Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi, Ken Akamatsu drew from his
hopes and dreams when he created the Love Hina manga. His romantic comedy
about a young man who dreams of acceptance to Tokyo University and finding
the girl of his dreams was intended for a Japanese audience. So Akamatsu
was pleasantly surprised to find that the animated version of Love Hina
had become a hit among North American fans, who accepted the series long
before it was acquired for release on the other side of the Pacific. "Love
Hina has a very Japanese cultural essence," said Akamatsu. "I wasn't sure
if this Japanese comedy would be popular in the United States." But its
gentle romanticism has attracted fans who aren't familiar with the meaning
of admission to "Todai."
A part of Love Hina is autobiographical. Like the lead male character,
Akamatsu was not able to get into college for two years after high school.
Akamatsu's experience of finding the woman of his dreams and getting married
to that woman also is behind the story's gentle nature and eventual happy
ending. As for the five girls who live in the apartment with the lead male,
"They aren't based off any live human, they're the kind of character I
like...the typical characters you'd find in a Japanese anime. They're the
kind of girls that otaku would like - at least one of them." And Akamatsu
prefers that the Love Hina anime isn't a page-by-page retelling of the
manga; he enjoys the twists from his original story.
Akamatsu was questioned about the details of the series. What about
Naru Narusegawa's crucifix? "Fans think there's some sort of reason,
but there isn't. After a while it turned out to be her trademark - but
there isn't a reason for it." What about the flying turtle? Laughed Akamatsu,
"It's called an onsen turtle, it lives in a warm area. It used to flap
its legs and glide, but he became lazy and now he floats. The new anime
I'm working on right now is going to have another turtle. It's going to
be the space turtle and it'll fly, and meow." And the character who keeps
crashing his van? Akamatsu said it was supposed to be a noisy way to introduce
the character, but the crashes kept slipping into the script - and the
wrecks are that character's trademark, too.
