Ouran Koukou Host Club

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]

Suou, Tamaki Main

Miyano, Mamoru Japanese

Fujioka, Haruhi Main

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Hitachiin, Hikaru Main

Suzumura, Kenichi Japanese

Ootori, Kyouya Main

Matsukaze, Masaya Japanese

Hitachiin, Kaoru Main

Fujita, Yoshinori Japanese

Haninozuka, Mitsukuni Main

Saitou, Ayaka Japanese

Morinozuka, Takashi Main

Kirii, Daisuke Japanese

Nekozawa, Umehito Supporting

Ueda, Yuuji Japanese

Kasanoda, Ritsu Supporting

Hatano, Wataru Japanese

Houshakuji, Renge Supporting

Yoshizumi, Kozue Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Minami, Masahiko Producer

Tamura, Manabu Producer

Nakatani, Toshio Producer

Reviews

Jan 15, 2007

Kanashimi

Recommended

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 reasoning ... behind 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?

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jan 13, 2024

BigOleBee

Mixed Feelings

Funny

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 the ... pirated 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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 17, 2012

Kitty_Cat_Rat

Not Recommended

This is my first review. I'm not going to tell you what the anime is about, that's what the synopsis is for.

Anyway... I'll tell you why this show is the most overrated anime in the world. I'm a girl, bi, and I LOVE gender-benders... so naturally, I should love this show because Haruhi is posing as a boy, right? No... I hated it. The characters were "okay"... but they were all stereotypes.. and VERY typical. And the comedy? I never laughed... not once. The drama? THERE WASN'T ANY! Sure, some people will TELL you there was... but there really wasn't. I often finished an episode ... feeling so bored that I could just fall asleep.

Also, the story is terrible. The entire time, I was waiting for the story to climax... and have this HUGE twist that we wouldn't have seen coming. Alas, there wasn't one. I've watched Baka and Test, Mayo Chiki, and other nonsensical anime that I ended up loving... but this one fails, tremendously, to catch my attention.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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