Copyright © 1999,2000 Akamatsu Ken

You have love dramas and you have love comedies (and then there are "survival love comedy dramas," but I will review one of those next issue). LOVE HINA is definitely on the love comedy side of the scale, with just enough drama and character development to layer the story on top of.
As far as love comedies go, the setup for this manga has a number of formulaic elements. The good parts are in the details and the characters.
A young boy and girl are playing together. The girl tells the boy that if two people meet and fall in love at the famous Todai University, they will live happily ever after. (Note: "Tokyo Daigaku," Tokyo University, is abbreviated into "Todai.") The girl says that when they are older they should go to Todai together. Later on, the girl has to leave the town where the boy lives and she makes him promise that they will meet again at Todai.
Fifteen years later Urashima Keitaro (19 years-old, no girl friend, on his third attempt to get into Todai) arrives at Hinata Ryokan, which is run by his aunt. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. Keitaro wonders where everyone is. While waiting for his aunt to return, Keitaro decides to take advantage of the onsen in back of the ryokan.
Shortly after he begins his bath, one of the main recurring themes in this story manifests itself—a young woman, one Narusegawa Naru, enters the bath. Keitaro is totally shocked. She does not seem at all shy. Unfortunately for Keitaro, no, his luck with girls is not changing. Naru's vision is just not very good. When she realizes that something is wrong, she puts on her glasses and Keitaro is forced to flee for his life. In his flight he becomes well acquainted, not in a good way, with the rest of the all female occupants of this ryokan. We get to meet in order: the tricky, beguiling and teasing Kitsune (Kono Mitsune), the amusing and mysterious foreigner Kaora Suu, the shy and unsure of herself Shinobu-chan and finally the brusque kendo-girl Aoyama Motoko.
As Keitaro is being driven out, Haruka, owner of the neighboring store and part-time overseer of Hinata Ryokan, arrives. Keitaro hides behind her for protection and he finds out that his aunt has gone on a long journey across the ocean, leaving the ryokan (a girl-only place) in the care of Haruka. Narusegawa doesn't want Keitaro anywhere near the house, no matter who his aunt is.
As Keitaro resignedly begins leaving, Haruka mentions that he is a student at Todai now, isn't he? This draws a very strong reaction from the girls. Having someone as smart and as important as a Todai student in their ryokan would not be so bad! Keitaro tries to object and correct them, but he is unable to get a word in edgewise. Even the still angry Naru relents and agrees it would be okay for him to stay.
Now Keitaro is really in a fix, as he is not yet a student at Todai. Even worse he has already failed to enter Todai and is trying again! What will happen when they eventually find out? We have not even gotten to the bit about Keitaro finding the girl from his childhood that he promised he would meet again at Todai.
For those familiar with the anime (reviewed in this issue of EX) they will find a number of differences. Nothing in regards to the actual characters' personalities, but how things are setup in the beginning is fairly different. Disparate enough so that people who like one will tend to enjoy the differences in the other.
This series is nothing if not whimsical. As the story progresses, very unusual things appear (a flying turtle?) that apparently make no sense and very little effort is spent to explain them rationally. They are just a part of this universe. One of the good things about LOVE HINA that differs from most love comedies is that the characters do actually undergo development (although, at times, one has to wonder...)
The art is extremely easy on the eyes. The lines are fine and strong. Akamatsu uses a lot of zip-tone to give the images a fair amount of contrast. The backgrounds are quite detailed and serve mostly to give a feel for the area that the characters are in: what the ryokan looks like, what Hinata and Todai look like, etc. There are also copious furigana, making the manga very easy to read for the beginner Japanese students.
Even with all the troubles Keitaro and Narusegawa manage to get themselves into, most chapters end on a positive note. This make the series fun to read while keeping your interest in how things will resolve.

Published by KC Magazine (Shonen Magazine Comics)
8 volumes and continuing
181 pages, b&w
Vol. 1: ISBN4-06-312670-6
Vol. 2: ISBN4-06-312681-1
Vol. 3: ISBN4-06-312705-2
Vol. 4: ISBN4-06-312739-7
Vol. 5: ISBN4-06-312776-1
Vol. 6: ISBN4-06-312805-9
Vol. 7: ISBN4-06-312827-X
Vol. 8: ISBN4-06-312863-6
¥390 per volume
Currently available in Japan
Where to buy