List of Love Hina characters: Difference between revisions

{{nihongo|'''Keitaro Urashima'''|浦島 景太郎|Urashima Keitarō}} is a 19/20-year-old second-year ''[[Rōnin (student)|ronin]]'' studying to enter [[Tokyo University]] (abbreviated as "Todai"). As a child, Keitaro made a promise withto a girl, based on a story the children overheard, that two people who love each other will live "happily ever after" if they enter 'Todai'.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akamatsu |first=Ken |authorlink=Ken Akamatsu |title=Love Hina, Volume 1 |publisher=[[TokyoPop]] |date=2002-05-07 |pages=7–8 |isbn=1-931514-94-1 }}</ref> Keitaro is set on gaining entrance to Todai to fulfill the promise he made to his childhood friend, even though he cannot properly remember eitherrecall her name or her face. Later, in volume 13, it is revealed that Todai may not even refer to Tokyo University after all.

After failing to pass the entrance exams on his second attempt, Keitaro's parents seem either unwilling, and/or unable, to let him continue living at home while he studies. He then receives a call from his grandmother. As a result, he travels to "Hinata Inn", a hotel owned by his grandmother, to find a place to stay and study.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akamatsu |first=Ken |authorlink=Ken Akamatsu |title=Love Hina, Volume 1 |publisher=[[TokyoPop]] |date=2002-05-07 |pages=8–11 |isbn=1-931514-94-1 }}</ref> Following a misunderstanding where the residents believe him to be a burglar and a peeping tom, Keitaro discovers the hotel is now a female-only dormitory.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akamatsu |first=Ken |authorlink=Ken Akamatsu |title=Love Hina, Volume 1 |publisher=[[TokyoPop]] |date=2002-05-07 |page=26 |isbn=1-931514-94-1 }}</ref>

To compound the confusion, Keitaro's Aunt Haruka mistakenly assumes he has passed the entrance exams and is already a Todai student; consequently, the residents agree heto let canhim stay. When he fails to correct her, and isthey discovereddiscover tothat behe is lying, heKeitaro is forced to leave until Haruka announces that his grandmother has transferred the ownership of the inn has been transferred to Keitaro by his grandmother:him. Keitaro, isthus, in fact,becomes the new landlord.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akamatsu |first=Ken |authorlink=Ken Akamatsu |title=Love Hina, Volume 1 |publisher=[[TokyoPop]] |date=2002-05-07 |page=31 |isbn=1-931514-94-1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Akamatsu |first=Ken |authorlink=Ken Akamatsu |title=Love Hina, Volume 1 |publisher=[[TokyoPop]] |date=2002-05-07 |page=73 |isbn=1-931514-94-1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Akamatsu |first=Ken |authorlink=Ken Akamatsu |title=Love Hina, Volume 1 |publisher=[[TokyoPop]] |date=2002-05-07 |pages=79–80 |isbn=1-931514-94-1 }}</ref>

{{Voiced by2|Keitaro|[[Yūji Ueda]]|[[Derek Stephen Prince]]|type=tv}} Keitaro's name is supposedly taken from [[Mangaka|manga artist]] [[Keitarō Arima]].<ref name="manga artist">{{cite book |title=Love Hina, Volume 14 |last=Akamatsu |first=Ken |authorlink=Ken Akamatsu |year=2002 |publisher=[[Kodansha]] |page=194 |isbn=4-06-313070-3 }}</ref> andIt is also believed to be a [[pun]] on the Japanese [[myth]] of fisherman [[Urashima Tarō]].

Despite her ditziness, she is very intelligent and [[empathetic]]. Mutsumi also has [[anemia]] which caused all sorts of situations, but she is actually extremely resilient, having a strong vice-like grip even when she first appeared and just like Keitaro is seemingly able to recover quickly. Naru notices in both the manga and anime the similarities between Keitaro and Mutsumi many times. One such notable time was when they believed they first met Mutsumi (they are actually all friends from childhood) on Naru and Keitaro's trip to Kyoto. She has a very sweet and generous personality. Being very empathetic to others, Mutsumi often puts others happiness before herself. She can also be comically clumsy at times, another trait like Keitaro. She lives on a small island off the west coast of [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]'s main island city [[Naha]] with her parents and seven younger siblings before moving closer to the Hinata herself. Over the course of the manga she gradually gets over her anemia to the point that in the latter parts it has left her.

{{nihongo|'''Shinobu Maehara'''|前原 しのぶ|Maehara Shinobu}} is a 13-year-old schoolgirl who, after getting off to a bad start with Keitaro, develops a crush on him. Shinobu is a boarder at the Hinata Inn, in room 201. In the anime, she is first introduced as a grieving girl who has run away from home due to domestic turmoil;. howeverHowever, in the manga, she is already at the Hinata Inn when Keitaro arrives, and her parents are still together. Shinobu is quite skilled in both cooking and household chores, so she becamebecomes the resident cook (in the anime, her family once owned a restaurant in town prior tobefore their divorce). Quiet and shy, she contributes to her own emotional frailty.

She is the first girl to fall for Keitaro, and in the manga, she attempts to avoid him because of this. In both the anime and manga, she thinksholds highlyKeitaro ofin Keitarohigh regard and willis often be aton the verge of tears when sheShinobu thinksbelieves that he is in trouble or likes someone else. In the epilogue, 4 years later, she has since grown her hair out and has become more mature, though she retains her sincere personality. She still has a crush on Keitaro and hasn't given up on her dream of being his girlfriend (even though Keitaro was already set to marry Naru).

The reason Shinobu decideddecides to leave home and live at the Hinata Inn was because of the marital problems between her father,<ref>Source: Christmas episode</ref> and her mother, whose names are never mentioned. In(in the anime,). theirTheir marital problems lead to their divorce. Shinobu's parents arrive at the Hinata Inn and argue over whowhom Shinobu should live with. However, Shinobu decides to remain at the Hinata Inn, to which her mother is against as she believes the Hinata Inn is a bad place full of rowdy young girls. They eventually concede, allowing Shinobu to remain living at the Inn.

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[[Category:Lists of anime and manga characters|Love Hina characters]]