Kuro Arashi is set shortly after the fabled Episode 25 in the Love Hina anime, and follows a mixture of both the anime series and the manga, usually more anime than manga, but relies on the manga for storyline details that were left out of the anime (Shinobu’s birthday, etc. etc.). The tale of Kuro Arashi truly begins in Episode 7: “First Date, Keitaro’s True Feelings.” During the ‘dating fantasy’ duel between Keitaro and Kentaro, a mysterious, unnamed swordsman shows up to destroy the Mr. Virtual and end Keitaro’s sufferings.

After a series of misunderstandings (including Motoko attempting to fight off the unknown man and losing after only two moves on the swordsman’s part), the man is introduced as Seno Nakakami, an old childhood friend of Keitaro’s who has come to visit with Keitaro.

From then on, Seno becomes a main character in the newly-diverged Love Hina universe, and his ‘visit’ turns into more of a permanent residence. Over the course of the next handful of episodes, it is revealed that he is an avid video gamer, owning the majority of the newest video game systems and games. For the purpose of avoiding timing conflicts, the time frame of Love Hina has been advanced from the late 90s to the current series of years.