Love Hina: Episode 25 OVA

Alternate English Title: Love Hina: Motoko’s Choice, Love or the Sword: Don’t Cry
Japanese Title: Rabu Hina: Motoko no Sentaku, Koi ka Ken… Naku na
Also Known As: Love Hina: Episode 25
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Format: 1 OVA
Allegiance: TV Tokyo
Director: Iwasaki Yoshiaki
Vintage: 2000
Intelligence Agency Report by: Drake
The episode opens with Keitaro dropping Naru and Mei at the train station to go visit their family in Kyoto. On his way home, Keitaro meets a mysterious visitor: Motoko’s sister, who has come to take Motoko home to inherit the dojo. In order to stay at the Inn, and avoid her familial duties, Motoko declares she is not powerful enough to inherit the dojo, and further claims she is engaged to Keitaro. Will Motoko have to return home and face her fears or will she be forced into a marriage with Keitaro?

Field Agent Report by: Drake
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
8.00
8.00
7.00
9.00
8.50
Overall 8.00
(not an average)

Love Hina Episode 25 was supposed to be the first episode of a second season of Love Hina, but the second season never materialized past episode 25 due to a lack of funding from the production company. It was finally released alongside the Christmas Special on the North American DVD as a bonus episode.

One reason this OVA rated as high as it did for me was for its development and explanation of Motoko, who up until this point in the series had little to no development. We receive some insight on Motoko’s family, and an explanation for her fear of turtles that is shown throughout the series. Besides building up Motoko’s character, we’re also given a fair load of fan-service and sword fights as Motoko proves her worth to inherit the dojo from her family. All of this drama combined with the same level of art and music as seen in the series leads to a wonderful add-on to the original.

Basically, if you’re a fan of Motoko-chan, then this OVA was designed specially for you. It is filled with all the familiar elements of the series, minus Naru (who played a minor role), with the humor the show has been known for, the characters’ dynamics with one another, and just the overall feel of it. My biggest qualm with it was its shortness. It felt a little rushed in some parts, but was definitely a great addition to the franchise.