Love Hina Spring Special Review

Hi guys!

Since some of you are probably tired of the cold and the snow, I thought I’d continue with some of these “warmer” reviews. Perhaps in a continuation with tradition around this time, I thought it would be appropriate to review another title in the Love Hina series, and sure enough, I managed to acquire today’s title earlier this month. With that said, let’s dive into the Love Hina Spring Special, and see if it can warm us up!

Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:

“The Toudai entrance exams have finally come (again) for Keitarou. With all his confidence Keitarou sits for the paper but ends up falling asleep and dreaming about Narusegawa. Waking up with barely any time to complete the paper, Keitarou thinks he will fail the paper and tries to escape from Hinata Inn and forget all the memories with it. By a stroke of luck he meets Seta, but ends up in a faraway island with the whole cast trying to look for him.”

From what my understanding is, this movie was based off of a section of the manga (I’ve only read two out of the five omnibuses). At first, I thought this sounded like a great idea for a short OVA. Because I haven’t read the section of the manga that this movie seems to take place in, I really can’t say much. Having said that.....

The premise feels rather weak. In fact, this feels like a standard cookie-cutter story, regardless of the show in question. On top of that, there’s more of a serious tone to things (More on this in the Characters section), and the sidestory involving Nyama (Again, see the Characters section below) feels forcibly attached, and rather weak as well.

Setting
In a change of scenery, the spring special takes place on a tropical island within the south seas, with only a few scenes at the Hinata Apartments/Tokyo University. It’s pretty much like any other tropical island in real life/anime: There’s palm trees & beaches, grottos & waterfalls, and other standard objects you’d find in a place like this. The only difference is that this particular island has the ruins of an ancient civilization, and said civilization had a particular affinity for turtles (Like Tama). It does shake things up a little, but otherwise the island is nothing special.

Characters
The cast within this OVA movie is that same as that from the main show & Christmas special. While it’s nice to see the original cast again, there’s some big character changes, mainly the fact that they all aren’t anywhere near as funny. Most of the time when a character does or says something funny, it either stumbles or falls completely flat on their face. Shinobu, for example, is usually bubbly & cheery. In this movie/OVA, she’s more whiney & sniveling, and is nowhere near as funny/cute.

The spring special does introduce one new character, and that is Nyama. About as young as Shinobu, she seems to act a lot like the previously mentioned character. She cute & shy, but Nyama feels rather tacked on, like she was made more as a afterthought, and she just conveniently happened to show up on this special. With that said, she is likable, if a little bland.  

Animation
As per the main show and the Christmas special, the spring special still has that Ken Akamatsu style of animation (Cute/sexy girls, dorky/gruff guys, lots of colors). Nothing more, nothing less.

Voice Acting
See my Love Hina & Love Hina: Christmas Special review for details. Although there is the new character, Nyama, her voice sounds so plain that it’s really not worth mentioning (I swear that the voice actor that does Shinobu also voices Nyama, but I’m not quite sure).

Episodes & Episode Length
As with the Christmas special from last year, the Love Hina Spring Special is a single, full-length movie. Running at 1 hour long, it works with what the special is trying to do, although I would have loved a little more time so the sidestory could be shown more.

Availability & Pricing
Like the Love Hina: Christmas Special I reviewed last year (Click “***” to read it), this special also hasn’t been re-released by Funimation. I got my copy from Amazon, but that’s where things get interesting. As I’m typing this, there are only 10 new copies available, with prices ranging from $22.50 to 46 dollars (The 22 dollars I don’t necessarily mind, but 46!?). You’re best bet is to go for a used copy (Which is what I did), as there are 23 copies available, with the pricing starting at 6 dollars, which is far more reasonable that the prices for the new copies.

Extras/Other
This DVD comes with the standard collection of trailers, videos, etc.

General Impression & Rating
I liked Love Hina, and I liked the Love Hina Christmas Special, but this.....I’m not so sure. I definitely don’t downright hate this movie, as there was a moment or two that I did like, but I find this to be the weakest entry in the Love Hina franchise (Out of the ones I’ve seen so far). It feels as if this special wasn’t in Ken Akamatsu’s list of important titles pile, but it also feels as if he wanted to do something with it. If you like Love Hina, then pick this up. Otherwise, just leave it on the dusty shelves of antiquity.

Love Hina: Spring Special gets a 5 to 7 out of 10.

See you next time, when we’ll look at one of the most charming Christmas movies ever produced. Until then, stay Otaku!


***
If I’m still alive around this time next year, chances are I’ll review the last entry in the Love Hina franchise, Love Hina Again.