As a teenager when this came out, I could not finish it. It really creeped me out. Hearing my male peers talk about it as if it was an extremely great work was both creepy and disappointing as I saw their attitudes change in a way that objectified others.

without Yabuki Kentarou fantastic art noone would "read" this
sure its atleast 80% better than everything Kentarou have done on his own
so its obvious he needs a writer for his drawings...but i dont know...its so shallow and so sexual its not even funny...if this had run in a R-18 magazine and just show 1 more nipple/chapter i would get it

unless you are a teenaged boy that constantly think about sex...you will get bored FAST

The girls are not interesting without jealousy.
The male lead should be a female because he has no balls.
There is absolutely no story, no arcs, nothing, just pictures with bubbles and words.

It's not my cup of tea..

Throughout Shueisha's shounen manga series, To LOVE-Ru, a manga focused strictly on a romantic comedy, had been one of the few to last as it was in Jump of all magazines. When most think of Jump, they'd most likely think of an action manga. As of now, To LOVE-Ru has been continued in a new story, "To LOVE-Ru ~Darkness~".

To LOVE-Ru ~Darkness~ has been continuously considered as a "better" manga than the original series, To LOVE-Ru. In my opinion, that statement is false, based on what most say. Focusing on the two heroines, Haruna and Lala, To LOVE-Ru lasted from 2006 to 2009. Now, in the story of To LOVE-Ru, Lala and Haruna are both hardly recurring. And please, do not bother talking about "Shiho and Hasemi Saki." This is just a rumor, and To LOVE-Ru was never high in the ToC of Jump to begin with. The ToC is the biggest factor, following with author's choice and series returning from hiatus. As for Hasemi Saki and this "Shiho" person, it's funny someone would believe this without any evidence. This "Shiho" person has worked with Yabuki Kentaro, the artist of To LOVE-Ru, on To LOVE-Ru and his previous work, Black Cat. How she would all of a sudden spout that she looked just like Haruna 140+ chapters in, I have no clue why she would care, and if that was true. Hell, searching her name up, I have managed to find a person who looks nothing like Haruna.

Now then, instead of mumbling about how To LOVE-Ru was better, I guess it's time for the review. To LOVE-Ru ~Darkness~ is a manga serialized in JUMP SQ, a monthly magazine. This manga focuses on ecchi, romance, and comedy, a common three genres. Regardless of what people may say, this manga does NOT have a story of any sort. It is still episodic at most times, just like To LOVE-Ru was. In To LOVE-Ru, the average chapter would make comedic jokes at random. In To LOVE-Ru ~Darkness~, the average chapter is about Rito falling into the hands of a heroine, and causing a revealing scene. There has also been character development between a character, although I do not see much of a point as it was quickly passed on, with the turn of two pages resulting in an imaginative sex scene between that specific character and Rito. As of now, the two likely main heroines are; the one mentioned before (Who will remain unnamed) and Momo. As for Momo, she just wants Rito to have a perfect harem, simply put, a large group of the opposite sex falling for him. In the end, the story is nonexistent almost at all times, and is less constant than that of the original series.

As for the art, it appears to have changed over time a bit, taking the look-alike art from the adaptation of Mayoi Neko Overrun's light novels to a manga. I will admit, it is high-quality. I won't say it is incredible, but it is definitely great. Thus, there isn't much to say about this.

And again, time to mumble about parts most would personally not care about. I do not care if this manga was made specifically for "the sex appeal" in someone's opinion, and if that is so, I don't have much to say. I do not care if this little "character development" was important in someone else's eyes, as it obviously wasn't to me. Lastly, I do not care if someone believes "ecchi" or the "harem plan" to be the story, as I obviously do not think so.

Overall, it would be better of this series were to end, and have a follow-up which isn't filled with "ecchi" in every chapter. It could well enough live on the type of ecchi it had in To LOVE-Ru, with constant comedy, and possibly some story, although comedy will make up for it. Unfortunately, exposing women's bodies will not.

... Last updated on October 8th, 2012, 7:26am

Fucking TRASH