To Love-Ru watch order

Shy high-schooler Rito Yuuki can't bring himself to confess to his crush Haruna, and then Lala, a runaway alien princess from the planet Deviluke, teleports into his bath and decides she's going to marry him. A slapstick ecchi harem comedy by Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki, followed by the sequel manga To Love-Ru Darkness.

First time? Watch in release order: To Love-Ru (26 episodes), Motto To Love-Ru (12), the first Darkness OVA, To Love-Ru Darkness (12) and Darkness 2nd (12 plus 2 specials). The other OVAs are side stories you can slot in where they're listed.

Story order

Story order matches release order. The OVAs are mostly standalone, so exact placement barely matters; the one that does is Darkness OVA episode 1, the prologue to Darkness. Watch-order lists disagree on where a couple of the side-story OVAs belong, so they're kept after the season they came out with.

To Love-Ru TV, 2008, 26 episodes
Lala's arrival and the growing cast around Rito, Haruna and Lala. A loose adaptation: most episodes are anime-original, and it skips manga events (such as Celine's arrival) that later seasons take for granted.
To Love-Ru OVA OVA, 2009–10, 6 episodes
Six standalone episodes based on the manga, each released with a limited edition of manga volumes 13–18. Set before Motto; side vignettes rather than plot. Not released in English.
Motto To Love-Ru TV, 2010, 12 episodes
Season 2, with a new director and art style. This is where the anime starts following the manga closely; most episodes are split into three short stories. Numbered as episodes 27–38 in some lists.
To Love-Ru Darkness OVA, episode 1 OVA, 2012, 1 episode
The pilot for Darkness, released with the manga's fifth volume two months before the TV series. It picks up right after Motto and introduces the sequel's setup, so watch it before Darkness.
To Love-Ru Darkness TV, 2012, 12 episodes
Season 3, adapting the sequel manga To Love-Ru Darkness. The focus moves to the assassin Yami (Golden Darkness) and Lala's sister Momo, who schemes to build Rito a harem.
To Love-Ru Darkness OVA, episodes 2–6 OVA, 2012–15, 5 episodes
Side stories released with Darkness manga volumes 6, 8, 9, 12 and 13. They fit after the Darkness TV series (one watch-order list slots episodes 2–3 just before Darkness episode 11).
To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd TV, 2015, 12 episodes
Season 4, continuing Darkness: Yami and her sister Mea, the mysterious Nemesis pulling the strings, and their newly found "mother" Tearju.
To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd Specials Special, 2015, 2 episodes
Episodes 13 and 14 of Darkness 2nd. They aired on TV as a one-hour special a few weeks after the series ended and were added to the last Blu-ray volume. Watch them straight after episode 12.
To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd OVA OVA, 2016, 3 episodes
Three more side stories, released with Darkness manga volumes 15–17, set just after Darkness 2nd. Not released in English.
To Love-Ru: Multiplication – Mae kara Ushiro kara (optional) OVA, 2017, 1 episode
A 12-minute short adapting a bonus chapter, released with the To Love-Ru Chronicles book for the franchise's 10th anniversary. The last animated piece; optional.

Release order

The OVAs came bundled with limited editions of the manga volumes, so they appeared between and alongside the TV seasons.

To Love-Ru TV, 2008, 26 episodes
Lala's arrival and the growing cast around Rito, Haruna and Lala. A loose adaptation: most episodes are anime-original, and it skips manga events (such as Celine's arrival) that later seasons take for granted.
To Love-Ru OVA OVA, 2009–10, 6 episodes
Six standalone episodes based on the manga, each released with a limited edition of manga volumes 13–18. Set before Motto; side vignettes rather than plot. Not released in English.
Motto To Love-Ru TV, 2010, 12 episodes
Season 2, with a new director and art style. This is where the anime starts following the manga closely; most episodes are split into three short stories. Numbered as episodes 27–38 in some lists.
To Love-Ru Darkness OVA, episode 1 OVA, 2012, 1 episode
The pilot for Darkness, released with the manga's fifth volume two months before the TV series. It picks up right after Motto and introduces the sequel's setup, so watch it before Darkness.
To Love-Ru Darkness TV, 2012, 12 episodes
Season 3, adapting the sequel manga To Love-Ru Darkness. The focus moves to the assassin Yami (Golden Darkness) and Lala's sister Momo, who schemes to build Rito a harem.
To Love-Ru Darkness OVA, episodes 2–6 OVA, 2012–15, 5 episodes
Side stories released with Darkness manga volumes 6, 8, 9, 12 and 13. They fit after the Darkness TV series (one watch-order list slots episodes 2–3 just before Darkness episode 11).
To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd TV, 2015, 12 episodes
Season 4, continuing Darkness: Yami and her sister Mea, the mysterious Nemesis pulling the strings, and their newly found "mother" Tearju.
To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd Specials Special, 2015, 2 episodes
Episodes 13 and 14 of Darkness 2nd. They aired on TV as a one-hour special a few weeks after the series ended and were added to the last Blu-ray volume. Watch them straight after episode 12.
To Love-Ru Darkness 2nd OVA OVA, 2016, 3 episodes
Three more side stories, released with Darkness manga volumes 15–17, set just after Darkness 2nd. Not released in English.
To Love-Ru: Multiplication – Mae kara Ushiro kara (optional) OVA, 2017, 1 episode
A 12-minute short adapting a bonus chapter, released with the To Love-Ru Chronicles book for the franchise's 10th anniversary. The last animated piece; optional.

Explained

Can I skip season 1?

You can, but it's not the usual advice. The 2008 series is mostly anime-original and doesn't line up with the manga, while Motto and Darkness follow the manga closely and assume some manga events the first season never showed. If you've read the early manga, starting at Motto works; otherwise most fans still watch season 1 first for the cast introductions.

Do I need the earlier seasons to watch Darkness?

Yes. Darkness is a sequel that carries on with the same cast and relationships, and its prologue (Darkness OVA episode 1) picks up right after Motto. At minimum watch Motto first.

Which OVAs matter?

Only the first Darkness OVA episode, which sets up the Darkness series. The rest are standalone side stories that came with manga volumes; watch them if you want more, skip them if you don't. The Darkness 2nd Specials aren't OVAs: they're the last two episodes of Darkness 2nd.

Censored or uncensored?

The TV broadcasts were heavily censored with steam and light beams. The Japanese Blu-rays are uncensored, and HIDIVE streams Darkness with an uncensored English dub.

Is there an English dub? Is there more coming?

All four TV seasons were released in English by Sentai Filmworks with English dubs; season 1 and Darkness stream dubbed on HIDIVE. The OVA sets weren't released in English. No new anime has been announced as of October 2026; the franchise marked its 20th anniversary with a new one-shot manga chapter in August 2026.