Given that my relationship with the Love Hina TV series was an uneasy one at best, it was with a distinct lack of expectations that I approached this Christmas Special. Forget entertainment- if I could make it through the entire thing without feeling like my brain had turned to mush, I would be satisfied.

As it turns out, the Love Hina Christmas Special doesn’t tend toward either extreme, instead choosing to remain in the realm of the determinedly average. As the title indicates, the festive season has come to the Hinata Hot Springs, and practically everyone is succumbing to that Christmas cheer. The one notable exception is Naru, who seems to be focussed on revision to the exclusion of all else. Could it be that she has lost interest in Keitaro- or is she just following an old tradition of waiting until Christmas Eve to confess her feelings?

Regardless of the outcome, you can be sure that Love Hina will take its time getting there, and that is essentially what this special is about. From Kitsune and the gang’s ongoing attempts to keep a none-too-subtle eye on Keitaro and Naru, to the usual round of misunderstandings that keep the cast wandering around and bumping into each other at opportune (or even inopportune) moments, this is typical Love Hina- a few rounds of filler leading up to a somewhat more heartfelt, if predictable, conclusion. A distinct lack of the wacky and over-the-top segments that let down the midsection of the TV series ensures that none of this is overly dire or painful, but neither is it particularly engaging.

Visually, there is little to complain about, with the animation retaining the clean and bright feel of the series. The background music has been retooled to give it a more festive feel, which ensures that it fits well with the episode even if it isn’t particularly memorable in and of itself.

It is also worth noting that this disc contains an additional episode from the TV series that wasn’t included in any of the previous Love Hina releases. Entitled ‘Motoko’s Choice Between Love or Swords’�, the episode sees Motoko attempting to avoid a premature return home to the family dojo by claiming that Keitaro is her fiancé! Naturally, this pretence does not hold up long, leaving Motoko to choose between living as a ‘normal’ woman, or proving to her older sister that she really is a worthy master of the sword. Admittedly, it’s none too deep, but this extra makes for a mildly entertaining half-hour that refreshingly showcases one of the lesser-used characters from the series.

In Summary

If you enjoyed the antics of the TV series, then you’ll no doubt want to revisit Keitaro and the others for more of the same, but this Christmas Special is far too mediocre and quite frankly forgettable to win over any new fans. With the accompanying bonus episode proving to be more enjoyable than the main feature, it can easily be said that this one is far from a must-see.