Haruhi Fujioka is a studious girl who has recently enrolled at the prestigious Ouran Academy. One day, while looking for a quiet and peaceful place to study, she stumbles across a seemingly unused music room. Upon entering, Haruhi is welcomed by the members of the well-known Host Club: a club in which attractive boys amuse girls from across the entire school. However, when Tamaki Suou—the founder and president of the club—startles the bright scholarship student, she accidentally breaks an expensive vase.
With repayment looking difficult for Haruhi, the Host Club members come up with the perfect solution to the girl's problem: work for the club and ultimately become a Host herself! Mistaken for a boy by her peers, Haruhi has to entertain various female students while coping with her fellow Hosts' extravagant personalities.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Kanashimi
Character(s) & Their Development Every character is based with a sterotype near the beginning of the series. The real question though is if the characters actually grow out of their set roles. After watching the whole series that's both a yes and a no. It all comes down to the fact that the manga is still going and the characters are still maturing in that format; thus, they can only grow so far in the anime without making it a new story entirely. Sure, they stay towards their first impressions but, there are a handful of episodes that explain each Host Club member and their reasoningbehind attitude, outlook, and for joining the club in the first place.
A keen example is Tamaki and his feelings for Haruhi. In the beginning, he takes on a father role towards her and the audience is made to believe that this is only part of his nature; however, the viewers should realize that this is because of the feelings he holds for her. Even Tamaki doesn't understand it and in episode twenty-three is forced to question it. He probably can't comprehend his feelings in the end, but he seems to establish some understanding towards Haruhi. Really, characters do grow but they tend to have done a lot of growing before the show was established, and quite a few past experiences are explained through-out the episodes. Either way, the audience is given the chance to fall in love with the characters before they begin to change, which adds a nice and smooth transition.
Animation
I've found people complain at the lack of the details made towards the characters themselves. Then again, how much detail do you want on a character that's about to turn chibi on your ass? Seriously, the animators did a wonderful job at finding a keen balance between common and glorious so that when a touching moment is needed, the characters have that necessary lovely animation & while during the hyper-active moments, the characters are bouncy and have a jelly-like movement.
One thing that caught my attention after reviewing certain episodes was how detailed the background could be. I hadn't noticed it on the first run through due to how into the show I was; however, if you pay attention, you really notice how wealthy the animators attempted to make the school look. Look at the ceilings and the inscriptions into it, that's pretty damn detailed to me.
Music
I was iffy about the music in the beginning. Once I heard the first line of the opening, Sakura Kiss, I felt the catchiness; however, after listening to the whole thing I wasn't direly impressed. The ending song, Shissou, I didn't like at all. It just sounded like normal Japanese rock. I was disappointed even more when I found LAST ALLIANCE was the band who preformed it because they could have done a lot better.
Regardless, I gave the music a chance and got a copy of the available soundtracks. While watching the show I found the melody coordinated with many places perfectly, surely in the Ouran world the music full of rich violins, playful piano, and elegant harp was a match made in heaven. In it’s own way everything works... but that ending song.
Dubbing/Subbing
Since there is no dubbing released, I can't comment on that; however, the subtitles by Lunar Anime provided on their fansub were wonderfully done. Generally, I don't like to comment on subtitles because what's there to say, but what I liked was how many notes were provided to get said joke. It was also produced very nicely for the English audience.
Overall
Simply, Ouran High School Host Club is just a fun old time. It's got the wackiness to pull you into a fit of giggles, but at the same time enough character development to move along with a pretty random plot. I was going to skip this series entirely because I tend to avoid popular shows now-a-days; however, in the end I'm glad I didn't. This was certainly worth my time and I guarantee it's worth yours, too. It's hard to find a character or a part that you plainly didn't like. So, unless you're extremely nit-picky, then there shouldn't be a problem to enjoy this anime.
There are lots of laughs and pretty boys waiting for you at the Host Club so what are you reading this review for?
HaruhiFujioka
--The review contains spoilers-- Ouran High School is one of the best reverse harem anime series I have watched. The first episode really made an impact. It did not start as to be draggy but rather it easily showed the main idea of the story which started when they have discovered that Haruhi is a girl. The story was quite shallow at first which was just showing the different themes of the club and how they entertained the guests but when you continue with the later part of the series, you'll realize that behind all the smiles of the characters, there is a bitter past. Theflow of the story is also good. It starts with the story of a certain character, followed by an episode just for enjoyment, them the story of a certain character and so on which promoted the balanced flow of the story.
The art of this anime is great since they can convene the different effects for a specific situation correctly. The type of animation used was the traditional type of animation (not the 3D or any modern form of animation) which for me, was better since the traditional type of animation was a type wherein the viewers can interpret more using their own imaginations.
The opening song Sakura Kiss (which became my favorite) sung by Chieko Kawabe was really fitting for the series since it was lively and the lyrics can really relate to the main character which was Haruhi Fujioka. The ending song Shissou sung by Last Alliance was great in which it blended with the appeal of the club.
I like the way they treat each other. They treat each other as close friends not some enemy that is to be competed financially or in other aspects (which was the opposite of what their parents really want). Each of the character's qualities complimented the others that's why their host club was in harmony. Other characters are also shown who were either supporting or testing the strength of the bond between the host club members.
While watching this anime, I might have looked like i was crazy or something coz i kept on laughing out loud everytime there is something really really funny like the thing that happened during their host club ball and the ever-changing characteristic of Tamaki Suou. The "punch lines" and "Labels" also help a lot in expressing the humor of the series like in the part of Kyouya who just recently woke up from bed was placed title as a "Low Blood Pressure Evil Lord" and Haruhi was labeled "Studious Commoner" and the host club's "DOG" at the very start of the series.
If you want a lot of laughs mixed with a mixture of romance and a little bit of sadness, or liked boys that are classified as the prince-type, loli-shota type, cool type, devil type or a natural rookie type, then you should watch this anime coz you'll really enjoy this movie and at the same time understand and appreciate the series as a whole. It's really great! ^_^
Xinil
Looking for a show to laugh your ass off? Look no further, Ouran High School Host Club will not fall short in that aspect. All the characters are uniquely lovable. Each person has their own specific traits, and without a doubt, their own problems they need to overcome. Everyone has their favorites too, so within a few episodes you'll be rooting for one person to get with the other, no doubt. Character development and the enjoyment level were the biggest pluses for Ouran. It keeps you entertained nearly the whole way through (except for one or two episodes around 19 or so). Only weakness I found wasthe sound. I didn't particularly care for either the opening or the ending (though the opening wasn't all that bad I guess).
So, in conclusion, it's almost impossible to not enjoy this show. The ending is great and the lead up to it is very well done. Want to feel good and laugh at the same time, check Ouran out.
Venneh
Title: Ouran High School Host Club Manga, Anime: Ouran High School Host Club was originally a manga created by Bisco Hatori that began running in Hakusensha's LaLa magazine on August 5th, 2003, and is still ongoing. It has been licensed Stateside by Viz Media, and the releases are up to the 10th volume Stateside as of February 5th, 2008, while it currently stands at 12 collected volumes in Japan. Ouran High School Host Club is a twenty-six episode series that was produced by Studio Bones (famous for their work on Darker than BLACK and Fullmetal Alchemist) and directed by Takuya Igarashi (famous for hiswork on random episodes of Sailor Moon and Darker than Black). It ran on Japanese television from April 4th to September 26th, 2006. It has been licensed Stateside by Funimation, though it has yet to actually give a release date.
Story: Haruhi Fujioka is a scholarship student attending the ultra-wealthy Ouran Academy, so poor that she can't even afford the uniform. One day, as she's trying to find a quiet place to study, she comes across the Third Music Room and the Ouran High School Host Club (if you don't know what a host club is, it's basically a bunch of guys flirting with women for profit). As she's trying to leave, she breaks a vase worth about $80,000, and is soon employed doing menial tasks to pay off her debt. Unfortunately, her short hair cut, outfit, and large glasses make her look like a guy, and they soon promote her to host after they figure out she has a lot of potential. She's a big hit, and even after they finally figure out that she's a girl, they have her stay on and conceal her gender, as she's such a hit, and she can repay her debt faster that way. Most of the series focuses on the customers and the members of the Host Club.
Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that this were a screwball romantic comedy, this would be a fairly standard customer/problem of the week series. However, it's because the series does not hesitate to turn its fairly sarcastic sense of humor back on itself that it succeeds so well. Ouran openly makes fun of several genre tropes of shoujo, and by openly having characters point them out, and breaking the fourth wall while they're at it, manages to create amazing moments of meta (self-referential moments, for those of you not famliar with fandom terms). It also has several good running gags that manage not to get old.
Add to this the fact that every character in the Club gets some kind of development and background (though I do have issue with where this falls, but see Length for more about that), as do minor recurring characters, and you've got a fairly solid show. It's not anything that's ZOMG SPEKTAKULAR, but it's still a pretty good show.
Art: I really like how Bones did this series. The lines that are used in the show are a bit thicker than the lines in most anime, which just makes the characters stand out that much more, and are especially effective when they use SD for humor moments. You can barely tell when CG's used, and the 2D animation itself is very fluid. The colors in general are very vibrant, and I actually found myself wondering how they got some of the exact colors that they did (especially Eclair's eyes), because they were absolutely beautiful.
Also, a fact that particularly endears this series to my heart is that they had the guy who did the series composition and scripts for Revolutionary Girl Utena doing the same for this (Yoji Enokido), which means that we got a lot of Utena-esque imagery, in how there's lots and lots of symbolism using mundane objects. (The only reason I really noticed this was because I'm watching Utena with my school's anime club at the moment, and I saw a lot of similarities.)
Music: The background music for this series is extremely exaggerated and over the top, which isn't that much different from how the entire series is. I don't know how it would stand on its own, but in context with the scenes that it's used in, it's a perfect combination.
The OP and the ED are a special case. They're the stereotypical female JPop upbeat number and a rousing rock number, respectively, and, in any other series, would not impress me that much. They do here, though. And I don't know WHY.
Seiyuu: Maaya Sakamoto (famous for her roles as Aeris Gainsborough in FFVII: Advent Children and Hitomi in Escaflowne) plays Haurhi, and Takehito Koyasu (famous for his roles as Touga in Revolutionary Girl Utena and Hotohori in Fushigi Yuugi) makes an appearance here and there as her father. Otherwise, all the seiyuu managed to capture their characters' qualities perfectly.
Length: The only problem I have with this series is where they placed background information and character development. The former came after the latter, and, overall, it probably would have made a lot more sense to reverse the order, and maybe place it more towards the earlier end of the series more than the latter half.
Overall, though, twenty-six episodes was a solid decision. I think they could've trimmed a few episodes off, but overall, the length was pretty solid.
Overall: A screwball romantic comedy that's not afraid to have moments of meta and make fun of itself and its tropes, with excellent seiyuu, art and imagery, and music that fits the moments perfectly. Could have lost a few episodes and rearranged the order a bit, but hey, it's still pretty good.
Story: 9/10
Art: 9/10
Music: 8/10
Seiyuu: 9/10
Length: 8/10
Overall: 43/50; 86% (B )
triangulor
I would recommend this show even if you aren't a fan of the romantic comedy genre. It is an incredibly fun show. Even if you aren't super keen on reverse harem this show doesn't take itself seriously enough for that to be a major issue. There is of course a fair bit of romance for those of you who are looking for that but for me this was a show that was more comedy than romance. It has a really nice mix of silliness with a touch of sweet. This isn't a show that will blow your mind with art. I found the style a littledated, but for me that is never really a problem, the poster should give you a good sense of whether it is a problem for you. It is typical shoujo style really, big eyes, lithe framed men. Similarly the music is pretty standard and unremarkable.
The story I found to be enjoyable. It's more situational with episodes revolving around their daily antics, until towards the end where things build nicely to what I found to be quite an amusing ending.
But this is not really a story driven show. It's a show you watch for the crazy situations, the overblown stereotypes and the ridiculous factor particularly of the male lead. Just on him, he confused me at first because they claimed he was the "prince" type. For those of you unfamiliar with the term it basically describes that perfect guy who is good at everything, has a slim build, super popular and a bit of a charmer. But I found him in reality to be quite different. He is more of a parody of the ridiculousness of that ideal, and kind of an idiot, so in the beginning I didn't know what to make of him. As time goes on though I really came to enjoy him, he is actually really likable and I like a leading man who you can laugh at. To me that is what makes Ouran Highschool Host Club stand out; the way that it laughs at itself.
So bottom line? If you like shoujo romcoms or reverse harem this is a must see! If you don't but you think you are open to watching one this would be the one to watch. If you can't stand shows about highschool and romance then I wouldn't watch it but trust me you are missing out!
lowell
I really enjoyed this anime. More so than a lot of of other stories, it was witty and clever and just that amusing. It's one of those animes where *everything* is pointed in the same direction; it's cohesive and put together like a Swiss watch. On an each-episode basis, the story may not be so great... it's a little erratic. Some episodes are better than others and I definitely have my favorites and have ones I'll probably always skip over. But the whole arc of the story from first episode to last? Terrific! And the good parts are so goodthat it's easy to tolerate the less-good. ;)
The characters, despite their flaws, are endearing and incredibly charming (well, with the exception of a few). You start out with these cutout sterotypes and during the course of the season, each one of them becomes more and more three dimensional.; it's almost like getting to know a person. You get past their "type" and into who they are and why and how and their individual strengths and weaknesses... it says a lot about judging a book by its cover. And that sort of thing sounds like it would be trite and cheesy, I know. The amazing thing is that it isn't... or even when it is, it's still so charming that it's nice to see.
The art and music are lavish and rich and perfect for the tone of the show. Sometimes their faces aren't so detailed or distinguishable, but I think it goes hand in hand with the basic premise that there's more going on than just how they look. Their wealth, which plays a huge part in Haruhi's (the leading female role) interaction with the host club, is almost like another member of the cast -- marble molding, the reflection of a room on the face of the clock, the immense sprawl of the campus, the rooms, of everything. I like the bubbly, perky opening and I think it fits the playful tone of the story very, very well.
I don't know if you can tell, but I ***love*** this show. I love it when Tamaki's naivete (and I always giggle when he sulks in the corner); I love the nurturing/suffocating bond of the twins; and I love how unflappable and "normal" Haruhi is.
The only thing is... I don't really know what it means to "grow mushrooms in someone else's storage room"? Any hints? =)
PeachySmoothie
As a heterosexual male, I am not into girly anime, so when my girlfriend insisted I watched a reverse harem, I instantly thought this will be a soppy, chick flic anime about who know's what. After watching this anime, I now know how completely and utterly wrong I was. Instead of a perverted anime about 5 guys trying into get in some girl's pants, it is a comedy filled anime that isn't centered around the romance aspect of it. Story: 9.34/10 *Review Haruhi Fujioka is a tomboyish, poor female student who enters Ouran Highschool that is populated excessively by the wealthy (besides her). Upon entering the highscool,she tries finding a quite place to study, and enters the Music Room at the school, to her surprise finds the Ouran Highschool Host Club. After showing disinterest, and as she was about to leave, Haruhi breaks the host club's precious vase, and to pay back, she must work for them as a member of the Host Coub. *The story is original, and is actually appealing to not only girls, but to anyone looking for a good laugh. It mad me laugh along with the characters, and I even started shipping character's together (I hope no one finds out I watched this). This anime pacing was great, and the quality of it was better then a few of my favorites. Overall I give it a 9.
Art: 10
The art was high quality, the scenery detailed, and the the characters were animated beautifully. All the boys were attractive (I'm straight), and so where the woman. The animation had higher quality than most *cough* Soul Eater *cough*. I give it a 10.
Sound: 9.56/10
The voice acting was fluent and the voices fit the character's personalities very well. I watched this in dubbed and subbed, and I was supprised to hear Vic Morgonoan play Tamaki Suo in the dubbed. He played this part very well and i give him an A+. The opening theme song "Sakura Kiss" was catchy and modern, while the ending didn't seem to fit that well. Overall I give a very high 9
Character: 8.23/10
The characters design and personalities are refreshing, and the overall appeal of all the Host Club was great. Haruhie wasn't an annoying D.I.D (damsel in distress), the twins were hilarious (though it made me uncomraftable to watch them do the twincest thing), and Tamaki was annoying. But it was your good annoying, because that's his personality and it definitely shown through (lol). The characters were organized very well and it did have lots of character devolpment. 10/10
Enjoyment: 9.41/10 (Oustanding)
I enjoyed this anime, and all of it was great to watch. One thing that bothered me was the parts about "Harhuie in Wonderland" I'm not sure what that was about, but it was diffrent. It reminded me of "Ciel in Wonderland" from Black Butler. Not sure who copied who there. But overall this anime is entertaining and extremely fun to watch. I liked the comedy involved and how it doesn't completely focus on the romance of two characters. Finally a show not about 2 characters getting it on!
Overall: 9.75/10 (Oustanding)
After getting over my myself, and sucking up to watch this anime, I am glad I did. Art, characters, sound and story, are good. My girlfriend is glad I enjoyed it, and I get to pick the anime (SAO FTW). While this was out of my comfort zone, I'm glad I watched it and I hope you enjoy it as well.
TL;DR : Watched a reverse harem and liked it, got brownie points from gf.
jet2r0cks
If I had to describe it in one word, it’ll be this word : PERFECT. I had no qualms about it at all. Even Renge became acceptable at the end. I just love the plot, the cute topics per episode. It was done so beautifully. I have to say, whoever made Ouran knew me well. Back then I didn’t know there was fan service for girls because I’ve never witnessed it before. Now I know there is such a thing! I just love it when the guys go topless! Every episode was so great. Every topic was charming and funny, which is what I loveabout it. My favorite episodes were Hikaru and Haruhi’s date. That episode made me squeal so much, but then again, I squeal at almost every episode. Like I said, the creators know me too well.
The plot was so cleverly crafted. It was so simple and yet it had so much depth. Here we have a girl who was made to act and live like a guy, and she didn’t even see it coming – the same goes for the rest of the host club too. They didn’t know a girl like Haruhi would come into their lives (Aren’t all Haruhis just great?), and affect them by their interactions with her. Boy, do I wish to be like Haruhi. She inspires me too – I also dream of being a lawyer someday, that’s why I admire her so much. Another thing that I would like to add is that if Haruhi was a guy, I’d definitely go after him. I would always forget that Haruhi’s a girl sometimes (seems like it was that way for her too).
I love the other characters too. I’ve already mentioned I like Haruhi, but I like everyone else as well (except maybe that stupid Éclair girl). At first I thought Tamaki was the main man of this show who’ll be charming and showy all the time, which would probably make me hate him. Thank God I was wrong, he turned out to be one of the funniest guys in the club and the-go to guy when it comes to comic relief. I love the twins too, I would cheer Hikaru on whenever he wants to make a move on Haruhi, but at the same time I sympathized for Kaoru since he is having a hard time because of all the anxiety in losing his brother, and his “jealousy” as well since obviously, he likes Haruhi too. Hunny was adorable too – I’m not really into shotacon, but he’s cute and funny nonetheless. Mori had the least number of lines, but boy is he handsome. Finally, my favorite out of the bunch, ah yes, the cool type – Kyoya. He is one sexy God, and I love how underhanded he is.
I even liked some of the supporting characters Haruhi’s dad was just awesome and well, pretty. Arai-kun, Haruhi’s friend from middle school, was charming as well. Bossa Nova – kun was kinda funny too. The episode where he was first introduced was one of my favorites, and Nekozawa – senpai is cool as well. Who knew that underneath the cape he too is a bishonen, just as handsome as Tamaki can be. There are also the lobelia girls, which reminded me of MariMite. I don’t really like them, but since they reminded me of one of my favorite series they’re acceptable.
Now for the other stuff. Drawing style was simple, but nice nonetheless. At first I thought it was CLAMP\'s work since Tamaki kinda looked like Fye from TRC, and there was also the tall and stringy look of the characters (plus, there were a lot of bishonens too). It was perfect the way it is, and I think that a more complicated drawing style would overshadow the storyline. The colors were a bit solid and cutesy, but it fit the series wonderfully. I don’t think shading and varying colors would’ve been suitable. I’m just glad the colors didn’t clash. I love the details too. I’m very critical and observant when it comes to details. I couldn’t ignore the wonderful wall and ceiling designs. There were also the shojo frames and flowers that were intricate in design. I think they used a bit of CG on the beautiful chandeliers, but I’m not sure about that.
The music was another part I liked about it. I’ve been into Chieko Kawabe ever since I watched Elfen Lied, so having her on the soundtrack was a plus. Sakura Kiss will definitely be one of my anime song favorites forever. The ending song was also pretty good. I didn’t like it at first, probably because I’m too busy reflecting about what just happened in a certain episode but after a few episodes it grew on me. I didn’t really have time to notice the BGM – I did at first (I wrote down on my notebook that it was good, so I guess it was good) but after awhile I channeled all my attention to the story. Which rocked, by the way – can’t say that enough. I do vaguely remember a couple of classical music inserts throughout the series, specifically heard when Tamaki plays the piano or during their socials.
The voice acting was also wonderful. The seiyus matched their characters perfectly, specially the twins’ seiyus. They added color to the twins’ antics. Oh yeah, Maaya Sakamoto’s definitely my favorite seiyu now. She did such a good job on portraying Haruhi. Kudos to that as well. I did feel sorry for Mori’s seiyu, whoever he is. I know he only said “ah” most of the time, but I still hope he was paid well.
Maybe the fandom affected me too – people who barely watch anime talk about it, so I was wondering what was good about it. Finally I got to see for myself, and I really am hooked I’m always smiling from ear to ear whenever I’m watching it, and I stay that way until after I watch it.. Seriously, this series warms my heart. It’s an automatic pick-me-up for me, that’s why I love it so much. If I had to pick one series I will watch for the rest of my life, it would be this one, and I might even take it to the other world. FYI, I haven’t got enough of it yet. I’ll be watching it over and over until I get tired of it ( and that is highly unlikely.)
Ceray
I had heard about Ouran High School Host Club, I'm guess around last summer. A friend of mine was rabid about it, however, for some reason or another, I didn't read the manga... Later that summer my other friend also went rabid for it, and again I ignored it.... It wasn't until I read Kanashimi's review for it when I decided to watch the seemingly popular show. The story is basically about a student by the name of Haruhi Fujioka who gets into a prestigious school for rich kids, and how she stumbles in on the school's "Host Club" and ends up having to become ahost (and cross-dress) to repay the club for breaking the vase. After this the anime's story line follows the activities of the club and it's members.
Story -
I can't really think of any really good words for Ouran's story. However, I found that the first episode had managed to suck me in and I was watching it like a rabid crazy person, just to see what would happen to the characters. Some of the episodes, especially episodes six and thirteen, seemed rather... unimportant, and while I did enjoy them I was ready to go on to the next episode. Also, I found myself slightly unsatisfied with the end, after all when you end something you like a lot, you're going to want more of it right?
Score: 8
Animation -
Ouran High School Host Club has got some nice animation, and while it's rare for me to say that any anime has bad animation, I have to say Ouran's was... okay, you get what I mean. During the first episode when Haruhi was changing, and I saw her reflection in the background, for some reason I was amazed, maybe it was because it was there, or something else, however, it was... yeah. The animation also seemed akin to that of Fruits Basket, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed this, however, at times because of this, my mind referred Hunny to Momiji...
Score: 9
Sound -
I liked the background music... I'm not entirely sure why, but I found it very fitting to the show... The opening theme, "Sakura Kiss" is pretty catchy, and while I do like the song, after episode seven or so, I started to skip listening to it, as for the ending song, I can't say that I know what it's called, seeing as the only times I have even bothered to listen to it were when the song was present during the episodes, but it's not really because I don't like it, it's just a habit.
The voice acting... Woah.. What can I say? Since Ouran hasn't been dubbed yet (and why not? Someone please licsense it?), I had to watch it subbed, which is not really something I like to do, however, I really like the Japanese voice acting for Ouran. Haruhi sounded convincingly like a young boy, and all the other voices suited their characters well.
Score: 9
Characters -
Ah. The characters... Well, I found all the main characters likable, and they all managed to leave very distinct impressions of who they were in my mind. Their actions, Tamaki especially, are very fun to watch, and some of them are very easy to picture in my mind, while I know that I haven't gotten them all covered... It is hard to tell if certain characters actually grow and change a bit, which is why I wish it was longer, however, I suppose that it's more realistic that way, since people don't change that fast.
Score: 10
Overall -
I really liked Ouran High School Host Club a lot, so much that it was able to tie itself with my previous number one title, Black Cat, and that I started to look for the manga. I do wish that the series was longer, so I could enjoy the host club more, however it'll be a miracle if there is another season. And if you're wondering, if this does get liscensed soon, and I hope it does, I will be buying it.. Though that fact is a bit irrelevant.
Yay!: The characters are amazing! Diverse and... amazing. Renge, who I didn't like in the beginning also started to grow on me.
Nay~: Well, I'd say the plot suffered the most, seeing as I wanted more, and well... yeah. It needed more of the host club, and not the one act characters.
Score: 9 kitties outta 10.
JesuOtaku_
On the technical side of things, the animation in Ouran is top-tier for shoujo. Like its characters, this series is spoiled rotten with Studio Bones great animation staff, getting both the pretty design work of shoujo that we expect and fluid A-list animation that we don’t. Every inch of the Barbie Kremlin is immaculately detailed, and the character designs are very…appealing. (SQUEE! ^_^) The music in Ouran is all waltzes, ballads and sweeping orchestral pieces, and all that beautiful, dramatic music is used not with reverence, but for satire, and it makes everything so much funnier than in the standard comedy with cartoon jingles. Italso helps to keep the mood uniform when some minor drama surfaces and that same music CAN be used seriously…but just for a second.
In terms of voicework, I don’t know Japanese, but I’ve heard a lot of comedies in the language, and Ouran has one of the funniest casts of seiyuu in a romantic comedy. It is mind-blowingly funny if you can keep up with it, but even if you can’t, you should at least give the awesome Japanese track a listen at some point. To give your eyes a rest, there’s the dub, which as you may expect, has a LOT to live up to now. I’m not sure they could ever be better than the subbed result. But I am happy to say that they may be just as good, and probably deserve a medal just for pronouncing all the dozens of Japanese words in the show perfectly. Caitlin Glass sounds perfectly tomboyish with just a hint of femininity that has all those hosts in such a hot tizzy, the twins have fairly different voices that make a harmonious blend put together, Kyoya’s delivery is just as sexily serpentine as it should be, and Hunny is sticky sweet syrupy cuteness on a bun-bun, and then there’s Tamaki, the hardest part of them all to play. Now yes, he plays the part a little different from the brilliant Mamoru Miyano, but well, consider the age difference: he’d have to. Still, Vic Mignogna completely works the part in every direction and is absolutely hilarious. Did I forget someone? No, I guess not. (You see, Mori has about four lines in the whole show...)
So I spent a lot of time elaborating on this show’s fine pedigree because really, that’s most of the appeal. It’s just a filthy-rich, la vida loca slumber-party show and it looks like that party has hung a sign on the door that says “No Boys Allowed.” But let me get serious for a moment and talk about the humor. It can be smart satire, stupid slapstick, or both at the same time, but whatever the case, this is one of the funniest anime I have ever seen, period, and the humor is broad in appeal.
This show makes fun of anime stereotypes, rich people, moe-crazed fangirls, high school angst, gender differences, just every nerdy and teen-centric topic imaginable and then just settles down for some a good old game of hit the funny French person. Throughout it all, the fourth wall is hardly ever standing. I think if Tex Avery and Chuck Jones had written Saved By the Bell, this would have exploded into being. So on the note of male appeal, I do know some guys who can’t get over the repulsive level of manservice in Ouran, but I also know several guys who move past that and think it’s just as funny as all the girls do. You may just have to test the waters, gentlemen. You are venturing into the wild unknown, but it may well be worth the dip!
That being said, that still doesn’t make this show anymore than a really good-looking gigglefest, so Ouran decides to completely risk its enjoyment factor in the greatest mistake of all anime comedies: trying to be dramatic. I mean, how in the world is this stupid harem crossdresscapade ever supposed to be taken seriously?
It works, though.
Don’t ask me how, but every once in a while, this show starts reaching for your heartstrings, and it almost always works. It may steer too close to corny once or twice, but most of the time it’s incredibly heartwarming, and I think this is 100% due to the likability of the cast. Everyone that watches this show ends up with a favorite host, but there’s not one of the cast that isn’t fun to watch or ever wears out their welcome. Well, except Renge, but she’s an otaku, and we all know how annoying those freaks are. (wink wink, nudge, nudge)
Still, it really feels like the way I wish my high school had been, complete with belly laughs, happy sighs, and sexy guys. Don’t hate ‘em cause they’re beautiful, just put the fun back in dysfunctional and you will feel no pain as they drive you insane.
All in all, Ouran is an always-inviting self-parody with just as much heart as glitz, glam, and girly guys. It ranges from smart to stupid all at the same time, is drop-dead hilarious no matter your gender, but of course offers just a little more for the ladies, and does it all with style.
*THIS IS A PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF MY VIDEO REVIEW WHICH CAN BE SEEN HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJNbm4H1OrI
Thanks for reading!
Xerxes4158
Charming, comedic, and thoroughly enjoyable. These three phrases are the perfect descriptors of Ouran High School Host Club, a "romantic" (but it's not really romance), "high school" (if your high school was also attended by the children of multi-millionaires) comedy that simultaneously pokes fun of at the types of anime that it spawns from as well as crafting an elegant story that stems from that very genre. Ouran's characterization is its strong-point: each individual is an exaggeration of an anime template, taken to its very (il)logical extreme. You have your lovable caretaker, your brooding mastermind, your "loli shota-type", a stoic guardian, and a pairof twins, lost in each other's world. Thrown into this multidimensional cast of characters if Fujioka Haruhi, an independent spirit, who doesn't fit in with the throngs of rich kids (not that she cares to), due to her "commoner" origins. Together, they are the "Host Club", paying hired attention to the captivated ladies who have entirely too much time and money that fill the ranks of the Ouran Academy. As the series progresses, you discover the backgrounds behind each of the main characters, and how they came to be what they are today. In addition, you witness the numerous escapades of Suou Tamaki, leader of the Host Club, always guiding the hosts forward towards ever-increasing extravagance.
The brilliantly-crafted characters mesh together to create an image of the "day-to-day" activities of the students at the Ouran Academy. While the primary setting of the story is a high school, almost no academic schooling of any type occurs throughout the series - the focus is squarely upon the activities of the Host Club. Whether it be an excursion to some tourist location, an intrusion into Haruhi's "common" life, or a flashback into the pasts of one or more of the characters, the story never feels forced or artificial. The course of events flow naturally, the flashbacks coincide with events in the present day that share a common lesson with the events preceding it. And, above all else, the comedy is omnipresent and ludicrously fitting the moment, the crown example being Tamaki's Inner Mind Theater, which shows the twistedly exaggerated thoughts going through Tamaki's mind in reaction to something happening.
There are, however, a few negatives with respect to the story. In particular, the plot seems to linger along during the middle part of the series, after the introductions of the individual characters are done, but before the series really gets started with their backgrounds and flashbacks. These episodes could probably have been condensed, or somehow made to fit with the character backgrounds in order to supply more development time for the thrilling concluding arc of the anime.
From a technical perspective, Ouran also delivers. The soundtrack is soothing when it needs to be, reminiscent when it needs to be, and powerful as well, when it needs to be. Between the smooth melodic background piano to the rumbling guitar intro to the ending theme, Ouran's music certainly fits the mood. The sound effects themselves are also natural and expected. You will get used to the sound of flower petals blowing the breeze, as well as the lifting and setting down of countless tea cups. Visually, the style in Ouran is unique, especially with its stylized facial expressions. However, the art style does seem to be lacking at times, in that it occasionally fails to convey the full power of the emotions behind a scene. In particular, while each of the individual facial expressions are well-done, there seems to be too few of them, at least too few to match the needs of the series at large. However, this is but a small problem in the grand scheme of things, and should not deter anyone more watching this excellent series.
So if you're tired of the ordinary, or just want to laugh endlessly at the oftentimes formulaic aspects of characterization and plot used in romance anime, pick up Ouran High School Host Club. The hosts will be waiting for you.
jayekin
A story based on Bishounen boys in High School and a girl who has no qualms about being either a girl or boy. Haha.. One of the best animes watched after Yamato Nadeshiko Shinchi Henge (which is still not finished yet.. haha.. Still waiting for epi 25). The plot is very simple but as the story unfolds, we are able to see life in and beyond high school and how these 5 Bishounen boys and 1 indifferent girl cope with their troubles / misgivings. Well, the ending did indicate a hint of something, but since the story stops only at 26, we won\'t noe ifthat something will develop into something more.. Haha.. I\'m currently reading the manga.. We\'ll see if that particular something develops in the manga itself (wich I hope so.. hehe..).
To those who hae doubts watching this anime, you might wanna try watching an epi or two before deciding to slash it totally from your list.. I was doubtful at firts.. but I read the manga, got hooked to the storyline and went online to download the anime..
For those who are going to watch.. ENJOY!!!!
BigOleBee
The demographic for this is so oddly specific. You either love it because you watched it during your weeb awakening in middle school , OR you ARE a middle schooler who is in their weeb awakening. The CHOKEHOLD this anime has had on the shoujo loving community for years now, is absolutely wild. I remember watching this on repeat for three years of my life (12-15 y/o), but stashed it away so I could enjoy other new series. Now, watching it as an adult... girl.. it HURTS sometimes. It really does. The specific era this came out of; that mid-2000's internet where you watched thepirated episodes in parts on youtube or kissanime. This anime captures the humor and character tropes of the time, which does in fact include the homophobia/transphobia/ and.. yes, the N*zi jokes. I promise that if anything this anime is not boring, you will never know what you should be concerned about next.
Even with all of it's cringe inducing scenes, and my personal crisis of "I really let this form my teenage humor and personality", it has it's place and I think it should atleast be given a shot. Even if in the end you just don't get it, there are gonna be some that do.
I will forever have a physical reaction whenever I hear the anime opening.
kiriska
Ouran Host Club mocks all your shoujo stereotypes while simultaneously utilizing those same stereotypes to create a wonderful series. I'd say that takes talent. STORY - I avoided this series for a long time just because the premise didn't interest me, and from a distance, it seemed like one of those parodies that would err on the side of taking itself too seriously. I'm really glad I ended up giving it a chance though; Ouran High School Host Club manages to be hilarious from the get-go and is surprisingly adorable. It's perfect in portraying the handful of stereotypes that appear over and over again in shoujoand doesn't shy away from blatant self-references and mockery to make sure it doesn't take itself too seriously. And yet, the series somehow still manages to have a captivating "serious" side and great romance potential.
I like to gripe a lot about anime adaptations of manga that aren't finished too, but Host Club has an excellent and concluded storyline (with huge potential for a sequel!) despite the still-running manga. Admittedly, I haven't read much of said manga yet, but from what I can tell, the anime follows it pretty damn precisely. Many of the episodes are very silly and episodic, and there's also the predictable handful of episodes dedicated to each character's backstory, but there's rarely a dull moment. It's entertaining and fun through and through.
CHARACTER - For a cast conceived entirely of over-used stereotypes, Host Club really does an amazing job in keeping everyone interesting, especially since it isn't afraid to point out those obvious type molds. There isn't really anything particular or unique about Haruhi, but that's exactly what makes her so easy to relate to. Her androgyny only furthers this by destroying that gender barrier, and honestly, I'd love to see more reverse traps in anime. Haruhi is great at balancing characteristics that are considered typical of both men and women, and she's also endearingly oblivious. Never underestimate the power of stupidly endearing characteristics... Tamaki is a fun character for all the same reasons.
He has tons of little quirks -- many of them are common, but that doesn't stop them from being effective when they're so well done. Everyone gets those obligatory background episodes that explore their personalities beyond the stereotype. It's a tricky thing to give a parody a personality; how do you give them depth without seeming pretentious or just like the cliches you're trying to mock? I'm really not sure, but somehow Host Club manages. The twins have a completely generic emo twin backstory, but I'm still compelled to sympathize with them and to empathize with their friendships with the rest of the club. Kyouya has a similarly generic sibling angst story, but I still like the bastard. Mori and Honey weren't as interesting to me personally, but I can still see where their appeal would be for others.
In the end, it isn't so much the originality of the characters that make them so good -- it's their interaction with each other. Everything feels natural. It's just entertaining to watch them go about their shenanigans and to hear them mock one another, their genre, otaku culture, and random other things. And the subtlety of their strong friendships is what ties the whole series together. As the episodes build on, it gets clearer and clearer just how important those friendships are. Yes, this is a satire and a comedy, but there's a good story about friendship buried under all that too. It's a simple and generic story, but it's a good story all the same.
ARTSTYLE & ANIMATION - I really love the style and animation used in the opening theme. It's clean and cute and pretty unique-looking. Hell, the opening in general is just adorable and fun to look at, and it's one of the few that I actually sat through and watched more than a half dozen times. The style in the series itself is pretty generic, but as most of the characters were designed to be generic, this really isn't too big a deal. Indeed, all the characters perfectly master the visual charm that made their stereotypes so widely popular to begin with. And at the same time, the designs somehow manage to also capture the personal quirks that each character still has -- the twins are typical badboys, but their emotion is still there; there are probably twenty billion characters that look exactly like Kyouya, but somehow, he still feels like his own person. It's interesting (maybe it's the uniform?).
There are also lots of nice backgrounds in Host Club. It's a very fancypants and elaborate academy after all. Sure, a lot of the wide exterior shots and some of the interiors are recycled a lot, but they're still intricate and pretty backdrops. The animation is pretty average. There's nothing particularly spectacular, but I don't really think there's really anything that needs to look spectacular. Funny thing about shoujo, there aren't usually too many fights that need to be animated super smoothly. XD
MUSIC - The opening theme, "Sakura Kiss" by Chieko Kawabe is a really cute song. It's upbeat and fun and just an all around fitting theme to the series in general. For the dub, the song is translated into English, and it works surprisingly well. The voice sounds exactly the same, and I really thought the singer just had two versions of the song at first. The translated lyrics work pretty nicely too. I didn't like the end theme as much as the opening, but that usually seems to be the case because they're just generally not as exciting.
The soundtrack in the series is nicely varied. To emphasize the rich, upper class and noble environment, there are often classical instrumental themes; the moods are often exaggerated with very shrill, high-tension violins for the action and drama and soft, melancholic piano for the emotional and tragic scenes (cheerful, everyday scenes are usually accompanied by flutes and strings). It's good to note that even the music sticks with the over-the-top and satirical nature of many of the scenes. For more serious bits, the music follows suit and calms down to more traditional melodies, including several instrumental versions of the opening theme and the piano themes that Tamaki plays. As a fan of classical music, I tend to be drawn to soundtracks like this, but either way, I think everything suited Host Club very well.
VOICE ACTING - I saw the first half of the series dubbed (all that's currently available on DVD) and the rest subbed. It's been a while since I've seen a dub first, but Host Club's dub seriously impressed me. Vic Mignogna is the perfect Tamaki. He nails every line and every emotion, and it's just a very convincing performance overall. One of my biggest voice acting peeves is when actors don't change their voices between roles, which gets really annoying really fast in English dubs because there's such a limited talent pool. When Tamaki is acting flustered or funny!angry, he sounds a bit like Edward Elric, but for the most part, Mignogna manages to give the character a distinct voice, and I found that to be very impressive. Caitlin Glass as Haruhi was also pretty amazing, and I was again really happy to hear a distinct voice for the character. Honestly, the entire cast was excellent and all the voices were wonderfully suited to their roles (the only annoying voices were for the annoying characters!).
It seems that the English dub is aimed very much for an otaku crowd as well. A few honorifics are carried over without explicit explanation, particularly "senpai" and "-chan," and the cute shortening of names before attaching the "-chan" (like Haru-chan or Hika-chan) is also kept. It was really weird hearing it at first, but all things considered, I think it turned out pretty well. It doesn't feel overly unnatural, and those little speech habits really keep characters like Honey and Haruhi truer to the original. (Now if only they could figure out a way to translate distinct first-person pronouns...) It's fitting since Host Club does so well to mock otaku culture, and it definitely added to the experience to hear such lulzy culture-generated terms like "twincest." The translation felt very relevant and in-touch to the English-speaking otaku scene which was fantastic.
The original Japanese cast is pretty good too, but I don't think I like Mamoru Miyano as Tamaki as much as I like Vic Mignogna. While Mignogna only occasionally strays to Ed's voice, I often hear a host of other characters when I hear Miyano... of course, that might just be because I've heard more of Miyano's roles than Mignogna, but all the same. Maaya Sakamoto as Haruhi was better, and I found it hilarious that Haruhi's poor singing skills are emphasized when Sakamoto is such a lovely singer. I prefer the Hitachiin twins' Japanese voices to their English counterparts because they're easier to distinguish from one another, and that's one of the easiest ways I had to tell them apart. Since much of the rest of the cast is very stereotypical, their Japanese and English voices were about on the same level; the actors sounded typecasted, but that works just fine. Sometimes, I just get tired of reading subtitles, so while the original cast is good, I think Host Club's dub is one of the few I'd choose to watch over the sub if given the choice.
OVERALL - I don't think I've ever wanted a sequel for a series as much as I do for this one. The ending is predictable but adorable and practically begs for a follow-up series -- how is it that Ouran High School Host Club mocks so much of what's common in shoujo, but somehow manages to use all the same formulas to make you love it? I suppose it's proof that even the most tired of cliches can be given new life if done right. There are no original ideas left, but there are still new, fun, and interesting ways to twist around what's around there. To all the skeptics, I highly recommend giving this series a shot. The first eight dub episodes are available streaming on FUNimation's website (the first three episodes are also available subbed). I was a skeptic too.
flamesofmoe
Story :9: This anime is adapted from the manga series by Bisco Hatori and tells the story of a poor girl that was excepted in to a very rich high school. She finds herself in debt for 8,000,000 yen and is forced to become the schools Host Club's dog until she pays it back. The story is wonderfully rounded with mostly comedy and romance but it throws some drama in at the appropriate moments. It kept me coming back for more and more and in the end it left me wanting. I only gave it a nine because of somesmall missing people or story lines from the manga that I really enjoyed.
Art :10: The art in Ouran is amazing. Not necessarily the animation itself, but the storyboard was done beautifully. It had a flavour all its own that sets it apart from the manga and from other animes in it's genre. The use of the cut away scenes to express what the characters are feeling adds so much to the storyline by giving this wonderful "oh I get it" factor when the story is completely finished. Definitely a 10!
Sound :10: I am not really sure how I should rate the sound. But I thought that the voice actors did a wonderful job and that the music was appropriate and at times really lovely.
Character :10: The one thing that I really enjoyed about this show was the character development. The way you could follow the growth of the main characters and understand why they were who they were was just awesome. The back stories were marvelously included in stages so you always knew what you needed to know about the people involved. I was very surprised that I could learn so much about them in just 26 episodes.
Enjoyment :10: If you haven't figured it out by now, I really enjoyed watching this show. Not only the first time, but every time I have re watched it or showed it to friends, the enjoyment not only stays but adjust in an awesome way when you notice things you did not before.
Overall :10: This show as a whole definitely gets a 10 from me. But don't just take my word for it, go, watch it now.
noneexistent
Lets start off with the story. the story is about 16 year old haruhi she transfers to this ultra rich and very high esteemed school. she is accidentally mistaken for a boy, when she comes across the all boys host club of the school. she then ends up breaking a very expensive vase. she then is forced in to the club to pay the club back. but just as you think it could not get any funnier the guys of the club find out she is a girl and that is where their adventure begins. to me that is most original piece of high schoollife anime.
the art i found was amazing b/c it reminds a lot of tsubasa chronicles style and also along the lines of princess princess.
the sound to me was very good. i found extremely fun when you knew tamaki was upset or getting really annoyed. you could tell each character had their own unique sound or music played to them.
the characters in this were extremely funny and entertaining, but they also went through developing stages. first there is tamaki who is the president or dad as tamaki calls himself of the club, he also the founder of the club. it is so funny to see him get so obsessed over haruhi and how is wishes she would acknowledge his feelings. he is hilarious to watch, but he can also be serious and romantic. you see him develop into more of an adult.
then there is kyouya. he is the vice president a.k.a shadow king called by the club and mama as been called by tamaki. he seems to have a great bond with tamaki as a friend. he is very serious and seems to long to do his best at everything to impress his father. however thanks to tamaki and haruhi, that he soon discovers he does not need his father's acknowledgements to make him fulfilled.
there are also the twins kaoru and hikaru. they are identical and very hard to tell apart. though if you watch carefully you can. they use their twin inhibitions to get what they want to play jokes on people. they become very fond of haruhi and call her their toy. however only hikaru has deeper feelings for her. they are trouble makers but they learn to come out of just hanging only with each other and learn the deeper meaning of friendship.
honey and momo are cousins. they are excellent fighters. it may appear that honey does not have the emotion to fight but he can and will do whatever takes to protect his friends. he is loveable. loves to eat sweets, and hugs and holds his soft pink rabbit. momo is a tall dark and handsome. but he is very quiet and only seems to mutter to himself or talks to honey. he seems to like haruhi but only as a friend but there times in the show where you think his emotion to haruhi is not just being a friend.
last is haruhi. she does not seem to mind cross dressing but it bothers tamaki a great deal he is so jealous when others fawn over her. she is capable of opening the eyes of the host club and showing them a whole new side to themselves. its almost like what tamaki does in the club. however haruhi learns some important things from the club too. and she soon discovers an evern deeper feeling for one of the club members.
i really enjoyed this show i laughed i cried i even squealed a couple times. if you are a huge anime fan you will love this.
This is an outstanding piece of work.
my_chocol8
I was skeptical at first, but when I started watching it, theres no stopping. I'm not really into those silly comedies, BUT Ouran High School Host Club is not just any comedy, it has a whole lot of heart in it that distinguishes from the lot and keeps you wanting to watch Tamaki, Haruhi, Honey, Mori, Hikaru, Kaouru and the oh soo sexy Kyouya episode after episode. It was really sad it ended, but it looks like there would be a second season. This shows deserves a second season! I sooo love this show. ;) The characters are so diverse yet so tightly knit together thatyou can't help but love them. Haruhi (the female protagonist) is not the usual silly bordering to stupid female character, its really refreshing to see that kind of composed character in a female lead. I looovvee her.
The boys... oohh I love the boys! I can't even choose who I wanted to be with Haruhi. One episode I wanted it to be Hikaru, then one time I'm leaning towards Tamaki, and then unexpectedly I wanted it to be Kyouya!
This is really one of the most if not the most enjoyable anime I have seen to date.
You should see this ;)
Surana
I'm going to be the odd one out here and say that OHSHC was pretty good but notthing amazing. The concept is great; I love it, but how it plays out is less than stellar. The story is about scholarship student Fujioka Haruhi, who attends a prestigious school for children who come from extremely wealthy families. While looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi runs into the Host Club (yes, you read that correctly; the school has a host club) and ends up breaking an expensive vase. Haruhi now must pay off her ¥8,000,000 debt by working as a manservant for the Host Club.Eventually they notice that she's actually pretty good looking and—thinking she's a guy—tell her that she can pay off her debt by working as a member of the school's Host Club. The plot after this is... well, there is none, really. Haruhi spends time in the Host Club, going on wacky adventures and all that fun stuff.
If you want to watch this because you're looking for a good romcom, know that there's a lot of "com", but not so much of the "rom". (If you want an actual, complete romance for Haruhi, read the manga, but note it takes quite a while to start). The romance sub plot is dragged out extremely long, and very few episodes are even about that. There are only really five romance-focused episodes, and the romance really starts toward the end (don't get your hopes up, though; they don't even kiss, and their romantic relationship is basically just implied).
The romance subplot is kind of bland. One of the guys who has a crush on her actually seems to like her as a person, whereas the other (the main love interest), mistakes his feelings for her as familial instead of romantic (which I admit is very unique, and I've never seen before). One of the romance–focused episodes is actually focused entirely on one of the main character's feelings for her, and then they basically never mention that he likes her again even though the episode concluded absolutely nothing regarding their relationship. (Manga actually continues and concludes it, as well as the main romance)
This anime has a lot of stereotypes, but one of the refreshing things about it is that it makes fun of those stereotypes. The shota is extremely skilled in martial arts and has a fiery temper, the stoic is overprotective of his adorable cousin and barely ever leaves his side, the incestuous twins are actually just faking the twincest for s***s and giggles, and then the ikemen with the dark past isn't pretending to be pompous—he's really just that big of a narcissist. The only real spot-on stereotype is the stoic megane with the "four eyes, zero soul" trope, though it works. Then of course we have Haruhi, the foil, dragged along in the weirdness of the Host Club.
I really enjoyed this anime at first, but after a while it became annoyingly repetitive. Actual plot followed by filler after filler after filler.
Basically, if you're looking for a funny anime about random, silly adventures and don't mind an extremely slow romance sub plot, then you should definitely watch this anime. It's not bad, but I'm just not big on anime with extremely slow plot progress.
TakaCode
Ouran High School Host Club was the first Shoujo anime I have watched and I absolutely loved IT. It took me by surprise just how amazingly written and charming it was when I first watched it back in 2010. It was the first anime I ever purchased on DVD and it was one of my favourites along with stuff with Code Geass, Clannad, Soul Eater, Toradora, Slayers and Hunter x Hunter 1999. Since then, I wanted to see how the show holds up since my first watch as I have watched a lot of shoujo anime since then and I wanted to see how well Ouranstacks up to other shoujo anime, and after re-watching the series again on Blu-ray (which I upgraded) I definitely say that it does and I am going to tell you why
There are a lot of things to love about Ouran High School Host Club. For starters, the show is very self-aware of its core content. It never tries to exploit itself with shameless pandering nor does it try to appeal to the lowest common denominator of anime fans. I knew what's it doing from beginning to end.
The one thing that I adore from Ouran High School Host Club is its beautiful handling of the top comedy. The shows know it's an over the top comedy and it's very proud of it. The comedic timing is almost flawless, the humour was consistent from start to finish and most importantly the show is simply hilarious. This is all thanks to Ouran's fantastic character chemistry. The way the characters interact with each other is fascinating as it gives the series its own comedic flair and only strengthens the gags and core comedy. On top of all that, the comedy in Ouran is unpredictable as there's always a fresh joke that is waiting to be delivered to the viewer.
That's not all that Ouran has to take over. The episodic nature of Ouran is well-executed. Most of the episodes have their own story to tell and I was surprised how just how dark some of the episodes can be at times due to themes and subjects that the show covers.
My favourites episodes were 6, 10, 12, 15-18, and 20-24. I personally thought these episodes to be heartwarming as they left a lasting impression thanks to its themes and topics such as oneself, opening up to others, coming out of your shell, overcoming your restricted expectations from your superiors, love/ gender discrimination, understanding each other, and it handles them with care and respect
The best thing about Ouran High School Host Club is the character development. Despite being episodic, the characters actually developed along with the plot. By the end of the series, you will start to notice how much the characters have grown since episode 1. To this day I still find it amusing.
However, I have one issue with Ouran and that is the final two episodes.
They weren't necessarily bad episodes by any means but many of those two episodes were sadly underwhelming in terms of execution. Up until episode 25, the series was very lighthearted and goofy. Yes, some of the episodes dealt with some serious subjects and themes but they never felt forced right down your throats. Episodes 25 and 26 completely took the lighthearted tone of the previous 24 episodes and flipped it around. Not only that, but there was no build-up or foreshadowing at all as the series up until episode 24 was mostly episodic.
The characters is where the show truly shines. They are all funny, likeable and well-written in their own ways with one expectation.
Haruhi is the main female lead of Ouran and she's awesome.
She is an intelligent and straightforward and dependent individual who doesn't care what gender she is seen as she believes.
She is likeable, has a good sense of humour in her own way and she's fun to watch thanks to her well-executed gags and jokes.
I also really liked her character development throughout the show. She starts off disliking the host club as well as being an anti-social individual but as the show progresses she gradually opens to the host club to a point where she ultimately loves them for what they are. Completely coming out of her shell in her little lonely world.
What makes Haruhi stand out compared to most female Shoujo leads is she's not dense nor annoying. In an era of wish fulfilment, dense and annoying Shoujo leads, Haruhi stands out as a unique and capable lead who can challenge the male gender in the most badass and reliable way possible.
For example, when she enters the Ouran Host Club for the first time she doesn't get infatuated by the boys but rather nervously completely destroying the typical dense and infatuated leads that have plagued the Reverse Harem/Shoujo genre from the early 2000s and that is why I love Haruhi so much. Not only she's a well-written character from beginning to end, but she managed to avoid the pitfalls of other Shoujo leads.
She's my favorite character in Ouran High School Host Club.
Tamaki is my second favorite character in the show.
At first, he may appear to be your typical immature and loud male heroine that you have seen before, however, once you get to know he becomes much more. For one, he deeply cares about the other members of the host club to a point where he considers them as a family, especially towards Haruhi and Kyoya his love interest and best friend.
On top of being a complex character, he's also very hilarious to watch. His character chemistry with the host club is impeccable and seeing him react towards various humour situations always puts a smile to my face.
Kyoya is a character that I really liked. He may not be as humorous as some of the other characters in the show still found him to be entertaining. He may lack humour but his character development, as well as his engaging backstory about his struggles of being the third child of this prestigious family more, makes it up. I also loved his relationship with Tamaki. They worked well with each other and you get to understand how the Ouran Host Club was formed and how they became close friends. He is the most compelling character in the show.
The one character that I never expected to like at all was Honey Senpai. He had all of the qualities of being an annoying character from his obsession with sweets to his high-pitched voice, but somehow he managed to become the most intriguing character in the entire show thanks to his crazy and entertaining backstory.
Also, despite his young appearance, she's actually the oldest character in the show.
I really loved the twins I really do.
Sure, they are the twincest duo who love to do weird things to each other but once you get to know they become some of the most intriguing characters in the show, especially Hikaru with that amazing date episode with Haruhi. I also really liked how they developed over the course of the series.
Takashi is sadly my least favorite main character in the show. Yes, he has his moments and I enjoyed his standalone episode where it explores his backstory but other than that he is not as interesting or engaging as the other characters. I know the whole silent treatment is the point of his character, but he could have a bit more personality. While he lacks personality, his relationship with his cousin Honey kinda makes up for it. They play off each other very nicely and you definitely feel the bond that they have.
Another character that I never expected to like at all was Renge A lot of people don't like her at all and I can see where they are coming from but I enjoyed her presence in the anime. She's basically the true comedy relief of the series from her fangirlish nature towards Kyoya as she views him closely to a dating sim game character, her exaggerated laugh to her over the top recycled animation gag every time she shows up. She just adds more comedic flair to an already comedic series.
The supporting characters are also very enjoyable. While some are clearly better than others, they are all entertaining in their own ways.
Ouran's visuals can be best described as vibrant and colourful. Studio Bones did a remarkable job at adapting Biscot Hatori art style into anime form. The character designs are appealing to look at, Backgrounds are colourful, sharp and well detailed. The animation is simple but effective. That's all I have to say about as it gets the job as well as you expect
Ouran's soundtrack is very good. It features a strong classical, piano, dramatic and upbeat score that fits the tone of the show perfectly.
The opening theme Sakura Kiss is a catchy opening theme that fits the tone of the show.
I cannot say the same for the ending theme, Shissou. It was just a forgettable ending theme that just exists for the sake of existing.
The English Dub for Ouran is simply fantastic. Despite the dub being over a decade old I still consider Ouran's to be one of Funimation's best dubs. The dub features an all-star cast that you will recognise if you're a dub purist such as myself. It was well-acted, the sound mixing was top notice and the dub script was phenomenal. My favourite performances in the dubs are Caitlin Glass as Haruhi, Vic Migonoal as Tamaki, Tood Haberkorn as Hikaru and J Michael Tatum as Kyoya. They did a fantastic job at bringing these wonderful characters to life thanks to outstanding performances that outclass their Seiyuu counterparts.
When I held the Anime Limited Collectors Edition Blu-ray of Ouran High School Host Club for the re-watch I was afraid the show would not hold up on a re-watch. Thankfully Ouran High School Host Club is one of the rare animes from my childhood that has aged amazingly. The final 2 episodes may have much to be desired but the masterful character chemistry, strong presentation, great soundtrack, wonderfully acting English dub and the well developed and intriguing characters make it up.
Ouran High School Club is a series that has stood the test of time and it will continue to do so in the upcoming future.
Finally, Happy New Year and I hope 2020 will be a great anime for anime.
