To Love-Ru

To Love-Ru

Cover of the first manga volume.
To LOVEる -とらぶる-
(To LOVEru -Toraburu-)
Genre Harem, Romantic comedy, Science fiction[1]
Manga
Written by Saki Hasemi
Illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki
Published by Shueisha
Demographic Shōnen
Imprint Jump Comics
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump
Original run April 24, 2006 – August 31, 2009
Volumes 18
Anime television series
Directed by Takao Kato
Written by Akatsuki Yamatoya
Music by Takeshi Watanabe
Studio Xebec
Licensed by

‹See Tfd›

Network TBS, MBS, CBC, BS-i, AT-X
English network

‹See Tfd›

Original run April 3, 2008 – September 25, 2008
Episodes 26
Original video animation
Directed by Takao Kato
Written by Akatsuki Yamatoya
Music by Takeshi Watanabe
Studio Xebec
Released April 3, 2009 – April 2, 2010
Runtime 25 minutes each
Episodes 6
Anime television series
Motto To Love-Ru
Directed by Atsushi Ootsuki
Produced by Nobuhiro Nakayama
Takeshi Tanaka
Takumi Kusakabe
Written by Yasutomo Yamada
Music by Takeshi Watanabe
Studio Xebec
Licensed by

‹See Tfd›

Network Tokyo MX, CTC, Sun TV, TVA, AT-X
English network

‹See Tfd›

Original run October 6, 2010 – December 21, 2010
Episodes 12
Manga
To Love-Ru Darkness
Written by Saki Hasemi
Illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki
Published by Shueisha
Demographic Shōnen
Imprint Jump Comics
Magazine Jump Square
Original run October 4, 2010 – present
Volumes 16
Original video animation
To Love-Ru Darkness
Directed by Atsushi Ootsuki
Written by Atsushi Ootsuki
Music by Takeshi Watanabe
Studio Xebec
Released August 17, 2012 – April 3, 2015
Runtime 25 minutes each
Episodes 6
Anime television series
To Love-Ru Darkness
Directed by Atsushi Ootsuki
Produced by Kazumasa Sanjouba
Kentarō Hattori
Nobuhiro Nakayama
Tsuyoshi Tanaka
Written by Atsushi Ootsuki
Music by Takeshi Watanabe
Studio Xebec
Licensed by

‹See Tfd›

Network Tokyo MX, AT-X
English network

‹See Tfd›

Original run October 6, 2012 – December 27, 2012
Episodes 12
Anime television series
To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd
Directed by Atsushi Ootsuki
Produced by Kazumasa Sanjouba
Kentarō Hattori
Nobuhiro Nakayama
Tsuyoshi Tanaka
Written by Atsushi Ootsuki
Music by Takeshi Watanabe
Studio Xebec
Licensed by

‹See Tfd›

Network BS11, Tokyo MX, Sun TV, AT-X
English network

‹See Tfd›

Original run July 6, 2015 – October 28, 2015
Episodes 14
Original video animation
To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd
Directed by Atsushi Ootsuki
Written by Atsushi Ootsuki
Music by Takeshi Watanabe
Studio Xebec
Released January 4, 2016 – December 2, 2016
Runtime 25 minutes each
Episodes 3

To Love-Ru (Japanese: To LOVEる -とらぶる- Hepburn: To LOVEru -Toraburu-) is a Japanese manga series written by Saki Hasemi and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki, creator of Black Cat. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine between April 24, 2006 and August 31, 2009, and the chapters collected into 18 tankōbon volumes. The manga series' title, とらぶる (Toraburu), is the English gairaigo (loan word) "trouble" and "rabu" (ラブ) is the English loan word "love". The title is a pun on the words "love trouble", which describes the harem aspect of the series.

A drama CD was released in February 2008 with an original story. A 26-episode anime series adaptation by Xebec aired in Japan between April and September 2008. Six original video animation episodes were produced by Xebec between April 2009 and April 2010. A 12-episode second season by Xebec titled Motto To-Love Ru aired between October and December 2010. Four video games have been released for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita.

A continuation of the manga called To Love-Ru Darkness (To LOVEる -とらぶる- ダークネス To LOVEru -Toraburu- -Dākunesu-) began serialization in Shueisha's Jump Square magazine on October 4, 2010. Xebec produced four OVA episodes of To-Love Ru Darkness and later an anime television series adaptation that aired between October and December 2012. A second season of To-Love Ru Darkness, called To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd, aired between July and October 2015.

Plot

The story of To Love-Ru revolves around Rito Yūki, a shy and clumsy high-school student who cannot confess his love to the girl of his dreams, Haruna Sairenji. One day when sulking in the bathtub, a mysterious, naked devil-tailed girl appears out of nowhere. Her name is Lala, the runaway crown princess of the planet Deviluke. Her father wants her to return home to marry one of her marriage candidates. When Devilukean commander Zastin arrives to bring her home, she swiftly declares she will marry Rito in order to stay on Earth, leading Zastin to attack Rito. But when Rito angrily declares that marriage is only possible with the person you love, the two dull-witted aliens misunderstand him, believing he truly understands Lala's feelings. Lala quickly falls in love with him, and Zastin also approves of their engagement, much to Rito's dismay. While Zastin reports his support for the pair to Lala's father, the King of Deviluke and much of the known universe, Rito reluctantly helps Lala transition to life on Earth, while gradually befriending his dream girl, Haruna, along with a colorful cast of other girls, both humans and aliens. In the meantime, Rito must also fight off Lala's antagonistic alien suitors, one of whom sends the alien assassin, Golden Darkness (also known as Yami) to kill him.

The story continues in To Love-Ru Darkness, which focuses on Lala's little sister, Momo. The twin sisters, Nana and Momo, have since come to live with Lala in Rito's house. While Rito remains indecisive between his longtime crush on Haruna, and his growing affection for Lala, Momo has also fallen in love with Rito. But not wanting to steal Rito away from her sister, Momo instead plots to build a harem of girls around Rito, hoping that if Rito marries Lala and becomes king of Deviluke, he can legally marry every girl who is in love with him, including Momo herself. While Momo works in the background and plays matchmaker with Rito, a plethora of beautiful girls gradually enter Rito's life and warm up to his kindness, including Golden Darkness, who has since lived peacefully on Earth but struggles to escape her dark past. Thus, Rito's otherworldly love troubles continue.

Media

Manga

To Love-Ru began as a manga series written by Saki Hasemi with illustrations by Kentaro Yabuki. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump between April 24, 2006 and August 31, 2009. The chapters were collected into eighteen tankōbon volumes were published by Shueisha in Japan between November 11, 2006 and April 2, 2010.[2][3] A sequel manga named To Love-Ru Darkness began serialization on October 4, 2010 in Jump Square.[4] The first volume for Darkness was released on March 4, 2011,[5] and 16 volumes have been published as of July 4, 2016.[6]

Drama CD

A drama CD for To Love-Ru was released on February 29, 2008 with an original story, featuring the voice cast later used in the anime, along with character songs.

Anime

An anime series adaptation produced by Xebec and directed by Takao Kato aired in Japan between April 3 and September 25, 2008, and contains twenty-six episodes. The anime uses characters and general themes from the original manga, it captures various chapters and events from the manga in no specific order. The anime's opening theme is "Forever We Can Make It!" by Thyme, the first ending theme for episodes one through thirteen is "Lucky Tune" (ラッキーチューン Rakkī Chūn), and the second ending theme is "Kiss no Yukue" (kiss の行方); both are sung by Anna. The anime is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks and distributed by Section23 Films. The complete collection part one containing the first half-season was released on December 15, 2009. Following the release of part two on February 16, 2010, the series began playing on the Anime Network in March 2010.[7] Sentai released the series on Blu-ray Disc in March 2014.

Three original video animation (OVA) episodes produced by Xebec and directed by Takao Kato were shipped starting on April 3, 2009 with pre-ordered copies of the manga's 13th, 14th and 15th volumes.[8] An additional three OVA episodes were released with the bundled version of the 16th, 17th and 18th volumes.[9] The opening theme for the OVAs is "Yatte Koi Daisuki" and the ending theme is "Apple panic"; both songs are by Haruka Tomatsu and Sayuri Yahagi. A second season of the anime titled Motto To Love-Ru (もっとTo LOVEる -とらぶる-)[10] produced by Xebec and directed by Atsushi Ootsuki aired 12 episodes between October 6 and December 21, 2010. The opening theme for the second season is "Loop-the-Loop" by Kotoko and the ending theme is "Baby Baby Love" by Tomatsu. Sentai Filmworks have also licensed the second season and released the complete series set on DVD on April 3, 2012;[11][12] the Blu-ray set was released on May 27, 2014.[13]

Five OVA episodes of To Love-Ru Darkness were produced by Xebec and released with the limited editions of the manga's 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th volumes on DVD on August 17, 2012,[14] December 19, 2012,[15] August 19, 2013, and December 4, 2013,[16] respectively. A twelve-episode anime television series adaptation was also produced by Xebec and directed by Atsushi Ootsuki.[17] The opening theme for To Love-Ru Darkness is "Rakuen Project" (楽園PROJECT) by Ray and the ending theme is "Foul Play ni Kurari" (ファールプレーにくらり) by Kanon Wakeshima. Sentai Filmworks released To Love-Ru Darkness on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on July 15, 2014.[18][19] A second season of To-Love Ru Darkness, called To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd aired in Japan between July 6 and October 28, 2015.[20] The opening theme is "secret arms" by Ray while the ending theme is "Gardens" by Mami Kawada.[21] Three OVA episodes of To-Love Ru Darkness 2nd are being produced by Xebec in 2016: the first on January 4, the second on July 4, and the third on December 2.

Video games

Five To Love-Ru video games have been released.[22] The first is a 2D and 3D visual novel on the Nintendo DS entitled To Love-Ru: Exciting Outdoor School Version (To LOVEる-とらぶる- ワクワク! 林間学校編 To Love-Ru -Toraburu- Waku Waku! Rinkangakkō-hen) which was released on August 28, 2008.[22] The second is a 2D adventure visual novel on the PlayStation Portable entitled To Love-Ru: Exciting Beach School Version (To LOVEる-とらぶる- ドキドキ! 臨海学校編 To Love-Ru -Toraburu- Doki Doki! Rinkaigakkō-hen) which was released on October 2, 2008.[23] A third game, titled To Love-Ru Trouble Darkness: Battle Ecstasy, was released on May 22, 2014 for the PlayStation Vita. It was developed by FuRyu, the developer of Unchained Blades.[24][25] Lala appears as a support character in the Jump crossover fighting game J-Stars Victory VS. A smartphone game titled To Love-Ru Darknes: Idol Revolution was released on March 19, 2014;[26] the game was later added to the website DMM.com on May 13, 2015.[27] A game titled To Love-Ru -Trouble- Darkness: True Princess, was released on November 5, 2015 for the PlayStation Vita.[20]

Reception

The seventh manga volume was the best selling manga volume in its first week of release in Japan.[28]

The original anime series was not well received. THEM Anime Reviews labeled it "the worst romantic comedy we've ever seen", and also described it as "a watered down Urusei Yatsura for the 21st century".[1]

In 2012, To Love-Ru Darkness was reviewed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly to see if it violated their newly passed controversial Bill 156.[29] This was after they had received a phone call from a parent who discovered a To Love-Ru Darkness book while cleaning a son's room.[29] The parent did not like that there was frontal nudity of a female character, including her lower body. At the meeting on April 9, 2012, they decided that while the book did include the aforementioned nudity, it did not violate the new ordinance.[29]

References

  1. 1 2 Høgset, Stig, Jones, Tim. "THEM Anime Reviews 4.0 - To Love-Ru". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  2. ↑ "To　LOVEる―とらぶる― 1" [To Love-Ru 1] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  3. ↑ "To　LOVEる―とらぶる― 18" [To Love-Ru 18] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  4. ↑ "To Love-Ru Spinoff Manga Series to Launch in October". Anime News Network. July 29, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
  5. ↑ "To　LOVEる―とらぶる―　ダークネス／1" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  6. ↑ "To　LOVEる―とらぶる―　ダークネス／16" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks, Section23 Adds To Love-Ru Anime". Anime News Network. 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  8. ↑ "To Love-Ru -Trouble- To Love-Ru -Trouble- OVA Project to Be 3 Volumes Long". Anime News Network. 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  9. ↑ "3 New To Love-Ru OVA Volumes Green-Lit". Anime News Network. 2009-07-01. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  10. ↑ "Motto To Love-Ru -Trouble- Anime to Air this Fall". Anime News Network. July 12, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Motto To-Love-Ru Trouble Anime Series". Anime News Network. January 11, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Motto to Loveru Complete Collection". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Motto to Love Ru: Season 2 (Blu-ray)". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  14. ↑ "To Love-Ru Darkness Manga to Bundle Anime DVD in August". Anime News Network. April 17, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  15. ↑ "To Love-Ru Darkness Manga to Bundle 2nd Anime DVD". Anime News Network. August 2, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  16. ↑ "New To-Love-Ru Darkness Anime to Be 2 New OVAs". Anime News Network. March 30, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  17. ↑ "To Love-Ru Darkness Anime Confirmed for TV". Anime News Network. April 3, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  18. ↑ "To Love Ru Darkness: Season 3: Complete Collection". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  19. ↑ "To Love Ru Darkness: Season 3: Complete Collection (Blu-ray)". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  20. 1 2 "To Love-Ru Darkness Gets 2nd Season, New PS Vita Dating Sim". Anime News Network. December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  21. ↑ "TVアニメ「To LOVEる -とらぶる- ダークネス 2nd」ED担当決定！". NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. March 21, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  22. 1 2 "To Love-Ru DS and PSP Editions Official Website Open Today" (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  23. ↑ "To Love-Ru Doki Doki! Rinkaigakkō-hen" (in Japanese). Marvelous Interactive. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  24. ↑ "Unchained Blades Developer Working On To Love-Ru "Harem" Game For Vita". Siliconera. November 26, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  25. ↑ "To Love-Ru Darkness Manga Gets Vita 'Harem' Game by FuRyu". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  26. ↑ "「To LOVEる-とらぶる- ダークネス -Idol Revolution-」が本日配信開始" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  27. ↑ "「To LOVEる-とらぶる- ダークネス -Idol Revolution-」配信開始" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 1–7". Anime News Network. January 14, 2008. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
  29. 1 2 3 "Tokyo's Youth Healthy Development Council Looks at To Love-Ru Darkness". Anime News Network. June 2, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.