Ouran High Host Club, Part One

Sometimes, a gal needs to be pampered. Sometimes, it’s good for a woman to hear they’re beautiful and adored. And there’s a place for those “sometimes”, where handsome young hosts breathe sweet phrases in eager ears. At Ouran High Host Club, these boys have a goal to make every woman happy….

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Plot Summary

Haruhi Fujioka has had a rough life, but things get better for the first year student when Haruhi earns a scholarship to the exclusive and wealthy Ouran High. Sadly, Haruhi’s good fortune quickly goes bad when the honor student accidentally breaks an eight million yen vase belonging to the school’s host club.

In order to pay the club back, Haruhi must entertain ladies along side the handsome hosts. However, when Haruhi is called upon for a special task, the club members discover that their handsome young gentleman is actually a pretty young gentlewoman. The hosts are now smitten with their new recruit, and maybe even a bit jealous of her talent with the club’s guests.

Haruhi has entered a strange new world, one where her “common” blood and exceptional looks will get her both pampered and panted over. Will she be swept off her feet or keep them firmly planted on the ground?

Review

Haruhi

To any and all who love a good parody, or even just comedy, this anime is a must watch. Ouran High is an enormous parody of all things shojo and bishi, and the characters are in on the joke. They make references to episodes within the anime, comment on situations for the benefit of the audience and even refer to themselves as stereotypes. The club is a “reverse harem” where dwell such shojo mainstays as the “Stoic“,”Boy Lolita” and the ever popular, “Twincest“, to name a few.

The characters even explain fangirls’ fascination for the shojo favorites. Hikaru Hitachiin and Kaoru Hitachiin, the twins who represent the twincest, explain to a bewildered Haruhi why they’re among the most requested hosts- “It’s taboo.”

The Twins

But what makes the show more than a parody and like a friendly jab at the genre, is the hosts all fake their stereotypes to get more girls to request them. The twins aren’t into each other anymore than the “Boy Lolita”, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, aka, Honey, is a witless moe wonder. Each and every one of them play the part, and even practice optimizing their stereotype’s personality traits. To top it off, the host members are woefully ignorant of the lower class, or as they call such people, “commoners”.

Poor Haruhi is surrounded by boys who are so rich they could buy and sell her and her father a million times over, and yet are so dim-witted, the club president calls himself “Daddy” and the vice-president “Mommy”.

Character Development

For such a hilarious, fast-paced comedy, there’s a generous amount of character development. The development is so skillfully done, it doesn’t even seem like development- the feeling is that of getting to know a friend instead of watching a fictitious character. As outrageous as the cast is, they all have a depth which is surprising and relate-able. There’s a connection with them that hooks you in and involves you on different levels. But the laughs still reign supreme, even as the characters true personalities unfold.

Haruhi is a grounded character and acts as the straight man for many of the anime’s jokes. She doesn’t see the appeal of the host club, but she’s learning why other girls do. Viewers are seeing the anime from her perspective, and the audience learns a thing or two along with Haruhi. We’re watching through her eyes and listening to her commentary on the absurdity of the situation. The anime wouldn’t be nearly as funny without Haruhi to bring the series into focus and to highlight why shojo and its fans are sometimes seen in a less than flattering light.

The other characters are likable, but the best by far are the “Prince“, Tamaki Suou, and the two mischievous twins. The three go round and round, competing for the attention of Haruhi, going to ridiculous lengths to be near her. But the twins take the cake with their faux homo-incestuous tendencies. Anything for a buck and a sigh from a lovely lady.

Character Design

Nekozawa

Characters are absolute bishi, and drawn with lithesome limbs, sparkling eyes and pouty lips. All which disappear in a blink when some absurdity or another pops up. The bishi-ness flees then, to be replaced by over-exaggerated expressions and face vaults.

The backdrops for Ouran High were designed to give the impression of wealth- massive, ludicrous wealth. The room in which the host club holds its meetings glitters with crystal chandeliers and is aglow in pink. Ouran High itself is more like a palace than an place of learning.

In deference to its shojo leanings, the anime has roses and sparkles galore liberally placed throughout. The shojo symbolism is usually set in contrast to what’s actually taking place, which is part of the visual humor of Ouran High.

Animation

Animation, done by Bones, is fantastic. The bountiful details and smooth animation are a great compliment for this terrific anime. There are many detailed background shots, which really bring the scenery to life. The Host Club room and the cherry blossom scenes are especially appealing.

Music

If there is one (or two) negative comments to make about Ouran, it would be on the OP and the ED, both of which are popsy numbers which can be heard in either Japanese or English, depending on your audio choice. Both sound like they should be blaring out of some tween’s boom box and both are overly saccharine.

The first song, Sakura Kiss, by Chieco Kawabe, sounds way better in Japanese than English. In English the song drips so much sugar, it makes me cringe.

And the ED, Shissou, performed by LAST ALLIANCE, is not only more palatable in Japanese, it’s sung in tune. The English version is shaky at best, and off-key at worst.

Voice Acting

The English voice cast is the way to go with this anime- it’s flawless. The comedy translates much, much better in the English audio than its subtitles. “Flat-chested” makes more of an an impact than “lack of any bust”.

Grey Ayres does an impeccable job as the submissive twin brother, Kaoru Hitachiin. The man does mischievous well, and no character is more so in this series. All the English voice cast sound good, and there’s no need to hit the Japanese audio to avoid annoying characters’ whining vocals.

Production

It’s nice that Funimation is releasing some anime series in two parts instead of single volumes, since it saves on money and cuts down a bit on the irritating waiting period between releases. This release is the first thirteen episodes of Ouran High Host Club, and comes in a two-disc set inside a sleeve. The sleeve’s the size of a normal DVD cover, so it also saves space on the ol’ DVD shelf.

Conclusion

Ouran High Host Clubanime is pure gold. It’s a gut-busting good time and an especially fine laugh for anyone indoctrinated in anime/ manga culture, especially shojo. It’s amazing that the hilarity is absolutely consistent throughout, resulting in almost non-stop laughs.

If you need to escape from the seriousness of the dismal everyday, let the Ouran Host Club cater to your funny bone- they aim to please and hit the mark every time.

Rating

Ouran High Host Club, Part One gets 5 outta 5 Hammies!

Retail Info

• Publisher:Funimation
• Release Date: October 28, 2008
• Retail Price:$59.98
• Number of discs: 2
• Episodes:1-13
• Run Time: 300 minutes
• Rating: TV-PG
• Language: English, Japanese
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen