To Love Ru, Collection 1

This anime series injects heavy doses of sexed-up comedy into a science fiction setting that begins on one ordinary day when nerdy teenager Rito Yuki is lying in his bathtub, dreaming of his hottie classmate Haruna Sairenji, and suddenly finds himself joined by the voluptuous Princess Lala, who has teleported from the planet Develuke and immediately falls in love with him. After unintentionally touching her breasts, Rito is dismayed to learn that this action is equivalent to a marriage proposal on Develuke. Lala moves in with her new love, which of course creates endless problems—especially when she showers him with highly conspicuous displays of affection while he tries to pursue the increasingly elusive Haruna. At the same time, evil agents sent by Lala's father appear intermittently to try to bring her back home and to challenge Rito. What could have been a tolerable standalone feature is stretched to the fraying point in these first 13 episodes, originally aired in 2008, as the series' single joke is endlessly recycled. It doesn't help that Rito is an extremely weak character (even by anime's standards of geeky, accidental teenage heroes) or that Lala becomes irritating before the end of Episode 1. Some of the tasteless incidents being offered as humor, particularly in Lala's overeager pursuit of Rito, are inappropriate for younger viewers; but beyond the smut, adult anime fans will find little here to keep their interest. This two-disc set, in Japanese with English subtitles, suitable for 14-up, is not recommended. [Note: To Love Ru, Collection 2 is also newly available.] Aud: P. (P. Hall)