Ouran High School Host Club Forum

The Ouran High School Host Club manga was created by Bisco Hatori. The manga debuted in Japan’s LaLa magazine in August 2003 and recently ended this past September with a total of 17 volumes. The North American version of the reverse-harem manga is published by Viz Media’s Shojo Beat. Hatori’s other works include A Romance of One Moment and Millennium Snow (2 volumes and currently on hiatus). The anime, created by BONES, first aired in Japan in April of 2006 and ran for 26 episodes. FUNimation picked up the title for dubbing and released DVD set Part 1 (13 eps) in October 2008 and Part 2 in January 2009 (13 eps). Currently the complete season can be bought in a single boxset on DVD or Blu-ray.    

    

Enter Haruhi Fujioka, a 1 Year at Ouran Academy. While looking for a quiet place to study she stumbles upon an empty music room. Lo and behold she is greeted by the six-man group known as the Ouran High School Host Club. Haruhi is quickly weirded out by the boys’ advances and accidentally knocks over a vase that was to be auctioned off with a starting bid of ¥8 Million (Yen).   Mistaken as a male student Haruhi is forced to join the Host Club to repay “his” debt. A few accidents later the Club discovers Haruhi is really a girl! Now, not only does Haruhi have to pay off her debt, she and the rest of the Club have to keep her gender a secret! But being a reverse-harem taking place in an elite private school this series should totally be full of roses and wooing, right? 

 

Ouran Academy

Ouran Academy is a private school that consists of schooling through the 3 Year but also includes a University. The campus is very large with an aura of grandeur to encompass the super rich students in attendance. Although, a small number of students are “Commoners”, or normal people who are not rich but gain acceptance by way of a scholarship. The school’s philosophy is to provide a top-notch education to prepare the heirs for success in the future and networking. In addition, Ouran’s unofficial motto is “Lineage counts first, wealth a close second”.

Ouran High School Host Club

The Ouran High School Host Club operates by its members (handsome boys with too much time on their hands) entertaining clients (young ladies who also have too much time on their hands). The Host Club began operation a few years prior to the series’ starting point and consists of six male members and one female member. The club does business by clients paying a fee to spend time with their favorite host. The club appeals to its clients by having each of its members fulfill a type “role” or “character”. Occasionally the Host Club will also host events or theme days along with selling merchandise.

The Characters

Haruhi Fujioka is the heroine of the series and attends Ouran Academy as a 1 Year thanks to a scholarship. She has short hair because gum got into her long locks. Her mother passed away 10 years prior and she lives at home with her drag queen father. Haruhi is dubbed “The Natural” in the Host Club. Though she tends to be dense, she stays level-headed in confrontation and in understanding others.

 


Tamaki Suou is the President and Founder of the Host Club, an Ouran Academy 2 Year, and dubbed “The King”. He moved to Japan from France when he was 14 and is heir to the Suou Conglomerate. Tamaki is the “ladies man” of the Host Club; however, he is the densest of the bunch despite his dashing looks and intellect. Though very sporadic in his thoughts and moods he always comes through in the end.



     Kyouya Ootori is the VP and Co-Founder of the Host Club, a 2 Year at Ouran Academy, and dubbed “The Cool Type”. He is the 3 son of theOotari Family who also runs a large conglomerate with a 100 man private police force. All the club’s books and behind-the-scenes work is done by him. He’s also the man with all the information. While not very open about his feelings Kyouya can pretty much always be found with a smile (which can sometimes make you wonder just what he is up to). 
 
Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin are 1 Years at Ouran Academy and dubbed “The Mischievous Type” as they play the very intense ‘Brotherly Love’ card. The twins were loners when they first arrived at Ouran but Tamaki convinced them to join the Host Club and to be themselves. Only a handful of people can tell them apart so who wants to play the ‘Which One is Hikaru Game’? Both are rather immature and sneaky but they just want to be understood.
 
 

Mitsukuni Haninozuka is a 3 Year Ouran student and dubbed “The Boy Lolita Type”. Don’t let his size fool you as his martial arts skills classify him as a WMD according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. His combat abilities are only matched by his love for cute things and sweets-as he is called “Honey” for short. Honey used to always carry a tough exterior until he came to be more comfortable with who he was. Oh, don’t even try to takeUsa-chan away!



Takashi Morinozukais a 3 Year Ouran student and dubbed “The Silent Type”. His family used to serve the Haninozukas until a marriage made him and Honey cousins. Still, Mori protects Honey at all times. He does not say much and tends to be unaffected by the antics of the other Host Club members but Mori is quite respected by his peers. 

 

Why Watch?

Ouran High School Host Club is one of a small list of reverse-harems available to enjoy. The animation is simple yet full of life as the characters overreact and quickly change moods (thanks to chibi). This slice of life story is simple as it follows the interaction of a diverse group of characters and their trials with life, school, and the importance or non-importance of hierarchy and class. There is plenty of comedy, too, with the banter between the Host Club members as a romance blossoms. The series has a TV-14rating as there is a bit of language and some suggestive themes. The choice between dub and sub is up to you, the viewer. The sub cast is pretty good and the dub cast is full of recognizable voices (especially from FMA).

Verdict

Ouran High School Host Club is a wonderful feel-good series that provides a differentiated cast that provides plenty of laughs. This one isn’t just for the girls either as the story raises questions about how the role of class and family lineage can play against who can be friends and who can love. You can watch the first episode in sub here or add the entire season to your Instant Watch Queue on Netflix.

 
This guide was written by Anime Vice member  sotyfan16

I'm not ashamed to say I love this series.

I laughed my ass off

I LOVE YOU TAMAKI SUOU!!!!!! XD

It's entertaining.

BEST ANIME EVER!!! I LOVE OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB!! AND  I AM NOT ASHAME TO SAY THAT I AM BOY AND I AM FAN OF OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB!