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Love Hina #1
Love Hina Omnibus 1
When Keitaro Urashima fails his entrance exams to get into Tokyo University for the second time, he's officially an unemployed and uneducated slacker. To make things worse, his parents have kicked him out of his house. Fortunately, his grandmother owns the fabulous Hinata Lodge and has agreed to take Keitaro in as caretaker. What he doesn't know is that the lodge is actually a girl's dorm and he's the only guy around! Most guys would kill to live with five sexy ladies, but if Keitaro's not careful, this job will kill him.
592 pages, Paperback
First published October 4, 2011
333 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Ken Akamatsu
641 books231 followersKen Akamatsu (赤松 健, Akamatsu Ken, July 5, 1968 -) is a Japanese mangaka from Tokyo.
In his teenage years, Akamatsu failed the entrance exam to Tokyo University, and applied for Film Study instead (it is speculated that this is where he got the idea for Love Hina). Eventually, he became famous as an illustrator featured in Comiket (short for Comic Market, a comic convention bi-annually held in Japan). He used the pen name Awa Mizuno (水野 亜和, MIZUNO Awa). Akamatsu, still in college, then proceeded to win the Weekly Shonen Magazine award twice. His "A Kid's Game for One Summer" was awarded the coveted 50th Shonen Magazine Newcomer's Award soon after he graduated.
After a big hit with A.I. Love You, he finally made a grand success with his new manga, Love Hina. The series appeared in Weekly Shonen Magazine and has been collected in eleven volumes (with fourteen volumes in total), which have sold over 6 million copies in Japan, and received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen in 2001.
Akamatsu had added elements of his own life experiences to the story, and this was said to have induced a unique feeling to the manga especially for Western readers, whose lack of familiarity with Japanese culture for the most part added to the effect. The series, published in America in 2002, was especially well received in many overseas countries - Akamatsu was surprised that even foreign readers found Love Hina to be "cute" and to their liking.
He is now married to his wife 'Kanon' Akamatsu, who was previously a singer/idol. He is currently working on his latest manga series, Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, which is his longest running manga so far. Like Love Hina, has also been made into an anime series. A second independent retelling of Negima was made called Negima!?. Both series were produced by XEBEC (Negima!? was produced by SHAFT).
In his teenage years, Akamatsu failed the entrance exam to Tokyo University, and applied for Film Study instead (it is speculated that this is where he got the idea for Love Hina). Eventually, he became famous as an illustrator featured in Comiket (short for Comic Market, a comic convention bi-annually held in Japan). He used the pen name Awa Mizuno (水野 亜和, MIZUNO Awa). Akamatsu, still in college, then proceeded to win the Weekly Shonen Magazine award twice. His "A Kid's Game for One Summer" was awarded the coveted 50th Shonen Magazine Newcomer's Award soon after he graduated.
After a big hit with A.I. Love You, he finally made a grand success with his new manga, Love Hina. The series appeared in Weekly Shonen Magazine and has been collected in eleven volumes (with fourteen volumes in total), which have sold over 6 million copies in Japan, and received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen in 2001.
Akamatsu had added elements of his own life experiences to the story, and this was said to have induced a unique feeling to the manga especially for Western readers, whose lack of familiarity with Japanese culture for the most part added to the effect. The series, published in America in 2002, was especially well received in many overseas countries - Akamatsu was surprised that even foreign readers found Love Hina to be "cute" and to their liking.
He is now married to his wife 'Kanon' Akamatsu, who was previously a singer/idol. He is currently working on his latest manga series, Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, which is his longest running manga so far. Like Love Hina, has also been made into an anime series. A second independent retelling of Negima was made called Negima!?. Both series were produced by XEBEC (Negima!? was produced by SHAFT).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 31, 2021
Love Hina Omnibus, Vol. 1 (My Kindle Review)
“Love Hina” is one interesting and hilarious slice-of-life manga that is certainly not like most of it’s genre.
Keitaro Urashima is a guy whose goal is to get into Tokyo University, but has unfortunately struck out twice. Despite being hugely ambitious with his dream, he’s a bit of a slacker with his studies and has very bad luck with girls because of his awkward personality. He finds refuge in his grandmother’s hotel that’s now a girls-only dorm and immediately gets a chilly reception from the tenants. They are successful high school student Naru, shy middle schooler Shinobu, energetic Su, serious swordsgirl Motoko, and jaded and manipulative Kitsune. He definitely gets more than he bargained for and for now he must try to get serious with his studies, being the new manager of the dorm and bond with his tenants despite getting into situations and facing Naru’s wrath.
The winter holidays have arrived in the second volume but that can’t stop Keitaro for prepping for his mock entrance exam and the others help him get his head in the game. Volume three sees him and Naru ready for the test, only for both of them to surprisingly not make the grade and each try to take a break from the devastation. Their separation from each other turns into a night out together in Kyoto and meet Mutsumi, a odd and flighty girl who turns out to act a lot like Keitaro. The three end up having a wonderful island trip and things starts to get pretty romantic.
This series is a real hoot with lots of personality, humor and romantic tension. One thing that I like is how it’s not about the fanservice but the interactions between the characters that’s just so engaging. They’re also plenty of humor on almost every page and there’s plenty of Naru’s fist of fury that flies a lot too, mainly at Keitaro. Yet, it certainly looks like she’s feeling something for him and can’t wait to see more. A (100%/Outstanding)
“Love Hina” is one interesting and hilarious slice-of-life manga that is certainly not like most of it’s genre.
Keitaro Urashima is a guy whose goal is to get into Tokyo University, but has unfortunately struck out twice. Despite being hugely ambitious with his dream, he’s a bit of a slacker with his studies and has very bad luck with girls because of his awkward personality. He finds refuge in his grandmother’s hotel that’s now a girls-only dorm and immediately gets a chilly reception from the tenants. They are successful high school student Naru, shy middle schooler Shinobu, energetic Su, serious swordsgirl Motoko, and jaded and manipulative Kitsune. He definitely gets more than he bargained for and for now he must try to get serious with his studies, being the new manager of the dorm and bond with his tenants despite getting into situations and facing Naru’s wrath.
The winter holidays have arrived in the second volume but that can’t stop Keitaro for prepping for his mock entrance exam and the others help him get his head in the game. Volume three sees him and Naru ready for the test, only for both of them to surprisingly not make the grade and each try to take a break from the devastation. Their separation from each other turns into a night out together in Kyoto and meet Mutsumi, a odd and flighty girl who turns out to act a lot like Keitaro. The three end up having a wonderful island trip and things starts to get pretty romantic.
This series is a real hoot with lots of personality, humor and romantic tension. One thing that I like is how it’s not about the fanservice but the interactions between the characters that’s just so engaging. They’re also plenty of humor on almost every page and there’s plenty of Naru’s fist of fury that flies a lot too, mainly at Keitaro. Yet, it certainly looks like she’s feeling something for him and can’t wait to see more. A (100%/Outstanding)
September 1, 2015
My interest in this volume went in waves: sometimes I soaked up the campy, silly pages and then other times I felt like I was smacking my head into a wall. Boy likes girl - can't just say it. Girl acts annoyed with boy, but secretly likes him...can't just say it. Loved watching the anime, but reading it just wasn't as fun. I may hold off on the second volume.
May 17, 2022
A classic rom-com returns in 5 omnibus volumes.
I'll be perfectly honest before there was Negima and UQ Holder there was another anime I liked inspired by the manga of Ken Akamatsu and that was Love Hina. Sure it got repetitive with the sight gags, awkward moments, and hopeless adventures of attempting to attain admittance to one of the biggest schools in Japan but it had its charms and the occasional semi nude scenes and the manga does not disappoint. Like other mangaka like Rumiko Takahashi who also enjoys some nudity in her works Ken is not ashamed to show the human body whether it be accidental peeks or any other possible excuse though unlike Rumiko I think Ken doesn't show finer points such s nipples upon breasts so conveniently censored or not the levels of nudity or minor just as the cartoony violent reactions to said moments of nudity are often comically cartoony in response (Oh look...he is blasting off agaaaain.) Anyway, as I remember the anime itself fondly my views of how enjoyable to book is may be a bit skewed into the favorable side so you might have to try it yourself if you want to see what the hype is about.
The original manga run being 14 volumes is being represented in the 5 books of this series (I am guessing three volumes for the first four omnibus volumes and the last two for volume five.) In volume one we get to not only meet hopeless romantic Keitaro Urashima as he takes on not only the landlord duties of the all girl Hinata apartments but also all the girls who he is soon to find influencing his life as he attempts to fulfill a promise made long ago. With a superhuman ability to resist bodily harm (reminds me of the MC of Monster Masume) he will deal with any number of misunderstandings as he continues to reach for the future. Along the way relations will be built, more friends will be introduced, and adventures will await each of the unique characters that make up this hodgepodge of a family unit that they find themselves in. With this being the first three volumes of the series I look forward to seeing if it reminds me of the anime I once watched or if I will pleasantly surprise by things yet to come. Only time will tell. :)
I'll be perfectly honest before there was Negima and UQ Holder there was another anime I liked inspired by the manga of Ken Akamatsu and that was Love Hina. Sure it got repetitive with the sight gags, awkward moments, and hopeless adventures of attempting to attain admittance to one of the biggest schools in Japan but it had its charms and the occasional semi nude scenes and the manga does not disappoint. Like other mangaka like Rumiko Takahashi who also enjoys some nudity in her works Ken is not ashamed to show the human body whether it be accidental peeks or any other possible excuse though unlike Rumiko I think Ken doesn't show finer points such s nipples upon breasts so conveniently censored or not the levels of nudity or minor just as the cartoony violent reactions to said moments of nudity are often comically cartoony in response (Oh look...he is blasting off agaaaain.) Anyway, as I remember the anime itself fondly my views of how enjoyable to book is may be a bit skewed into the favorable side so you might have to try it yourself if you want to see what the hype is about.
The original manga run being 14 volumes is being represented in the 5 books of this series (I am guessing three volumes for the first four omnibus volumes and the last two for volume five.) In volume one we get to not only meet hopeless romantic Keitaro Urashima as he takes on not only the landlord duties of the all girl Hinata apartments but also all the girls who he is soon to find influencing his life as he attempts to fulfill a promise made long ago. With a superhuman ability to resist bodily harm (reminds me of the MC of Monster Masume) he will deal with any number of misunderstandings as he continues to reach for the future. Along the way relations will be built, more friends will be introduced, and adventures will await each of the unique characters that make up this hodgepodge of a family unit that they find themselves in. With this being the first three volumes of the series I look forward to seeing if it reminds me of the anime I once watched or if I will pleasantly surprise by things yet to come. Only time will tell. :)
December 7, 2021
Cute, pervy and very "of its time". I liked the characters and awkwardness of it all. Hopefully there will be less focus on exams and school in the next installment, I would have enjoyed that more when I was a high school student.
3 accidental perverts out of 5 nearly underage girls
3 accidental perverts out of 5 nearly underage girls
June 18, 2020
It's been a long time since I read through Love Hina and it was always one of my favorite manga. So when I came across a bundle with the entire series as the new omnibus volumes, I figured I'd re-read and see how it holds up.
When I started reading Omnibus Volume 1, the humor wasn't really hitting for me as much as it did when I first read the series. I eventually fell back in to the pace of the humor and story, and most of the time I enjoyed it as I did when I first read it.
I have more to say, but it probably won't be on Goodreads. The thoughts will be talked about on the podcast me and some friends recently revived that we did for years called Otaku in Review (probably episode 201 or 202). I look forward to discussing how this manga series holds up, and how much more aware I am of more problematic issues as I've gotten older that I didn't notice/shrugged off when I was younger.
When I started reading Omnibus Volume 1, the humor wasn't really hitting for me as much as it did when I first read the series. I eventually fell back in to the pace of the humor and story, and most of the time I enjoyed it as I did when I first read it.
I have more to say, but it probably won't be on Goodreads. The thoughts will be talked about on the podcast me and some friends recently revived that we did for years called Otaku in Review (probably episode 201 or 202). I look forward to discussing how this manga series holds up, and how much more aware I am of more problematic issues as I've gotten older that I didn't notice/shrugged off when I was younger.
June 23, 2020
A refreshing change from other rom-coms...
...Add some harem elements, slice of life, a wee bit of craziness, & adorable yet insanely aggressive girls, and you get this manga. I rather enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the next omni. Art, fairly good, but kinda rough. It often seems rushed. Dialogue, fair. Too much anger from female characters. Characters, fairly believable & all very likeable.
...Add some harem elements, slice of life, a wee bit of craziness, & adorable yet insanely aggressive girls, and you get this manga. I rather enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the next omni. Art, fairly good, but kinda rough. It often seems rushed. Dialogue, fair. Too much anger from female characters. Characters, fairly believable & all very likeable.
January 12, 2014
I have such mixed feelings over this manga.... I read the first three volumes (which are included in this omnibus) but I'm not sure if I want to continue. It's intriguing.... But it's not as the same time. It keeps repeating the same things over and over between the characters. Not very sure on what to say.. I give it about a 3.5 star rating. Let's see how the next 3 volumes go in the 2nd Omnibus!
April 22, 2016
love love love
did-not-finish
July 20, 2021too many pedophile jokes for me
October 8, 2020
What do we do with Keitaro? This character was written in a context that doesn't exist right now (or at least shouldn't exist). I keep re-writing this because as soon as I type "sexual harassment" it becomes impossible to angle Keitaro in any positive light. That isn't my intention, really, but I'm trying to understand how we can view this character in any positive way anymore and I'm coming up blank.
Sometimes I fantasize about a version of Love Hina that's just the women. Sure, you could have male characters as supporting players, but the main characters and focus are just on the women. As such:
Love Hina is about the adventures of the residents who live at a women-only apartment complex that used to be a hot-sprints resort. The women who live there are primarily school aged, some are in middle and high school, others are college aged. The story centers primarily on the college-aged characters and their struggles to get into Tokyo University amid constant hijinks and adventures. The writing and art style is mainly comedic, Ken Akamatsu's style leading to many laugh out loud moments thanks to his frenetic, constant humor and the way he'll often drop a huge visual gag right on the next page to surprise the reader. It also is not without its more dramatic and sentimental moments as the characters bond and become great friends. This has been and continues to be one of my favorite stories ever.
But what to do with Keitaro...
I fell in love with Love Hina very early in the 2000s, first through the Anime (my very first foray into fansubbing) then as the Manga began to get translated and released in the US. The manga is miles better than the Anime, the characters are more fleshed out, the jokes land better, the main heroine, Naru, is much more likable. I had read the series maybe 5 or 6 times all the way through back then. Then as time went on, I never really felt like revisiting it. It's been almost 20 years and now I finally felt the drive to do so and have done so with trepidation. To know why I worry about revisiting a favorite from my youth and perhaps open up the possibility that it has aged like milk, I have to talk about the Ronin in the room.
Keitaro is a male character who lives in this women-only apartment building. You see, he's clumsy, and dorky, and does things he probably shouldn't. If the girls are taking a bath in the hot spring, he'll hear someone say his name and just walk in like "oh did you need something?" and get an eyefull of naked. If someone's changing clothes, he'll just walk in like "oh I have something to talk about" like whatever, I guess it's fine. He's just a dummy and doesn't understand. And man, what a clutz, he trips and falls and always seems to fall TOWARD the nearest woman, hands outstretched in grope mode. IDK, maybe it's a physical condition, it's tough being Keitaro, I guess.
And yes, I get that from a specific context, this was funny. It's "funny" to read about a pathetic dork with no social skills somehow always seeing and touching a, p and t. And sure, if you isolate every single one of these incidents, each of them can be explained as an accident. But then there are moments like... dude, you just felt up a 13 year old... and then you saw her naked... and then you blushed about it and had a little fantasy, like wtf dude you're 20 ffs. He keeps violating the personal spaces of these women, some of them quite young, and it has to be treated like "oh well." Everyone just moves on like Keitaro is a literal dog and you can't get TOO mad at him, he's just a dog, right? And sure, anytime he does something he gets punched or beaten up, and there are plenty of physical gags at his expense where he just falls on his ass and it's funny. And to be fair, the "molestation humor" isn't that constant, it does tone down after the first few books and most of the humor, physical or jokes, are not that and can be enjoyed.
Still, even after all that, I did not regret revisiting this one. In spite of what's wrong with it, most of the comedy and the art does hold up in a way. I know the loser+harem genre was done to death but in my opinion if we were to toss them all out, I'd say keep Love Hina as the one good version of the trope. It is very funny overall and the characters do feel real despite seeming like simple stock characters. And the romance that develops is heartfelt and wins me over every time.
Still though... I absolutely would love to live in a world where Love Hina was a story about women struggling to get into college and going on adventures with their perverted talking dog, Keitaro. Maybe that's what Ken wrote about in the Berenstein universe...
Sometimes I fantasize about a version of Love Hina that's just the women. Sure, you could have male characters as supporting players, but the main characters and focus are just on the women. As such:
Love Hina is about the adventures of the residents who live at a women-only apartment complex that used to be a hot-sprints resort. The women who live there are primarily school aged, some are in middle and high school, others are college aged. The story centers primarily on the college-aged characters and their struggles to get into Tokyo University amid constant hijinks and adventures. The writing and art style is mainly comedic, Ken Akamatsu's style leading to many laugh out loud moments thanks to his frenetic, constant humor and the way he'll often drop a huge visual gag right on the next page to surprise the reader. It also is not without its more dramatic and sentimental moments as the characters bond and become great friends. This has been and continues to be one of my favorite stories ever.
But what to do with Keitaro...
I fell in love with Love Hina very early in the 2000s, first through the Anime (my very first foray into fansubbing) then as the Manga began to get translated and released in the US. The manga is miles better than the Anime, the characters are more fleshed out, the jokes land better, the main heroine, Naru, is much more likable. I had read the series maybe 5 or 6 times all the way through back then. Then as time went on, I never really felt like revisiting it. It's been almost 20 years and now I finally felt the drive to do so and have done so with trepidation. To know why I worry about revisiting a favorite from my youth and perhaps open up the possibility that it has aged like milk, I have to talk about the Ronin in the room.
Keitaro is a male character who lives in this women-only apartment building. You see, he's clumsy, and dorky, and does things he probably shouldn't. If the girls are taking a bath in the hot spring, he'll hear someone say his name and just walk in like "oh did you need something?" and get an eyefull of naked. If someone's changing clothes, he'll just walk in like "oh I have something to talk about" like whatever, I guess it's fine. He's just a dummy and doesn't understand. And man, what a clutz, he trips and falls and always seems to fall TOWARD the nearest woman, hands outstretched in grope mode. IDK, maybe it's a physical condition, it's tough being Keitaro, I guess.
And yes, I get that from a specific context, this was funny. It's "funny" to read about a pathetic dork with no social skills somehow always seeing and touching a, p and t. And sure, if you isolate every single one of these incidents, each of them can be explained as an accident. But then there are moments like... dude, you just felt up a 13 year old... and then you saw her naked... and then you blushed about it and had a little fantasy, like wtf dude you're 20 ffs. He keeps violating the personal spaces of these women, some of them quite young, and it has to be treated like "oh well." Everyone just moves on like Keitaro is a literal dog and you can't get TOO mad at him, he's just a dog, right? And sure, anytime he does something he gets punched or beaten up, and there are plenty of physical gags at his expense where he just falls on his ass and it's funny. And to be fair, the "molestation humor" isn't that constant, it does tone down after the first few books and most of the humor, physical or jokes, are not that and can be enjoyed.
Still, even after all that, I did not regret revisiting this one. In spite of what's wrong with it, most of the comedy and the art does hold up in a way. I know the loser+harem genre was done to death but in my opinion if we were to toss them all out, I'd say keep Love Hina as the one good version of the trope. It is very funny overall and the characters do feel real despite seeming like simple stock characters. And the romance that develops is heartfelt and wins me over every time.
Still though... I absolutely would love to live in a world where Love Hina was a story about women struggling to get into college and going on adventures with their perverted talking dog, Keitaro. Maybe that's what Ken wrote about in the Berenstein universe...
April 22, 2021
Loved it . better than the Anime adaption love the anime of course but just like novels to movie the Manga to Anime can be just as much a muck up as the love hina manga has various hilarious parts and nice scenes that should have been put in the anime but weren't.
This is another example of books and manga books being better than there movies and anime etc adaptions
This is another example of books and manga books being better than there movies and anime etc adaptions
January 7, 2025
Ok.. I am highly disappointed lol! I read this manga a long time ago maybe when I was still in high school going to college. I didn't remember much of hence the reread. I thought it was funny at first but then it became annoying with the constant perverted actions. I guess it is not my thing. Not going to continue on with the series.
June 27, 2020
This is another series that I decided to give a chance because it was included with Comixology unlimited and I am trying to take advantage of the month that I have it.
This series is okay. Not my favorite, but not terrible. I cannot decide if I want to continue or not...
This series is okay. Not my favorite, but not terrible. I cannot decide if I want to continue or not...
July 21, 2021
It's ok. There are some pretty funny parts, there are some emotional parts, and there are a few fan servicey parts as well. It does get better as it goes on, as the characters get more depth. This is not one I would buy, but it's fun enough to read so I'll continue.
Read
July 8, 2022Give it time
I like the cultural immersion into Japanese life, and how people are wired. The violence is mild and implied as well but it's great to read about conservative women. Good read. Definitely on the favorite list.
I like the cultural immersion into Japanese life, and how people are wired. The violence is mild and implied as well but it's great to read about conservative women. Good read. Definitely on the favorite list.
January 18, 2026
You can tell this manga started in the late 90s with the amount of pervert jokes and the whole “Keitaro walking in on the young girls naked all the time” trope but the actual start of the love story between him and Naru is adorable!
Bookly reading time: 1hr 49mins
Bookly reading time: 1hr 49mins
March 24, 2018
the art's fine, but it's just not my style of humor.
July 29, 2019
Enertaining
While not as funny as when I read it when I was younger, still and entertaining manga. Worth checking out.
While not as funny as when I read it when I was younger, still and entertaining manga. Worth checking out.
March 8, 2021
A blast from my past
I read this in high school and I was absolutely in love with it and after reading it all over again, still love it
I read this in high school and I was absolutely in love with it and after reading it all over again, still love it
November 5, 2021
A good page turner, but it's a bit too over the top and repetitive
June 23, 2024
Cute light read
Read
November 2, 2025DNF @23%
January 21, 2026
me sorprendió, me dejó picada
January 26, 2026
I love this!!
January 11, 2022
Love Hina was one of my favorite anime series when I was younger. I wasn’t really into this type of anime, but it was humorous and held my attention.
When I saw this on Kindle Unlimited, I knew I had to read it. I had never read the manga, just watched the anime.
It made me want to watch the anime again. I missed Keitaro and his poor luck, Naru’s intelligence, Su’s humor. I can’t wait to read the other volumes.
When I saw this on Kindle Unlimited, I knew I had to read it. I had never read the manga, just watched the anime.
It made me want to watch the anime again. I missed Keitaro and his poor luck, Naru’s intelligence, Su’s humor. I can’t wait to read the other volumes.
June 17, 2016
Love Hina is a great series from the late nineties that ran for several years. It's about a young man, a ronin, named Keitaro Urashima. Keitaro is trying for three years to get into Todai (Tokyo University), thus he is a "ronin".
To understand the manga, we must go over what the term ronin means. Ronin is a term in Japan from the days of the samurai, where masterless warriors were called "ronin". Today, it is a term applied to those who are unable to get into their school of choice for high school or college, and thus must take remedial lessons so they can reapply and try to get into their school of choice.
Anyways, Keitaro is trying to get into Todai for the sake of a promise he made fifteen years ago to a girl whose name he doesn't remember. But at this point, 2 years being rejected, he is being kicked out by his folks for his stubbornness in not choosing a more reasonable school, one he can get into with his academic credentials.
With no other place to go to, Keitaro makes his way to the inn run by his grandmother, Hinata House. Once there, he discovers that it is an all-female dorm for young students or professionals. This makes it harder to imagine staying at the former inn. This is, given how unlucky Urashima is, exacerbated by the fact that he makes a bad impression on all of the girls in the dorm and they all hate him and want him out.
He is saved via the intervention of his grandmother, who insists he stay on as the manager while he studies for his next round of Todai exams. He agrees, though the girls make this hard for him at first. Thus leading to how the first omnibus volumes, consisting of the first three volumes of the original series, is about how Keitaro wins over the girls of the dorm, and begin to study in earnest to get into Tokyo University.
This is a hilarious and fun manga. I love the interactions with the girls, including the cute, young Shinobu and the violent, but good-hearted fellow Todai hopeful Naru. The comedic accidental pervert moments, as well as how he has never-ending bad luck, but good intentions, are really quite funny.
What also made this manga for me was the fact that the mangaka, Ken Akamatsu, told a story that was about a guy trying to fulfill his dreams in a funny, yet sweet manner. Despite how you find him annoying (though the pity you feel f0r him at the treatment he receives at the hands of the girls mitigates this somewhat), you also want to root for him to succeed.
I like all of the characters, though my fave is Mutsumi. She is airheaded and wierd, but also really nice and someone I find to be funny and charming.
I can't say enough about this series and how much I enjoy it. I can't wait for the next volume.
To understand the manga, we must go over what the term ronin means. Ronin is a term in Japan from the days of the samurai, where masterless warriors were called "ronin". Today, it is a term applied to those who are unable to get into their school of choice for high school or college, and thus must take remedial lessons so they can reapply and try to get into their school of choice.
Anyways, Keitaro is trying to get into Todai for the sake of a promise he made fifteen years ago to a girl whose name he doesn't remember. But at this point, 2 years being rejected, he is being kicked out by his folks for his stubbornness in not choosing a more reasonable school, one he can get into with his academic credentials.
With no other place to go to, Keitaro makes his way to the inn run by his grandmother, Hinata House. Once there, he discovers that it is an all-female dorm for young students or professionals. This makes it harder to imagine staying at the former inn. This is, given how unlucky Urashima is, exacerbated by the fact that he makes a bad impression on all of the girls in the dorm and they all hate him and want him out.
He is saved via the intervention of his grandmother, who insists he stay on as the manager while he studies for his next round of Todai exams. He agrees, though the girls make this hard for him at first. Thus leading to how the first omnibus volumes, consisting of the first three volumes of the original series, is about how Keitaro wins over the girls of the dorm, and begin to study in earnest to get into Tokyo University.
This is a hilarious and fun manga. I love the interactions with the girls, including the cute, young Shinobu and the violent, but good-hearted fellow Todai hopeful Naru. The comedic accidental pervert moments, as well as how he has never-ending bad luck, but good intentions, are really quite funny.
What also made this manga for me was the fact that the mangaka, Ken Akamatsu, told a story that was about a guy trying to fulfill his dreams in a funny, yet sweet manner. Despite how you find him annoying (though the pity you feel f0r him at the treatment he receives at the hands of the girls mitigates this somewhat), you also want to root for him to succeed.
I like all of the characters, though my fave is Mutsumi. She is airheaded and wierd, but also really nice and someone I find to be funny and charming.
I can't say enough about this series and how much I enjoy it. I can't wait for the next volume.
July 17, 2020
3.5 stars. Funny, and fairly entertaining. Nice character drawing, although number of characters was confusing for a while. I mostly liked the MC, and am rooting for him and Naru, the love interest.
Reread July 17th, 2020
I haven't read this series in about a year, and I was thinking about what to reread from the library this summer, and all my holds are finally in, so I got started. On the reread, I obviously have greater affection for the characters and know what happens (more or less) and all of that stuff, but it took me until volume 2 of this omnibus to really get back into the series, once the heart in it appeared, not just the wackiness and humor. And volume 3 really started off the series' penchant for adventures and crazy trips, which is a favorite part of the series for me. Compared to some later ones, the trip wasn't too bad, lol. We met Otohime, which was fun. I've always liked her. Haru is great, and I enjoyed watching her relationship with Keitaro begin to develop. This was fun to reread because it was the second manga I ever read in general, and the first series I finished (the first one I started was longer so I finished this first). I'll definitely be continuing on this awesome journey! 4 stars.
Reread July 17th, 2020
I haven't read this series in about a year, and I was thinking about what to reread from the library this summer, and all my holds are finally in, so I got started. On the reread, I obviously have greater affection for the characters and know what happens (more or less) and all of that stuff, but it took me until volume 2 of this omnibus to really get back into the series, once the heart in it appeared, not just the wackiness and humor. And volume 3 really started off the series' penchant for adventures and crazy trips, which is a favorite part of the series for me. Compared to some later ones, the trip wasn't too bad, lol. We met Otohime, which was fun. I've always liked her. Haru is great, and I enjoyed watching her relationship with Keitaro begin to develop. This was fun to reread because it was the second manga I ever read in general, and the first series I finished (the first one I started was longer so I finished this first). I'll definitely be continuing on this awesome journey! 4 stars.
November 12, 2011
Well-I essentially finished vol 1(of the 3 included) and I think that's enough for me.
November 1, 2012
Actually pretty funny. Poor Keitaro ><
November 6, 2012
This is very entertaining! Not much to say except it'll keep you occupied for ages. There's something about japanese manga that hooks into you (and it's not just the pervertedness!)
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