Miscellaneous / To LOVE-Ru

 

First Full Moon ended. Then Ichigo 100%. Then Suzuka. Then ARIA. And now, To LOVE-Ru?! The manga gods must hate me. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY

The 39th issue of Shonen Jump magazine confirmed that TLR will be ending in the next issue, due out August 31. The 5th post by jaalin today is confirming that his interest in manga will coincidentally and tragically end on the same day.

I’ve been wondering to myself why TLR is one of the few manga series I’m drawn to, and I’m pretty sure it’s because of the character design. First was the Lala and Haruna lovefest, then came Magical Girl Kyoko, then Konjiki no Yami got my jb meter firing, and then this ridiculously hot girl Riko showed up, and then Momo came and smashed them all into obscurity. I say it’s the character designs because frankly, I thought the anime sucked, whereas with ARIA, I enjoyed the anime as I did the artistically-superior manga. And no other form of media has made me write an ode to feet.

Sigh… anyone got any suggestions to fill the impending void? Ane Doki is alright, I guess… hey, is Yuria 100 Shiki still going on?

[source]

116 Comments

  3. wtf thats so random, it felt like the whole la la haruna arc was coming to a close but not the whole god damn manga, theres so many love stories that we havent seen unfold yet wtf?

    Raithos
    Reply

  6. I hate when Jump does this, they’ve cancelled lots of manga I liked, and yet the same crap as ever is still running, there is no place for new series to appear without having to compete with the big series.

    To be fair TLR wasn’t going anywhere with the plot, but still the characters were awesome enough to keep the series going. Did they had to cut it just because it didn’t have as much readers as Naruto or Bleach? It’s like: “well loyal readers, you’re not enough, so f*** you”.

    Not that I buy the magazine though, so I can’t actually complain.

    Mainimi
    Reply

  9. Wererat42: Yup. That utterly ninja-fanservicey Naruto’s completely devoit of plot. Sure can’t last much longer, not after all these years. Ditto that utterly devoid-of-plot Bleach… can’t see how that’ll keep persisting.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  10. there are many manga out there =_=… let this be the beginning of your new journey!

    o_o to fill that void I suggest looking for manga with more than 50 chapters then if you decide you hate it move on… and narrow these manga down using genre preferences, art preferences, if they are scanlated weekly, monthly, or bunchly, and of course judging the initial summary along with the initial chapter (characters, story, art, etc.)…

    for example since I’m a romance kinda guy if the first chapter introduces me to a whiny crying B*, then I skip it… however if it introduces me to a strong willed, bishoujo or sportsy kinda girl (as the main or prominent secondary) then hell ya I read it…

    o_o I wish you luck sir…

    oh btw when you get to the point where you’ve exhausted both mangafox or onemanga of all long manga that fits your preferences, thats when you start to be less picky and play around with your preference and start choosing 1’s that look or sound cool… then after that, bare with it and read the crap 1’s which might have redeeming qualities like art… or story… then after that… you can read the crap 1’s, read the 1’s people scanlate then drop and never return to till next year, or simply start nurturing your interest in novels…

    again good luck… (coincidentally this is what you can do with anime O_O WHO KNEW!)
    oh also ya… To LOVE-Ru ended… sorry to hear it… (never read it but maybe I should?)

    Putang
    Reply

  12. @Haesslich
    are you seriously trying to say that To LOVE-Ru has more plot then bleach or naruto? cuz thats just ridiculous in every way possible. harem mangas in general have 0 plot and the only chapters that have meaning in them are the first and last ones, because those are the only ones where anything ever happens that matter.

    @jaalin

    try Ai kora/love collage its a harem manga with a twist which i thought was pretty funny, but the animation isnt as good as To LOVE-Re

    sean
    Reply

  13. =(
    Very sad. That was one of my favorite manga. But I could tell it was going to end like that mainly the way chapter 161 ended. Hopefully, Yabuki-san will give ToLoveRu a conclusive ending and will start a new manga to share his wonderful manga drawing abilities again. I’m hoping for a LaLa X Rito ending.

    Also, if you’re looking for a nice manga. Try Medaka Box or Hayakuen! medaka Box is very popular but I personally like hyakuen because it makes for a nice slice of life show with very good charachter designs and a somewhat unique plot.

    Vegetarianism is the Best
    Reply

  15. Beelzebub is pretty good
    Mahou Sensei Negima for harem
    Cage of Eden is also pretty good (35 chapters currently)
    Change 123 has good character designs – 10th volume was just recently released
    Defense Devil is also pretty new but has some really nice character designs
    Kimi No Iru Machi
    Mirai Nikki
    Mel Kano
    Ocha Nigosu
    Rappi Rangai
    Umi no Misaki

    That should be enough to get you started!

    Halcyon
    Reply

  16. Kimi no Iru Machi – I’d recommend this.. my favorite manga at the moment.. I really hope this gets animated eventually.. same timeline, author and art as Suzuka <3

    Others with different style of art but still entertaining..

    Yankee-kun to Megane-chan
    Kaichou wa Maid-sama

    Jclicious
    Reply

  22. it does suck, but to be fair the manga seemed to be going nowhere for a while. there was a glimmer of development a while back but then it settled down to aimlessness. and while i never minded it (as it was still good fun), this is a really bad time for mangaka to get writer’s block as the mags are all itching to find reasons to cut people.
    you’re pretty much going to need to be One Piece, Naruto, or Bleach to not have Jump cut you for extended periods of squat right now.

    but to second a previous sentiment, if you seek something new, Medaka Box has been fairly solid so far.

    Anon
    Reply

  24. sean: Nope, but it’s about as plot-heavy as those two series are, albeit without the fanbase. Complaining about a plotless manga which existed only to give fanservice in Shounen Jump is kinda like complaining about how expensive petrol is while driving a SUV which gets 1 mile to the gallon, however; it’s kinda stupid. Sad to see it go as it was good at the fanservice parts, but I’m not horribly upset – it really WAS very pointless towards the end. At least Ah My Goddess, which is similarly pointless and which has almost no progress in the main relationship, has more drama and prettier art.

    At least it didn’t turn into a shounen action manga the way Negima did.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  32. Honestly, this series was getting stale like toast left out for too long. For a while, it’s been a mindless (close to no plot development) montage of random boobshots/crotchshots/nekidness. I do love all the characters but after the hundredth random fan service harem series, I’m spent. These days, I’m looking for series with more substance.

    As for the ending, isn’t it blatantly obvious with only one chapter left? The author has been adding a new female love interest more often than I bathe. It will be your typical life-goes-on-I-choose-all-the-girls-cuz-they-all-gots-the-hot-for-me ending. I loved this series from the start, but the last couple dozen chapters have been disappointing.

    TMFAN
    Reply

  33. I like the art and the ecchi, but everyone got to admit The LOVE-Ru story kinda suck, Rito is in the top on my list of most annoying manga character ever, i hope the autor had learn something from this manga and start working right away in his new proyect

    Guille
    Reply

  34. Haha… I remember Yuria 100 Shiki. Funny shit right there. I forget how fast the middle sister could do it but jesus… I think it’s still going though.

    @Haesslich: It’s true that as Naruto and Bleach have dragged on they’ve pretty much lost sight of what the authors originally wanted for the manga (probably), because length is money and money is happiness (I suppose). However, I will have to disagree with you that they are as plot heavy as TLR. The two manga may be dragging on as they are, but that alone doesn’t make them ‘without plot’. Rather, it’s like a fanfiction that hasn’t been planned out the entire way.

    …

    No matter what anyone says, I can tell you that coming up with original material is god awfully hard. Making that material make sense in the larger picture is even harder, and then trying to keep the reader interested within that material is the hardest. I honestly don’t blame Kishimoto or Kubo for wanting ‘moar monies’. I do have to say though that Sasugay is a total idiotic blowhard who should drop dead because all of his reasons for revenge make zero sense and he should be classified as clinically insane.

    Hmm, manga recommendations… I recommend Immortal Regis and its sequel Cavalier of the Abyss as decent reads, and if you haven’t already read it, Shin Angyo Onshi for epic win. It’s like taking Gurren Lagann and converting it to manga form. Sure, the flashbacks are hella long and don’t seem too relevant, but it ends very awesomely and tearjerkingly :'(. They’re all Shounen though. Hmm… Until Death Do Us Part is decent too.

    Ryouichi
    Reply

  39. Just like Black Cat, this manga was created with a hundred ideas and only fulfilled about ten of them. The moment we got a string of about 2 volumes worth of plot-void one-shot ecchi chapters, I knew we were sinking into the same hole as Black Cat where the writer had dried up on material when really he should have more than enough to work with.

    Unfortunately the potential of To-LOVE-Ru has fallen just as Black Cat. A shame really, they were both based from such good ideas and really well drawn, but it appears that drawing skill did not come alongside plot.

    Wonder what Eve/Yami will revive as next time?

    Bittman
    Reply

  43. Oh… and to fill the void I’d suggest, of the ones not already mentioned, The World Only God Knows (Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai). Basically, it’s about a gaming otaku who’s referred to as “God” through various online communities because of his elite ability of being able to beat any gal game in amazing speed. Hell hears about about his reputation for being the “capturing god” and trick him into signing a contract to catch runaway spirits that hide in the hearts of girls. Basically, in order to capture the spirits he has to make the girl fall in love with him. The twist is that, like so many stereotypical gamer otaku, he hates (and is hated) by 3D girls. It’s pretty funny and each arc has a new girl/target.

    jaysus
    Reply

  46. Ryouichi: And they’re like To-Love RU in a sense, in that they all started out with some plot to go with the fanservice they provided, but as time went on they all lost any semblance of a story in order to give the masses of brainless fans what they wanted; more boobs and loli with To-Love RU, more of the same with Naruto, and the status quo in Bleach. They’re pretty bereft of plot at this stage, the whole lot of them. A bit sad to see the fanservice-with-boobs one go, but it really had outlived its welcome after Haruna and Lala discovered one another’s respective feelings towards Rito. Very repetitive… especially once they started using Mikan fanservice and other loli (Nana and Momo) to try to keep things ‘moving’.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  51. *sarcasm* Wow, I didn’t that coming! */sarcasm*

    Good riddance!

    I never saw what was so great about this series. Hell, even the fan service got old after the first volume. I GET IT! LALA HAS A FIGURE AND SHE’S NOT AFRAID TO FLAUNT IT! Talk about too much of a good thing! But then again, I’ve noticed that a lot of these Harem series are coming to an end as of late. I applaud the editors for this decision and pray that Naruto, Bleach, and Rosario Vampire are on the axe list!

    Remy
    Reply

  52. “I applaud the editors for this decision and pray that Naruto, Bleach, and Rosario Vampire are on the axe list”
    not very likely for Naruto or Bleach.
    understand that there is like a… 0.000001% chance TLR’s cancellation is based on any discussion about the quality of the material and entirely based on the fact that the series’ popularity has slipped. there were no editors that stepped up for quality in manga. this is purely business. Naruto and Bleach are still way to popular to be going anywhere. TLR however has been struggling for a while, got a boost from the anime, but dropped pretty fast after. and unfortunately unless you got pull as one of the publishers top guys, like i wrote earlier, a lot of the mags are itching to cut people. Thats also why you’re seeing so many cuts recently. i don’t know if you read any mangaka blogs, but across the board they’ve all been noting the mags are getting pretty tight and any slip in polls is like a huge red flag that the publisher might just suddenly tell you to wrap up your series and move out.

    Anon
    Reply

  53. I have been following To Love-Ru, it was just another harem comedy manga, with maybe more than decent characters. However, when Jump decided to end Mx0 manga at ch100, I was in rage for days. I mean, the manga would go at least another 100 chapter considering plot, but they just decided to end it. And it was such a good manga too, much better than to-Love-Ru.

    Maximilian
    Reply

  54. Kimi no iru machi will be ending soon as well. Dunno what the author said, but the story highly looks like it
    Show Spoiler ▼

    As for To Love Ru that really surprised me a bit, however
    Show Spoiler ▼

    So I guess that’s it? I’m curious to see how TLR ends as well as Kimi Iru Machi and will continue reading my usual stuff with Claymore being top, One Piece and Naruto.

    mutio
    Reply

  55. Jaalin,

    I believe someone above had a most excellent suggestion. Change 123

    Excellent character designs, an appropriate level of ecchi, and some pretty nice action too. Did we mention a harem as well?

    Melchior
    Reply

  60. not sure… totally not sure how they are going to end it…
    latest chapter was rito realize he love lala but also likes haruna and now they are ending it in the next chapter? thats a little crazy if u ask me…
    if they end it with threesome it would be a shitty ending to me..

    Probable Ending for me: Lala X Haruna
    Alternative: Harem
    Best Ending: Yui
    Alternative Best Ending: Yami

    jeffng9
    Reply

  62. Saw it sooner or later since it’s almost always in the bottom 5 in WSJ now.

    If you want something similar to To Love Ru, there’s Zettai Karen Children. The art is really unique and the character are awesome and the plot is good too. :’D

    Kiseki
    Reply

  67. god damn it, i tough that the arc of lala/haruna was coming to an end where rito knows that he want both of them and thats it, and come up with another arc, but WTF the WHOLE MANGA HAS TO END????!!!! X_x, this is the worst news i have had this year related to anime/manga, T_T to love ru was one of my tops mangas, this manga has a lot material to be exploted, i hope the autor reconsider this atrocity, anyway, like they have said already, anyone knows any manga to fill the void i have now?

    Trejon
    Reply

  72. This was expected… If you read from earlier chapters (way before yami, momo, etc gets introduced) the manga actually had a decent story line. After the chapter where rito-lala’s engagement gets called off, everything turned into FAN-SERVICE-FEST.

    It’s a shame, I loved the art for the manga. Hopefully he will do another one 🙂

    Zeevee
    Reply

  75. It was bound to happen sooner or later but it will never be the same without TLR. I enjoyed watching and reading it but I think it is about time Yuki chooses someone. I would’ve liked to see Yuki with Yui too but I doubt that will happen? Maybe a surprise? As for the actual ending, I am hoping for Haruna but I have a feeling it will be Lala. We shall see…

    marvin
    Reply

  76. To-Love-Ru is quite notable for its character design and great art. It’s no wonder, the mangaka for To-love-Ru had time to refine his style with Black Cat and his mentor was none other than Obata, the guy who drew Death Note, Ral Dragon, Hikaru no Go, etc.

    prox
    Reply

  77. Ending I’d like to see:

    –Lala and Haruna walks up to Rito–

    Lala: Rito, who do you love?

    Rito: I…er…ooh look! Shiny thing on ground!

    Lala: Nevermind Rito. I just remembered that I’m a Galactic Princess of an highly advanced alien race. Naturally, I’m already physically and mentally superior to any species on this back water planet and can I my pick of hunks from throughout the universe. I realize my infatuation with you was purely because of what you humans call Jetlag, since I was riding in space for so long. I’ll be leaving you now.

    Haruna: Rito, I’ve realized that I’ve never really was attracted to you at all. I mean, in the anime, you were dubbed by a WOMAN! Doesn’t that tell you something about yourself. At least Hayate seems capable of taking care of himself and making a damn decision. You’re just an incompetent idiot who is all wishy-wash and hoping that somehow things will solve itself if you ignore it long enough.

    Rito:…but, all harem anime has taught me is that if I wait long enough, my problems will be solve or the series will end, showing us to live happily ever after, still waiting on me to make a decision!

    Haruna: I’m not sorry for leaving you Rito. Remember that shape shifting alien a few chapters back. You remember, the one with all the muscles and tentacles. Well, I’ve realized I like the idea of a man who isn’t afraid to admit he has sexual urges and acts upon them. At least I know he isn’t a closet homosexual. So, I’m leaving you for him Rito. Good luck!

    Yami: Rito, I’ve decided to kill you now. –SLASH!–

    GOOD END! GAME OVER!

    –Que Ending–

    Comic Book Guy: Worse Ending Ever! But, like how a Superhero dies and comes back to life, it is marginally acceptable.

    Remy
    Reply

  79. ..Pretty much everything Halcyon has said.

    I’m also readin
    Ai Kora
    Gamaran
    Bakuman
    Yankee-kun to Megane-chan
    Seikon no Qwaser (borderline hentai but with interesting characters/plot)

    Feenix
    Reply

  80. yea 100 is still going on
    Ane Doki will fill my void

    AND OMFG WTF IT COULD HAVE GONE A LITTLE LONGER

    so that’s what the last chapter was about, all it needed was Rito to realize that he loves Lala, and since he did, they are gonna settle it that fast. pft.

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 🙁

    Chimasternmay
    Reply

  82. No Manga can beat Claymore
    It is still my number one favorite manga even thou the anime had ruined it.
    But manga wise it is still soooooooooo ( no word can descibe it) extremely awesome.
    Believe me I am very picky with manga and I have a good enough collection to be extremely picky.

    Mike
    Reply

  86. It’s a shame, not the great manga the history has fall for a long time but at least i was hoping at least for the return of Lala’s father, another big adventure and/or a decent ending after this.

    bga
    Reply

  87. Most of what you just mentioned is fanservice junk,go read some real manga..:/
    You guys are disgustingly pathetic and the same goes goes this blog.
    It’s seriously gotten downhill.With that being mentioned,I will take my leave now.

    fuckyoualllosersthattalkshitcocksuckers
    Reply

  90. dude canceling the manga because he found out his wife was cheating on him with an 18 year old high schooler.

    He said it will end with Rito choosing Haruna and Lala knowing that he would all along.

    Hudson
    Reply

  91. its not lik the really set up a big ending climax! its lik… “wow i definitely like both of them” but they already kinda revealed that a while ago and now they plan to close it up in one chapter… if they do… it better be long as hell, ima need a shitload of closeure if im gonna take the loss of to love-ru even a little short of wanting to kill myself lol

    Jubserz
    Reply

  94. Reading the comments some people are thinking, that in chapter 161 Yuki said he loves both Lala and Haruna (for those who read it from onemanga and such). That’s not what he said in the RAW. He said he likes the other girl more than the other one.

    Lal
    Reply

  95. at least you acknowledged that the ANIME sucked! first ep was okay then i was like WTF!!! RIIIIIIIIIIITOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!?!?!?@#$&* manga art is good, but whatever.. well, it’s still ALL ABOUT MONEY! capitalism rules! all withered franchises fall to the WAYSIDE!!! HAHAHAHAH!

    BROOKLYN otaku
    Reply

  100. Naruto is in the top and TO LOVE-RU IS CANCELLED?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

    WHY GOD, WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO US?!

    I’ll miss everyone of them, everyone, I’m so sad about this… I hate who cancelled this so much…

    MASK
    Reply

  101. I remember reading somewhere that some character in Bakuman actually gave a good explanation on why ecchi harem series like To-Love-Ru gets the chop: “While they may drool and fap at it all the time, guys just don’t have the guts to openly declare that they actually like it.”

    This is in contrast to yaoi fangirls, whose shamelessness knows no bounds, hence the proliferation of plenty of BL-doujin potential in shounen manga these days. xD (Even as a straight guy, I can already name a few BL pairings from Naruto for starters, I’m sure you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out which pair I was predominantly thinking about, do you?)

    Another reason To-Love-Ru got the chop has got Ane Doki, it’s appearance is most certainly the final nail in the coffin for To-Love-Ru, as both series are more or less after the same target readership, and let’s face it, Kawashita Miki just draw girls better. lol

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  103. So To LOVE-ru gets a “and life goes on…”-ending, huh…?

    Hmm…

    Yabuki Kentaro’s next project would be a continuation of Black Cat, yes? Then that means TLR characters can cross-over to that series (even if they’re just expies).

    Then after that, we’ll get 2LOVE-ru.

    See what I did there?

    DK
    Reply

  110. “As for the ending, isn’t it blatantly obvious with only one chapter left? The author has been adding a new female love interest more often than I bathe. It will be your typical life-goes-on-I-choose-all-the-girls-cuz-they-all-gots-the-hot-for-me ending. I loved this series from the start, but the last couple dozen chapters have been disappointing.”

    …and they didn’t disappoint (unfortunately). I was hoping I was wrong and he picked Haruna -.-

    tmfan
    Reply

  111. ;___; just read this chapter today – not knowing it was gonna be the final chapter D;
    curses- WHY?! i’m really gonna miss this manga . . .ane doki isn’t really on par with TLR :/

    Arcturus
    Reply

  114. Pretty disappointed about how it ended.
    Haruna won but Lala doesn’t even realise it, Rito confesses but Haruna didn’t hear it etc.

    I would have loved a confirm ending as to who Rito would date even though we know he loves Haruna more than Lala

    Hanabira
    Reply

  115. I don’t think Haruna wins, because she started as the only girl in Rito life then became the other girl. Lala wins for sure. Haruna is a weak character and I don’t like her and her way of doing things. Yui, Yami and Momo are a lot better.

    I don’t like this strange ending too but I read on internet that the mangaka wants to write the end of this story because Haruna resemble him his wife and they broke up. In this part of the story the harem ending is the only one possible because Lala, Haruna, Run, Yui, Momo and Celine are all in love with Rito… (and Nene, Mikan and Yami are also interested in him)

    Marco
    Reply

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