Tokyo Underground

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Tokyo Underground (東京アンダーグラウンド Tōkyō Andāguraundo?) is a manga series by Akinobu Uraka and published by Enix. It became an anime series, produced by Studio Pierrot and shown on the TV Tokyo Network from April 2 until September 24, 2002. The TV series was released on DVD by Geneon Entertainment in the US and Canada, released as a boxset by Manga Entertainment in the UK and by Tokyo Night Train in Australia. It also aired in Canada on the digital channel G4techTV Canada, starting on July 22, 2007 at 8:30 pm ET/PT.

Plot

Under Tokyo's underground railway system is a world called Underground (地下世界 chika sekai?), populated by Elemental Users, people who can manipulate various elements. When the Maiden of Life, Ruri Sarasa, and her bodyguard, Gravity User Chelsea Rorec escape to the surface, they take refuge with swordsman Rumina Asagi and his bespectacled best friend Ginosuke Isuzu. During a battle with the flame-using Seki, Rumina is killed and then resurrected by Ruri. The revived Rumina finds he now has the power to manipulate air, a rare talent amongst the Underground people. Realizing Ruri is in danger, Rumina vows to protect her, even if it means going to the Underground to rescue her from her eventual captors before she gets sacrificed.


Characters

Rumina Asagi (浅葱留美奈 Asagi Rumina?)
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Brad Swaile (English)
Rumina is a high school student, who dreams of having a pretty girl, but ends up finding himself speechless when confronted with them. As the series begins, he is starting a new school year and wants to avoid continuing his reputation as a fighter. But he still fought with 3 boys at high school. At that moment his dream was destroyed, because everyone thought he was scary and dangeraus. One day he encounters two strange girls who change his life forever. In an effort to protect the cute Ruri from harm, Rumina fights hard, but eventually loses. Ruri's powers of life revive him, and with new life comes the amazing ability to control wind powers. Rumina joins Chelsea in protecting Ruri and joins their battle in the Tokyo Underground.
Chelsea Rorec (チェルシー・ローレック Chierushi Rorekku?)
Voiced by: Kaoru Morota (Japanese), Rebecca Shoichet (English)
Chelsea is Ruri's bodyguard/tutor, and accompanies her when escaping from the Underground. Chelsea controls powers related to gravity, and has a personality to match. She is very dedicated to her task of protecting Ruri, and would gladly lay down her life - in fact she spends much of the early episodes bashing Rumina on the head for being too familiar with Ruri. Chelsea's gravity-power is very strong, and she is a tough opponent. She always argues with Rumina and always gets into a fight with each other, however she later respects him yet she develops feelings for him.
Ruri Sarasa (ルリ・サラサ Sarasa Ruri?)
Voiced by: Haruhi Terada (Japanese), Chantal Strand (English)
Ruri is known as the "Inochi no Miko," or the Shrine Maiden of Life. She is very polite and kind, and is the type to address everyone with the honorific "-sama." She's very compassionate, and shows signs of affection to Rumina. Ruri used her life powers to bring back Rumina from death when he is killed trying to protect her and Chelsea. Her unusual powers make her a target for evil forces in the Underground. The Company wants Ruri so that she can use her power to bring the dragons back to life and then use them to attack the surface world.
Ginosuke Isuzu (五十鈴銀之助 Isuzu Ginosuke?)
Voiced by: Souichiro Hoshi (Japanese), Gabe Khouth (English)
Ginosuke is Rumina's best friend since childhood. He has no special elemental powers, but he is very intelligent although he isn't exactly what one would refer to as 'street smart'. He later uses a very useful weapon that fires elemental attacks. His personality is somewhat timid, but he has a lot of common sense, and can be very fierce if he has to be. Ginosuke always wears his very thick glasses that change his appearance so much that his friends can't recognize him without them.
Shiel Messiah
Voiced by: Ikue Ohtani (Japanese), Tabitha St. Germain (English)
Shiel is an Electric User who is first seen as a Company Agent sent out to confirm Rumina's elemental powers. Following the recapturing of Ruri by Company agents Pyron and Tail, she is assigned as her replacement bodyguard. As their relationship deepens, Shiel undergoes a change of heart (much like Chelsea) and helps Ruri escape for a second time. She views Ruri as a sister following their time together.

The Company

The Company contains thousands of elemental users, and most are hostile. They wish to bring complete destruction to those who dwell on the surface. Their hatred for the surface world stems from the belief that they were abandoned by them, which really isn't true since only the scientists actually knew of their existence underground. They are also the people who want to awaken the dragons (called "ron") to complete their revenge and are willing to sacrifice Ruri to accomplish their goal. Chelsea and Sheille both turn against the company in order to get Ruri (maiden of life) to safety and away from the company.



The Ron

Like the elemental power user humans, the Ron were created by the same scientists. According to Chelsea, they physically resemble dragons of mythology, but are merely artificial forms of life. The Ron lie dormant, but the Company intends to use Ruri's power of life to revive them and set them upon the surface world to punish those who had wronged them so many years ago. The Ron share the same bitterness as most of the Underground humans.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Underground

Full Metal Panic!

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Full Metal Panic! (フルメタル·パニック! Furumetaru Panikku!?, often abbreviated to FMP!) is an ongoing series of light novels written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shiki Douji. The series follows Sousuke Sagara, a member of the covert anti-terrorist private military organization known as Mithril, tasked with protecting Kaname Chidori, a spirited Japanese high school girl.
Individual chapters are published on Monthly Dragon Magazine, followed by a paperback compilation released by Fujimi Shobo's Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. The novels are split between stories focusing on Sousuke's mission as a soldier of Mithril and comedic side stories centered on his life at Jindai High School.
The series has been adapted into different media; including three animated television series: Full Metal Panic! by Gonzo in 2002, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu and Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid by Kyoto Animation in 2003 and 2005 respectively. An OVA was also released in 2006; and five different manga series.
Tokyopop licensed the novels for English-language publication in North America[1] and released parts of the series, while ADV Films licensed and dubbed the first season and the spinoff, and released them in North America and the United Kingdom. The second season was licensed by Kadokawa Pictures USA and Funimation Entertainment. Mandalay Pictures acquired the film rights to the series in 2009.[2] At Anime USA 2009, Funimation announced that it had acquired the rights to the first and second series of Full Metal Panic and both will be re-released remastered on DVD & Blu-ray in 2010. [3][4]

Plot

 The main story develops its characters carefully, and is the shadow or "unusual" events of the protagonist's life. These stories feature the mercenary group Mithril, their mobile base/submarine, called the TDD-1 Tuatha De Danaan, giant humanoid powered suits called Arm Slaves, and the various missions to which Sousuke Sagara is assigned. A highlight of the series is a serious and semi-realistic view of humanoid robotic weapons on the battlefield. The Arm Slave has significant consideration in its portrayal, with explanations given for its power source, operations, maintenance and pilot user interface. The existence of such advanced weaponry and equipment is explained through Black Technology.

 

Setting

The series is set in a parallel world, based upon actual world events around the late 20th century to the early 21st century. The story begins in Heisei 10 (1998 AD), where the Cold War has yet to end. China has split into a north and south, with Hong Kong being split much like Berlin. The major differences between real life Earth and the Full Metal Panic! universe are:
A number of other details differentiates the fictional world. Common changes occur in the Japanese names, as they use homonyms to the names of real life locations. The fictional Jindai (陣代) High School is based on the real life Jindai (神代) High School[8] in Chōfu, Tokyo. The closest station to the real life Jindai High School is the Senkawa station, changed from 仙川 to 泉川. The Japanese calendar of Heisei is altered from 平成 to 平政.

Novels

Full Metal Panic! novels and stories were written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shiki Douji. They were serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Magazine since 1998. There are two discrete series of books that exist within the narrative: the collected short stories, and the full novels. As of April 2007, there have been nine novels and ten short story collections published. There is also a significant number of short stories that have not yet been published in a collection, making the stories difficult to find outside back issues of the magazine. The main storyline is still continuing, with the latest novel, Approaching Nick of Time, released on February 2008. Shoji Gatoh has recently stated in his blog that the next novel will be the climax of the series.On 5th January 2010 it was announced that Shoji Gatoh had begun writing the final novel of the series and that this novel would be released sometime in Spring 2010.[9]

Manga

Full Metal Panic! was adapted into a manga on several occasions. The first series entitled Full Metal Panic, was serialized in Newtype by Retsu Tateo. It is collected in nine volumes published by Kadokawa Comics. Much like the novels, a parallel series entitled Full Metal Panic! Comic Mission, was written by Retsu Tateo. Five volumes were published as of June 2006. Third and most recent manga adaptation Full Metal Panic! Σ (sigma) was written by Hiroshi Ueda.
Full Metal Panic!
Full Metal Panic! is the first manga adaptation of the light novels by Retsu Tateo. The events of the manga parallel those of the first anime and the comedy anime Fumoffu.
Full Metal Panic! Overload
Full Metal Panic! Overload is a comedy manga by Tomohiro Nagai that consists of five volumes. It is licensed and published in English by ADV Manga.
Full Metal Panic! Comic Mission
Full Metal Panic! Comic Mission is a comedy manga by Retsu Tateo.
Full Metal Panic! Σ
Full Metal Panic! Σ is a manga by Hiroshi Ueda. The storyline parallels the light novels, starting at the beginning of the anime season 3 The Second Raid and deals with the events after The Second Raid.
Full Metal Panic! Surplus
Full Metal Panic! Surplus is a single tankoban manga by Tomohiro Nagai.
 

Anime

Full Metal Panic!

The anime series was produced by Gonzo Digimation and originally aired in 2002 after its original air date was canceled because of the September 11 attacks.[citation needed] The series was licensed to ADV Films for North American release in 2003. The first three novels form the basis for the anime.

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (フルメタル? ふもっふ Furumetaru? Fumoffu?) is a companion series to the anime series Full Metal Panic! by Kyoto Animation, and takes place between the first season and The Second Raid. Markedly different in tone to the first series, Fumoffu emphasizes the high school romantic comedy aspects of Full Metal Panic! with often crude humor and focuses on the romantic tension between Sousuke Sagara and Chidori Kaname. It frequently parodies itself and anime stereotypes. None of the mecha combat or political intrigue, which characterized much of the original Full Metal Panic!, can be seen in the series. The only reference to the mecha aspect of Full Metal Panic! is the Bonta-kun, which is one of the most prominent parodies in the anime. Sousuke uses spare Bonta-kun costumes to make highly-effective suits of power armor, but they look like teddy bears wearing army gear and can only say: "Fu" , "Mo" , and "Fu".

Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid

Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (フルメタル TSR Furumetaru TSR?) is the direct sequel to the original anime series. It was produced by Kyoto Animation and ran for 13 episodes. The series is based on The End of Day by Day novels and takes place three months after the events that occurred in the Tuatha de Danaan at the end of the original Full Metal Panic! series. Mithril learns of a secret organization that has technology able to counter the ECS (Electronic Conceal System) mode. The organization, known as Amalgam, has access to Black Technology, which was obtained from the Whispered. Like the other intelligence agencies, Amalgam intends to obtain more. Sousuke's mission to protect Chidori is terminated by Mithril, instead leaving her in the care of an anonymous agent known as Wraith (though this ends up being temporary).

Live Action film

A live action film adaptation was announced by Mandalay Pictures in April 2009, with Zac Efron rumored to be attached to the project.[2] Efron has since confirmed a meeting took place regarding the project but added that the adaptation was unlikely to happen.[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Metal_Panic!

 

Love Hina

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Love Hina (ラブ ひな Rabu Hina?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine by Kodansha from October 21, 1998 to October 31, 2001 and was published in 14 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The series tells the story of Keitaro Urashima and his attempts to find the girl with whom he made a childhood promise to enter the Tokyo University. 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 19, 2000 to September 27, 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 Entertainment, 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 sold over 6 million copies; 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.

Plot

The story is a shōnen comedy that takes place in the Kanagawa Prefecture, and centers on Keitaro Urashima and his attempts to fulfill a childhood promise that he made with a girl to enter Tokyo University together. However, he has forgotten the name of the girl he made the promise to and hopes to be accepted into Tokyo University in order to find her. Despite failing the entrance exam twice, he becomes manager of the family-owned girls' dorm Hinata House (日向荘 Hinata Sō?, also known as Hinata Apartments) and must balance his new responsibilities with his attempts to pass the university entrance exam. At Hinata House, Keitaro meets Naru Narusegawa, who is also studying to enter Tokyo University. Naru ranked first in the whole of Japan on the practice exams, and Keitaro convinces her to help him study. Keitaro accidentally reads a small section of Naru's diary and as the two grow closer through their studies, Keitaro becomes increasingly convinced that Naru may be the girl he made the promise with. On the second day of the Tokyo University exam, Keitaro asks Naru about the promise and is stunned when she tells him he is mistaken. Despite their studying, and Naru's mock exam results, they both fail the exams. The pair then have an argument and independently run off to Kyoto to clear their heads. While on their trip they settle their differences and meet Mutsumi Otohime, who lives in Okinawa and is also studying for the Tokyo University exams.
After returning from Kyoto, Keitaro and Naru eventually decide to retake the exams. After a while, Mutsumi moves to Tokyo, and the three begin to study together. During this period, Naru becomes convinced that Mutsumi is Keitaro's promised girl, but Mutsumi states that she made a childhood promise with Naru, not Keitaro. During the Tokyo University exams, Keitaro believes he has failed them once again and runs away before finding out his results. After learning of this, Naru chases after him without checking her exam results, and is eventually followed by the rest of the residents of Hinata House who announce that Keitaro and Naru both passed the exams along with Mutsumi. However, at the Tokyo University opening ceremony, Keitaro has an accident and is unable to attend the University for three months. After recovering from his injuries, Keitaro decides to study overseas with Noriyasu Seta. As Keitaro leaves, Naru finally confesses her true feelings to him at the airport and decides to wait for him to return.
When Keitaro returns, he and Naru finally begin to express their feelings for each other. After they deal with new obstacles, Grandma Hina returns to Hinata House and reveals Naru is the girl of Keitaro's promise. Three years later, a wedding ceremony is held at Hinata House for Naru and Keitaro as they finally fulfill their childhood promise to each other.

Production

Initial sketches for the series were created between September and December 1997, after the completion of A.I. Love You.[1][2] Early storyboards with initial character designs were created between December 1997 and January 1998, and further character designs and location sketches followed between January and April 1998.[3][4] The last storyboards before serialization were created between April and August 1998.[5][6]
Around six months before the start of serialization, character designs were still going through several revisions before being settled upon. Several characters underwent complete redesigns and name changes.[7] At one stage the character Naru was named Midori, and she was supposed to fall through a hole in the floor naked, bump her head on Keitaro and lose her memory. Naru's name was changed many times before the author settled on Naru Narusegawa, and her final design is similar to Saati Namba from A.I. Love You.[8][9] Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno's money-grubbing nature and her older, jaded, and more mature personality were originally intended to be used for Kaolla Su.[10] Shinobu Maehara's nature was settled on from the beginning of the series, however her physical appearance and age were extensively redesigned as the series concept was shaped. In her early design, Shinobu had a similar appearance to Forty Namba from A.I. Love You.[11][12]
Throughout the run of the manga, the series used digital editing processes. After a rough sketch of a page was created, the page layout and basic detail were drawn and scanned into an Apple Macintosh. The major page elements were then shaded or filled with patterns, and elements that were drawn separately were added digitally to the page.[13] The manga also used a series of "banked images", which were basic line drawings of locations, such as a characters room. Instead of redrawing a location from scratch every time it was used, these banked images could be used as a base, and extra detail added to them depending on the requirements for the scene.[14]
Both of these techniques lead to characters having white outlines when copied digitally onto the scene.[15] Parts of Hinata Inn and other locations used were inspired by real life locations and designed from photographs collected during research.[6][16]


Manga

The 123 chapters of Love Hina were originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine, beginning in the issue dated October 21 1998, running weekly until its conclusion in the October 31 2001 issue.[17][18] These chapters were collected and published in 14 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha, in a slightly changed format of 118 numbered chapters, together with a 2 chapter epilogue.[19][20] The first 11 volumes sold over 6 million copies in Japan.[21] The series was later released in a partially colored format known as the "Iro Hina version" (literally "Color Hina version") at an increased price.[22]
The series was licensed for an English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Tokyopop, which released the 14 volumes between May 7, 2002 and September 16, 2003[23][24]. The English release was one of Tokyopop's first releases in the "Authentic Manga" lineup of titles using the Japanese right to left reading style. In doing so the artwork remained unchanged from the original.[25] The series has appeared consistently in Tokyopop's top five selling manga and has been reprinted several times.[26] In August 2009, it was revealed that Tokyopop's license had been left to expire by Kodansha and would not be renewed.[27]
The series is also licensed for an English language release in Singapore by Chuang Yi and for regional language releases in France and Québec by Pika Édition, in Spain by Glénat, in Singapore by Chuang Yi, in Brazil by Editora JBC, in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid, in Poland by Waneko, in Greece by Compupress, in Germany in German, and in Sweden and Norway by Egmont Manga & Anime.[28][29]
Kodansha had also published a bilingual (English and Japanese) edition under the Kodansha Bilingual Comics label, with English texts translated by Giles Murray. Eight volumes were produced under the bilingual format but were removed from sale after the series was licensed by Tokyopop.[30][31].

Anime

Love Hina was adapted into a 24 episode television anime by Xebec, a division of Production I.G. The series aired on TV Tokyo April 19 through September 27, 2000.[32][33] The opening theme was Sakura Saku (サクラサク?) and the closing theme was Kimi Sae Ireba (君さえいれば?). Both songs were written by Ritsuko Okazaki and performed by Megumi Hayashibara. The two themes were released as a CD single, which debuted on the Oricon charts at Number 7.[34][35] A bonus 25th episode was later created and released as a DVD bonus.[36] The series and bonus episode were directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki, written by Shō Aikawa and featured character designs by Makoto Uno.[32][33]
In Japan, the television series was released on nine DVDs between August 3, 2000 and April 2, 2001 and sold over 1 million copies.[37][38] Love Hina is credited with being one of the first anime series to be available unofficially as a digitally produced fansub, with multiple groups working on the series.[39][40] The popularity, and widespread availability of the series in this form meant that several potential licensors of the series such as ADV Films had concerns over licensing the series.[41] The series was later licensed in North America by Bandai Entertainment, who released six DVDs between February 19 and November 19, 2002.[42] In July 2007, Funimation Entertainment announced they had acquired the license to the series after Bandai's license had expired. A new boxset of the television series across 4 discs was released by Funimation on February 24, 2009.[43][44] In the United Kingdom, the series is licensed by MVM Films, who released the series on six DVDs between September 6, 2004 and March 7, 2005, and as a boxset on May 14, 2007.[45] In Australia and New Zealand the series is licensed by Madman Entertainment, who also released the series across six DVDs between September 18, 2002, and February 11, 2003. A box set was later released on December 3, 2003.[46] After the television series was completed, a Christmas special "Love Hina Xmas Eve: Silent Night (ラブひな　クリスマス・スペシャル～サイレント・イブ～ Rabu Hina Kurisumasu Supesharu Sairento Ibu?) was produced and shown on December 25, 2000 on TV Tokyo. A dvd was released in Japan on July 4, 2001.[37][47] It was then released in North America on December 3, 2002 and in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2005.[45][48] The Spring Special Love Hina Spring Special: I Wish Your Dream (ラブひな　春スペシャル～キミ　サクラチルナカレ！！～ Rabu Hina Haru Supesharu Kimi Sakurachirunakare!!??) was also shown on TV Tokyo on April 1, 2001.[49] The DVD was released in Japan on August 1, 2001, in North American on March 18, 2003 and in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2005.[37][45][50] Finally, An OVA series called Love Hina Again (ラブひな Again Rabu Hina Agēn?) was released on DVD in Japan in 3 parts between January 26, 2002 and March 27, 2002 and was the final part of the Love Hina anime.[51] A CD single featuring the opening theme "Kirari Takaramono" (キラリ☆宝物?, "Glittering Treasure") and the ending theme was "Be for Me, Be for You" was released on February 28, 2002. A solo version was used for the first episode, and a duet with Yuji Ueda was used for the third episode.[52][53][54] The North American and United Kingdom releases of Love Hina Again grouped the 3 parts together on one disc and were released on September 2, 2003 and January 7, 2008 respectively.[45][55]
After the end of the television series, Love Hina Final Selection was released, containing a summary of the series and "Love Live Hina", a live concert featuring all of the main cast members.[56]
The anime was later used as the source for a films comic, Love Hina Anime Comics, which told the anime story in comic form using stills from the show as the comic panels.[57] The anime Comics series follows the story of the television series, unaired 25th episode, and the Xmas and Spring specials and each volume contains 3 exclusive trading cards.[58][59][60] The film comics also contain anime production info.[61]

Light novels

Two novels have been written by the anime screenwriters and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu as side stories of the main series. Love Hina: Mystery Guests at Hinata Hotel (ラブひな―混浴厳禁‐ひなた旅館へようこそ!?) was written by Shō Aikawa under the pen name "Kurō Hazuki", was published in Japan by Kodansha on May 17, 2001. It was later rereleased in a bilingual edition (English and Japanese) in December 2001.[62][63] The second novel, Love Hina: Secrets at Hinata Hotel (ラブひな―混浴厳禁 ひなた荘のヒミツ?) was written by Hiroyuki Kawasaki and released in Japan on February 15, 2002, with a bilingual edition released the same month.[64][65] Tokyopop licensed both novels for an English-language distribution in North America, releasing the first novel under the title Love Hina: The Novel, Volume 1 on April 11, 2006, and the second novel under the title Love Hina: The Novel, Volume 2 on August 8, 2006.[66]

Reference books

Two reference books for the manga series have been released for fans of the series. Love Hina 0 (ラブひな0?) was released on July 17, 2002 and contains character profiles, interviews and production info as well as other supporting materials for the first seven volumes of the manga.[67][68] Love Hina Mugendai (ラブひな∞?) was released on July 17, 2002 and contains character profiles, a timeline, artwork, interviews and production info. A large section is dedicated to early production sketches and handwritten development notes.[1][69][70]
Two reference books have also been released for the anime series. Ani-Hina Ver.1 was released on August 4, 2000 and Ani-Hina Ver.2 was released on November 9, 2000.[71][72] Each book contains character profiles, episode summaries, production sketches and details as well as interviews and information on the seiyū (voice actors); each covers half of the anime series.[32][33]

Video games

The series has seen several video games released across several platforms. The Game Boy Color received Love Hina Pocket on August 4, 2000, and Love Hina Party on January 26, 2001.[73][74] The Game Boy Advance received Love Hina Advance on September 7, 2001.[75] The Dreamcast received Love Hina: Totsuzen no Engeji Happening on September 28, 2000 and Love Hina: Smile Again on March 29, 2001.[76][77] The PlayStation received Love Hina 1: Ai wa Kotoba no Naka ni on September 28, 2000 and Love Hina 2: Kotoba wa Konayuki no Yō ni on November 30, 2000.[78][79] The PlayStation 2 received Love Hina: Gojasu Chiratto Happening on May 22, 2003.[80]

Soundtracks

Prior to the start of the anime, several image songs were recorded by the Anime cast members.[81] Several maxi singles were released featuring some of these image songs as well as drama tracks, also performed by the anime cast. "I Love Hina" was released on April 26, 2000 and followed by Love Hina 1 on June 26, 2000, Love Hina 2 on July 26, 2000 and Love Hina 3 on August 23, 2000. Love Hina 1 came with a box to hold the other singles.[82]
There have been several Love Hina soundtracks released. Love Hina Original Sound File (オリジナルサウンドファイル?) was released on September 21, 2000 and contains all of the background music for the series as well as many vocal songs. "Love Hina — Winter Special Soundtrack" was released on January 24, 2001 and was followed by Love Hina — Spring Special Soundtrack on June 6, 2001. Love Hina Again Soundtrack was released on April 3, 2002.[82] Two collections of vocal songs featuring the female cast members were released, Love Hina - Hinata Girls Song Best (ひなたガールズベストソングベスト?) was released on March 16, 2001 and Love Hina - Hinata Girls Song Best 2 (ひなたガールズベストソングベスト 2?) was released on October 3, 2001.[82] Many of the songs featured on these two albums were written by Ritsuko Okazaki, who released the self cover album Love Hina Okazaki Collection on December 16, 2001.[83] Two live concerts called Love Live Hina were performed by the Japanese cast members. The Tokyo Bay performance was bundled on DVD with Love Hina Final Selection, and the Osaka Performance was available separately.[56][84]

Reception

 

Love Hina won the Kodansha Manga Award for best shōnen title in 2001.[85] It was selected as the "Best Manga, USA Release" at both the 2002 and 2004 Anime Expo conventions.[86][87] In 2003, the title was among the top ten graphic novels on Nielsen BookScan's list and one of the first graphic novels to ever appear in the general trade paperback list.[88] The pop culture website ICv2 voted Love Hina "Anime Product of the Year" in 2002.[89]
The series was well received by critics. Tony Chen, of Anime News Network (ANN), found it to be a funny series, though inappropriate for readers under 16 due to the number of jokes involving sexual innuendo. He praised the beautiful artwork, feeling the "sexy and cute" female designs were perfect for the series and that Keitaro's design fit his dorky personality. Chen found Naru's regularly catching Keitaro making a mistake and calling him a pervert redundant and annoying.[90] Eric Luce of Ex.org notes an increased character development over other love comedies, and describes the series as "nothing if not whimsical".[91]
ANN's Bamboo Dong praised the anime adaptation for being very intriguing and mixing "drama, romance, and slapstick comedy in a pleasing combination". She found the music "incredibly cute" and felt it was used in a way which contributed to many of the dramatic effects in the anime.[92] In The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917, Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy felt the female characters were a "standard rack of female anime archetypes" and that the series as a whole was a "culmination of a decade of geek-centered anime".[47] Kenneth Lee, writing for Ex.org praised the look and quality of the animation, highlighting the benefits of the digital creation of the adaption over traditional cel animation. Lee recognised elements from other series such as Maison Ikkoku and Kimagure Orange Road, and summarised the series as "Simply Wonderful".[93] Chris Beveridge, of AnimeOnDVD.com, noted the first anime DVD volume was "really well put together", but also felt the manga did not translate into an anime series particularly well.[94][95] He praised the Christmas special, noting that it was "several notches above the TV series" but found that while the Spring Special had amusing moments, it was rushed with bad plotting.[36][96]
The Love Hina Again OVA received more mixed reviews, with ANN's Zac Berthschy feeling it reversed part of the plot of the main anime series and never reached the same entertainment level as the television series. The character of Kanako, Keitaro's sister, was heavily criticized for being "one of the most annoying characters ever created even though she would have been better for Keitaro than Naru."[97] Beveridge praised the fun and comedy as well as the fan service, but also noted that one's enjoyment would depend on whether they still cared for the characters.[98]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Hina

Ninja Hattori

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Ninja Hattori-kun (忍者ハットリくん?) is a manga series by Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ, later adapted into an anime series, a video game and eventually a live-action movie.

Plot

10-year old Ken'ichi Mitsuba is an average kid who goes to elementary school and struggles with his studies. Meanwhile a little ninja named Kanzo Hattori, Shishi-maru (a ninja dog) and Kanzo's little brother Shinzo befriend Ken'ichi. Hattori is now a part of the Mitsuba family along with his brother Shinzo, and his ninja dog, Shishi-Maru. Hattori helps Ken'ichi with his problems, and constantly keeps an eye on him, as a good friend. Yumeko-chan is the girlfriend of Ken'ichi. Kemumaki, a Koga Ninja and his ninja cat Kagekiyo always trouble Ken'ichi. Ken'ichi asks Hattori to take revenge.

Characters

  • Kanzo Hattori (ハットリ カンゾウ or 服部 貫蔵 Hattori Kanzou?) (voice: Junko Hori, drama actor: Kōtoku Nomura, drama voice: Kazuo Imakura, live-action film actor: Shingo Katori), aka Hattori-kun, is the protagonist of the series, a little ninja. He is the boy who usually contests Kemumaki when Kemumaki does pranky things. Hattori's main weakness is that he is afraid of frogs; this often leads him into trouble. He wears blue coloured ninja robes.
  • Shinzo Hattori (ハットリ シンゾウ or 服部 心蔵 Hattori Shinzou?) (voice: Yūko Mita, drama actor: Shigeki Nakajō), aka Shin-chan, is Kanzo's younger brother. A good point to note is that while Kanzo is referred to as "Hattori", Shinzo is usually called by his regular name. He is a ninja-in-training who learns to be a good ninja, like Kanzo. He wears red coloured ninja robes.
  • Shishimaru (獅子丸?) (voiced by Kenichi Ogata) is a ninja dog living with Ken'ichi, who came along with Kanzo Hattori and Shinzo Hattori. He is the light-headed dog who, along with Shinzo, winds up doing pranky things. His fur color is yellow.
  • Ken'ichi Mitsuba (三葉 ケン一 Mitsuba Kenichi?) (voice: Masako Sugaya, drama actor: Katsumi Takamiya, live-action film actor: Yuri Chinen) is a regular boy who goes to elementary school and does poor with his studies. He dates Yumeko, however Kemumaki is always after her.
  • Tsubame (ツバメ?) (voice: Fuyumi Shiraishi), aka Tsubame-ko, a kunoichi and classmate of Hattori-kun, always wishes to marry Hattori. She a dislike for Ken, Shinzo, Shishimaru, Kemumaki and Kagekiyo. She wears pink coloured ninja robes.
  • Kemuzou Kemumaki (ケムマキ・ケムゾウ Kemumaki Kemuzou?) (voice: Kaneta Kimotsuki, live-action film actor: Gorie) is the antagonist of Ninja Hattori-kun. He, along with his cat Kagekiyo Kemuzou, always are the ones who cause trouble. He competes with Ken'ichi for Yumiko-chen; however when he uses one of his ninja techniques in order to win, Kanzo usually steps in to save the day. He wears green colored ninja robes.
  • Kagechiyo (影千代?) (voice: Eiko Yamada) is an animal-ninja of the Koga-ryu, Kagekiyo is the helping antagonist of Ninja Hattori. Usually Kemumaki gives a big task in his plans for Kagekiyo to carry out, but he foils it. He is seen to have an enmity of Shishimaru. His fur color is black.
  • Yumeko Kawai (河合 夢子 Kawai Yumeko?) (voice: Runa Akiyama), aka Yumeko-chan, is the girl who usually causes disputes between Kemumaki Kemuzou and Ken'ichi Misoba. She is a girl who attends the same elementary school as the two, and she is also the one who causes most of the problems of the plot.
Other characters include:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_Hattori-kun

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