The Essentials

Name: Love Hina Again
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Episodes: 3
Released: January 26, 2002 – March 27, 2002
Based On: Love Hina manga by Ken Akamatsu
Director: Yoshiaki Iwasaki
Produced By: XEBEC
US Distribution By: Bandai Entertainment

Major Japanese Cast

Naru Narusegawa: Yui Horie
Keitarou Urashima: Yuji Ueda
Kanako Urashima: Natsuko Kuwatani
Mitsune Konno: Junko Noda
Shinobu Maehara: Masayo Kurata
Kaolla Su: Reiko Takagi
Motoko Aoyama: Yuu Asakawa
Haruka Urashima: Megumi Hayashibara
Mutsumi Otohime: Satsuki Yukino
Sarah McDougal: Yumiko Kobayashi

Major English Cast

Naru Narusegawa: Dorothy Melendrez
Keitarou Urashima: David Umansky
Kanako Urashima: Tina Dixon
Mitsune Konno: Barbara Goodson
Shinobu Maehara: Ellen Arden
Kaolla Su: Wendee Lee
Motoko Aoyama: Mona Marshall
Haruka Urashima: Jane Alan
Mutsumi Otohime: Jean Howard
Sarah McDougal: Julie Maddalena

Scores

Animation: 6/10 (x 4 = 24 pts)
Story: 4/10 (x 4 = 16 pts)
Music: 6/10 (x 4 = 24 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: 6/10 (x 1 = 6 pts)
Gut Score: 3/10 (x 5 = 15 pts)

Total: 85/180 (47.2%)

Review

This is how you get Love Hina Again: Take Love Hina, completely erase the progress made by Naru and Keitarou in their relationship at the end of the series and in the specials and take the ridiculousness found in Love Hina and double it. If Love Hina was one of the biggest waste of resources ever in anime history, Love Hina Again probably contends for most brainless anime series ever created, ever.

The series starts when Keitarou breaks his leg on the first day of classes at Tokyo U. and, for some reason, has made him unable to attend classes. As a result, he decides to go after his life’s dream and go on an archaeological trip with Mr. Seta (how is going on an archaeological trip any easier with a broken leg?). Upon returning from his trip at the end of the first episode, nothing more is said about Keitarou’s supposed life dreams until the very end of the third episode when Mr. Seta saves him and Naru from the rampaging tenants of the Hinata Apartments.

While he’s gone, Keitarou’s step-sister, Kanako, arrives and announces that she is the new manager of Hinata Apartments. Kanako’s ultimate goal is to drive Naru away and having Keitarou for herself. How Kanako knows about Naru and Keitarou’s relationship, I’m not sure since Keitarou himself says that he hasn’t written Kanako. The rest of the series seems to be about Kanako not being able to make up her mind between trying to run Naru off and taking Keitarou for herself or trying to get Naru to profess her love to Keitarou which the creators of Love Hina Again apparently forgot she had already done previously in the franchise.

Throw in a magical closed down hotel which enforces romantic promises made within it’s premises (how did Naru and Keitarou break the spell the hotel put on Keitarou and Kanaka anyway?) and a flying and talking cat (so now we have flying turtles AND cats) and you get a story even more ridiculous than the series it is based on.

There is no appreciable improvement in the dub, music, or animation from the Love Hina series. If you were a fan of the original Love Hina, you may like Love Hina Again. However, if you are looking for Love Hina to redeem itself in this final OVA installment, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

First Watched: December 2005
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: No