Postby DarkLight » Thu Aug 28, 2003 11:29 pm
Concerning Love Hina, I've seen the first two episodes of the anime, and read the first four volumes of the manga.
For the manga, I would say I found the excessive ecchi to be on the verge of disgusting/annoying, but I wouldn't say that there is no plot or story involved. In fact, the core of the plot centres around Keitaro trying to get into Tokyo U in order to meet up with the girl he promised 15 years ago to meet at Tokyo U (because there is a legend that such a promise will lead them to be married). Although he gets into a lot of perverted situations, (more because he is clumsy, stupid, and unlucky than anything else) he does hold steadfast to his mission to find that one true love that he promised to those 15 years ago.
That promise is repeatedly emphasized throughout the storyline, and I've found myself turning the page simply because I wanted to know if he ever does find that girl he made that promise to.
After all, doesn't that seem to be a noble purpose? To meet that one true love that he intends to marry? So far, his interest in the girls in the manga consist mostly of not wanting to get hurt by them, not wanting to hurt their feelings, and wondering if one of them could be the girl he made that promise to.
As far as I can tell, Keitaro remains relatively pure from actual explicit conduct (although not accidental explicit contact), possibly to remain a virgin for his wedding night with that promised true love...
I haven't read the whole manga though so I have no idea if he actually remains pure and finds his true love . . .
Love Hina is NOT h.entai! If it were, then I wouldn't even touch it. The fan service does not go so far as to actually show the illegal areas. The angles are always drawn so that you cannot actually see everything. Even during the bath scenes, something will always be in the way, whether it be a towel, hair, or [Insert random inert object].
So, it has a lot of ecchi fan service, but at its core the intent of the characters seem almost honourable . . . Of course, I could be completely wrong about this all.
Does anyone know if Keitaro ever finds his true love? (The girl he promised the Tokyo U thing to?)
Anyway, to sum up if it is right for you. If you have any trouble dealing with ecchi and/or semi-explicit scenes, then avoid this like the plague. If you are mature enough to ignore the perverted humour or simply laugh at its absurdity, then you may be able to handle this.
I could go so far as to say that Love Hina is a social commentary as to the amount of fan service in anime, the levels of exaggerated fan service in the series seems too comical and the amount of pain Keitaro endures, and the number of times he is labelled a pervert, seems over the top.
Also, to clarify the difference between Shonen and Shoujo:
Shonen - Manga aimed at young and/or teenage boys
I.E. Kenshin, Dragonball, Love Hina, etc.
Shoujo - Manga aimed at young and/or teenage girls
I.E. Cardcaptors, Magic Knights Rayearth, etc.
As far as Inuyashi goes, I've seen the first few episodes and found it very interesting/entertaining. The only thing that could be remotely dangerous is the mysticism, and implied Zen Buddist philosophy (reincarnation of the priestess in the girl, etc.) but that is fairly minor and based on a fantasy context that simply coincides with Japanese tradition.
"Humility comes before honour." - Psalms
"Science with religion is lame, religion without science is blind." - Albert Einstein
"If it is truly the end of innocence, then I have failed."