This review harkens back to my old blog, and to a tradition that I did for at least 2 to 3 years. During that time, I covered the Love Hina movie collection around this time, looking at 1 movie a year. Going in order, it’s only fitting that I take a look at the first in the series. Since it’s also close to Christmas, I find that it’s natural for me to examine the holiday merriment of the Love Hina Christmas Special. Enjoy!
Story/Setup
Taken from the DVD case:
“If you make a wish on Christmas Eve will it come true?
It’s Christmas, and at the Hinata Apartments, that means gifts, parties, and...utter chaos.
While sneaking around searching for gifts, Kaolla and Sara discover a letter in Naru’s room. It’s none of their business, so of course they read it: “I Always Loved...” What does this mean? Who does Naru love?
Everyone has their suspicions, but to find out, they plan to follow her! Meanwhile, Keitaro’s fallowing Naru as well. What’s going on? Car chases! Subway chases! Bicycle chases! Keitaro and Mutsumi in a Love Hotel!! The creator of Love Hina!
It’s five minutes to midnight...will the truth be revealed?”
That’s really it. At it’s very core, the story of this special is very typical of something you’d find in the world of Lova Hina. Nothing heavy, no high horse, etc. It’s a simple goofy, silly, and slightly emotional adventure. If you liked this style of story, then you’re going to have a blast! If not, then this will be incredibly insufferable.
Animation
If you recall from my very first review on the Love Hina main series, you might remember that I said the animation was typical Ken Akamatsu, and that same thought applies here: it’s nice, bright, colorful, etc. I don’t have anything else to say apart from that!
Voice Acting
If you’ve seen the main series, you’ll recognize everybody immediately. Like the main show, everybody puts on a performance that’s essentially the same. Your opinion on the voice acting here will all depend on the main series: If you’re like me, you’ll enjoy it for the most part. If you have a problem with the dub, you won’t like it, and you’ll probably switch to subs.
Characters
I know I’ve repeating things, but this special is connected to the Lova Hina universe, and as such contains characters you’ll immediately recognize. Like the voice acting, your opinion on the characters all depends on what you thought of them in the main show. You’re either going to like them, or you’re going to hate/loathe them.
Availability & Pricing
Unlike like the main series, Funimation never acquired the rights to this special, or the subsequent specials (Love Hina Spring Special & Love Hina Again). As such, they’ve remained Bandai Entertainment series, and finding Bandai anime is something of a challenge. Best Buy is immediately not an option: you can’t find it in stores, and it’s not on their website either. F.Y.E. is a little more likely: while they may not have a unopened copy in store, they may have a used copy available. While you can’t grab it online from them new, they do have the price for such starting at $25.98. Used copies are slightly higher, at $28.99 in price.
Your best chance of acquiring a new or used copy will be Amazon. However, Amazon is much more expensive: as I’m typing this, there are only 11 copies available to buy, with an uneven mix between new & used. A price for a new copy starts at a staggering $48.50 in price, which is a little high for this OVA (As much as I like it). Used pricing is considerably lower, starting at a cheaper $10.69, which is far more humble.
Overall Impression & Rating
Of all the Love Hina specials that were released, it’s the Christmas special that I consider to be the best of the three. It’s the one that feels most like Love Hina, and has most of what made that show great/horrible. It’s perfect for this time of year, and makes for a great expansion on the Love Hina universe. Recommended as much as Love Hina was!
The Love Hina Christmas Special gets a 8 out of 10.
So this was a look at the Lova Hina Christmas Special. Like the main series, this movie is flawed, but there are some fun aspects. This concludes 2015 here on the Heavy Metal Otaku blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed the content I put on here, and I look forward to what comes in 2016. Until then, have a great Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa, and a happy new year!
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If you're curious as to what I thought about the main series, check out the link below.
Love Hina (Main Series)
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