Is To Love-Ru Manga Finished? Status & Reading Order
Yes, the To Love-Ru Manga Is Finished — Here’s What That Means for New Readers
Short answer: yes, the original To Love-Ru manga is complete. The series wrapped up at 18 volumes and 162 chapters, with the final collected volume released on April 2, 2010.
Written by Saki Hasemi with art by Kentaro Yabuki, To Love-Ru was published chapter by chapter — a process called serialization — in Weekly Shonen Jump, one of Japan’s biggest manga magazines, starting in 2006. It’s a harem romantic comedy, meaning the story revolves around one central character surrounded by multiple love interests who are all competing for his attention. In this case, the center of all that chaos is Rito Yuuki, a high school student whose life gets turned upside down when an alien princess literally crashes into his bathroom. What follows is exactly the kind of chaotic, fan-service-heavy comedy the genre is known for — “fan service” being the manga term for gratuitous scenes (usually involving nudity or suggestive situations) included to please the audience. Misunderstandings pile up, alien girls keep appearing, and Rito can barely confess to the girl he actually likes.
Here’s the important thing to know before you start: there’s a sequel series called To Love-Ru Darkness that continues the story after the original ends. So while To Love-Ru itself is finished, the larger franchise has more to offer if you want to keep going. Plan accordingly when you’re budgeting your reading time (and your shelf space).
The Complete Timeline — From Serialization to Final Volume
Here’s how the original To Love-Ru’s publication history breaks down. A quick note on how manga publishing works: chapters are first released weekly in a magazine, then later collected into standalone books (called volumes). That’s why there’s always a gap between the last magazine chapter and the final volume hitting shelves.
- 2006 — Serialization begins in Weekly Shonen Jump, a manga magazine published by Shueisha (one of Japan’s largest publishers) under their Jump Comics imprint
- 2006–2009 — The manga runs for 162 chapters collected across 18 volumes
- 2009 — Serialization ends in the magazine
- April 2, 2010 — The 18th and final collected volume is released in Japan
After the original series concluded, the story continued in To Love-Ru Darkness, which picks up where the first series leaves off. The sequel shifts its focus and expands on several character relationships that the original series only touched on — giving more development to supporting characters and exploring romantic dynamics that the original kept simmering in the background. If you’re wondering whether the franchise as a whole tells a complete story, you’ll want to factor the sequel into your reading plans.
Multiple anime TV series and OVAs (Original Video Animations — essentially bonus anime episodes released directly for home video rather than broadcast on TV) have also been produced based on the manga, following the same general progression from the original story into Darkness.
How Does To Love-Ru End — Is It Worth Reading to the Finish?
Without spoiling specific plot points: the original To Love-Ru wraps up its immediate storyline, but it leaves several romantic threads open. This is partly by design — the existence of To Love-Ru Darkness as a sequel means the creators always intended to continue exploring those relationships.
If you’re coming in hoping for a clean, definitive romantic resolution in the original 18 volumes, temper your expectations a little. The harem comedy format — where the fun comes from juggling multiple love interests simultaneously — means Rito’s romantic situation stays complicated right through to the end. That’s not necessarily a flaw; it’s built into the way these stories work. Readers who enjoy the early volumes’ mix of comedy, alien hijinks, and romantic tension will find that tone stays consistent throughout.
Where the ending does satisfy is in resolving the specific conflict driving the later story arcs (longer storylines that span multiple chapters). You won’t feel like the story just stops mid-sentence. But you will feel like there’s more story to tell — which, again, there is.
The original series absolutely works as a fun, lighthearted read on its own terms. You don’t need to commit to Darkness to get an enjoyable experience out of To Love-Ru. The comedy is consistent, the cast is entertaining, and the core romantic tension between Rito and his growing circle of admirers carries all 18 volumes. That said, many readers find that Darkness is where several of the romantic storylines get their deepest development. Think of To Love-Ru as a complete and satisfying comedy that also happens to set the stage for a sequel that takes the character relationships even further.
Reading Order — To Love-Ru and To Love-Ru Darkness
The reading order here is straightforward — there are no spin-offs or side stories to worry about:
Step 1: To Love-Ru (the original)
18 volumes. This introduces Rito, Lala, and the entire cast. All the world-building (establishing the alien civilizations, intergalactic politics, and school setting), character introductions, and core romantic dynamics start here. This is your starting point, full stop.
Step 2: To Love-Ru Darkness (the sequel)
A direct continuation that picks up after the original series ends. Darkness gives more prominent roles to characters who were secondary in the original and leans into certain romantic storylines more heavily — particularly Momo’s role in the story and her relationship with Rito. It builds directly on everything from the first series.
Can you skip to Darkness? Technically you could follow the basic plot, but you’d miss all the character setup and relationship history that gives Darkness its emotional weight. The sequel assumes you know who everyone is and what’s happened between them. Reading the original first is the way to go.
What about the anime? The anime adaptations follow this same order. Multiple TV series and OVAs have been produced, progressing from the original To Love-Ru story into Darkness. If you’ve seen the anime and want to read the manga, starting from volume 1 of the original is still recommended. Manga and anime adaptations of the same story can differ significantly — scenes get cut, reordered, or changed to fit the different format — so the reading experience is its own thing and covers ground the anime doesn’t.
Where to Buy To Love-Ru in English
Great news for English-speaking readers: the full original To Love-Ru series is available in English, published by Seven Seas Entertainment, an English-language manga publisher. The English editions are currently in print and available to order, so you won’t need to hunt down out-of-print copies or pay collector prices.
The English edition uses a combined format that puts two Japanese volumes into one English book (sometimes called an omnibus). That works out to 9 English books covering all 18 original volumes. Nothing is missing — you get the complete series.
Here’s what that looks like:
| English Omnibus Book | Covers Japanese Volumes |
|---|---|
| Omnibus 1 | Volumes 1–2 |
| Omnibus 2 | Volumes 3–4 |
| Omnibus 3 | Volumes 5–6 |
| Omnibus 4 | Volumes 7–8 |
| Omnibus 5 | Volumes 9–10 |
| Omnibus 6 | Volumes 11–12 |
| Omnibus 7 | Volumes 13–14 |
| Omnibus 8 | Volumes 15–16 |
| Omnibus 9 | Volumes 17–18 |
The omnibus format is a nice deal — you’re getting twice the content per book compared to the individual Japanese volumes, and the physical books are still a comfortable size to hold and read. Prices vary by retailer, so it’s worth checking a few places.
Starting with the first omnibus (covering Volumes 1–2) is a low-commitment way to sample the opening stretch of the story — you’ll get the full first two volumes’ worth of setup, comedy, and character introductions before deciding whether to continue. You can find the To Love-Ru omnibus editions at most major book retailers and manga specialty shops.
To Love Ru Vol. 1-2 (omnibus)
For the sequel, Seven Seas also publishes To Love-Ru Darkness in English — but unlike the original, Darkness is released as individual single volumes rather than two-in-one omnibuses, with 18 volumes in total. If you finish the original and want to keep going, the Darkness volumes are readily available.
To Love Ru Darkness, Vol. 1
Frequently Asked Questions About To Love-Ru
How many volumes is To Love-Ru?
The original To Love-Ru is 18 volumes in the Japanese edition (162 chapters total). In English, Seven Seas Entertainment released the series as 9 omnibus books, each combining two Japanese volumes into one English book. Either way, you’re getting the same complete story — just packaged differently.
Is To Love-Ru Darkness also finished?
Yes, To Love-Ru Darkness has also concluded its serialization. The sequel series wrapped up its run in Jump Square (a monthly manga magazine from the same publisher, Shueisha). Between the original To Love-Ru and To Love-Ru Darkness, the full franchise story has reached its conclusion. Seven Seas Entertainment has released the Darkness series in English as well — as individual single volumes rather than omnibuses — so English readers can follow the complete story from beginning to end.
Do I need to read To Love-Ru before To Love-Ru Darkness?
Yes. To Love-Ru Darkness is a direct sequel — it picks up the characters and storylines from the original series and continues them. You’ll miss important context about the characters’ relationships and backstories if you skip ahead. Start with the original To Love-Ru, then move to Darkness. The reading order section above has the full breakdown.
Does To Love-Ru have an anime adaptation?
Yes. Multiple anime TV series and OVAs (bonus episodes released directly for home video) have been produced based on the manga. The anime covers both the original To Love-Ru story and the Darkness sequel. If you’re wondering whether to watch or read first, the manga is the source material and covers more ground — anime adaptations typically condense or rearrange material to fit their episode count. That said, the anime is a perfectly fine way to experience the story too. Many fans enjoy both.
Is To Love-Ru appropriate for younger readers?
This is worth addressing directly: To Love-Ru contains significant fan service, meaning frequent nudity and sexually suggestive situations played for comedy. While it ran in a magazine aimed at teenage boys, the content — especially in Darkness — pushes into mature territory. If you’re buying this for someone younger or are sensitive to that kind of content yourself, be aware that it’s a core part of the series rather than an occasional occurrence. Browse a few preview pages before committing to make sure you’re comfortable with the tone.
