Ouran High School Host Club Review

S

Sarah

Guest
ouran-AL-cvr.jpg


*** This is an edited/revised version of our original reviews of Ouran High School Host Club which deals with the content of the series: story; script; music etc. posted to celebrate the new Collector’s Edition (as yet unseen) from Anime Limited.***


‘Maybe you’re my love!’

Studious Haruhi Fujioka has won a scholarship to the prestigious Ouran Academy which caters for the sons and daughters of elite Japanese families. Desperately searching for somewhere quiet to study, Haruhi stumbles upon Music Room 3 – and the dazzlingly good-looking members of the Ouran Host Club. Inadvertently breaking a horrendously valuable vase, Haruhi is told that the only way to pay the Host Club back is to become a host and entertain the young ladies of the Academy. There’s one slight flaw in the plan which Tamaki Suou, the ‘king’ of the Host Club, hasn’t quite realized: Haruhi is a girl. But when was gender confusion ever an impediment to a good story in anime and manga? One thing is certain: Haruhi’s presence will change the lives of the six privileged young men and maybe her own, too – and, in the process, afford viewers many hours of genuinely engaging and amusing entertainment.

Ouran-1b.jpg


Based on Bisco Hatori’s witty 18-volume manga, Ouran takes shoujo manga stereotypes and wickedly satirizes the hell out of them. So we have the inevitable swimming pool episode, the beach episode (swimsuits and muscles galore!), the high school ball at which the best female dancer will receive a kiss from Tamaki, and even an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ dream-fantasy. Add in plenty of themed cosplay, so that the boys can charm the young ladies of Ouran Academy with their good looks and romantic compliments, and you have all the ingredients for an engaging watch that charms as well as amuses the viewer.

Ouran-1-b.jpg


Ouran is, above all, the story of a likeable – yet very atypical – heroine, whose off-screen comments on the antics of her fellow hosts is often a weary, ‘Oh, good grief.’ As well as the magnanimous (yet oh-so easily wounded) Tamaki (the one who dreamed up the idea of running a Host Club), there is cool, calculating Kyoya Otori who looks after the finances. Then there are the identical twins Kaoru and Hikaru (first years, like Haruhi) who like nothing more than to cause mischief – and the tiniest seventeen-year-old ever encountered in anime, the blonde, cake-loving, bunny-hugging Hunny (little pink flowers dot the screen whenever he appears) with his constant companion, the strong, silent Mori. In fact, true to its shoujo roots, Ouran is bursting with flower imagery: from red roses and cherry blossom, to the white lilies that appear when Haruhi encounters the forceful girls of the Zuka Club at the all girls’ school, Saint Lobelia’s Academy. But it takes Renge, a raving otaku who jets in from Paris to claim Kyoya as her fiancé (because he resembles her favourite character in a dating sim) to first label each of the Host Club members. Kyoya is the megane, Hunny is the Boy-Lolita type, the twins play up to the girls’ fujoshi tendencies by acting out steamy twincest moments, etc. etc.

Ouran-1-bb.jpg


Another target for satire is the wealthy students’ utter lack of knowledge about ordinary life. When sent to buy coffee, Haruhi astounds them all by returning with a jar of instant ‘Hescafe’: a complete novelty. “Isn’t that where the beans have already been ground?” enquires one customer innocently. And the boys constantly refer to Haruhi – in her hearing – as a commoner, without even realizing that this might be construed as hurtful or insulting.

Ouran-2-a-1024x576.jpg


If Ouran were just a series of parodies, its freshness would soon pall. However Bisco Hatori, whilst having fun at the characters’ expense (especially poor Tamaki, whose grandiose ideals are so often deflated) also invests them with believable and sympathetic back stories. So we gradually get to learn more about what makes them all tick. Haruhi learns from one of the girls that the twins have changed since he/she joined the Host Club. “Because of you, the twins are having fun.” And she, the hardworking honours student, also begins to open up and enjoy herself. Perhaps, as the opening song suggests, there may even be the possibility of falling in love? Tamaki is certainly very smitten with Haruhi – although, being Tamaki, he confuses his feelings of romantic attraction with those of a father for his daughter. Suddenly the ‘king’ of the Host Club starts acting very paternally towards the newest member, trying to protect her from prying eyes and amorous advances. The independent and self-contained Haruhi finds this behaviour extremely irritating indeed; she already has a father! (And thereby lies another tale, as the Host Club soon find out…)

Ouran-1c.jpg


Faithful to the manga, both in content and in Kumiko Takahasi’s character designs, Ouran looks superb. We get frequent amusing glimpses inside ‘The Theatre of Tamaki’s Mind’ and manga-style captions and thought bubbles often give insights into what’s really going on in the characters’ heads. The prestige Ouran Academy itself is a grandiose vision of pastel-coloured architecture based on famous European buildings (the clock tower looks uncannily like Big Ben) and its lofty halls are filled with crystal chandeliers.

Ouran-1-1.jpg


As well as looking good, Ouran sounds wonderful, with excellent casts in both the US dub and the original Japanese version. Caitlin Glass makes a believable and likeable Haruhi, although Maaya Sakamoto makes her a little sweeter and less world-weary in tone. Both Mamoru Miyano and Vic Mignogna excel as Tamaki, delightfully conveying his volatile shifts of mood, one moment capricious and full of himself, the next insecure and wounded, sulking in a corner. Add to this an inventive and tuneful orchestral score that makes use of the catchy opening song ‘Sakura Kiss’ to great effect (if you recognize one of the more dramatic themes, it’s because composer Yoshihisa Hirano was also responsible for the score for Death Note.)

Ouran-1.jpg


In 2006 when the anime series was made, Bisco Hatori had not finished the manga, so the ending here differs and is in some ways less satisfying than the mangaka’s more developed conclusion. But this shouldn’t in any way detract from the viewer’s enjoyment.

Anime Limited have brought out a new Blu-ray Collector’s Edition, filled with goodies: a 32-page booklet and 2 sticker sheets inside. The extras comprise: Actor & Staff Commentaries, Ouran High School Host Club Manga Pages Presented by Viz Media, Outtakes Parts 1 & 2.

ouran-AL-1024x1024.jpg


We should point out here that, even though we’ve yet to see this brand-new Collector’s Edition, Anime Limited have confirmed that they have used the new Funimation Blu-ray materials and there should be no issues of image stretching as encountered by some viewers with the original DVD release back in 2008.

In Summary

Ouran High School Host Club might be based on a shoujo manga, but it should appeal to any anime viewer, male or female, who’s looking for a light-hearted comedy with a wicked sense of humour and sympathetically drawn characters. The ideal series for sharing, maybe? Highly recommended.



Quick Information


Title: Ouran High School Host Club
Publisher: Anime Limited
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Studio: BONES
Type: TV Series
Original vintage: 2006
Format: Blu-Ray
Language options: Japanese audio with English subtitles and English dub audio
Age rating: 15
Running time in minutes: 625
Score (out of 10): 9

Continue reading...
 
Surely if the reviewer has seen the show, how they watch it is neither here nor there. Of course seeing the actual release that's going to be in people's hands is preferable, but I wouldn't say mandatory.

I remember reviewing Ouran High School Host Club the first time around. Manga were tight for time that Christmas, so they sent out the Region 1 versions of a few titles, the retail releases from Funimation. I got Ouran High School Part 1, and I loved it, a decent transfer, nice extra features, great subtitling and audio. I asked Manga what the difference would be between that and the UK release, and they said only the trailers on the disc. So I posted a glowing review...

Imagine my surprise when people started slating the UK release for technical issues.
 
I remember reviewing Ouran High School Host Club the first time around. Manga were tight for time that Christmas, so they sent out the Region 1 versions of a few titles, the retail releases from Funimation. I got Ouran High School Part 1, and I loved it, a decent transfer, nice extra features, great subtitling and audio. I asked Manga what the difference would be between that and the UK release, and they said only the trailers on the disc. So I posted a glowing review...

Imagine my surprise when people started slating the UK release for technical issues.

Given AL clone Funimation discs, we'd have heard if the release was going to be sub par by now from across the pond.
 
I think for a release like this that is going out without much fanfare from AL it's important for places to be reviewing it. In an ideal world, watching the show on the discs that are eventually going to retail is what we should be doing but if that's not always possible then I don't see the harm in doing it this way as long as the reader is aware of that (like in this case).

At the end of the day it has been pointed out that the review is based on the original release and not AL's discs and that as far as Sarah has been informed the issue doesn't exist for this release and it's in-line with the Funi release. I also agree with IncendiaryLemon that if the release had issues we would have known from across the pond, although I am aware things can go wrong when a release in copied so that obviously isn't a perfect way of reviewing stuff either!
 
I felt that I needed to reply to this as I recently read the review and was concerned by the statement provided at the end of the review. Now I have no issues with the review itself and I'm glad there is some kind of statement to say that this review isn't based on All the Anime's release. I do however think that the statement is a little vague when coupled with the other elements of the review which can make it a little misleading to readers.

I think a much clearer statement saying that this review is not based on All the Anime's release and what release it is based upon would help.
 
Thanks for the feedback! Normally when a rerelease comes out where we haven't been sent materials, the team might run a simple post with links to previous reviews so that people know about the new release and can at least refer back to the original reviews for our thoughts on the show itself...

...except all of the articles and reviews painstakingly written since the site began are still inaccessible, so this one had to be posted as a 'new' review. We'll add some leading text to make it more clear in the original review post later today and stick to that format for next time :)

As someone who loves Ouran and has long held a grudge over the botched DVD release we got in the UK, I understand why people want to know this version is safe to buy, which is why Sarah specifically asked the AL team to confirm it was using materials without any known problems. If there are any issues introduced in the local version rest assured that I'll be moaning over in the Defective/Disappointing Discs thread as usual.

Edit: Extra warning note has been added right at the top!

R
 
Last edited:
Back
Top