero convenientes para el protagonista que alimentan más sus deseos del tipo "como se siente un seno", no me mal entiendan, todos tenemos derecho a soñar pero !¡vamos! esto fue claramente una fantasía irreal plagada de choques con senos y vistas convenientes que alimentan el morbo sin que el protagonista lo esté buscando (además es violentado continuamente).

A pesar de todo lo anterior no me pareció una entera basura, hasta cierto punto resulta entretenido, siempre está pasando algo pero ... son situaciones extremadamente forzadas y convenientes. Es de unas 90 páginas y en un rato lo puedes leer si es que de verdad estás tan aburrido y abierto a leer cualquier cosa. Me daré la oportunidad de leer el siguiente porque el hecho de que sean tantos tomos me hace pensar que quizás si tiene algo bueno... o simplemente es el sueño plasmado de muchos chicos por ahí que se sienten identificados, quien sabe jajaja

No estoy segura de que calificación darle pero más de lo que merece no es, si de verdad no hubiera podido terminarlo le pondría una estrella o ninguna, ya veremos si al leer el siguiente esto se reduce a 1 estrella.

[Ορφέας Μαραγκός]

Μια από της καλύτερες σειρές manga που έχω διαβάσει στη ζωή μου, και σίγουρα από τις αγαπημένες μου. Το χιούμορ όπως και το σχέδιο του Akamatsu είναι απίστευτο. Από τη σειρά όμως δεν λείπουν και οι τρυφερές και ρομαντικές στιγμές, τις οποίες σχεδόν πάντα καταφέρνει να χαλάσει ο Κεϊτάρο :p
Η θεματολογία της σειράς μπορεί να μην είναι οι ματσό τύποι τίγκα τεστοστερόνη, που δέρνονται για καμιά δεκαριά τεύχη συνεχόμενα, ωστόσο περιλαμβάνει τον κόσμο της εφηβείας που τελειώνει και το -δύσκολο και επώδυνο, τουλάχιστον για τον Κεϊτάρο- πέρασμα στην ενηλικίωση.
Η πλοκή της ιστορίας από κει που σε κάνει να ξεκαρδίζεσαι μπορεί απότομα να σε κάνει να δακρύσεις από συγκίνηση. Γενικά η σειρά, που στην τύχη πρωτοανακάλυψα, με έκανε πιστό οπαδό του Akamatsu. Κρίμα όμως που η Anubis την άφησε στην μέση (μιας και δε το βλέπω να κυκλοφορούν οι άλλοι 5 τόμοι) πραγματικά είναι από τις σειρές που χαίρομαι να τις βγάζω και να ξαναδιαβάζω συνέχεια, και πάντα να την ευχαριστιέμαι.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was given a copy of this manga by a good friend. All she does is gush about this series. She loved it so much that she actually went out and bought me a copy and she should have saved her money.
This has to be one of the worst manga stories that l've read and one that I wouldn't recommend.
Keitaro is a pretentious liar who loves women because they are warm and squishy. Ummm, gross. Lies to a group of girls that he is attending Tokyo U to stay in his grandma's owned girl dorms.
Lies become bigger lies and he spies on each girl while they are bathing.
Barf! Lame!!!!

[Heather Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boyfriend referred this manga series to me as a bit of a joke and honestly, its not too bad. Mostly it is a bit cringe-worthy because of all the accidental mishaps that Keitaro gets himself into with the girls at the dorm. I was laughing a lot at his idiot ways and just enjoyed learning more about what could be worse for him in the series. I'm going to keep going and try to finish the series before the end of the year.