noemi99 - 2014-03-04 05:15:26

what got me started on anime. Not my favorite but still has a really good mix of comedy and good quotes. I really like it :)

korbin.runolfsdottir - 2014-02-26 02:13:29

Ouran is a very unique anime, in the sense that it can be as crazy and overbearing as it wants yet still be taken seriously.

Story: Ouran's over-arcing plot in the anime is average at best. It's interesting, but definitely not the reason anyone would watch this anime. The little day-to-day plots are much more interesting, well written and funny. These day-to-day stories do a fantastic job of fleshing out the characters and keeping the audience's attention.

Animation: The animation in Ouran is very good, it's fluid, it's captivating and most of all it matches feel of the show. The animation in Ouran is very, very anime-y in the sense that anyone could point it out as one. Ouran's animation does a spectacular job showing the characters emotions.

Sound: While the soundtrack in Ouran isn't really anything special the ENGLISH voice acting is excellent. Normally I'm not a fan of the English voices in anime, but they matched up Ouran's characters perfectly. Their emotions are portrayed so well it's like music to the ears of the listeners.

Characters: The characters in Ouran are by far the best part of the series. Ouran characters take the anime character archetypes and embraces them and then builds on it. Many anime characters nowadays try to pretend that they're not an archetype or that they're a lot deeper then they actually are. Since they're fighting with the archetype they don't get a lot of development, with Ouran because they embrace these archetypes they become free to build in any direction they want, with the archetype as a base.

The characters themselves are a lot of fun to watch. They're mesmerizing in a way that leaves with a need for more.

Enjoyment: I love this series to bits. It's the most fun I've had with anime in a long time. This series will definitely remain with me for as long as I live.

Overall: Ouran is a great series for all ages with open minds. This series will be immensely enjoyable for anyone who watches it as long as they keep an opened mind about what's to come. Ouran's characters are just amazing, there is no other word to describe them.

dkulas - 2014-02-22 18:32:36

From my blog: http://hsmedianerdreviews.blogspot.com/2014/01/anime-review-ouran-high-school-host-club.html

I don’t get reverse harem anime. I mean, sure, I get what its purpose is, but the way it achieves its purpose is always questionable at best. For example, so many girls love Diabolik Lovers, an anime about a girl who gets “trapped” in an old house with about seven impossibly attractive vampires who also happen to be misogynistic sadists. Apparently, these girls find this attractive. It’s shows like these that make me question the progress of strong women. Granted, I’ve only seen one episode after dropping it down a pit to rot in the deepest level of hell because I felt personally violated by even thinking of that god-awful abomination towards the female race, but I’ve heard that it doesn’t get much better, so my point remains valid. However, through all of this, there seems to be one reverse harem that has remained popular since its release nearly eight years ago, and was recommended to me by multiple friends. That anime is Ouran High School Host Club. So, does OHSHC stand out with an iron fist among its peers, or does it remain restricted by the limits of its genre? Sit back, relax, and read on as I review Ouran High School Host Club.

The Setup:
The story begins in the prestigious Ouran Academy, where the rich and famous send their children to get the finest of educations. Meet Haruhi (no, not Suzumiya), an honors student and so-called “commoner” who got into Ouran Academy through a scholarship. While looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi comes across the 3^rd Music Room, where she meets the Ouran High School Host Club, a group of six very attractive boys with way too much time on their hands entertain girls who also have way too much time on their hands. Through this encounter, Haruhi accidentally knocks over an 8-million yen vase, causing Harhi to be indebted to the club. To pay off the debt, Haruhi must act as a host club member. However, there’s one problem with that situation; Haruhi’s a girl. The story pretty much starts off from there. Though, to be perfectly honest, in this type of setup you don’t have much to work with storywise, so in order to make this show work you need incredibly strong
characters. Well, I’m happy to say that this show does not disappoint in that category.

The Characters:
I absolutely adore pretty much every character within this anime, especially the main ones. Every main character was memorable, every main character was relatable, every main character was interesting, every main character was SO likable, I never thought that this amount of me caring about any character would ever happen. This cast is better than Hetalia’s cast by about 10 miles, and I would even argue that this is one of my favorite casts of characters of all timeperiod. The main aspect that makes the cast work would be their backstories, and how they carry on into the lives of the club members in present day. This anime nails what a lot of anime miss about backstories, and that it the ability to make the audience relate to those backstories. A lot of anime try to come up with the most tragic backstory they could think of when it comes to characters, but they forget that what makes a backstory tragic is the audience’s relationship with the character. If the audience doesn’t care about the character, no amount of tragic backstory could make up for it. Alois Trancy from Black Butler 2 is a perfect example of a despicable character that the anime tries to make up for by giving him a tragic backstory, but because he’s so unlikable, I couldn’t care less. In OHSHC, while the backstories aren’t the most tragic you’ll ever come across, you’re so invested in the characters and the backstories are so realistic that you don’t care, and you feel happy that the characters are moving on from their troubling pasts. I could see someone making the argument that the backstories are shallow because these people are rich and therefore rich people problems don’t hold a finger towards poor people problems, but I still think that the backstories work. For example, I’m sure that a lot of people vie for their parent’s attention, but are overshadowed by an older sibling or something. That’s a sympathetic backstory, and it’s one that I think the majority of the audience could relate to.
So, let’s move onto the characters themselves. First, let’s start off with Haruhi. She is probably my favorite female protagonist in all of anime. She kind of acts as the anchor for the audience due to the insanity of the rest of the club, but the creators gave her a great personality. She’s cool and collected most of the time, but it never gets to the point of where she’s cold. She’s logical and independent, but a little too independent at times, and develops into someone who learns that it’s not wrong to rely on others every once in a while. She is also a no-nonsense type of person, which is a major contrast towards the majority of the club. Speaking of which, Tamaki Suoh is one of my favorite characters of all time, not just in anime. In a nutshell, he’s obnoxious in a likable way, but at the same time you get the sense that all he really wants to do is help people. He’s kind of like an Edward Elric character, in the sense that I just can’t describe how much I like the character. Although, to be perfectly honest, beyond that, Edward and Tamaki couldn’t be more different; I just brought up the comparison because I can’t really put into words why I like Ed so much. I will say that his backstory is probably the most tragic, and you will want to punch his grandmother in the face if you get really invested into his character. Seriously. Next there’s Kyōya, who is kind of like the club’s accountant. He was my least favorite character out of the club, but I still found him likable to some degree, even if he is kind of a jerk. Again, though, the reason he turned out the way he did was because of the environment he grew up in, and he had to conceal his true desires and live like that. It’s kind of hard to explain without spoiling too much, but he’s a very understandable character. Next there are the identical twins, Hikaru and Kaoru. They have the running joke of trying to get everyone to tell them apart, with most people failing. It’s also really hard to talk about these two without spoiling too much, but again, their backstory is understandable and I think that their development, especially Hikaru’s, is fantastic, probably the best in the entire show. Finally, the last two main characters are Honey and Mori. Yeah, I know that they have longer names, but that’s pretty much how they’re referred to throughout the show. Honey loves sweets and is probably the cutest thing to ever walk this planet, and Mori is sort of like his bodyguard who’s quiet and reserved. These characters also develop rather nicely, but again, spoilers abound. As for the side characters, they’re absolutely fine. They do their jobs and are memorable in their own ways, except for a group of three characters: The Zuka Club. My god, these characters are SO ANNOYING! They barely have any purpose within the story, and the “comedy” they bring to the anime is awful. Though, to be fair, they only make two appearances throughout 26 episodes, so the other 24 are absolutely perfect character-wise.

The Story:

Being a slice-of-life romantic comedy, story is not the first priority of this show. Each episode focuses on a different event that the Host Club has to go through, resulting in laughs, character development, or both. As I stated before, this is a character-based show, so the story rather lacking, but the characters were good enough to keep me wanting more.

The Animation and Sound:
Produced by Bones, the animation wasn’t the best that they’ve ever come out with. The movements are kind of clunky, but the character designs were original and the backgrounds looked pretty nice, so it’s not bad. Normally I would give it a pass because this is a show from 2006, but the original Fullmetal Alchemist came out in 2003 and had much better animation, so Bones doesn’t really have much of an excuse. As for sound, the music was not all that memorable. It fit the show, but didn’t stand out to me in any way. The opening and ending were okay, but not something that I particularly liked. Then, should you watch it in English or Japanese? English all the way! This anime has one of the best English dubs I’ve ever heard period. Every character sounds genuine, every performance sounds convincing, and it’s just perfect. Best performance goes to Vic Migona for Tamaki; you can really tell that he put in a ton of effort into this role.

Conclusion:
Even though I honestly loved this anime, it’s kind of hard to recommend to most people. It is a show that’s generally for the female audience, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes romance. If you hate romance, though, then don’t touch this show with a ten-foot pole. This is also a great show if you like comedies and fantastic characters, so if you like those types of anime, go ahead and watch it. I give Ouran High School Host Club a 4.6 out of 5, and a recommendation to watch it if you like romantic comedies and incredibly well-done characters. Well, like always, it is up to you to decide your own opinion.

jmcglynn - 2013-11-11 19:54:37

Ouran Koukou Host Club (OHSHC from this point on) is an extremely cliched anime, but it is amazingly awesome. I mean, where the hell did all those bananas come from LOL. It's cliched, and at the same time making fun of it's own cliched-ness too, and that makes it damn unique. And funny as hell. Other than the fact that it seemed that most of the side characters were swept under the rug, and the animation wasn't so great at times (the noses looked bloody weird sometimes), it's a solid, shoujo comedic anime.

Story

It's about a club at a super prestigious school (Ouran high school), called the host club. The members of the host club entertain rich ladies for money. It starts off, however, with a boy named Fujioka Haruhi, who enters the club room, looking for a quiet place to study, unaware it's the club room of the host club. They end up surprising him a bit, and he ends up knocking over an expensive glass vase. The members then tell him that he either has to pay for the vase (which is impossible since Haruhi isn't rich, he just got a scholarship into the school), or work the amount off in the host club. Later in the first episode, it's accidentally revealed (to one of the members anyway, the rest of them realised it already) that Haruhi is actually a girl. So she now has to keep her identity a secret while working off the money for the vase. Even though it strays from the main plot regularly with its side character arcs, the plot is still clear throughout most of the anime. It's surprisingly interesting though, as Haruhi seems to be naturally dense, she manages to see through most of the characters, and thus making them fall for her (unbeknownst to Haruhi).

Animation

The animation department decided to experiment on OHSHC for some reason, and while at times it looks particularly good, it looks weird other times. Like the noses. The noses just look plain weird at certain angles. They remind me of Code Geass' chins because of their unnatural sharpness.

Sound

Throughout the anime, the tracks are normally classical high class pieces, as to suit the club room, as well as the characters. During the flashbacks, the music is done pretty well too. The opening is particularly addictive too. The characters voice were done well, though some of the side characters' voices sounded a bit weird, it was generally well done.

Character

You have the commoner, main love interest, cross-dressing girl, first year Fujioka Haruhi, who is extremely dense but surprisingly observant, second year Suoh Tamaki, the prince character who is the King of the club, the first year Hiitachin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, who play the role of the incestual twins during the club times, second year Ootori Kyouya, the shrewd, entrepreneur who is the treasurer, Haninozuka Mitsukuni, the shota-loli human weapon, and Mitsukini's body guard (or childhood friend), Morinozuka Takashi, the doting older brother human weapon. There are plenty of side characters as well, but the normally just fade into the dark once their respective arc is over. That's the one thing about OHSHC that didn't sit right with me. They just disappeared after each of their respective arcs.

Enjoyment

I have to say, I enjoyed OHSHC a lot. Rarely for me, the "on-hold" bastard, I picked it up 2 weeks after dropping it (normally I put anime on hold for months, like Jormungand and Chuunibyou. Usually on the last episode) (put it on hold due to exams and being overrun with airing anime). It didn't stagnate, and even though some jokes were repeated, it just felt so ridiculous that it was funny.

Overall

Ouran High School Host Club is an awesome anime. It's a solidly good romance and comedy. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys comedic and/or romance anime.

paucek.maude - 2013-09-19 15:31:48

I'm a very recent anime fan. Of course I've watched Bleach and Naruto since I was about 12 and Pokemon since I was 4, but the greater world of the anime scene didn't really exist for me until about a year ago. I dove fervently into the world, going from mecha, to action, to comedy, and to the supernatural. One Genre that could never stick with me, however, was the Shoujo genre. I couldn't seem to wrap my head around how a show where most of the episode was spent trying to appeal to the various 14 year old girls who loved it so. I watched Ouran High School Host club on a guess, because I had heard things about it that I didn't expect to hear about it. It was funny. The music was gorgeous. Its opening was ingenious. It was heartwarming at times. I walked into this show with a raised eyebrow, and I dropped it less than 10 minutes into the first episode. Your skepticism melts away when you're dying of laughter. Yes, Ouran High School Host Club is dumb, it's absurd, and it's silly. But it makes up for it's genre by being one of the funniest shows I've seen in a long time.

Ouran Academy. A school at which Japan's super rich and powerful send their children to groom them for success in their life. Enter main Character Haruhi Fujioka, a first year of normal, modest means. However, at Ouran, she's the poorest of the poor. She can't even afford to purchase an official school uniform, and spends her day walking around the school in a chunky sweater. While searching for a quiet room to study, she accidentally stumbles into Music Room #3, better known as the home of the Ouran High School Host Club. The club, started by Tamaki Suou, is essentially a collection of handsome high school boys with varying different qualities. Haruhi, in her attempt to escape the room, accidentally knocks over an 8,000,000 yen vase, and finds herself in debt to the Host Club. Not recognizing her femininity underneath her sweater and short hair, Tamaki declares Haruhi the newest member of the Host club, and the show basically surrounds their antics at school and around Japan. While the guys eventually find out about her gender, they keep it hidden from most of the school, as she's a natural host. The plot in this show isn't really there, and most of the show focuses on an episode to episode plot line, with certain themes being continued. Because of a real lack of central story, and the main catalyst in the story being little more than a plot device, I can't rate this story very high, whether I want to or not.

The host club is made up of a variety of Stereotypical Bishounen genres. We start with Haruhi, the commoner/fish out of water, who is also a natural host. Haruhi plays host well, but without a doubt, her character's most interesting characteristic is her passivity. Haruhi doesn't give a fuck about anything. She doesn't care about gender, class(though she does judge the rich very often), personality or appearance. Everybody gets one with Haruhi, and I like that. Tamaki Suou is the leader of the club, known as "The Host King," and he's a very typical Bishounen charmer. While his backstory is very interesting, it's revealed very slowly, and all the time in between, you just think Tamaki is a massive weirdo. This is OK if it's what you want, but I wasn't a fan. I enjoyed the show much more as it went on. Kyoya Ootori is the son of a hospital business magnate, and is "The cool one." Kyoya is a master accountant and manager, and manages to pull funds out of his ass all the time, and is a pleasure to watch whenever he's on screen. The Hitatchiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, are the devil's twins of the group, playing up their twincest CONSTANTLY, which is actually a lot funnier than I expected it to be. However, behind a simple sheen, these two characters have a brilliant and gorgeous backstory, and it is one of the reasons I love this show so much. Finally, we have Honey and Mori. Honey is a typical Loli-boy and Mori is a stoic. The two are cousins and best friends, and though their backstory could be interesting, I didnt think they added much to the show, and were very deus ex machina-esque. Even with small lapses in the main cast, the show has one of the best supporting casts I've seen, with funny dialogue all around.

Art wise, the show's artstyle is very simple, yet very pretty. Haruhi herself is a perfect example of a well made androgenous character. Flat and angular enough to be a boy when she wears her boy clothes, but round faced enough and built right for a feminine look when she isn't. All the characters are very nice to look at, especially Kyoya and the twins, as they have very distinctive looks and animations that are just pretty. As for animation itself, it was made by Studio Bones. I need say little more.

As for sound, the show's music was appealing but nothing I didn't expect. The tracks were pretty and fit the style of the show well, and it always seemed to accent the mood of the scene. The opening, on the other hand, is a story of its own. Sakura Kiss is a gorgeous song, even in the neutered english dub, and it was a feature I enjoyed a lot. As to dub vs. sub, I'll reccomend the Dub here. I didn't watch the sub, so I couldn't compare, but I saw no flaws with the dub, and with near flawless performances from Greg Ayres, Todd Haberkorn and J. Micheal Tatum, I have to give the dub a thumbs up. Also, If you want to hear Vic Mignona's Ed Elric freakouts in a context that isn't shonen-ish, his performance of Tamaki was damn good.

The Ouran High School Host Club was a show that I couldn't help smiling through. Even at the sadder moments, the amount of compassion every member of this club has for each other kept me smiling the whole time. With sentiments of happiness and brotherhood echoing throughout the show, the show rejects and parodies its origins as pure Shoujo crap, and makes a cute little package out of it. Riotously funny, surprisingly emotional, and cleverly written, I'd visit the Ouran High School Host Club any day.

folson - 2013-08-23 03:59:58

Ouran is an intresting anime to talk about..... You don't find things like Ouran often...... The heroine is not like anything you see when a girl is surrounded by pretty boys...... Of course, all the main males are sterotypes...... But there interaction is what makes the anime funny. But the ending.... Now, I won't spoil it..... But that ending was terrible.

wzieme - 2013-07-19 09:38:42

STORY - 7/10

Plot - 2/5

A poor tomboyish student Haruhi Fujioka has entered the all rich and beautiful Ouran Private Academy by a scholarship test. Finding a quiet place to study, she stumbled to the Ouran Host Club! The club thinking that she was a boy (in very lousy clothes too) mocked her a bit, and she accidentally ended up breaking a prized item that was worth millions! In order to pay off the debt, she has to become a male host herself. Then the club discovers she's a girl.

Delivery - 5/5

Yes, the plot sounds REALLY bland, and the stereotypes just want you to make you puke, but as the story progresses it's a lot of fun and stays on track. The stereotypes open up to something different during its moments, otherwise left with fun comedy.

The main aim for the anime is to mock most shoujo anime yet bring up a nice, unique and heartwarming romance.

Animation - 9/10

It had fantastic animation during both its comedic and serious moments. Had those stereotypical shoujo sparkles to add to the mockery, and lovely designs. The backgrounds are well done. Nothing else.

Sound - 7/10

OST - 2/5

The OP and ED were a bit hard to get through until getting used to and were really nothing special. However the soundtrack in between were nice rings.

Voice acting - 5/5

The VA's were FANTASTIC. The dub is one of the best as well. However Tamaki's Japanese Voice can do a bit more work with the "flirt" bit, because he sounds like a Macho dude.

Character - 10/10

Designs - 5/5

Stereotyped designs of course. The tall one, the short one, the megane, the twins and the flirt with a sudden reverse trap. This adds the humour like always.

Development - 5/5

The first sight the boys fit their typical character, which the comedy relies upon. When they get their moments, they finally open up as real people with troubled experiences themselves and are not as what they seemed to be. Haruhi opens up herself as well with the main male characters. About 3 more males are introduced as well with their own developments and reasons as well as their comedic moments.

Enjoyment - 10/10

If you can stand your first impressions and the typical moments, you'll be in for a nice treat. If you're a shoujo fan and want something a little new, I recommend this. This is a nice anime that can combine stereotypes, comedy and development all in one. I recommend it.

Overall - 9

vsanford - 2013-07-16 02:01:19

When describing this anime, many say it's a parody of every other shoujo (and reverse harem) manga. And, at first, it's easy to label OKHC as such.
But, after watching it many times -sorry, I just enjoy it that much-, and comparing it to the thing it's supposed to be parodying, I came to the conclusion that Ouran is a different beast all together.

Ouran knows it's making fun of shoujos: it makes fun of its characters and tropes, its story lines, the ridiculousness with which this genre treats relationships, the sad backstories... And yet, it does it with a straight face, all out. I treats its characters more seriously than we give this anime credit for; what it really plays with, in the end, are the situations they have to go through to meet the everyday-shoujo expectations.
To do this successfully, you have to be very familiarized with the shoujo genre in general. And I don't mean just having watched many, but recognizing its good and bad points.
I think the author of the original story really loves shoujo. Although it's ridiculous, she embraces its flaws. She isn't ripping the genre apart with bloodlust; rather, she's just saying "hey, I know this is crazy. But we can have fun with it anyways, so let's do that".

Honestly, I see more of a love letter towards the genre in Ouran than I see a parody. It's not an outsider talking about how stupid it all is. It's an actual shoujo artist accepting the fact that there are things that don't make sense, and having fun with it, not making fun of it.

The story is the cliché of the series: Fujioka Haruhi is a hard-working, very smart, and sometimes clumsy girl with no real interest in fashion or beauty, who got a scholarship to attend a very prestigious high school, Ouran. This is the place where the rich and famous send their children.
Upon arriving to the school, Haruhi gets annoyed at the lack of seriousness with which her classmates take their studies, and sets off to look for a quiet room where she can study alone. She stumbles upon a music room no one seems to be using anymore -but, it turns out that's actually where the school's Host Club takes place. She meets the flamboyant and incredibly strange members and, after an unfortunate accident, ends up owing them a BIG sum of money. They make her join the club to work for it as the "dog", until they discover she is actually quite the eye-candy. What they don't know, if that Haruhi is a woman. She ends up cross dressing as a cute boy and hits it off really well with the clients. By the end of the day though, the whole club members realize their mistake. She clarifies she doesn't have any problem with cross dressing, and so she continues working for the astronomic sum she still owes.
That's quite simple.

Characters. The characterization in this series is actually impressive. We get a lot of insight to every trope- I mean person.
Sure, they are all based on typical shoujo stereotypes; but with a little twist. I'd rather people found those by themselves though.
They all get a lot of exposure and development, as well as their time with Haruhi.
She, out of all, is one interesting girl. Her father is a transvestite, her mother was a successful lawyer who died a few years ago. And she is a very cynical and serious person, who doesn't seem to be too biased by normal prejudices. And that's interesting! Seeing her react to different situations is actually lots of fun, because it's definitely not what you'd see in a normal shoujo.
And, just because they are supposed to be stereotypes doesn't mean the guys are not interesting at all, or compeling, or that they backstories are not well done. Hell, I'm sure I'm not the only one who still shivers a little at the end of the episode about the twins. Seriously, think about that!

The animation is what, in my opinion, ties everything together. It fits the art and the flow majestically, and makes everything so much more enjoyable. There are jokes that only work because the animation is of such high quality.
The music isn't anything too out of the ordinary. It's original, and it goes well with the rest, I'll give you that.

Overall, this is a series that's made me laugh a lot, and still does every time I watch it, as well as it doesn't fail to make me look inside myself for something other than hate towards shoujo (yes, I'm a shoujo hater).
This love letter to the genre is simply beautiful, and I think it's going to be relevant for as long as this media exists.

parker.jessyca - 2013-05-22 09:19:55

There is a dif­fer­ence between par­ody and what Ouran is doing. Par­ody sug­gests you are mock­ing some­thing, usu­ally in a satir­ical man­ner. Play­ful par­ody is no dif­fer­ent. You are still mak­ing fun of the very thing you are par­ody­ing but say­ing it in such a way that sug­gests you love these faults any­way. This is not what Ouran does. Ouran goes through the pro­cess of abso­lute blatant fan-pandering and the humour is based around the fact that they are point­ing out that they are per­form­ing this fan-pandering. Point­ing out what you are doing is not funny! It’s not par­ody either, it’s still just a con­stant exer­cise in fan-pandering. I am now writ­ing a sen­tence which I’m using as an example as to how point­ing out what I’m doing isn’t funny. You’re not laugh­ing are you? Good, glad to see you guys have a proper sense of humour.This was pretty much my reac­tion through­out the first 10 epis­odes of the show. How­ever I was intent on enjoy­ing this anime. Every­one else seems to love it, what the hell am I miss­ing? Am I really still pre­ju­dice against an anime because it’s try­ing to appeal to women? One method I tried using to change my atti­tude towards the show was the glor­ies of flirt­ing. I love proper flir­ta­tious char­ac­ters like C.C, Horo and Sen­joga­hara instead of the typ­ical moe girl who’s reacts to any pos­sib­il­ity of flirt­ing by blush­ing and hid­ing her eyes under her fringe. When you think about it, Tamaki is the ulti­mate flirt­ing machine. If you solid­i­fied fab­ulous­ness and gave it life, you would get Tamaki. That method didn’t work though and I’m not sure why. Maybe because his flirt­ing was all fake?I tried a bunch of dif­fer­ent meth­ods to try change my atti­tude towards the show, each end­ing with a total fail­ure to enjoy the show. (Incid­ent­ally there were two epis­odes in a row that impressed and I thought I’d stumbled across a mind­set from which to enjoy the show, but the crap epis­ode returned instantly. Look­ing back, the reason was because the two epis­odes focused on the class issue instead of the pretty boys). Even­tu­ally I tried the mind­set of gender­swap­ping. If this was an anime about one poor loser guy find­ing a club of beau­ti­ful women who nearly all fall for him, would my atti­tude towards the show be any dif­fer­ent. Well, yes it would. I would have had a far easier time dis­miss­ing the show as crap instead of spend­ing end­less amounts of time wor­ry­ing that I wasn’t approach­ing the show with the right mindset.Please don’t go telling me this is a par­ody. The way Haruhi enters the aban­doned music room the Host Club screams wish ful­fill­ment. You too could find a room full of beau­ti­ful men, all of whom are in love with each other as much as they are in love with them­selves, and hav­ing them attend to you. I didn’t watch this all to the end. I gave up after the epis­ode where Honey hurt his tooth. The epis­ode was set up entirely so they could have homo­erotic scenes between Honey and that big bloke who never talks. They even go so far as to call it pure and utter moe in the show itself. By that stage I had seen enough

lebsack.heath - 2013-04-10 01:31:37

Ouran High School Host club is one of those rare comedies where the jokes never get stale, and my enjoyment increases every time I watch it. Centered around female protagonist Haruhi, the show follows her adventures with the Ouran High School Host Club. Each of the six boys in the club have their own unique, and charming, personalities, leaving the show with a delightful cast of characters. 

Animation is fluid and quite lovely. Animated by Studio Bones (responsible for Fullmetal Alchemist), colors are vibrant and characters move with grace. Ouran Academy is over-the-top (in the best way), and the animators at Bones hold nothing back.

Music is just alright. Some of the pieces can get a bit repetitive, but it's such a minor flaw in this wonderful story that it can be easily overlooked. I watched the English dub for this review, and Caitlin Glass and Vic Mignogna lead a stellar cast. With most dubs, I can think of a few casting mistakes, but I can honestly think of none here.

The show, particularly toward the end, balances both comedy and darker elements particularly well, creating a wonderful emotional cartharsis. You become fond of the characters and their joyous outlooks on life, especially when, as the series later reveals, you find out what they overcome to get there. Backstories are handled sensitively and with a great deal of care. 

Over the course of the show, I grew to love Haruhi and all the Host Boys, and I absolutely cannot say enough good about this show. Even if you don't typically watch this type of thing, give it a chance. The Ouran Host Club will be waiting!