One series can only be considered at the forefront of a particular genre that gives it its own identity or face that series in question would be To Love Ru. It has had a rough start in adapting to the source material by not providing a coherent narrative to the manga. It has made a name for itself for being one of the top ecchi anime thanks to the later seasons that are somewhat reboots if you want to take it that far. Now comes To Love Ru Darkness a separate manga that continues the story of To Love Ru to breathe new life into its characters and comedy. To put it bluntly it is a triumphant sequel that exceeds all expectations. Thats a perfectly natural behavior for a living creature says Mea Kurosaki. This quote itself in which the word that is supposed to signify sexual thoughts encapsulates the entirety of To Love Ru Darknesss charm. It tells us how we should view Darkness as nothing more but a fun joy ride through joyous comedy and beautiful girls through sexual feelings but we shouldnt be ashamed by this mere fact alone. That is one of the main selling points of the show. It lives off of making us feel excited through hilarious incidents of girls in suggestive situations without making it feel demeaning or deliberate to either of the sexes. This aspect alone that To Love Ru Darkness expresses should be an example that all Ecchi shows should follow which sadly isnt always the case. Now to express how all the things I mentioned in the previous paragraph work unlike in most shows in what Darkness follows the one thing that works is how every character carries the show with their likability despite their very cliched nature. Cliched in that you have Yui Kotegawa the stereotypical tsundere who wants order in the classroom. Nana whos another tsundere. Mikan the younger halfsister who loves him. Yami the Dandere psychopath. And Haruna who the protagonist has feelings for yet she so happens to be in love with him. Despite how many would view cliches as a negative term however how Darkness handles them is through sheer charm and personality makes them feel energetic and alive. You even feel contempt for them whenever drama happens between the characters even with their stereotypical archetypes. However if one character must have one entire paragraph alone to analyze would be the one and only Momo Deviluke. Because she is the new heroine of the series replacing Lala Momo is what makes Darkness unique. Thanks to the glorious voice of Aki Toyosaki Momos sarcastic and devious personality makes her such a delight to see onscreen. The best is when she has one of her humorous fantasies and clever schemes to make the girls fall more in love with Rito. With these things in mind you might think that Momos personality only gives off this onesided aspect primarily being a devious pervert throughout the show. I want to describe a scene involving her and Rito in a gym closet room in the last episode. Momo is on top of Rito seducing him as usual until we suddenly see Rito finally give in to his instincts and do the same things to her. Then we suddenly see Momo in a very vulnerable state. It isnt until later that we find out it was just another fantasy that Momo imagined while on top of him. This fantasy she envisioned took her by surprise something which we had never seen her go through before. It wasnt until Rito finally tried to stop her by putting his hand on her arm which suddenly surprised her and she jumped away from him quickly in fear and respite with her constant breathing and blushing face. We now see Momo in a completely different light than we are used to seeing her before. This scene alone makes Momo a threedimensional character not through general exposition but character interaction. Something that has changed from previous installments of the series is the art direction. While all characters still look the same everything is now colored in very bright overtones. While many can argue that Motto To Love Rus art looked better in terms of how the characters looked that should not disregard that Darknesss art still looks excellent in keeping the traditional manga art in context with the show. Ive always admired the series and more so in Darkness is how theyve always drawn the girls and their figures that look gorgeous without overemphasizing anything on their body like other ecchi shows tend to do. Thanks to this the girls look like high schoolaged girls who have just hit their period of going through many body changes. To Love Ru has not been widely known for having an impacting story to show forth underneath its charming fan service it wasnt until Darkness that we do have one that fills this very gap. Generally most people will think that the writers wouldnt bother writing a competent story because it is an ecchi series and those typically dont go so well. While Darkness doesnt break any new ground in this aspect it has an exciting twist in the harem genre where the heroine is doing all the work to help our protagonist get all the girls. As I mentioned with Momos schemes her intentions in doing these are very wellhandled in how it balances sweet romantic moments and pure fun comedy. Thankfully there isnt a sudden tonal shift between drama and humor to make it edgy. The plot might not be a deep one to experience. It doesnt try to be one in the first place and sticks with it which is very well appreciated. As a protagonist I would say Rito can be grating at times in how slow they build him up to be a harem leader after years of seeing him flustered over women falling over him. In Darkness it still portrays Rito as if he hasnt experienced a girl falling on him in a questionable position before even though weve seen him in the past in these types of positions countless times before. Youd think he would get used to it by now and not be phased by it after all these months. He still has some moments where he comes across as caring and likable to everyone he meets so theres never really a moment where you think to yourself Why would any girl fall in love with this boy in the first place? Onto the comedy itself needless to say there will not be one person who is into suggestive comedies to be disappointed with Darkness. Almost every situation is handled with great comedic timing. Whether it be a scene involving Rito bumping into a girl and in true ecchi fashion being in an awkward position or a scenario thats in a constant pace in showing jokes that involves hilarious dialogue a great example would be between Nana and Mea or Momo or vice versa. Not all of them hit the right notes throughout the shows duration. Still it will nevertheless entertain the masses who love to engage in hilarious perverted comedy like myself. Not only do the characters themselves make the show enjoyable to watch but the voice acting is what gives them their endearing personality through the sheer talent that Darkness brings to the table. Ive already mentioned Aki Toyosaki previously but shes not the only great Seiyuu in the casting. Kana Hanazawa plays wonderfully as an upstanding little sister for Rito and gives Mikan a clear voice that feels perfect for her. Nana and Momo are among the best sister duos in anime thanks to the great chemistry between Itou Kanae and Aki Toyosaki. They have previously worked together in a somewhat similar situation in Railgun. Only this time its Aki who plays the devious one instead of Kanae and it shows that Akis voice does fit with that archetype more than Kanae. Finally we have Kaori Nazuka as Yui Kotegawa probably one of the best tsundere roles we have had in a long time. Her authoritative voice combined with childlike embarrassment will surely make any mans no matter what age heart burst with joy and pure ecstasy. It all comes down to that Darkness wont win any new fans that arent into something like To Love Ru but even with that said it is something that you should still at least try to see once to see if it pulls you in. Anyone who is a fan will feel right at home with this new installment that has so much to offer for ecchi fans and people who are fans of the series for more than the fan service. It will be funny and sometimes heartwarming in its romantic undertones for everyone who has followed the franchise. That will ultimately lead to our hunger for more and for now with the OVAs coming out to continue it. For now Darkness is more than enough for us to enjoy while we wait for the next extensive anime installment for To Love Ru. Grade: A