Ouran Koukou Host Club (Ouran High School 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]

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Background

In addition to this anime and the source manga, Ouran Koukou Host Club also received a visual novel adaptation for PlayStation 2 in 2007 and Nintendo DS in 2009. Furthermore, it spawned a live-action TV series and film that were released in Japan in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Episode Videos

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Ouran Koukou Host Club

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Characters & Voice Actors

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

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Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Minami, Masahiko

Producer

Tamura, Manabu

Producer

Nakatani, Toshio

Producer

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Opening Theme

"Sakura Kiss" by Chieko Kawabe

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Ending Theme

"Shissou" by Last Alliance

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Reviews

Jan 15, 2007

26 of 26 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

Kanashimi (All reviews)

608 people found this review helpful

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?

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May 25, 2008

26 of 26 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

HaruhiFujioka (All reviews)

241 people found this review helpful

--The review contains spoilers--

Ouran High School is one of the best reverse harem anime series I have watched. The first episode really made an impact. It did not start as to be draggy but rather it easily showed the main idea of the story which started when they have discovered that Haruhi is a girl. The story was quite shallow at first which was just showing the different themes of the club and how they entertained the guests but when you continue with the later part of the series, you'll realize that behind all the smiles of the characters, there is a bitter past. The flow of the story is also good. It starts with the story of a certain character, followed by an episode just for enjoyment, them the story of a certain character and so on which promoted the balanced flow of the story.

The art of this anime is great since they can convene the different effects for a specific situation correctly. The type of animation used was the traditional type of animation (not the 3D or any modern form of animation) which for me, was better since the traditional type of animation was a type wherein the viewers can interpret more using their own imaginations.

The opening song Sakura Kiss (which became my favorite) sung by Chieko Kawabe was really fitting for the series since it was lively and the lyrics can really relate to the main character which was Haruhi Fujioka. The ending song Shissou sung by Last Alliance was great in which it blended with the appeal of the club.

I like the way they treat each other. They treat each other as close friends not some enemy that is to be competed financially or in other aspects (which was the opposite of what their parents really want). Each of the character's qualities complimented the others that's why their host club was in harmony. Other characters are also shown who were either supporting or testing the strength of the bond between the host club members.

While watching this anime, I might have looked like i was crazy or something coz i kept on laughing out loud everytime there is something really really funny like the thing that happened during their host club ball and the ever-changing characteristic of Tamaki Suou. The "punch lines" and "Labels" also help a lot in expressing the humor of the series like in the part of Kyouya who just recently woke up from bed was placed title as a "Low Blood Pressure Evil Lord" and Haruhi was labeled "Studious Commoner" and the host club's "DOG" at the very start of the series.

If you want a lot of laughs mixed with a mixture of romance and a little bit of sadness, or liked boys that are classified as the prince-type, loli-shota type, cool type, devil type or a natural rookie type, then you should watch this anime coz you'll really enjoy this movie and at the same time understand and appreciate the series as a whole. It's really great! ^_^

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Dec 24, 2006

26 of 26 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

Xinil (All reviews)

228 people found this review helpful

Looking for a show to laugh your ass off? Look no further, Ouran High School Host Club will not fall short in that aspect.

All the characters are uniquely lovable. Each person has their own specific traits, and without a doubt, their own problems they need to overcome. Everyone has their favorites too, so within a few episodes you'll be rooting for one person to get with the other, no doubt.

Character development and the enjoyment level were the biggest pluses for Ouran. It keeps you entertained nearly the whole way through (except for one or two episodes around 19 or so).

Only weakness I found was read more

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Apr 29, 2008

26 of 26 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 9

Venneh (All reviews)

114 people found this review helpful

Title: Ouran High School Host Club

Manga, Anime: Ouran High School Host Club was originally a manga created by Bisco Hatori that began running in Hakusensha's LaLa magazine on August 5th, 2003, and is still ongoing. It has been licensed Stateside by Viz Media, and the releases are up to the 10th volume Stateside as of February 5th, 2008, while it currently stands at 12 collected volumes in Japan.

Ouran High School Host Club is a twenty-six episode series that was produced by Studio Bones (famous for their work on Darker than BLACK and Fullmetal Alchemist) and directed by Takuya Igarashi (famous for his read more

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Ouran Koukou Host Club

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Hitachiin, Hikaru

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