Ouran High School Host Club Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Haruhi Fujioka just wanted to a quiet room to study.  Instead, she found her way into the headquarters of the most eligible bachelor club at Ouran High School, the Host Club.  When she accidentally breaks a priceless artifact under their care, Haruhi becomes the newest member of the club to work off her debt.  There’s just one small problem: Haruhi is so adept at dressing like a boy that everyone thinks she is.  Only the Host Club know the truth…much to Haruhi’s dismay.  Cultures clash and worlds will collide and the Ouran High School Host Club might never be the same again.

 
So a little bit of unknown history about the Gundam Anime Corner.  From the very beginnings, my goal has been to go through as much of my personal Anime collection as possible and review it all.  I started with a recent purchase in March 2014, Eden of the East.  Then I tackled some of the more popular titles right out the gate: Record of Lodoss War, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.  But since the beginning there have been a small handful of shows I’ve always wanted to cover but never did either because of lack of interest or a filled up schedule.  One of those shows is the one that I’m finally going to go through starting today: Ouran High School Host Club.  Yeah, this is another one that seems well outside my wheelhouse considering what the story is about.  But like many others I was drawn to it back in the day for various reasons.  The question is, will Ouran hold up now that I’m looking at it through a microscope.  Free and Yuri on Ice impressed me but a revisit to Love Hina a few years back showed that a few old favorites might not be as shiny as they once were back in the day.  Ok, I’ve rambled enough and it’s taken almost 8 years to fit this into the review queue.  Ouran High School Host Club.  Let’s do this.
 
Ouran High School Host Club wastes no time getting going, introducing us quickly to the titular Hosts and their latest addition/our main series protagonist.  And while I could question how Haruhi could even attend the school without the proper uniform at all and how she went so long without her gender being discovered…I can actually do that, no matter how many times I’ve watched the show the beginning has always bugged me in that regard.  Looking past that though and looking at Haruhi on her own against her six handsome costars, I can tell they’ll be the biggest challenge for me more than Haruhi ever will be.  The show is funny and I get some of what it’s trying to do.  But there are some elements that aren’t clicking and one in particular wants to get driven through a wall for being so…so…well we’ll get to him in due time.
 
Why the hell would Haruhi want to attend this school?  She’s way too smart for anyone here and the entire school populace seems made up of beautiful people to self absorbed on their own looks or are spoiled rotten to the core.  I will give Ouran this though, Haruhi might seem a stranger in a strange world but she is a girl with a lot of good moral fiber and good character.  She cross dresses on her first days and is constantly mistaken for a boy…and she’s like “and?”.  In a way, I think this puts Ouran High School Host Club as a show ahead of its time, back in 2006 we were just starting to see acceptances in new gender identities, be who you wished to be.  Being able to stand her ground and constantly one up the other Hosts with her down to Earth mind set is just one of the many qualities that make Haruhi an excellent character to follow in this show.  Because I’ll be honest, everyone else is hit and miss and I know some of that is on purpose but still…shows gonna have to work extra hard to get me to care about a couple of these guys too high on their own good looks and bad boy charms. 
 
Speaking of, let’s break down our six eligible bachelors making the dreams of women everywhere come true.  There’s Kyouya, super serious, logical and methodical, he’s the brains of the outfit.  Next up are the twins Hikaru and Kaoru, mischievous to the core and prone to playing up rather risqué displays of brotherly affection to win the hearts of girls everywhere.  Then there’s Mitsukuni aka Honey and Takashi aka Mori.  One is a tiny and adorable prodigy with a knack for sweets and posses an adorable stuffed bunny named Usa-Chan.  The other is his silent bodyguard who will bend to his every need even when not asked…also Mori can carry Honey around on his shoulders like Master Blaster, that’s two mini characters getting a boost like this after Katyusha from Girls und Panzer.  I’ll give Ouran this: aside from the twins, no one character is the same.  That’s the point of the Host Club though, Variety.  Seductive bad boys, innocent Lolitas or strong silent types, there’s someone for everyone…and then…ugh…there’s Tamaki.
 
I said Kyouya is the brains of the Host Club when really, he should be the leader because Tamaki is a freaking idiot.  He epitomizes the massive class difference between Haruhi and the rest of Ouran with a superior attitude that applies to both his looks and his intellect and runs the show as the self proclaimed “King” of the Club…and he’s a freaking moron.  Anytime Tamaki ever opens his mouth to dispense “Wisdom” or tries to get on Haruhi’s good side, I just imagine that if this were any other show he would be shoved through a wall rather comedically.  The more I watched him and Haruhi together, the more I got vibes of another Anime romance from way back that didn’t work for me cause of one half of the couple in question.  For Love Hina, that was Naru, who constantly belittled and both verbally and physically abused Keitaro for the smallest of nitpicks.  Tamaki is just too high on his own upper echelon self to be likeable and I know theyre gonna try and push him and Haruhi as “main couple” of the show.  Maybe Ouran can change my mind and do some better work with Tamaki to make me believe.  I did like the bits of maturity he did show standing up for Haruhi and showing signs of being a rather sensitive guy…but those only lasted a minute like when he tried to keep Haruhi from giving a simple kiss on the cheek to a girl cause he wanted dibs on her “first kiss”…ugh…normally don’t say this but, dumbass.
 
I get the feeling I’m gonna give Tamaki a ton of crap the more we get into the show but Ouran isn’t just about sticking it to the self absorbed man child any chance it gets (though seeing him kicked down multiple pegs is fun).  There are a few nice moments of genuine heart and the Hosts get painted in a pretty noble light despite their elitist attitudes.  From kicking out “clients” who overstep their bounds to uniting a couple in love to taking time to help out a down on his luck father in finding his estranged daughter, the Hosts do have good sides to them.  Haruhi found herself in peril a couple of times and Tamaki and the boys wasted no time coming to her aid, not to show themselves off (one dramatic entrance not withstanding), but to show that if they need to, the Host Club will stand up for one of their own, even their lowest ranking newcomer at the moment.  In turn, Haruhi also got in some good moments, particularly with Renge, the dating sim obsessed Otaku in love with Kyouya.  I’ll admit, the boys reaction to Renge being an Otaku got the biggest laugh out of me, like they were witnessing a mystical creature they’d only heard about in Legends.  Still, Haruhi was able to open Renge’s eyes and get her to slow her obsession down a tad…though Renge’s penchant for theatrics was incredibly funny and I’m glad she’ll be sticking around as the Clubs new self proclaimed manager.  Second biggest laugh definitely goes to Renge creating and filming “dark backstories” for the boys which includes a dangerous Honey threatening to brutally harm Haruhi for an infringement…only for the poor kid to sob at having to say such mean things to Haruhi and ruin the take.
 
Is Ouran High School Host Club going to take some getting used to?  Probably but I know I thought the same of Yuri on Ice and Free.  I like Haruhi and I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the boys grow now that the intros are out of the way.  Tamaki…man I hope he gets better cause he did not give off the best first impression.  Oh and the Opening and Ending themes?  Man theyre catchy and regardless of the oncoming Tamaki headache, they do get you pumped to watch more of everything else.  Otherwise, I’m here, set and committed to the rest of our little spring series…and it’s about damn time I got to this one too.  See ya next time for more Ouran High School Host Club here at the Gundam Anime Corner.