Five Dangerous Months at the Hinata Inn
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Kanako: Look at yourself, Keitaro! You're killing yourself over a girl you haven't seen in fifteen years! |
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What happens when you take the harem series Love Hina, strip it of its Fan Service, play what was supposed to be funny for either drama or dark comedy, and have it rewritten with every single story arc planned out? Oh, and as a self-imposed challenge, the writer cannot use any of the Love Hina soundtrack, no non-original music, he cannot watch the anime or read the manga, he must voice every character by himself, and, most importantly, animate it entirely in a virtual doll program designed for Touhou characters? You get Five Dangerous Months at the Hinata Inn by Spaztique, who wrote this page due to the tropey nature of the series from the first episode alone. (He originally planned to include a little TV Tropes section in each video description, but it was too large, which led him to this.
The story thus far: Hyper-obsessive Ronin Keitaro Urashima has spent the last three years of his life abusing his health to get into Tokyo University to fulfill a fifteen-year-old Childhood Marriage Promise, which has essentially torn his family apart. When he's finally kicked out, he sets off to his grandma's inn, the Hinata Inn Hot Springs Resort, to gain control so he can both have a place to study for Tokyo U's entrance exam and fulfill his promise with his sister to run the inn together. Let's just say It Got Worse.
If you're not coming from Youtube, watch it here: Episode 1.1: DOWNER BEGINNING
Episode 1.2 has been in Development Hell since 2012 thanks to Ao Usagi Tribute Show, but the creator has made several "original soundtrack" videos to go with episode 1.1.
- AcCENT Upon the Wrong SylLABle: As a side effect of avoiding the anime, some of the name enunciations for Episode 1.1 are off. Let's just assume it's Translation Convention and ignore it for now.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Particularly the opening of Episode 1.1.
- Adaptation Expansion: Keitaro's home life now plays a part in the story.
- Age Lift: Kanako was originally 3-5 years younger than Keitaro, but here she is now closer to Keitaro's age. There are plans for this down the line...
- All There in the Manual: For Episode 1.1, we don't really get to know the rest of the cast yet, nor their names (unless you overhear them).
- Animesque: An attempted aversion.
- Arc Welding: In the first episode alone, Kanako's subplot and Motoko's subplot, introduced at random in the original, are now tied into the main plot, and according to The Stinger, Naru actually recognizes Keitaro from prep school, where it seemed more like a surprise in the original.
- Big Ball of Violence: When everyone ties up Keitaro in Episode 1.1.
- Black Comedy
- Bleached Underpants: Due to the creative limits of create.swf, all of the fanservice was removed, and considering how fanservicey the original was, that's saying something.
- Brick Joke: The travel pamphlets Naru mentions can be found behind Motoko.
- Broad Strokes: The original LH was written by the seat of Akumatsu's pants. This was written with the entire series in mind (in addition to some of the retoolings).
- Canon Foreigner: Keitaro's parents.
- Chewing the Scenery: When Naru yells, she *yells*.
- Childhood Marriage Promise: Deconstructed. It's turned Keitaro into a living trainwreck.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Su, more so than the original.
- Darker and Edgier: Keitaro's situation is played for Dark Comedy (if not stark seriousness) rather than straight comedy.
- Deconstruction: Of Love Hina. The first episode alone butchers the idea of Keitaro trying to hold onto his promise, showing just how disturbed Keitaro would have to become to hold onto his promise for so long.
- Despair Event Horizon: By the time to story starts, Keitaro is so hopeless that death is a fine alternative to meeting his promise girl.
- Development Hell: Courtesy of Ao Usagi.
- Did Not Do the Research: Intentionally! Spaztique lost the books and wants to rewrite the entire series.
- Doing It for the Art: It's a Love Hina manga adaptation done entirely in a virtual doll program made for Touhou characters, doing things it was NOT meant to do, without re-reading the manga or watching the anime, using entirely original music. Why did he make this? WHY NOT?!
- Downer Beginning: Lampshaded by the title of Episode 1.1. Keitaro loses his promise girl, becomes a nervous wreck studying for Tokyo U's entrance exam, his family is crumbling apart, and he's been kicked out of the house. And that's not even the start of what's to come.
- Driven to Suicide: Keitaro. At the beginning, he's overworking himself to the point of death. In the end, realizing he can't get the inn back or find a place to stay, he contemplates drowning himself.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Keitaro has these for beginning of Episode 1.1.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Kanako doesn't show up until 4/5ths of the way through the original series, and her existance is retconned into the story. Here, Keitaro's promise to run the inn with her becomes a major plot point.
- Either or Title: The Title or TROPE NAME.
- Establishing Character Moment: The big chase scene from 1.1 is one giant one for the entire cast.
- Fanime: Made in a virtual doll program designed for Touhou Project characters.
- Fan Service: Averted as both a self-imposed challenge and because of the limits of create.swf.
- Foreshadowing: All over the place in Episode 1.1: Kanako's hatred of Keitaro's promise girl, Keitaro's dad mentioning Kanako working in the family shop, Keitaro mentioning his grandma promised him the inn, the travel pamphlets in the lobby, Naru's first words towards Keitaro, the secret passages, Motoko's list of positives about Keitaro, and The Stinger revealing Naru has a Liddo-Kun the squirrel doll AND she knows Keitaro is lying.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Keitaro has a Liddo-kun the Squirrel doll. Various Walfasers inhabit the train station.
- Funny Background Event: Keep your eye on Su. She is this incarnate.
- Happy Flashback: To Keitaro and his promise girl, although in grainy vision, distorted sound, and horrendously depressing music.
- Hikikomori: Keitaro is borderline one by the story's opening.
- Hope Spot: Keitaro thinks the worst is over once he gets to the inn. Needless to say, It Got Worse.
- Is It Something You Eat?: Su and Tokyo U again, only with a new twist on an old classic.
- It Got Worse: Just when Keitaro's life can't spiral down any more, he reaches the inn, and it turns out he just accidentally invaded an all-girl leasing apartment.
- Jump Scare: In Episode 1.1, Naru's tirade against Keitaro starts with one.
- Large Ham: Naru when she's angry.
- Larynx Dissonance: There's only one male actor and eight female characters.
- Let's See You Do Better: Spaztique admits to averting this trope. He is not trying to top the original: just make a different version of the original. Besides, it'll be hard to in a virtual doll program designed for Touhou characters.
- Limited Animation: Done entirely in a paper doll program designed for Touhou characters.
- Long List: Keitaro's list of things he's not good at.
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Keitaro: I'm not that stupid! I mean I'm only in the 49th percentile and my only bad subject is math... and English... and social studies, and biology, history, chemistry, physics, fine arts, physical education, anything pertaining to music, sports, speech, grammar, psychology, economics, anatomy, astronomy, geology... |
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- MacGuffin: The inn has become this for Keitaro and Kanako.
- Mood Whiplash: BIG TIME. Opens with a somber, disjointed view of Keitaro's history, then turns to slapstick at the inn.
- Motor Mouth: Much of the cast to keep the episode condensed to the length it is.
- Naked First Impression: Averted, due to the limitations of create.swf, but also to tighten the episode.
- Race Lift: Thanks to create.swf's limitations, Su is no longer tan. To make up for this, she switches accents every other line.
- Reactive Continuous Scream: In Episode 1.1, Keitaro and Naru's first encounter ends with this... that, and a table to the face.
- Reality Subtext: When Keitaro says, "Oh, what have I gotten myself into?," that was also Spaztique when he realized he had to continue the series after that point.
- Retool: The original series had a comedy/drama mix of 80/20. This series will have a mix of 50/50. Also, the original was written in chronological order with no mind to future events. Everything here is built to foreshadow what's to come.
- Scenery Porn: By Walfas standards, at least. Many of the sets were custom made, either by Spaztique or by KimikoMuffin.
- Self-Imposed Challenge: A non-video game example: Remake Love Hina without the fanservice, without viewing the source material, without using the soundtrack, while only using original music, one voice actor, and a simplistic virtual doll program for animation.
- Shout-Out: Since it was made in a program designed for Touhou characters, there are plenty to spot.
- Slapstick Knows No Gender: One of the goals of the series is to evenly distribute the pain among the residents.
- The Stinger
- Talking to Himself: Ten characters, eight of which are female, and one male VA.
- Translation Convention: Kind of a given, but this whole thing takes place in Japan, all voiced by a guy from Texas.
- Troperiffic: The first episode alone has ALL of these tropes.
- Troubled Fetal Position: Keitaro is in this in a flashback shot in Episode 1.1, given create.swf's limitations.
- Unreadable Disclaimer: The notice on the inn's sign.
- Virtual Paper Doll: Everything was animated in Walfas's Create.swf, or "Create A Touhou Character".
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Su never sticks to one accent.
- When All You Have Is a Hammer: Made entirely with a virtual doll program designed for Touhou characters.
- Word of God: Spaztique will answer ANY question.
- X-Ray Sparks: When Keitaro is electrocuted by Su's makeshift electric fence.
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Keitaro: So, when do you think he's going to get back to this series? |
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- ↑ Because create.swf only allows one skin tone, Su is no longer tan.