Love Hina: Difference between revisions

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[[File:rsz_love_hina_62_179.jpg|frame| [[Butt Monkey|He's]] not as lucky as it seems.<ref>Left to right: top row: [[Yamato Nadeshiko|Motoko]], [[Genki Girl|S]][[Gadgeteer Genius|u]]; second row: [[Shrinking Violet|Shinobu]], [[Tsundere|Narusegawa]] and [[The Ladette|Kitsune]]; and [[Iron Butt Monkey|Keitaro]] at the bottom. Not shown: [[Genius Ditz|Mutsumi]], [[The Stoic|Haruka]], [[Adventurer Archaeologist|Seta]] and [[Bratty Half-Pint|Sarah]].</ref>]]

 

{{quote|''"Don't touch me! What if your stupidity is contagious?!"<ref>alternately: "Let go of me! What if your low grades are contagious?!"</ref>''}}

 

 

It would probably help if he could actually remember who the little girl was, but he has only the vaguest memory of what she looked like, and no memory whatsoever of her name.

When Keitaro arrives at Hinata House, he discovers that his grandmother has left already without leaving any instructions, and worse, failed to warn him that the former resort is now a girls-only dormitory. The inhabitants are less than pleased with the incursion of a "perverted male" into their domain, but he eventually convinces them to let him stay, on sufferance and with much vigilance on their part against any future misbehavior.

 

 

Thought by many to be the archetypal example of the harem genre, ''Love Hina'' is a comedy with a dramatic thread running through it. The story has a strong ensemble cast that adeptly brings together a wide variety of characters and character types into what can arguably be called a family. As one of the first anime to be produced entirely on computers, the art is crisp and clean and never suffers from the usual loss of quality that can affect traditionally-animated series during deadline crunches. Although Keitaro is subject to a large amount of cartoonishly slapstick violence at times, it is not just a love story but the story of his growth into an adult.

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[Accidental Pervert]]: Keitaro. Countless times.

** Inverted in one instance where Naru walks in on Keitaro changing, promptly screams that he's a pervert and punches him. She sheepishly explains it as a reflex action.

** Special mention to his insane driving skills as well. His van seems to take a lot of damage, but it always somehow manages to drive away, even if the vehicle is turned on its side.

* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: Siblings and parents only mentioned in the manga show up in the anime; Shinobu's Dad, Suu's brother and sister, and Naru's little sister.

* [[Adventurer Archaeologist]]: Seta, and later Keitaro.

* [[Almost Kiss]]: Happens to Keitaro and Naru a lot. Mutsumi doesn't seem to have that problem however, as she kisses both of them on separate occasions.

* [[Always Someone Better]]: Seta to Motoko (and Haruka to an extent,) also Tsuruko to Motoko.

* [[Amusing Injuries]]: Happens to Keitaro [[Once an Episode]], but everyone in the anime series and manga get at least one of these.

{{quote|'''Su''': [[Lampshade Hanging|Can't ya just make it go away with a band-aid like ya usually do?]] [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|Like in one frame?]]}}

* [[Anguished Declaration of Love]]: {{spoiler|[http://www.mangareader.net/239-17371-14/love-hina/chapter-105.html Chapter 105, Page 14]}}

* [[Author Avatar]]: Akamatsu makes two appearances in the anime, not to mention that he looks suspiciously similar to a certain protagonist of the series.

* [[Badass]]: Seta may be the first to come to mind, but Haruka trumps him, especially in chapter 78 of the manga. Then there's Tama, who's a league of bad-ass all by himself.

* [[Barehanded Blade Block]]: Keitaro to Motoko, and later, Tama the turtle. Yes, seriously. At both points, Motoko thinks she's hit rock bottom.

* [[Bastard Girlfriend]]: [[Nerds Are Sexy|Naru]], [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo|Motoko]], even [[The Tease|Kitsune]] on an emotional level. The abuse may get over the top, but damned if they don't look hot doing it!

* [[Blind Without'Em]]: Keitaro and sometimes Naru. There's a whole episode centered on this.

* [[Boke and Tsukkomi Routine]]: Mutsumi's non-sequiturs, puns and general daffiness are patterned after the idiot side of the routine, with Keitaro or Naru reacting like the straight man. (Though Keitaro is usually the one that ends up getting hit.)

* [[Bound and Gagged]]: {{spoiler|Kanako}} does this to Shinobu, when she stumbled onto her {{spoiler|sniffing her brother's shirt}} and later imprisons Su and Sarah when they barge in on her room and see {{spoiler|she had been impersonating Shinobu a few seconds ago.}}

** This being {{spoiler|Kanako}}'s specialty, she ties up every character at one point or another.

* [[Bratty Half-Pint]]: Sarah McDougall.

* [[Broke Episode]]: Episode 14. Due to their excessive expenses/partying, the inn has to find 67,000 yen to pay the utility bills or else they get shut down.

* [[Brother-Sister Incest]]: [[Not Blood Siblings|Adopted sister]], actually.

* [[Censor Steam]]: Opaque enough for the audience, but apparently not enough to spare Keitaro's hide.

** On a related note, we have, at one point, Censor Suu. This sort involves hanging one strategically-folded Kaolla Su around Motoko's neck, and letting her run around the screen for a few panels before and after to justify her presence.

* [[Childhood Marriage Promise]]: And it starts getting really convoluted.

* [[Christmas Cake]]: Subverted - {{spoiler|Haruka and Seta get married late in the manga.}}

* [[Cross-Popping Veins]]: Several characters display these, but mostly Naru.

* [[Cry Cute]]: Aunt Haruka, Narusegawa Naru and Aoyama Motoko. Kanako does this occasionally, when Keitaro can't remember his promise to her.

* [[A Date with Rosie Palms]]: After Kitsune gave Keitaro his first grope, Naru assumed he was going to do this. It didn't end well.

* [[Dark-Skinned Blond]]: The Su sisters.

* [[Death Glare]]: Kanako gives a particularly vicious one to Naru after running out from shampooing Keitaro's hair and learning that he didn't remember his promise to her.

* [[Deep-Immersion Gaming]]: Episode 8. It turns out to have been a dream, although it does help break Motoko out of her mold a little when she sees the other characters having fun and inviting her to join them.

** Somewhat averted when he {{spoiler|re-breaks the same leg right in the next chapter due to Kitsune tickling him.}}

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: As noted various times, the girls tend to humiliate or beat up Keitaro simply because he arrives at the wrong time when they are changing or violate them accidentally. Its even more absurd when one also remembers that they themselves are perfectly all right with it if it's with themselves. Furthermore, the girls frequently "punish" Keitaro for their own mistakes, such as walking in on him naked. One chapter has them worrying about his marks, so they try to cheer him up by letting him bathe with them. When he tearfully thanks them and mentions his score (which is actually quite high - their concern had made him worry he'd done a terrible job), they attack him, even though ''they'd assumed he'd failed, and none of them had bothered to ask him how he did''.

* [[Does Not Like Shoes]]/[[Foot Focus]]: Kaolla Su is usually barefoot. Also, her sister Amalla Su is barefoot all the time.

* [[Dojikko]]: Mutsumi.

* [[Driven to Suicide]]: Played for laughs every time Motoko suffers a severe setback: she suddenly and overdramatically threatens to commit seppuku, [[Jidai Geki]] style.

** Defied in the manga. The girls like to assume an unlikely worst-case scenario of Keitaro killing himself if hit with extremely bad news or misfortune. So they try to keep him away from the problem or just be exceptionally nice to him for a change.

* [[Drunk on the Dark Side]]: When {{spoiler|Naru}} wields the Cursed Sword of Hina. She comes completely unhinged.

* [[Dynamic Entry]]: Su LOVES to do this.

* [[Elegant Gothic Lolita]]: Kanako.

** Plus everyone else (except Keitaro) on the cover of volume 11, in which Kanako arrives.

* [[Eyes Always Shut]]: Kitsune. Sometimes both eyes, other times just one of them. Very rarely she opens both eyes at the same time.

* [[The Faceless]]: Kitsune, "hidden eyes" version.

* [[Fairytale Wedding Dress]]: {{spoiler|Naru's dress when she and Keitaro marry in the [[Manga]]. His aunt also wears a fancy wedding dress in the penultimate volume.}}

* [[Festival Episode]]: Episode 18 has one.

* [[First Girl Wins]]: {{spoiler|Played with; Mutsumi is presented as the first girl but ultimately it's Naru even though Mutsumi was first.}}

* [[Five-Man Band]]: So easy with the girls living at the pension. Naru is [[The Hero]], Kitsune [[The Lancer]], Motoko [[The Big Guy]], Su [[The Smart Guy]] and Shinobu [[The Chick]]. Pick your [[Sixth Ranger]] between Haruka, Sarah and Mutsumi.

** Perhaps it's of little coincidence that several voice actors in the ''Love Hina'' anime [[Hey, It's That Voice!|have prior exprience]] in dating sims. To wit:

*** Keitaro is [[Yuji Ueda|Yoshio Saotome]] of ''Tokimeki Memorial 1''

* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: Despite all of the noteworthy action between Keitaro and Mutsumi, it's ridiculously evident that Naru will be with him. By the final three volumes, there's literally no hope for the other girls.

* [[Forgotten First Meeting]]: Probably the poster child for this trope.

* [[Fourth Wall Observer]]: Kentaro Sakata's comments to the audience about the anime, its plot, and his role therein.

{{quote|"Well. I suppose that's all the screen time I'm getting this time."}}

* [[Green Rooming]]: Motoko (along with her "groupies") is introduced in the first minutes of the first episode, but she immediately leaves on a training excursion, thus freeing up screen time for introductions of the other characters before she gets her turn to take center stage in the third episode.

* [[Hachimaki]]

* [[Hair Antennae]]: Naru and Mutsumi

* [[Hexagonal Speech Balloon]]

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Motoko has one in an episode where she believes that due to not wearing her traditional battle dress, she can't use her special attacks. At least until Keitaro snaps her out of it, and tells her that the clothing didn't matter, and that she was still the same person no matter what she wore.

* [[Hilarity Ensues]]: The wholes series can be summed up as: A man becomes the [[Landlord]] of an all girls dorm, [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* [[Hime Cut]]: Motoko and Tsuruko.

* [[Hot Springs Episode]]: Pretty much the entire series, except for the previously mentioned [[Beach Episode|beach episodes]].

* [[Humiliation Conga]]: The 10th volume was essentially about Kanako repeatedly subjecting the girls to this for constantly abusing Keitaro.

* [[Indirect Kiss]]

* [[Innocent Innuendo]]: ''Mutsumi''.

* [[I Have This Friend]]

* [[Invisible Parents]]: Keitaro's parents are never seen, although his mom can be heard in the first episode. Also played straight with Su, Kitsune, and Motoko, although the other girls (Sarah, Naru, Shinobu) avert this trope.

** kind hearted Mutsumi who manages to be this and [[Victorious Childhood Friend]] at the same time for the same boy.

** Naru tries to do this to Keitaro with Mutsumi in the manga, although it's touched on a little in the anime as well.

* [[Love You and Everybody]]: Seta does this to Naru. But then he also says it to Keitaro, then Kitsune, then just about every other main character trapped in the cave.

* [[Mad Scientist]]: Su, self-proclaimed. "Every evil invention must come with a self-destruct button!"

* [[Magic Realism]]

* [[Master of Disguise]]: Kanako, to the point where she can actually relocate her skeleton to change her body shape.

** Subverted by Keitaro - he can see through them.

* [[Megaton Punch]]: Naru Punch!

** Taken to extreme in the anime. Keitaro receives several per episode, and a lot of times it seems any answer he gives Naru results in one of these. Fortunately he's [[Iron Butt Monkey|pretty durable]].

* [[Meta Guy]]: Kanako.

* [[Moment Killer]]: Someone should count all the times this happens.

* [[My Fist Forgives You]]: Explicitly done by Naru over the diary incident, but also kind of by implication several other times.

* [[My Kung Fu Is Stronger Than Yours]]

* [[Naked First Impression]]

* [[Nerd Glasses]]

** [[Immortal Life Is Cheap]] as consequence.

** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in the manga when part of the Budokan falls on Keitaro. {{spoiler|He breaks a leg.}}

* [[Sacred First Kiss]]

* [[Samurai]]: Later Motoko, plus her sister Tsuruko.

* [[Scenery Censor]]: Usually played fairly subtly, but it's all over the place in the manga.

* [[Sdrawkcab Name]]: Of the syllabic variant. When Naru and Kanako are competing against each other in a fighting game at an arcade, Naru's character name is Luna, Kanako's Konaka (who's also totally a [[Captain Ersatz]] of [[Street Fighter|Ibuki]]).

* [[Selective Obliviousness]]

* [[Self-Serving Memory]]: The first half of Episode 4, with Keitaro writing in his diary.

** Keitaro tries to do this with Naru and Seta. Fortunately for him, Seta doesn't see her that way, and instead [[Everyone Can See It|points out the obvious.]] Then either Keitaro or Naru [[She Is Not My Girlfriend|will try to deny it.]]

** Naru herself tries to do this towards Keitaro and Mutsumi in the manga, while her sister tries it in the anime. The scene where Naru is dressed up like a nerd while Mutsumi is wearing a pretty dress is the same in both versions, although Naru does this herself in the manga, while her sister does it in the anime.

* [[Shrinking Violet]]: Maehara Shinobu

* [[Slapstick Knows No Gender]]: Everyone in the show aside from Haruka and Tsuruko gets hit with an [[Amusing Injury]] at some point.

* [[Theme Tune Cameo]]

* [[The Peeping Tom]]: A bored Kitsune, Shinobu, and Su in episode 13 drills three holes into Naru's room to spy on Keitaro trying to kiss a sleeping Naru, but he stops himself. Naru, apparently awake the whole time, responds with a [[Megaton Punch|punch]], and then pokes her finger into each hole to punish the three girls for spying on her.

* [[This and That]]: Keitaro mentions this during episode 19 when Lamba Lu shows up.

* [[Those Two Guys]]: Haitani and Shirai (Keitaro's [[Ronin]] friends)

* [[Together Umbrella]]: {{spoiler|At end of the series before the epilogue, Keitaro shows Naru the [[Time Capsule]] they and Mutsumi buried in the old sandbox, and one of the items inside is a sheet of paper with a drawing of an umbrella with all their names under it.}}

* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Su [[Big Eater|loves food in general]], but especially bananas. And Mutsumi loves watermelons (which may be a reference to her being the most buxom woman in the cast).

* [[Tsundere]]: Naru and Motoko make up opposite sides of this coin. Motoko, with her aggressive attitude (particularly around men) embodies Type Tsun, while the somewhat more soft-spoken Naru (who usually only goes ballistic around Keitaro) embodies Type Dere.

* [[A Twinkle in the Sky]]: Keitaro when punched by Naru.

* [[Unresolved Sexual Tension]]: By the truckload, though that's hardly unusual [[Unwanted Harem|for the genre]].

* [[Visual Pun]]:

{{quote|'''Kitsune:''' Stop slacking off up there!}}

* [[Waterfall Shower]]:

** During the trip Sara and Naru take one only to have Keitaro fall in on them.

* [[We Can Rule Together]]: {{spoiler|Suu}}, in an unusually literal sense.

* [[Weddings in Japan]]: Keitaro and Naru's, and Haruka and Seta's.

* [[We Really Do Care]]: Keitaro and Naru go off on their own vacations and wind up together anyway. Everyone else in the house believes they're going to commit suicide together, and rush out to stop them. {{spoiler|They really weren't obviously}}.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?|What the Hell, Tsundere?]]: Kanako really reams Naru out for her treatment of Keitaro.

* [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]: Motoko's sister Tsuruko dropped the martial arts in order to get married and become this.

* [[Yandere]]: Kanako

* [[You Must Be Cold]]: Variant in the manga, with two females.

 

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