Love Hina/Characters

Here are the characters of the crazy romantic comedy Love Hina. Have fun!

Keitaro Urashima
"Voiced by: Yuji Ueda (Japanese) and Derek Stephen Prince (English)"

The main character, a 19-year-old who has failed the entrance exams for the prestigious University of Tokyo thrice. During his fourth attempt, he is asked by his grandmother to become temporary manager of the Hinata House, a hot springs inn, while she is away on a trip -- except she forgot to tell him that it has since been converted into an all-girls' dormitory.


 * A Twinkle in the Sky: Whenever he gets punched to the high heavens!
 * Abuse Is Okay When It Is Female On Male: The guy is even made to apologize when Naru abuses him.
 * Accidental Pervert: All the time! It even happens !
 * Amusing Injuries: Along with Immortal Life Is Cheap.
 * Apologizes a Lot
 * Big Brother Instinct: Towards Kanako.
 * Blind Without'Em
 * Butt Monkey: Do you really have to ask?
 * Titanium Butt Monkey
 * Character Development: Turns from a spineless loser to a guy who is still kindhearted, but with at least some guts.
 * Childhood Marriage Promise: To a girl whose name he can't remember, back when they very young.
 * Determinator: Do not underestimate his resolve!
 * Dogged Nice Guy
 * Drives Like Crazy: After becoming Seta's protege. Like mentor like protege, indeed.
 * Generation Xerox: Towards the end of the series, he begins to act (and look) a lot like Seta.
 * I Know Karate: Learned Jeet Kune Do from Seta.
 * Megane
 * Nice Guy
 * Out-of-Character Moment: Chapter 55 deals with him not being an Accidental Pervert, for once, while studying for his fourth attempt to enter Tokyo U.
 * Ronin: Failed entrance exams for Tokyo University thrice, then on his fourth attempt.
 * Supreme Chef: Became this first through working at his parents' pastry shop, became good at it by making fake cakes for himself on Valentine's Day.
 * Took a Level in Badass: Thanks to Seta's training.
 * Unlucky Everydude

Naru Narusegawa
"Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese) and Dorothy Elias-Fahn (English)"

The main female character, a 17-year-old top scorer at mock exams and a resident of the Hinata House. While initially disdainful of Keitaro, his poor academics and his accidental perversions, she starts to fall for him, even as she starts to remember that, like Keitaro, she also made a promise with a boy whose name she cannot remember to enter Tokyo U together with him.


 * The Ace
 * Alliterative Name
 * Beautiful All Along: Inverted -- in some cases she wears Opaque Nerd Glasses and ties her hair into a braid.
 * Blind Without'Em
 * Cannot Spit It Out
 * Character Development: Finally kicks in by the last few volumes of the manga, as we learn her reasons to be the way she is.
 * Character Exaggeration: The anime ups her tsuntsun, to the point that some people are warned about her bitchiness before they start watching the series. It's really not helped by how her Character Development was very much chucked out.
 * Childhood Marriage Promise: Like Keitaro, she remembered she also made one such vow to a boy whose name she forgot.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl
 * Cry Cute: Broke down in tears twice in Chapter 17 after failing her very first entrance exams, and thrice -- during her (and Keitaro's) stay at Paraklese Island: while wondering if she failed the second time around, again, and then she fully breaks down crying.
 * Domestic Abuser: Her beatings of Keitaro got more and more ridiculous as the series advances. Cranked Up to Eleven in the anime.
 * Expy: Of Shiori Fujisaki, oh so much; she's also partially inspired from Cindy of former Akamatsu work A.I. Love You.
 * Girls Love Stuffed Animals: She has a Liddo-kun doll that she keeps over the hole between her's and Keitaro's rooms.
 * Hair Antennae: The Trope image.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend: Towards Keitaro. Too many times to count, and yet nobody is convinced.
 * She does this so often that she reflexively does this.
 * Hot for Teacher: Has a crush on Seta, who was her tutor in high school.
 * Ill Girl: She has asthma, and as a little girl it was WAY worse. Her Tokyo U promise happened during a time when her asthma attacks got so severe she was sent over to the Hinata House in hopes that its climate would help improve her health.
 * I Know Karate: Seta taught her Jeet Kun Do.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Towards Keitaro and Mutsumi, once she came to the conclusion that the latter was apparently the one Keitaro made his Childhood Marriage Promise with.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Laser-Guided Karma: When Kanako shows up, Naru learns to regret what she did to Keitaro -- particularly as he took notes on the specifics as to what was done.
 * Megaton Punch: Known as the "Naru Punch".
 * Paper Fan of Doom: On some occasions.
 * Ronin: Failed to get into Tokyo University on her first try.
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man
 * Tsundere: Type B (deredere). To Flanderized extremes in the anime.
 * Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Towards Keitaro.
 * Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Towards Keitaro.

Mutsumi Otohime
"Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese) and Julie Ann Taylor (English)"

A newcomer to the Hinata House and, like Keitaro, is a 20-year-old Ronin, though her failures stem less from being an academic underachiever than from her clumsiness and tendency to faint at the most inappropriate times.


 * Adult Child: Mature yet adorable.
 * Breakout Character: She was supposed to be a one-shot character for the first vacation arc, but she proved so popular to fans Akamatsu essentially rewrote her entire Backstory to include her as a main character.
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Cool Big Sis
 * Dogged Nice Girl
 * Dojikko
 * Eyes Always Shut: But not as often as Kitsune.
 * Feminine Women Can Cook
 * Fourth Wall Observer
 * Talking to Naru about the letter from Keitaro. Mutsumi:"Don't you remember…I told you about it just a few pages ago."
 * Genius Ditz:
 * Good Is Not Dumb
 * Hair Antennae: Mutsumi and Naru share this trait.
 * Heroic BSOD: Right after Keitaro broke his leg.
 * Ill Girl: To the point of fainting from anemia. By the end of the manga her symptoms seem to be gone.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: To the max for Keitaro. She does this so many times for Keitaro and Naru, even though Mutsumi has loved Keitaro since they were little.
 * Nice Girl
 * Out of Focus: Particularly jarring considering she is a main character just as Keitaro and Naru are.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Accidentally with Naru in many scenes, apparently without even realizing it.
 * Ronin: Like Keitaro, she failed her entrance exams two years straight, though not due to poor academics, but due to mishaps (such as failing to write her name) and her condition (fainted just before the exams started).
 * Smarter Than You Look: Rather perceptive and good at reading people. See Ronin, also
 * Supreme Chef: Same as Keitaro by making “dummy” cakes.
 * Three Faces of Eve: She's all three at once. Teasing and boobielicious Seductress, kind and sweet Mother, distracted and clumsy Child.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Watermelons. Coincidentally, they're good for anemia, what with their concentration of lycopene.

Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno
"Voiced by: Junko Noda (Japanese) and Barbara Goodson (English)"

A 19-year-old member of the Hinata House and a freelance writer.


 * Animal Motifs: The fox, obviously.
 * Bottle Fairy
 * Cool Big Sis: Served as this for Naru and Shinobu.
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Hot for Teacher: Has had a crush on Seta.
 * Idiot Hair
 * It Amused Me: Many of her mischievous deeds boil down to this.
 * Kansai Regional Accent: Given a southern accent in the dub.
 * The Ladette
 * Meaningful Name: Akamatsu intentionally gave her face "fox-like" features to drive the point home.
 * Shipper on Deck: To Keitaro and Naru.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname
 * Out of Focus: Even Akamatsu himself admits with regret she is an underused character with a potential for a lot more backstory.
 * The Tease: To say the least.
 * Trickster

Shinobu Maehara
"Voiced by: Masayo Kurata (Japanese) and Bridget Hoffman (English)"

Shinobu, the youngest member of the House at 13 years old, decided to live on her own due to her parents' divorce and her refusal to choose between which parent to live with. She and Kaolla are the youngest residents of the House, being the mild-mannered counterpart to the energetic Kaolla.


 * Cannot Spit It Out: So many times she could confess to Keitaro, but she's too shy to do so.
 * Covert Pervert
 * Feminine Women Can Cook
 * Nice Girl
 * Odd Friendship: With Kaolla and Sarah.
 * Parental Abandonment: She lives at Hinata House because she couldn't deal with her parents's divorce.
 * Shrinking Violet
 * Shy Blue-Haired Girl
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man
 * Sparkling Stream of Tears
 * Team Chef
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Motoko Aoyama
"Voiced by: Yuu Asakawa (Japanese) and Mona Marshall (English)"

A 15-year-old kendo practitioner and member of a family with their own style of kendo.


 * Action Girl: Stands out all the more in a non-fighting series.
 * Allergic to Love: At first.
 * Covert Pervert: When she spaces out while studying, she has a habit of writing out extremely risque love stories.
 * Cry Cute: Twice -- after Tsuruko curbstomps her and breaks her katana, deeming her too weak to carry on their school's legacy; and after Keitaro tries to comfort her. In the manga, it comes in response to Keitaro's request for her to act more feminine. She keeps failing in her attempts and finally breaks down in tears. Realizing that he's made Motoko absolutely miserable in a gender that isn't hers, Keitaro calls off the request and asks her to be herself.
 * Dangerously-Short Skirt: Wore one as part of a school uniform in the anime, just before Kanako (disguised as Naru) felt her up.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen
 * Does Not Like Men
 * Even the Girls Want Her: Has a posse of girls that fawn over her in the anime.
 * Expy: Of Kikyo.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: Prone to thrashing Keitaro at the slightest provocation.
 * Heir to the Dojo
 * Heroic BSOD: Both times after being defeated by Tsuruko.
 * Hime Cut: Provides the Trope image.
 * Hot Chick with a Sword
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Is the most callous towards Keitaro at first.
 * Important Haircut: Near the end of the manga.
 * Kid Samurai
 * Laser-Guided Karma: Mocks Keitaro's failed efforts to get into Tokyo U.
 * Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
 * Sarashi
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Tsundere: Type A (tsuntsun).
 * Wooden Katanas Are Even Better
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She has an incomprehensible fear of turtles -- made all the more jarring by the fact that the House does have a pet turtle.
 * A databook released post-series explains that she developed her dislike of guys and fear of turtles when she accidentally walked in on her sister and brother-in-law in an intimate position. The Japanese word for the head of a penis is written with the characters for "turtle" and "head." Do the math and...

Kaolla Su
"Voiced by: Reiko Takagi (Japanese) and Wendee Lee (English)"

14-year-old, Kaolla is an energetic, dark-skinned girl from a foreign country who currently resides in the House.


 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Big Eater
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer
 * Darkskinned Blonde
 * Does Not Like Shoes
 * Dynamic Entry: Her way of greeting Keitaro involves hitting him with a flying kick...
 * Everything's Better with Princesses: Kaolla is the princess of the uncharted kingdom of Molmol.
 * Fourth Wall Observer
 * Talking to Keitaro about his broke leg. Su: "Can't ya just put a band aid on it and make it better in the next scene like ya normally do?"
 * Funny Foreigner
 * Gadgeteer Genius: Mecha-Tama is just one of her many inventions.
 * Genki Girl
 * Is It Something You Eat?: The first thing she usually asks upon hearing a new word/phrase/concept since she's such a Big Eater.
 * Nice Girl
 * Odd Friendship: with Shinobu and Sarah.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Bananas.

Haruka Urashima
"Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese) and Mari Devon (English)"

Matron of the Hinata House and Keitaro's 29-year-old maternal cousin and aunt, having been adopted by their grandmother after the death of her own mother, who was the older sister of Keitaro's mother.


 * Christmas Cake:
 * Cry Cute:
 * Cool Big Sis
 * Covert Pervert: Implied -- whenever one of the girls is wearing a weird outfit, chances are it came from Haruka's closet, which apparently includes a frilly Victorian dress and a Meido outfit. Add to that her skill with (and ownership of) a whip...
 * Generation Xerox:
 * Harem Nanny
 * Honorary Aunt: Towards her younger cousin Keitaro. Although, due to adoption, she actually is his aunt as well as his cousin.
 * Insistent Terminology: Dislikes it when Keitaro calls her "aunt", possibly due to being both a Christmas Cake and his older cousin.
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * Whip It Good: She almost never takes it out, and she's reluctant to even pretend that she'd use it, but she's clearly skilled -- she answers the phone with her whip, from across the room.
 * Whip It Good: She almost never takes it out, and she's reluctant to even pretend that she'd use it, but she's clearly skilled -- she answers the phone with her whip, from across the room.

Noriyasu Seta
"Voiced by: Yasunori Matsumoto (Japanese) and Kirk Thornton (English)"

An archaeology professor at the University of Tokyo who Keitaro meets up the steps of the Hinata House after returning from Kyoto with Naru and the rest of the Hinata girls.


 * The Ace
 * Adventurer Archaeologist
 * Composite Character: Seems to equal parts of Henry Jones Junior, Spike Spiegel and Bruce Lee... except with a gentle and nice personality.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer
 * Drives Like Crazy: To put it mildly.
 * Hot Dad
 * I Know Karate: He taught both Naru and Keitaro Jeet Kun Do.
 * Made of Iron
 * Nice Guy
 * Oblivious to Love:
 * Ronin: Like Keitaro, he used to be this for three years.

Sarah McDougal
"Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese) and Julie Maddalena (English)"

Seta's 9-year-old adopted daughter from California and a tomboyish brat to boot.


 * Bratty Half-Pint
 * Embarrassing Tattoo: Has a panda tattoo patched up her left buttock.
 * I Know Karate: Jeet Kun Do, taught by Seta yet again.
 * Odd Friendship: with Kaolla and Shinobu.
 * Phenotype Stereotype
 * Tomboy

Tsuruko Aoyama
"Voiced by: Miki Nagasawa (Japanese) and Philece Sampler (English)"

Motoko's older sister, whose refusal to succeed to their God's Cry School in favor of settling down in a Happily Married life brought some resentment into her younger sister.


 * The Ace
 * Animal Motifs: The crane.
 * Berserk Button: If you ever lie to her, pray she never catches on!
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Does this twice to Motoko, after she pressed the above Berserk Button.
 * Cute and Psycho: Is a genuinely nice person, almost the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko... just don't make her realize you lied in front of her or else...
 * Hime Cut
 * Hot Chick with a Sword: Becomes a really nasty Girl with Psycho Weapon if her Berserk Button is pressed.
 * Lady of War
 * Onee-Sama
 * Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
 * Sarashi
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Subverted in that she's pretty cheerful.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: Has the traditional look and most of the time she acts out the trope, but if she hears you lie....

Haitani & Shirai
"Haitani is voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Japanese) and Steve Blum (English) Shirai is voiced by: Michio Miyashita (Japanese) and Gene Holliday (English)"

Keitaro's friends and, like him, a pair of Ronins.


 * Demoted to Extra: And they have their fun lampshading this.
 * Ronin
 * Those Two Guys

Kentaro Sakata
"Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu (Japanese) and Steve Areno (English)"

An anime-exclusive character and a hopeless suitor for Naru's heart.


 * Butt Monkey: And how!
 * Canon Foreigner: He was filler introduced in the anime, and never made it back into the manga.
 * Deus Ex Machina: He shows up whenever he's needed, usually with whatever form of transportation the plot needs (such as a car with a bike in the back, or a car/rocketship thing.
 * Fourth Wall Observer: "Well. I suppose that's all the screen time I'm getting this time."
 * Hopeless Suitor
 * Rich Idiot With No Day Job
 * Romantic False Lead: His introduction, which he lampshades: "I thought about swooping down in a helicopter to pick you up, but that's such a clichéd way to introduce a wealthy rival, don't you think?" Soon after his introduction, he devolves from this into more of a Butt Monkey.

Kanako Urashima
"Voiced by: Natsuko Kuwatani (Japanese) and Melissa Fahn (English)"

Keitaro's adopted sister with some feelings for him.


 * Brother-Sister Incest: One-sided -- Keitaro does not share the same feelings.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl
 * Defrosting Ice Queen
 * Does Not Like Sweets: Which is unfortunate, given that the Urashima family is a line of confectioners. Keitaro seems oblivious to her tastes.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita
 * Hime Cut
 * Idiot Hair
 * Master of Disguise: She can reposition her bones to match other peoples builds. Keitaro, however, can easily see through it.
 * Meta Girl
 * Not Blood Siblings: Kanako was adopted.
 * Sarashi: Uses it for more pragmatic reasons.
 * Yandere

Tama
"Voiced by: Yukie Maeda (Japanese) and Wendee Lee (English)"

A hot springs turtle given to Naru by Mutsumi after helping her return to Okinawa.


 * Ambiguous Gender: Keitaro refers to them as a boy, Shinobu refers to them as a girl, Mutsumi (the resident turtle expert) never specifies.
 * Flying Turtle
 * Interspecies Romance: Has a crush on Motoko.
 * Team Pet
 * Turtle Power