Monday, January 08, 2007

Love Hina Cartoon 2



However, Keitaro is unable to sustain the lie and the girls find out that he is in fact a "ronin". While they are in the process of kicking him out, Aunt Haruka once again saves the day, arriving clutching a fax from Keitaro's grandmother to say that the property rights of the Hinata buildings will be passed to her grandson. Reluctantly, the girls let Keitaro back in and his new life starts. Naru (the screaming girl in the bath) turns out to be a "ronin" like Keitaro too. On top of that they're actually attending the same cram school! But the coincidences don't stop there - Keitaro also finds out that Naru made a promise to enter Todai with a childhood friend. Well, well, well, could Naru be that girl from the park, we wonder??? Keitaro seems to hope so... And so the story goes on. Love Hina is a pretty funny love-comedy in which, from an outsider's point of view at least, a very lucky guy goes to live in a Harem. In actual fact, the reality of this male-fantasy scenario turns out be nothing but turmoil and stress for poor Keitaro.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Lvoe Hina cartoon



C ram schools after school, university entrance exams, the life-or-death struggle to get into a famous university if possible... That's the sad reality of life for most Japanese youth. If you want to know more about how teenagers over here spend their time before entering university, Love Hina won't be very educational!
Like any other country, there are top-flight universities in Japan. If you were fortunate enough to get into one, you'd be able to show off the 'brand label' of the institution's name on your resume. The one with the most prestigious image has to be Todai (Tokyo University). Todai alumni invariably enter political, academic or high-level business careers. If you are not familiar with Japanese educational culture, it is pretty amazing to see just how many people delay their higher education and go back (and back!) to cram schools or special classes just because they failed to get into that one university or college. This is especially true in the case of those serious about getting into Todai or a similar institution.
But back to Love Hina, which is anything but serious. It 's a love-comedy, a bit suspect at times, concerning a 20-year old guy and 5 girls aged from 13 - 19. So where does all that educational stuff you waded through above come in?
Keitaro Urashima is a 20-year-old "ronin" (not a masterless Samurai but a person who didn't get into their target university / college, and spends a year or a few studying to pass the entrance exams). His lifelong dream is to get accepted into Todai.
When Keitaro was in elementary school, he promised to a 'girlfriend' he met one day in the park that they'd go to Todai together when they grew up. However, when the time came to fulfill the promise, no matter how hard Urashima-san tried, he just wasn't smart enough to pass the Todai entrance tests. He has now been leading his life as a "ronin" for two years, with only one goal in mind - get into Todai and meet the girl he made the tryst with in the park all those years ago. Ahhh! Ain't that sweet? To concentrate on his studies, Keitaro retreats to the village of Hinata and shacks up at the inn that belonged to his grandmother.
When he first arrives, he finds the place deserted. Wandering around, Keitaro decides to take a dip in the rotenburo ("outdoor bath"). There he encounters a young girl, Naru, who, thinking Keitaro is some kind of pervert, lets out a scream. Four other girls, Mitsune, Motoko, Kaolla and Shinobu then appear, all towel-clad and ready to get into the bath. Keitaro's aunt Haruka (who works at the inn) rushes to the scene and calms the girls down by explaining that the peeping-tom is in fact her nephew and the new administrator of the 'Hinata Boarding House'. Of course, the girls object violently to the idea of letting Keitaro in, but his aunt goes on to tell them that the boy is a student at Todai. Based on this reason alone, the girls decide that he can stay. Such is the power of the Todai name!