To LOVE-Ru OVA

To LOVE-Ru OVA

To LOVE-Ru anime series OVA cover art
To LOVE-Ru OVA

OVA Overview

The To LOVE-Ru OVA (To LOVEる -とらぶる-) is a six-episode OVA series that comes between the full seasons of To LOVE-Ru and Motto To LOVE-Ru. Normally with an ecchi series like this, you would expect the OVA to be much better than the TV series because it can be less censored (as was the case with Kiss x Sis).

However, as you’ll see, the To LOVE-Ru OVA didn’t capitalize on this very well. I’d say it was either on-par with the first season of the series, if not actually worse than it overall.

1. Rito becomes a Woman

The best episode of the OVA was probably the very first one in which Rito is turned into a girl after he accidentally activates one of Lala’s inventions. Originally, the device was supposed to be used on a girl to alter her breast size so that it would perfectly match Rito’s preference. But when Rito crashes into it, it does more than just that to him.

Riko (Female Rito) as seen in the OP of the To LOVE-Ru anime series OVA
Riko (Female Rito) as seen in the OP

So, why is this the best episode? It can be summed up in two words: Uncensored yuri. This episode probably had the most uncensored content in it out of all of them, which if I’m being honest, is the main draw of the series. Additionally, because Rito was turned into “Riko,” we got more yuri scenes than average.

2. Rito and Mikan

The second episode was my least favorite of the six. I really like Mikan, but the episode that focused on her wasn’t a particularly ecchi one. It did have a really good ad break card of Mikan though, so it gets some bonus points for that.

This episode focused more on Rito and Mikan’s relationship as they grew up. When they were children, Rito used to do everything possible to make his little sister happy. But now, he spends most of his time with Lala, which makes Mikan feel tossed aside. As I said, it’s not a very good episode.

3. Welcome to the Southern Resort!!

Episode 3 had the potential to be the best episode of the series, but then it dropped the ball. This was the obligatory beach episode in which twelve of the girls in the series all go to a private island resort together. Also, adding to its potential is the fact that Rito was turned into a dog, so he wasn’t really there.

Lala jumping into a pool from the To LOVE-Ru anime series OVA
Lala jumping into a pool

Unfortunately, there were (I think) three times in the episode that were just literal slideshows. Before the ad break, after the ad break, and I’m pretty sure again later in the episode, a song played and we got a slideshow of the girls doing beach activities. And in case you were wondering, the slideshows were censored.

The one good part of the episode, though, came when the girls all went into the sauna together. That was uncensored.

4. Trouble Quest

Trouble Quest was an odd episode. In it, a few characters were transported into an RPG world and had to defeat the demon lord (Kyouko) in order to rescue princess Lala. I say it was odd because a fantasy world is clearly a setting you can do a lot with in an ecchi series, but they opted to reuse the same gag something like three or four times instead.

It really felt like they were throwing in a fantasy world episode so they could check a box rather than because they wanted to tell a unique story or do unique gags with it. But, it was the only episode to include Kyouko, so it gets a bonus point for that.

5. Nana and Momo

I don’t remember Nana and Momo being introduced in the first season of To LOVE-Ru, but I guess they were since they appear in the OVA without an explanation of who they are. Of course, I did know who they were even without remembering their introduction in season one.

And for anyone wondering, Nana > Momo > Lala.

This episode was pretty basic. It involves Nana and Momo trying to determine if Rito is right for their sister. Nana doesn’t believe Rito is a good match, while Momo does (and sort of wants him for herself). They start off by simply spying on Rito, but eventually transition into manipulating events around him to see how he reacts.

Overall, I would say this was the episode most similar to the main series. It didn’t really have any special gimmick or setting. It’s just a simple story about Rito being messed with by some of the female cast.

6. Draft, Metamorphose, Hand & Tail

The final episode was actually pretty good now that I’ve had time to think more about it and write about the preceding episodes. This one was split into three parts that each told a different story following different characters.

First, we start off with what could have been the best episode of the OVA if it was an entire episode long. The first story follows Yui Kotegawa around school after the loses her panties. It’s a thrilling tale of one girl’s adventure to find her lost panties without anyone realizing she isn’t wearing any.

Part two was probably the weakest of the three. This one follows Mikan and Peke as they track down a thief who stole Mikan’s bag while she was out shopping. And the third part is about Rito’s hand getting stuck to Lala’s tail, which, in case you didn’t know, is a very sensitive part of a Devilukian’s body.

Conclusion

Overall, I think the To LOVE-Ru OVA is a 6/10 just like the first season of the anime series. However, I would place it as a slightly lower 6/10 than the series. As I mentioned at the start, I just don’t feel like it took enough advantage of the fact that it’s an OVA.

While I don’t have much to say about the ED, I will say that I might like the OP of the OVA more than the first season. I do really like the first season OP song, but I think the entire package of the OVA OP may have been better.

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