Love Hina Manga Volume 3

–> Purchase Omnibus Vol. 1 from RAKUTEN.COM (formerly BUY.COM)
–> Purchase Omnibus Vol. 1 from BARNES & NOBLE
–> Purchase Omnibus Vol. 1 from RIGHTSTUF!
–> Purchase Love Hina Volume 3 from RIGHTSTUF!

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Before the second day of their exams, Keitaro is crushed to learn that Naru could not be the girl he made his childhood promise to when she tells him that she was only 2 1/2 then and that her promise was to someone more recent. Keitaro assumes the worst and when their grades are posted sometime later, Keitaro fails again to get into Tokyo University. To his amazement, Naru fails as well and she is crushed. The two have some drinks and while drunk say some mean things to each other.

Unbeknownst to each other, Naru and Keitaro take a tour trip around Japan, both calling Hinata-sou from the train. The girls start assuming the worst, so Su and Shinobu take their own trip to find Naru and Keitaro while Kitsune convinces Motoko to take their own search trip.

Meanwhile, Keitaro and Naru keep running into each other and are even forced to spend the night together in a traditional Japanese inn when there is not enough room for them to have separate rooms. While on their trip, they meet a girl Keitaro’s age named Mutsumi, who’s somewhat ditzy and prone to passing out frequently. She too failed to get into Tokyo University so Naru and Keitaro end up accompanying her to Okinawa. However, they end up stranded on what appears to be a deserted island only to eventually find out this island is one Mutsumi lives on.

Eventually, Motoko and Kitsune rescue Shinobu and Su from some yakuza and make their way south to find Naru and Keitaro in an awful cozy position.

Thoughts/Review:

Akamatsu-sensei throws a monkey wrench into the notion that Naru is the girl Keitaro made the promise to by reminding the audience that Naru was only 2 1/2 when Keitaro made his promise. So even though she may have been at Hinata-sou at that age, there’s really no way she could have made the promise and remembered it or even meant it.

However, Akamatsu-sensei decides that by failing both Keitaro and Naru and having them take their healing trip on the same route, he can advance their relationship somewhat and toss a new curve into the mix — does Keitaro go for the girl he’s falling for or does he cling to the dream?

Adding to the fun is new girl Mutsumi, who provides both Keitaro and Naru with their first kisses. Through Mutsumi, Akamatsu-sensei now has a means for making Naru jealous since Mutsumi is an air-headed free spirit type. Her fragile health and her genuine affection for Keitaro provide the perfect vehicle as it keeps Naru from disliking Mutsumi but also forces Naru to reveal her growing feelings for Keitaro through various means.

The side story of Shinobu and Su looking for Keitaro was fun as was the story of Motoko and Kitsune doing the same (while also looking for Shinobu and Su). I loved how Motoko was talked into doing the illogical thing by going after Naru and Keitaro. Kitsune used her so badly but at the same time, we got to see just how truly gifted Motoko is (if we didn’t already know). I especially loved how she took down the yakuza members who were after Shinobu (though why TokyoPop called them “the fuzz” is a mystery to me).

So, we have another fun volume who’s purpose is to muddy the waters about the girl of promise but at the same time deepen the feelings of Naru and Keitaro for each other. For me, this is a truly enjoyable volume despite the sad lack of honorifics.