Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Motto to Love-Ru Blu-ray Movie Review

Teen boy. Bosom ladies. What could happen?

To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) continues the sexy escapades of the alien encounters. The series is based on the original work created by Saki Hasemi (in charge of the story) and Kentaro Yabuki (the art). Produced by Nobuhiro Nakayama (Alderamin on the Sky, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?), Takeshi Tanaka (Teasing Master Takagi- san, Convenience Store Boy Friends), and Takumi Kusakabe (Upotte!!, Maken-Ki! Takeru Turns into a Woman!? Naked in a Southern Island!), To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) amps up the sex appeal.

Rito Yūki (Akeno Watanabe) is an ordinary teenage boy with only a few things on his mind. Yet despite the workings of his mind, Rito has little experience with women. The young teenager finds himself in over his head when he unexpected finds himself visited by a hottie princess from another planet: gorgeous alien Lala Satalin Deviluke (Haruka Tomatsu). To Rito’s surprise, Lala seeks refuge from countless men seeking her hand. Can Rito survive puberty and become close with his newfound “girlfriend” Lala?

The series is an over-the-top sex romp yet it manages to have entertaining characters. The cast is one of the central reasons the series is reasonably entertaining and better than average for this type of anime series. Rito isn’t as annoying as some teenage-boy male leads (though never as compelling as Tenchi from that franchise), To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) is certainly a series that benefits from having some interesting leads. Lala is a compelling alien (with human appearance) and she has an interesting role in the series – adding comedy (and not only sex appeal).

The animation is surprisingly good as well. Under the art direction of Yoshimi Umino (The Galaxy Railways, Blade of the Immortal), To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) finds a nice art style. Background animation is well-done and layout art is reasonably compelling. Though not the most complex, the art works despite the simplistic nature of the program.

The character designs by Yūichi Oka (Over Drive, Softenni!) are one of the standout elements on the series. The animation showcases some reasonably well drawn characters (especially Lala). This is a compelling aspect of the production and one area in which the series managed to excel well. An engaging effort.

"Was that you?"

The cinematography by Yuki Kudo (Pandora Hearts, Cardfight!! Vanguard G NEXT) is reasonably effective and manages to aid the production well. The use of color is impressive and makes the production more enjoyable. The lighting and tonal balance of the art makes it stand out more: showcasing the characters and their environments well.

The original score composed by Takeshi Watanabe (Strawberry Marshmallow, Girls Beyond the Wasteland) is surprisingly good. The music adds a lot to the series and makes it above-average considering the genre. The score fits the comedic hijinks and fits the material well.

Written by Yasunori Yamada (Those Who Hunt Elves, Vampire Princess Miyu), To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) isn’t anything groundbreaking. The series is fairly standard. Fans of the genre certainly know what to expect: a teen boy surrounded by ladies. It isn’t rocket science. Yet the screenwriting is reasonably entertaining for this type of series.

Directed by Atsushi Ootsuki (To Love Ru: Darkness, Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Fox), To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) doesn’t break new ground but finds a reasonable footing. The series manages to fit the bill for what audiences are looking for in such a series: sexy anime characters surrounding a single-male in a decidedly skewered male-fantasy. If that sounds entertaining on any level, To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) might be worthwhile.

Motto to Love-Ru Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release has an impressive presentation quality which capably handles the material on the series. The animation style isn't the most complex or sophisticated so the encoding doesn't even have to work as hard on this particular series. However, the important part is that the series is still capably handled. Sentai has done an excellent job with the presentation and is preserves the series colorful animation nicely. Nice job, Sentai.

Motto to Love-Ru Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo presentation (with English subtitles). The lossless audio on the release handles the material well. Dialogue is clear and sounds crisp during the presentation. The soundtrack score is well integrated as well. The sound mix fits the material. A nice audio presentation.

Motto to Love-Ru Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Clean Opening Animations (HD, 3:04)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 3:59)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: PET (HD, 1:32), Food Wars – The Fourth Plate (HD, 1:33), Killing Bites (HD, 1:33), and Kandagawa Jet Girls (HD, 1:34).

Motto to Love-Ru Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) doesn't break any new ground within the anime medium. The series is a typical teen boy's fantasy series with the lone single guy surrounded by a bunch of babes. A groundbreaking concept, to be sure. Nonetheless, To Love Ru: Season 2 (Motto To Love Ru) can be an entertaining series (if in the mood for it). The Blu-ray release features a solid video-audio presentation. The release includes a small supplemental package. Fans of the series will consider the release worth picking up. Recommended.