Ouran High School Host Club

Ouran High School Host Club is an anime based on a manga by Bisco Hatori. The anime was produced by Studio Bones, and directed by Takuya Igarashi. Ouran High School Host Club has twenty-six episodes, which aired on Animax and NTV from April 4 through September 26, 2006. FUNimation Entertainment holds the rights for the Ouran High School Host Club anime in the United States.

The main character of the series is a girl named Haruhi Fujioka. She attends the high class Ouran High School on a scholarship, due to her grades. However, Haruhi can’t afford the school uniform, so she wears long slacks, polo shirts, and vests. Between this wardrobe, her large glasses, and her short hair, Haruhi is often mistaken to be a boy. One day, while looking for a quiet place to study, she stumbles upon the Third Music Room. However, instead of finding an empty classroom, she finds the members of the Ouran High School host club meeting there. Haruhi becomes flustered, and accidentally knocks over and breaks a vase that’s worth eight million yen. Tamaki, the founder and president of the club, tells Haruhi that she must join the club to pay off the debt; at this time, Tamaki believes that Haruhi is a boy. Even after finding out Haruhi’s true gender, they have her dress as a boy and continue to be in the club to pay off her debt.

Tamaki Suoh is an extremely passionate person, and is the “prince” figure of the group. He takes his role of pleasing girls very seriously, which comes from the deep love he has for his mother. However, the other members of the host club see Tamaki as an idiot, because, while he can be perceptive about other people’s situations, he can be very dense about his own. Tamaki is melodramatic at times, as well as being somewhat selfish and narcissistic. His father is also the superintendent of Ouran High School. Later in the series, he discovers he has feelings for Haruhi; but, he thinks they are “fatherly” feelings, not “romantic” feelings. Also, as the series progresses, Haruhi realizes that she has feelings for Tamaki.

Kyoya Ootori is the vice president of the host club, and is the “cool” type character. He is the one behind the club’s schemes, and he manages the club’s finances. Kyoya has a habit of not revealing important information to the others until after a problem has already passed. Even with this flaw, though, the other members of the club tend to go along with whatever he says.

Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin are identical twins who are the “Little Devil” type. They enjoy playing tricks on others, although their favorite victim is Tamaki. However, Kaoru is more sensitive and more mature than Hikaru. The twins are the same age as Haruhi, and they come to find that they both have feelings for her.

Mitsukuni Haninozuka, who is also known as “Honey,” is a character who looks like a little kid, but is actually a 17-year-old. “Honey” likes candy, cute things, and carries a plush bunny around. Even though “Honey” may look childish, he is actually strong and skilled in martial arts.

Takashi Morinozuka, who is also known as “Mori,” is tall and stoic. He protects “Honey” and only becomes upset if “Honey” is injured or harmed in any way. “Mori” only speaks when he feels it’s necessary.

Ouran High School Host Club can almost be seen as a “harem” anime, except it’s one girl surrounded by a group of guys (instead of the one guy being surrounded by a group of girls scenario). While there isn’t necessarily anything overtly objectionable for younger viewers, I still wouldn’t recommend this series for a young audience. Personally, I would recommend Ouran High School Host Club for anime viewers who are fifteen or sixteen years of age and older.