Review: To LOVE-Ru

To say the harem genre is overcrowded is putting it lightly. There are countless anime, manga, LNs and VNs released in this genre every year. Some play to the same tropes whilst rarely deviating, others get lost in the mire. It’s got to the point where people actively groan at the mere mention of a series that is a harem. To stand out from the crop you have to that extra something that will make you take notice of it and keep you reading. Does To LOVE-Ru succeed in doing this or does it follow the well trodden path?

Rito is your run of the mill average student; he loves the popular girl Haruna but cannot bring himself to confess his feelings. One day whilst contemplating how average and stupid he is to not confess a loud crash happens. Upon opening his eyes he sees a bright pink haired girl, sporting a tail, naked and in his bath. His first instinct is to help protect her from those pursuing her and he does. Little does he know this act of chivalry would lead him into a crazy world from which he cannot escape.

It starts off typical but quickly descends into the abnormal thanks to the alien elements. This isn’t your ‘aliens that are basically human’ scenario either as these elements play a very large role in the series and are the instigator to so many of the stories contained here. I liked the setup, it isn’t needlessly complex nor is it too bare bones instead it leaves strong foundations that open the series up to all manner of events to occur.

Rarely for a harem series have I taken a liking to all of the girls; it requires strong writing and personality for them and a good design. For me this is almost unheard of, throughout all the harem series I’ve read, watched, played only one other (High School DxD) manages this feat and this is a strong indication that this is a cut above the rest. That is some achievement and full credit must go to both Kentarou Yabuki and Saki Hasemi for conjuring up such a diverse cast of girls.

These girls are just so likeable, funny and interesting and fit into just about every mould under the sun which is just what you need. Lala is clumsy yet also honest and earnest. She doesn’t want to get married to her father’s choice of husband (being royalty means setting an example) and she isn’t afraid to tease Rito. Invariably in some state of undress (though the same could be said of every girl) she has little embarrassment, she is outright with her feelings and is kind to all. She also packs a surprising punch as shown through her tussles with Yami.

Speaking of, Yami of the Darkness is my favourite girl. An assassin sent by one of Lalas suitors to kill Rito she is deadly yet cute as her petit frame hides her killing lust. She is won over by Rito eventually as his good deeds do not go unnoticed. Her cold nature I liked most which contrasted nicely with her appetite for sweets and the like as well as her deadly skill.

Then you have Haruna who is the crush of Rito. She, for me anyway, was the weakest girl of the group. Maybe it’s because for large parts she feels quite distant from Rito and partly because of her rather basic design compared to the rest of the girls. Mikan is Ritos sisters fits the loli aesthetic to a tee and is always on hand to reel Rito in; she may be younger but is mature beyond her years.

Lastly for the main characters, and the one I wanted to speak more about, is Yui, President of the morals committee. She sees what Rito and the girls have been up to, predictably blaming Rito for being the ring leader she decides to catch him out and issue due punishment. I especially like it when moral committee members engage in the perverse so it was hugely enjoyable to see Yui here. She is strict yet also sweet and very innocent.

Of course there are many more girls to talk about but if I did I’d be here all days such is the variety of the cast. Add late comers into the series such as Lala’s sisters Momo and Nana who are introduced late enough so as not to get too enamoured with them, Ryouko an alien as a school doctor who is far more seductive and quite possibly sinister than expected, Ren a love rival for Lala who has a very funny gender swapping ability (or should I say curse?) that leads to numerous funny scenarios.

On the male casts side most don’t play a significant part, there is Lalas bodyguard Zastin, Lalas father Gid Lucion (who is suitably pervy) and some of Ritos friend but they play minor roles mainly. As do the array of alien bigwigs vying for Lalas hand in marriage. There is also a very skeevy head principal who chases after the girls, has no problem if you aren’t human as long as you are cute and just overall is very, well perverted. It can come across as creepy to some but it’s usually played in a light hearted manner so it’s more comedic than anything.

Every girl gets a good amount of panel time. Even the relatively minor ones such as the most beautiful girl in the school Saki gets a fair few chapters to shed light on her and show she isn’t just eye candy. This is what I liked about the series, everyone got their chance to shine and have development and a bit of back-story. No one is left out and the timing also matches with this. Just when you begin to think a girl has been neglected for a substantial amount of time up pops a chapter or two that focuses on them. That the mangaka can do this is worthy of the utmost praise as balancing out a series with a cast this large is a never an easy feat.

The big difference here from your traditional harem is that the main girl Lala is an alien from the planet Deviluke and she has a nice quirk, she likes inventing things such as her always accompanying clothing robot Peke who enables a few more accidents. This means that we get to see all sorts of unearthly devices to spice up the series, many of which use Rito as an unwilling test subject.

That along with the whole alien landscape means we get trips to alien planets, alien visitors, new powers and more. Be it Yamis power to form all sorts with her hair (fists, spikes etc.), teleportation, personality transplants, mind swapping, shrinking in size, Lalas creative spark, the doctors unusual curing methods, alien creatures, Rens gender swapping when he sneezes, bizarre almost world creating powers and more there is no end to the possible stories. It helps put a fresh new spin on some well worn tropes to stop them from becoming stale. No topic is off limit for this series and it feels natural whilst doing it because of the world.

One of my favourite, and most bizarre, of the stories was an alien plant that gave birth to Celine, a child from this flower that Rito and co end up looking after. It is crushingly sweet and equally funny to see these characters have a child thrust upon them, to see how they react to this and what course of action they take when the going gets tough.

Another favourite story is the introduction of Nana and Momo, Lalas sisters. They create an entire game world and trap Lala, Rito and their friends in it. The isekai genre is overloaded at the moment but this still felt fresh and fun because of the character reactions to it. Seeing what Nana and Momo have observed from their limited time on earth to seeing what tests they have in store for their sisters love interest is hilarious.

There is an almost endless supply of these fun and quirky events and it really is best to experience them yourself first hand as it lends itself best to first time reading. They do have great re-readability though as time and again I have gone back to see their school festival arc, being stranded on an alien planet or just seeing Lalas dad get up to no good.

One key part of the series is that there are actual real developments with the characters which can be missing from relatively long running harem shows. Rito goes from only caring about Haruna and confessing his feelings to actually realising he now cares for the people around him and this new found feeling for Lala has been born from all the good and bad times with her.

The girls likewise change over time with each girl making gradual changes. Whether it be Lala accepting that Rito may not share her feelings and being okay to wait to acknowledging when other girls may have feelings towards them or the change in personality from Yami as she see her target grow in her eyes from a target to a friend as she begins to integrate into this group of girls.

There is so much more as well, Haruna beginning to accept what she really feels, Yui growing from pure strictness to being a bit more open, Mikan seeing her brother in a different light since events have transpired and so much more. Sure these developments aren’t constant as harem hijinks take centre stage and the developments, as expected, really only focus on the characters feelings toward one another but the mix is good and shows progress on all fronts.

There is an abundance of fan service here; it doesn’t fit into the ecchi genre for no reason! In fact fan service plays a very large role here with almost all chapters featuring some form of lewdness. Being that the series was serialized in Weekly Shone Jump there are certain points in regard to this that you cannot have. While there is plentiful amounts of panty shots, breast grabbing and even copious amounts of nudity there are no nipples unless you read the volumes themselves. I’m okay with this, doesn’t in anyway lessen my enjoyment and it allowed it to reach a wider audience and become the mega series it is today, kind of like Fairy Tail in a way.

Unsurprisingly I enjoyed this, a lot. From the expected tentacle like beings fondling the girls, Lala and Rito losing their clothes as they teleport into the girls changing rooms, very revealing swimsuits, beach episodes, pool and hot spring episodes it is all just so delightful. Has a lot of that been done before? Certainly but here it just clicks with me. I already felt attached to the girls and the fan service never takes a dark turn. It helps that the art is gorgeous.

I have been heaping praise after praise on this series so far and there is a bit more to come regarding the art but was there anything I actually disliked? Yes but in the grand scheme of things it seems like nitpicking. Not every short story (most stories are one-off chapters) was a hit with me, some felt a tad repetitious and others a bit predictable. They don’t harm the series though as any series going for as long as it had will get them and they still left a smile on my face.

The ending was also very open. I know there is a sequel series (To LOVE-Ru Darkness) but it still left many things unresolved, especially the core relationship. If you think of it from a standalone point of view this will irk some but personally knowing there is a sequel series that is more or less a direct follow on it’s hard to criticise.

The art is from Kentarou Yabuki who some may remember from Black Cat and it shines here. From the way he meticulously draws the girls that makes them distinctive to the inventive alien visitors that come to town it is bright and cheery. Most girls do have the same body type with slim, slender bodies, beautiful legs and an array of breast sizes but they do stay in your head. From the large to very small there is some to suit everyone’s tastes. The aliens girls such as Lala have a nice tail as well to distinguish them with a heart shaped end that is very sensitive, they look lovely.

One minor issue I had with the art was the trousers for the boys uniforms. The design is just horrible, luckily reading the manga you don’t see the colour every chapter but it’s just so ugh. It looks slightly better on the girls skirts though, maybe because there is less of it to look at.

To LOVE-Ru is a series that I took far too long to actually read. I regret that as it is a whole lot of fun for its entire run, always leaving me with a smile on my face at the least whilst keeping me fully engaged. If you don’t mind a hefty fan service focus then this is a definite recommend and certain to leave you in good spirits.

Mangaka: Kentarou Yabuki (art) and Saki Hasemi (story)

Release: 2006 - 2009

Length: 162 chapters, 18 volumes

Available: Amazon Japan, CD Japan

10/10