A.I. Love you

I generally don't include summaries in my reviews, since that's usually readily available on this website. 6★-7★ is an "average" when it comes to rating manga in my case, which makes the series by no means a bad one. I do not account Re-readability in the overall score, although it's obviously a huge plus if the series can be read again because of how great it is.

A.I. Love You is most likely one of the first "ecchi" manga I read in the early 2000's as a teenager. It's an interesting time capsule for the technology in the 90's, and proved that Akamatsu was definitely on top of the tech trends at the time. While this manga will always be compared to Love Hina, as it proceeds it, there are good reasons why. The character design is very similar, just rougher and not as refined, lacking the finesse that Love Hina had. There is decent character development (at least the kind of development you get in manga like this, but I think there was clearly more of a focus on the ecchi aspect of things (as it probably sold better that way).

There isn't much of a story, as it takes a more slice of life approach at times, which makes for a mixed bag chapter to chapter. Some chapters will be well thought out and entertaining, others, not so much. I think there were opportunities for better storylines, but Akamatsu seems to lose interest towards the end of the series, and loses focus on what could have been a better romance manga.

Reading Ken's work's before this one makes it kind of pale in comparison, but I think it'd be unfair to say it's a bad manga. The storyline's themselves are decent, and the ending was better than expected. If you're particularly looking for the romantic aspect in this one, it's here, and it's serviceable. It's by no means the focus of the manga, but it's there. Considering the length, I think he did a decent job of wrapping things up fairly nicely, although as previously stated, I'd say the manga is the strongest through it's start.

If you've read Negima or Love Hina and like Ken's work, it wouldn't hurt to give this one a try. It's not technically his debut manga, but it is his debut series and certainly a precursor to all of his work afterwards. If you enjoy seeing an artists' progression, this is a good way to see it. While the art itself is dated now, I still like the early 90's aesthetic, personally - there's a certain charm to it that you don't see a lot in manga nowadays.

Would I recommend this if you haven't read his more popular work? Probably not, as I'd just say to start with that, and read this series if you become a fan. Alternatively, if you're looking to re-live the 90's, this is a great little series with plenty of references to the technology of that time.

Writing: 6/10★
Setting: 6/10★
Characters: 5/10★
Art: 6/10★
Re-readability 3/10★

Overall Enjoyment: 6/10✮