Reviews

So, since being stuck at home due to a pandemic, I’ve been spending my days catching up with anime series. Ouran High School Host Club is one of those series that I come back to again and again, and I am always surprised of how well it holds up (specially its humor), even after 14 years from its original release in Spring 2006. In short, please go watch it if you haven’t already. Very few series out there are deserving of their hype, and Ouran is one of them.

It’s a reverse harem! It’s funny, has likeable characters and a genuine charm that I have yet to see in any other harem shows. It’s not quite a parody of the Shoujo genre, but it exceeds all expectations by using the common tropes to its advantage. It’s a romantic comedy with an unlikely heroine that does not care that she is surrounded by beautiful boys, and much of its humor comes from her apathetic personality.

The characters are what makes this show such a joy to watch. Haruhi Fujioka is one of my favorite characters in media, and she has a very progressive opinions regarding gender norms and representation. Haruhi does not care if she is seen as a boy or a girl and chooses to get to know people for who they are instead of appearances. I can honestly say that Haruhi was ahead of her time considering the time when this show was released, but I am glad I was able to see a girl main character that has goals of her own instead of looking for a boyfriend. She is not looking for romance, even when if it recurrently finds her.

The rest of the cast are all standouts. Each host club member is different in their own right, and no, they are not forgettable. They are branded with a stereotype (the prince, the Lolita, the little devil type, etc), however the show does a really good job by fleshing them out as we learn their backstories and individual family situations. The only exception is perhaps Mori-Senpai, but he gets more development in the manga.

The animation was done by Studio Bones, so that’s all I have to say about that. The character designs are attractive, and the backgrounds and visuals do a good job representing the luxurious setting without being tacky. It looks incredibly polished for its age, and it’s very pleasant to watch. I only wish the series was longer, since the anime adaptation only covered around 20 chapters of the manga and the ending was left open ended.

I’m still campaigning for a Season Two, and I could go on and on about this show. It truly is something special, and I have no doubt I will revisit again in the future.