To LOVE-Ru Darkness OVA
To LOVEる -とらぶる- ダークネス
- Comedy
- Ecchi
- Romance
- Sci-Fi
- Harem
- School
- Episodes
- 6
- Duration
- 25 min per ep
- Aired
- Aug 17, 2012 to Apr 3, 2015
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
*To LOVE-Ru Darkness OVA* is a set of original animation episodes released as bonus content alongside select limited-edition volumes of the *To LOVE-Ru Darkness* manga.
These OVAs were bundled with the 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 12th, and 13th limited-edition releases.
Otaku Consensus
To LOVE-Ru Darkness OVA succeeds as targeted fan-service craft: Xebec keeps Kentarou Yabuki’s character appeal intact, the episodic pacing lands quick slapstick setups, and the limited-edition manga-bundle format lets the comedy and ecchi escalate without pretending to be a full dramatic arc. The most consistent criticism is that several episodes feel like bonus-material filler, with background music that rarely distinguishes itself and the larger Darkness-era menace feeling weaker than the character comedy around it.
Why You Should Watch
Watch this if you want the To LOVE-Ru formula in concentrated OVA form: fast harem misunderstandings, alien weirdness, nudity-forward visual gags, and very little downtime between punchlines. It scratches a similar itch to High School DxD or Monster Musume when you want unabashed ecchi, but with more school-comedy rhythm and less battle-series commitment. The appeal is especially strong for viewers who already like Momo, Yami, Yui, Haruna, and Rito and want side-episode energy rather than a tightly serialized season. Xebec’s consistency matters here: the character art stays close to Yabuki’s clean, glossy designs, and the six-episode format makes it easy to treat as a fan-focused companion piece rather than a mandatory narrative bridge.
Key Characters
- MMomo Belia Deviluke(VA: Aki Toyosaki)
Momo is the Darkness-era engine of playful scheming, giving the OVA its sharpest blend of harem comedy, teasing intimacy, and sci-fi absurdity.
- KKonjiki no Yami(VA: Misato Fukuen)
Yami’s kuudere restraint makes her a fan-favorite contrast to the surrounding chaos, especially when the comedy pressures her cool exterior.
- YYui Kotegawa(VA: Kaori Nazuka)
Yui stands out because her strict moral composure turns every ecchi setup into a character gag rather than just a visual punchline.
- RRito Yuuki(VA: Akeno Watanabe)
Rito remains the series’ accidental-disaster protagonist, useful less as a romantic lead than as the human trigger for slapstick escalation.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
The OVA is structurally unusual even within the franchise: its six episodes were released across the 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 12th, and 13th limited-edition To LOVE-Ru Darkness manga volumes rather than as a standard TV run.
- 2
Xebec’s production emphasizes consistency over reinvention, with Yuuichi Oka adapting Kentarou Yabuki’s original character designs into a polished, fan-service-ready TV-anime style.
- 3
Its AniList tag profile is unusually explicit about its priorities: Aliens at 95%, Female Harem at 83%, Episodic at 79%, Psychosexual at 79%, Slapstick at 79%, and Nudity at 70%.
- 4
The OVA format favors self-contained comedy beats, which helps the slapstick but also explains the common complaint that parts play like filler rather than essential Darkness material.
- 5
Takeshi Watanabe provides the music, though viewer commentary tends to remember the opening and general sound package more than any specific background-music cue.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- Although it contains only six episodes, the OVA release window stretched from August 17, 2012 to April 3, 2015 because the episodes were tied to separate limited-edition manga volumes.
- Fun fact 2
- The creative lineage is tightly connected to the manga: Saki Hasemi is credited for the original story, while Kentarou Yabuki is credited for the original character designs.
- Fun fact 3
- The OVA holds a 7.51/10 MAL score from 74,639 votes, while AniList lists it at 72/100 with 290 favourites, suggesting a steady niche reputation rather than broad mainstream breakout status.
- Fun fact 4
- Fan discussion and review excerpts repeatedly single out the series’ comedy/ecchi balance and character designs as strengths, while calling out filler-like pacing as its clearest limitation.
Studios
- Xebec
