I should say right now that Love Hina vol. 1 was the first manga I ever purchased. So, even after my initial disapointment with it, I found myself rereading it several times out of sheer lack of any other options. Initially, I was to busy pitying the all too pitiable protagonist, Keitaro, as he was relentlessly tortured by the harem of women he'd found himself plopped into.

My gudging view of the series persisted until the third volume (once I start a story, I find it hard to leave it hanging), where I feel Love Hina really hits its stride. For the next 11 volumes, I was enthralled with the lives and relationships of the whole cast (but seriously, can we have a harem manga with more than just one guy? it's kinda sad when all the other girls are left dangling in the wind at the end of these things). So great was my fevered interest that I actually did aquire some pretty intense head-aches after some marathon reading sessions (especially around the time they visited Mutsumi's home island). In my opinion, the series could have ended one or two volumes early, for while the last two are certainly entertaining, there seems to be something lost from the earlier story archs. Still, I recommend the whole series to anyone willing to do a little suffering for what is ultimately a fantastic series.