Reviews

Dec 13, 2007
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 pair of 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.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice Nice0
Love it Love it0
Funny Funny0
Show all
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login