Summary
Ouran High School Host Club has defined an entire generation of anime fans with its story and iconic characters. The series stands out thanks to the depth of its cast, the romantic development between the two main characters, and many elements that parody otaku culture. Despite its age, the series continues to attract fans and remains a staple in the shoujo community.
The cartoon and the manga industry is diverse and robust, spanning many demographics, genres, and art styles. One of the most popular and well-known demographic genres is shojo, which includes a series of stories typically aimed at women and girls. This demographic has produced some of the industry's classic series, especially romance stories.
While the modern shojo anime genre is experiencing a renaissance and more new series than ever are being adapted into high-quality anime, there's no denying that the early to mid-2000s There are many industry-defining shojo series that have brought a lot to the table. of fans into anime for the first time. One of The most iconic of the series released during this era is Bisco Hatori's Ouran High School Host Club.
Perhaps one of the most popular examples of a “reverse harem” series, Ouran High School Host Club remains popular to this day, and The original manga as well as the anime adaptation by Studio Bones have remained popular with the anime and manga community for over 20 years.
Ouran High School's Host Club has defined an entire generation of Anime fans
The original series was created by Bisco Hatori; anime adaptation produced by Studio Bones
Bisco Hatori's Ouran High School Host Club originally began serialization in the shoujo manga magazine LaLa, a sister magazine to another popular Japanese shoujo magazine called Hana to Yume in 2002, running ran for eight years until ending in 2010. During its Japanese publication, the manga was picked up by Studio Bones in 2006 for a 26-episode one-season anime adaptation.
The series follows Haruhi Fujioka, an androgynous-looking high school student who begins studying at the elite Ouran Academy. received a scholarship due to excellent grades, despite not coming from an excessively wealthy family like his peers. After finding a quiet place to study, Haruhi accidentally joins the academy's host club – a group of handsome young men who spend their free time entertaining the school's female students..
The anime adaptation of Ouran High School Host Club predates the “seasonal anime” structure, meaning that during production, the animation team caught up with the events of the manga too quickly, which caused the plot of The anime deviates from the plot. ends in the manga and has an “anime only” ending.
In a freak accident, Haruhi trips and breaks a vase, causing her to owe the club a huge debt., something she offers to repay by joining the club as their newest host. As each young man gradually discovers that Haruhi is not an unusually beautiful boy but is actually a girl who wears more masculine clothes, Haruhi is determined to continue showing off her appearance to the customers. club's ladies that she is male, seducing them. and gradually pay off all your debt.
Although there are many obvious differences between the anime and manga versions of the story, considering the anime ended well before the source material, both versions of the story are highly enjoyable and explore each actor with a level of depth and grace that rivals many more modern anime and manga. The series contains a lot of references to otaku culture, something that was popular at the time of its release and at the peak of its popularity, with one of the supporting cast, Renge, encapsulating the stereotypes that The series is humorous. In. Original Creator, Bisco Hatori, also discussed how the series aims to parody fujoshi culture and yaoi manga at Anime Expo 2019.
Ouran has one of the best Reverse Harems ever written
Although the genre is controversial, Ouran has succeeded in creating attractive male characters with more to them than just good looks.
Despite parodying popular demographic and genre trends, as the series progresses and Haruhi begins to bond with each club member, it becomes clear that romance is still in the air, especially among with the male protagonist of the series, Tamaki Suoh. Tamaki is characterized as having a vibrant and seductive appearance, perfectly embodying the brand's signature “bishounen” look. from this era of anime and manga. This is in stark contrast to Haruhi's much more pragmatic personality, which makes it easy to root for and expect this couple to become the “late game” couple.
Regardless, what Ouran High School Host Club does so well is expand its cast, no matter what stereotype they're based on. The male protagonist of the aforementioned series, Tamaki, is a prime example of this. Throughout the series, Tamaki acts immature and rash, especially with Haruhiand assigned to each member of the club a number of family titles. It is later revealed that this is because Tamaki's lonely upbringing as a child left him feeling empty and abandoned, longing for a family of his own..
The Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, are another example of this. In the early episodes and chapters, the pair served as an obvious reference and parody of an infamous yaoi game that pitted twins against each other in which they played customers at the host club, but When Hikaru develops feelings for Haruhi and becomes Tamaki's rivalhe is shown to have one His intense jealousy negatively affects his friendship with Haruhi when he recklessly abandons her during a thunderstorm. – something she had previously feared – because he misunderstood her relationship with a childhood friend.
Even things like this, which could easily have been used as a means to further push the idea that Haruhi should be with Tamaki instead of Hikaru, are instead extended to reveals that Hikaru and Kaoru also shared a troubled upbringing that caused the pair to develop intense dependency issuessomething they both worked to improve throughout the Ouran High School Host Club.
The depth of the cast helps Ouran High School Host Club stand out among other series in the “harem” or “reverse harem” genre.as many other series like it leave the larger cast as just one-note stereotypes that give the illusion of choice for the main character, while really only fleshing out the romantic partner at the end Who is the game? While it's still relatively clear that Haruhi and Tamaki will end up together, many of the other actors who have expressed interest in her will get a chance to shine in their own unique ways.and undergoes significant changes leading up to the final moments of the series.
Even though it has officially turned 22 years old, the series is still loved by shoujo fans
Despite some dated jokes and an anime adaptation that struggles to fully embrace the depth of the source material, Ouran High School Host Club has achieved a feat that many series, even now, cannot: the franchise has become an important part of the world of anime and mangaand has captivated the hearts of almost every generation of anime fans.
While the chances of the series getting a new animated reboot like another classic series, Fruits Basket, are slim, Ouran is still getting new merchandise and a stage musical live action. During the series' peak, the manga had over 19 million copies in circulation, proving that, even as the series begins to age, Haruhi and the rest of the MCs will always have a place in the hearts of fans.
Source(s): Honey's Anime, Anime News Network