Love Hina

Love Hina
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Kitsune and Shinobu (left), Naru (center) and Motoko and Su (right)
ラブ ひな
(Rabu Hina)
Genre
Manga
Written byKen Akamatsu
Published byKodansha
English publisher
ImprintShōnen Magazine Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Magazine
DemographicShōnen
Original runOctober 21, 1998 – October 31, 2001
Volumes14 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed byYoshiaki Iwasaki
Produced by
  • Shinichi Ikeda
  • Keisuke Iwata
  • Yukinao Shimoji
Written byKurō Hazuki
Music byKoichi Korenaga[4]
StudioXebec
Licensed by
Original networkTV Tokyo
Original run April 19, 2000 – September 27, 2000
Episodes24 + OVA (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Love Hina X'Mas Special: Silent Eve
Directed byYoshiaki Iwasaki
Produced by
  • Shinichi Ikeda
  • Yukinao Shimoji
  • Fukashi Azuma
Written byKurō Hazuki
Music by
  • Koichi Korenaga
  • Masaki Iwamoto
StudioXebec
Licensed by
ReleasedDecember 25, 2000
Runtime44 minutes
Original video animation
Love Hina Spring Special: I Wish Your Dream
Directed byYoshiaki Iwasaki
Produced by
  • Shinichi Ikeda
  • Yukinao Shimoji
  • Fukashi Azuma
Written byKurō Hazuki
Music by
  • Koichi Korenaga
  • Masaki Iwamoto
StudioXebec
Licensed by
ReleasedApril 1, 2001
Runtime45 minutes
Original video animation
Love Hina Again
Directed byYoshiaki Iwasaki
Produced by
  • Atsushi Moriyama
  • Naoki Hiramatsu
Written byKurō Hazuki
Music byShinkichi Mitsumune
StudioXebec
Licensed by
Released January 26, 2002 – March 27, 2002
Runtime30 minutes
Episodes3 (List of episodes)

Love Hina (Japanese: ラブ ひな, Hepburn: Rabu Hina) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from October 1998 to October 2001, with the chapters collected into 14 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The series tells the story of Keitarō Urashima and his attempts to find the girl with whom he made a childhood promise to enter the University of Tokyo. The manga was licensed for an English-language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Tokyopop, in Australia by Madman Entertainment, and in Singapore by Chuang Yi. Two novelizations of Love Hina, written by two anime series screenwriters, were also released in Japan by Kodansha. Both novels were later released in North America and the United Kingdom by Tokyopop.

A twenty-four episode anime adaptation of the manga series, produced by Xebec, aired in Japan from April to September 2000. It was followed by a bonus DVD episode, Christmas and Spring television specials, and a three episode original video animation (OVA) entitled Love Hina Again. The anime series, special, and OVA were licensed for release in North America by Bandai Entertainment. In July 2007, the license was acquired by Funimation, who released a boxset of the television series in February 2009. The series is also licensed in Australia by Madman Entertainment and in the United Kingdom by MVM Films.

The series has proved extremely popular around the world, both commercially and critically. In Japan, the manga had 20 million copies in circulation; over 1 million anime DVDs were also sold. The English release of the manga has been reprinted many times. Both anime and manga have received numerous industry awards in Japan and North America, as well as praise from critics.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference GN1-5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Brenner, Robin E. (2007). Understanding Manga and Anime. Greenwood Publishing Group. 89, 112. ISBN 9780313094484. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  3. ^ Paul (September 14, 2004). "Love Hina Volume 1". Anime UK News. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  4. ^ "町立図書館 - スタッフ". TV Tokyo. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.