Naruu

Naru Narusegawa (成瀬川 なる Narusegawa Naru?) is a fictional character and the female protagonist in the Love Hina series by Ken Akamatsu. Known for her fiery temper and tendency to use physical violence to punish central character Keitaro Urashima, she is the first female introduced in the series who is trying to pass the University of Tokyo entrance exams. Her studies along with her developingrelationship with Keitaro is one of the focal points in the manga and anime. The word Naru means "to become" while her surname Naruse-gawa means "the Naruse River" or possibly "to become a raging river". Her Japanese seiyu is Yui Horie and her English voice actor is Dorothy Elias-Fahn.
Contents [hide]
1 Early character design
2 Profile
2.1 Manga vs Anime
3 Popularity
4 Voice actress
5 Notesand references
[edit]Early character design

Ken Akamatsu initially designed a character named Midori who would later become the basis for Naru.[1] Her appearance was identical to Naru with the exception of the signature hair antenna. Midori was to be the complete opposite of Naru in character, acting very kind and nice like Mutsumi in personality, (i.e.clumsy and keeping on her own pace yetbeing kind and very gentle to everyone she meets). Upon first encountering the main character she was to fall naked from the ceiling on top of him, losing her memory in the process [1]. Because of her amnesia, not much is known about her past. She stays with the main character who instantly falls in love with her, and gets a part time job as a waitress yet due to her clumsiness she's prone totripping and falling while carrying food.
Some of the sketches of Midori's facial expressions and outfits were still used for Naru in the anime [1]. Before finalizing her design and description, her character was renamed multiple times before the start of the series [1]. In particular, her eyes were worked on the most to match her personality [1].
[edit]Profile

At the start of the story, Naru is a17-year-old student and resident of Hinata Inn. She came to live there when she was just in junior high[2]. Naru is characterized by her signature hair antenna (which is only shared by one other character in the series, Mutsumi), short and hot temper, immense strength and agility despite her size, and physically aggressive nature when it comes to Keitaro. Because of this, Naru is described as being"one fuse short of a cannon". This side of her is usually reserved for Keitaro. The other residents of Hinata Inn, of whom she is protective, care for Naru like a sister. She is reliable and responsible. They all cheer her on and support her during her studies. As the story progresses, the girls become envious of Naru, because of her beauty [3] and most importantly because of her relationshipwith Keitaro. Some are driven to the point where they start to dress and act like her [4]. Despite attempts to break them apart, the girls eventually see Naru as a role model to follow and be like in the future[5][6].


Over-exaggerated physical confrontations between the main characters is a recurring theme in the Love Hina series.
Of all the girls in the Hinata House, she is victimized the mostby Keitaro's clumsiness which often results in her being naked or exposed in some fashion, touched or grabbed inappropriately, or lying in very suggestive positions, she is also the one who usually hits him when he is in this situation with other girls (despite the fact that half the time it wasn't even his fault). This is further tempered by the fact that his room is directly underneath hers, ahole in the ceiling connects the two making for easy access, and they study together most of the time. Once, she beat Keitaro up because she entered his room while he was changing and later explained that hitting him had become an involuntary reaction. These situations along with her quick retribution thereafter are a recurring element in the series. Her attacks become increasingly more volatile...