Ouran High School Host Club, ep. 01-08 (no spoilers)

[oyceter]

Wow. I keep watching things that are more and more meta! I've been hearing about Ouran on my flist for quite some time, but I actually had no idea what it was. The extent of my knowledge was that it was a rather cracktastic shoujo anime set in high school, and that I tried to read the first vol. of the manga, but got completely lost because of the busy panels and the whiplash humor.

Ouran is a rather cracktastic shoujo anime set in high school, but what everyone failed to tell me was that it is so cracktastic because it lampoons various shoujo tropes and often slips into the realm of meta. It's great! I love it!

Ouran High School is incredibly rich, so much so that none of the host club members have ever tried something like instant coffee (my favorite part of the first episode involves a title reading: "The commoner prepares commoner coffee"). Alas, Haruhi is actually a bright, hard-working student from a "commoner" family (read: not super-duper-incredibly-unbelievably rich). Haruhi stumbles into the host club's domain one day and breaks an 8-million-yen vase, and as such, ends up being a fellow host in the club to repay the debt.

Aside from Haruhi, the club consists of:

Tamaki - self-titled king of the host club, blonde, able to tear up on will (he scorns the eyedrops that other hosts use), accompanied at all times by a trail of shoujo roses and sparklies. He's a giant baby who usually ends up sulking in the corner, and his voice actor reminds me a bit of YnM's Tsuzuki.

Kyouya - bespectacled and dark-haired, he embodies the "cool" archetype for the club

Honey-sempai - Senior in high school. Looks like a sixth-grader and carries a bunny around everywhere. Reminds me a lot of Furuba's Momiji. "Loli-shota" archetype. (when I'm saying what archetype they embody, I'm not making this up. That's how the characters are introduced!)

Mori-sempai - Senior in high school. Actually looks like a senior. Protect Honey-sempai, and is apparently the "wild" archetype.

Hikaru and Kaoru - the twins. ZOMG TWINCEST! Full-blown! With shoujo roses! I am twelve, but every single time the shoujo roses come out and the twins gaze longingly into each other's eyes, I nearly fall off the couch because I'm laughing so hard! Also, having eighteen girls around them squeeing with little hearts surrounding them doesn't hurt either.

Together, they fight crime!

Every time I watch an episode, I end up laughing hysterically on the sofa and waving my hands around, because it's so meta! It's basically a gaggle of the perfect bishounen, surrounded by a fanclub of squeeing girls who react exactly like fans do when confronted by perfect bishounen! I mean, they even have the twincest! They explain the appeal of the twincest! It is insane!

But! My absolute very favorite part is that the club has a manager who is a fangirl. She goes through everyone's attributes and their weak points, takes points off because they need more angst, and talks about things like "moe" and "the glasses type" (this in particular had me rolling on the floor, given a discussion at Wiscon).

And despite all this, I never get the sense that the creators are trying to make fun of fangirls or what they like; the club is largely presented as an organization that fills a particular gap in the girls' lives, and the hosts often act as yenta or fairy godmothers to gift other people with romance.

Comments

[rilina.livejournal.com]

I was pretty sure you'd like this. :) I don't know why no one told me how meta it was either! I really wish I could watch this with other people, because it's totally a show that would be better when watched in a crowd.

The bit about the glasses type killed me because 1) I totally go for the glasses type 2) I actually thought that immediately when Kyouya was introduced and 3) then the show proceeded to explain the precise thoughts that were running through my head.

I also love all the little touches like the blinky arrows, the captions, and the lightbulbs.

Seiyuu notes: The seiyuu for Tamaki has apparently gone on to do Light for Death Note. To which my response is, "Huh?"

The seiyuu for Honey is in fact the seiyuu for Momoji.

And you're right--what makes Ouran so lovely is that it mocks, but not in a mean-hearted way. And then it goes and does exactly what it was making fun of. I love it.

I'm told that manga is much less over-the-top, and I don't think I would want to watch Ouran if it wasn't so over-the-top.

[oyceter]

I think this definitely needs to be watched in a room full of shoujo fans! That would be hilarious!

I've just watched four more episodes! I have nearly fallen off the couch a dozen times! ZOMG Nekozawa-sempai, hee!!!

[rilina.livejournal.com]

ZOMG Nekozawa-sempai, hee!!!

I love that episode SO MUCH. The puppet!

[oyceter]

The window! I almost choked on something when he made the grand flying leap through the window!

[hysteriachan.livejournal.com]

I really wish I could watch this with other people, because it's totally a show that would be better when watched in a crowd.

I saw most of it on my own, but last time we were in Toronto our group of friends there watched a couple of eps--starting with ep. 1 to set up the people who hadn't seen any, and then jumping to ep. 8 or whatever the new one that none of us had seen was. There was fangirl shrieking every time a lightbulb went off in the first ep., and none of us usually swing that way. *_* The crowd factor with this is quite something.

Vol. 1 of the manga did nothing for me. :(

[Ysabet-using-other-journal]

[oyceter]

I just made my sister watch eps. 1-3, and I was rolling on the floor when the lightbulbs went off (literally! I love that it's literal!), while she looked at me, rather confused.

Though she asked to stay up and watch ep. 3, so maybe I will burn them for her, haha.

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

I'm terribly addicted to the manga; I tried watching an episode of the anime, but it didn't download fast enough or something and so I was disappointed and disgruntled while watching. Maybe I should try again. I heart Ouran's inherent cracktastic shojo-mocking-but-loving ways. Er, have you met Haruhi's dad yet? Oh, so much love for all of its wild ways. And I want Kyouya/Tamaki fic in the worst way.

[oyceter]

I just met Haruhi's dad, hee!!

I think I tend to do better with cracktastic humor in anime rather than manga, probably because the voices and the sound effects add so much.

[octopedingenue]

This next part is a spoiler but I do not think the spoileriness of the spoiler in any way takes away from the awesomeness of actually encountering it in the series: Wait until you get to the elite squad of Takarazuka fangirls. OH. MY. GOD.

I really need to finish watching Ouran. Hmmm, Thanksgiving project...!

[oyceter]

OH MY GOD the Takarazuka fangirls!! I can't really say they nearly made me fall off the couch, because nearly every episode makes me fall off the couch, but they were their own special brand of crack! The music! The singing! The fact that they're called the Zuka Club! I nearly died.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I already like Kyouya best.

[rilina.livejournal.com]

I finally put the package with this in it in the mail yesterday, so it should reach you by the end of this week or early next week. :)

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Thank you in advance!

[oyceter]

I think you may end up liking Mori-sempai the best; he's labelled as the wild one, but he's actually more the stoic says nothing guy who every so often breaks out in a stoic, says-nothing, fit of caring.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's not at all what creates a sort Pavlovian fall-in-love reflex in me. ;)

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

I don't get the designation of Mori as "wild" unless the Japanese mean a different kind of thing for wild than I do. Among American types he's definitely the "tall, dark and handsome" type to a tee.

[oyceter]

Yeeaaaah.... I think his category sort of changes as the series goes on. He really does seem to be more the "cool" type than Kyouya.

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

Mori is more what I would call the "strong, silent" type. That's certainly how he's portrayed. I would put Kyouya as the devious mastermind type. I love Kyouya, not least because he'd be the villain in any other manga/anime, but his relationship with Tamaki has lured him away from the dark side (just a little).

[oracne.livejournal.com]

And he has a sexy, sexy deep voice. When you get to hear it. Like, a sentence or so per ep.

[grendelity.livejournal.com]

Host Club is fantastic crack. Tamaki makes me very, very happy - moreso because his seiyuu is Mamoru Miyano [Raito from Death Note and Kiba from Wolf's Rain]. And...Honey's seiyuu is the same as Momiji's. XD

I'm totally cosplaying Haruhi at Animazement. XD

[oyceter]

Honey as Momiji totally cracks me up!

Ooooo, post pictures!!

[grendelity.livejournal.com]

Heheheh, I will when we do it - it's in May. We almost have a full Host Club, too. We just need a Tamaki and a Kyouya. XD

[oracne.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Ouran Host Club.

[oyceter]

Eeeeee! I didn't know you'd seen it too!

It's so awesome!

(now I want to make you watch Utena and Princess Tutu, and then your trilogy of shoujo metanarrative will be complete!)

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Oh, I saw Utena long ago! Need to re-watch one of these days, though.

[oyceter]

Oh nifty! Yeah... I need to rewatch it (again) as well, but currently I think my brain is too scattered to actually concentrate on it.