Ouran Highschool Host Club - Why It's Not Perfect

Written by Shiggins

Originally, I was gonna do a One Piece article of this but that kinda got taken away from me. (I still got to contribute to it though so I'm happy there). With my weekend free due to having no games I'm interested in, not being arsed to do college work and having nobody on my Kill List for the moment, I got bored and did yet another binge-watch of my favourite shoujo series: Ouran Highschool Host Club.

I don't think I've ever met anybody who hates this series and for good reason. It's absolutely hilarious, heartfelt and silly with tons of likable characters and interactions that make it a wonder to behold. It's what I imagine a french fancy would look like if it became an anime... but it's got problems. So while thinking on these problems, I've decided to start this "Why It's Not Perfect" type of article where I'll just list all the flaws I have with it and you tell me in the comments if you agree or have any objections or tell me some I left out.

Before we list the flaws, let's just look at the perfection in this picture.

Not Enough Mori

A fairly obvious one that even the anime points out, Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka gets very little focus. In fact, he's the only character of the entire Host Club who doesn't get an episode devoted to him! I get that he's meant to be the big, manly type who stands silent and strong but surely there must have been something!

This is it. This is Mori-sempai's entire life summed up in one picture.

I think the only time we ever really got some time with Mori was when it involved Honey. Honey is the "loli" of the group and Mori is his... sidekick? Something along those lines... Anyway, whenever Mori got focus, I noticed it was always more of a Honey episode that talked about how cute or fearsome Honey was, and Mori was just involved in some way. He's a bit like the "leg lamp" from Christmas Story.

Haruhi's VA

Am I being a bit harsh here? Yeah maybe but this one does bug me. Caitlin Glass is the voice of Haruhi which makes her the center of the story really. (Oh btw, I watch the dub because Ouran's dub is one of my favourite dubs ever!). And as I watch this group of funny, interesting characters, I always feel like Caitlin Glass is quite... bland.

Oh god... Winry, I'm sorry but I have to be honest! Please don't hurt me!

I'm as surprised as you are, trust me! I love Caitlin Glass! She plays one of my favourite female characters ever, Winry Rockbell in FMA, and has done dozens of different characters from series that I've enjoyed over the years. Hell, she's Miria from Baccano! How the fuck is Miria from Baccano bland to me?!

Such an expressive woman with such a reactionary character who has to put up with so much stupidity should work brilliantly. And yet, she doesn't seem to be trying half the time. A lot of her lines make me feel like she's bored or not invested in the story, struggling to fully embrace the conversation. Maybe it's because all the other characters are so over-the-top but Caitlin Glass' voice-work just doesn't work for me in this performance. She's perfect as Winry and Miria, but not her unfortunately.

Too much Focus on the Twins

Calm down! The twins are great. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin are two of the most major characters throughout the series and provide great humour as they are cheeky, mischievous and providing tons of one-liners. They can also be bratty and emotional, especially Hikaru as he falls for Haruhi and is unable to come to terms with it. 

So why would I complain that they got so much focus when I clearly like them? Well, this actually relates to Mori a little. I think the twins get too much focus and cause other characters like Mori and Renge to practically disappear into the background.

Speaking of background characters and I know this is strange but... I really want to know more about these twin maids. Am I weird? I'm weird, aren't I?

And I get it. The twins have a story to tell... and tell... and tell. In fact, the series never seems to stop telling us about how they were constantly confused for each other growing up and had trouble feeling unique. It was well-established in the first half but we got flashbacks and drama all about it until it wore out it's welcome. Instead of Mori, we got repetition. I disapprove.

Zuka Club?

Yeah, this one gets to me a little bit more than it probably should. If you've forgotten who they are, the Zuka Club are the evil lesbians from St. Lobelia's Girl Academy who keep trying to entice and possibly seduce Haruhi. 

But yeah, I'm not gonna complain about how lesbians are evil because it's a joke and people get too annoying when they complain about jokes and "insensitivity" and all that... No, instead I wanna talk about the last time we saw them. In the episode where Haruhi is on stage. the final scene is all of them running about and then they trip up and... that's it.

You know... the more I think about it, maybe lesbians are portrayed quite well. They are the only characters that actually have some class and style. (With exception of Kyoya).

So yeah, it's really funny but does that bug anybody else? An oddly ambiguous ending to the rivals of the Host Club, where we aren't even sure how Haruhi and the others escaped and why the Zuka Club never returned. Did the Host Club kill them in a manner even Jason would find repulsive? Did the Zuka Club molest Haruhi and now nobody talks about it because it's just so disturbing? Was it all a dream?!

For whatever reason, it bugs me that we don't know how it all ended. No big climax where the Host Club got away or did a dramatic Shonen battle against the powers of lesbianism. It just... sort of disappeared.

Enough with Alice in Wonderland! 

Growing up, I never really saw the appeal of Alice in Wonderland. It's a unique enough adventure and a good character study of Alice and the time period she lives in, which she sees as boring and restrictive. However, I love a good narrative to a story and Alice never really had one. It was more like a road trip, which ended with the worst plot twist ever: It was all a dream. And yet, Japan seem to love it.

Right in the middle of the series, just like Kuroshitsuji did, the anime suddenly does an episode devoted to Alice in Wonderland. Is it connected to the plot in any way? No. Is it hilarious? Not really, no. Does it at least put the main character in stripped leggings, like Kuro did? Nope. They give her an ugly haircut instead... Well, fuck. Another reason to grow tired of one of the most overdone and typical stories of all time.

As if Tim Burton didn't already shit all over the story already...

Mei Yasumura

The design for this manga-exclusive character... Look at it!

OH DEAR!

That Ending...

I love almost every episode of Ouran. Some episodes have bigger flaws than others but almost all of the series is enjoyable... except this fucking ending. The two-episode finale is a cheap, boring, depressing and confusing attempt for the anime to end the series with closure, due to them being unable to give us a season 2 and continue adapting the rest of the manga... I'm not even sure where to start!

The most hilarious story of the entire series was before this shit-fest of a finale...

Unless you've spent recent days trying to force yourself into denial or amnesia, you'll remember that the main focus of the two episodes is that Tamaki Suoh is going to marry a woman so he can meet his mother again and the Host Club is going to disband because of this. Oh and Kyoya gets slapped by his father, Tamaki's grandmother calls Tamaki a disgusting child and Mori does absolutely fucking nothing!

After over 20 episodes of hilarious and heartfelt moments, including a spectacular two-part story involving the heir of a mobster having a crush on Haruhi, this series needed a great way to end. A funny, clever story involving the Host Club in a finale-worthy adventure. Something threatening the future of the Host Club? Boom. Perfect. Done. There you go. 

The new characters are either depressing or irritating, with almost no redeemable character qualities to make up for the fact they are such pricks. The "plot twists" are all predictable to the point of laziness and I could complain about so much but I think the perfect way to explain this is the final scene. 

Knowing that you will most likely never have another season ,you should try for an ending that works with the show and represents everything the viewers clearly wanted. Ouran Highschool Host Club does not do this and instead gives us an extremely dull monologue by Kyoya's father, who rambles on for minutes about the future and growing up and... and why is this our ending?! Why not just properly confirm who Haruhi ends up with or end on a joke or... I'd have taken another banana peel over this! That might have been funny! The monologue is a perfect example of what is wrong with the ending.

This. This right here could have been perfect. This. THIS! (Have I gotten through the message yet?)

And the Final Problem is...

THERE ISN'T A SEASON 2! 

I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! (having a tantrum)

Any flaws I missed out? Any other anime/manga I should point out the flaws of? I'm sure I could find something in every series.

Say below in comments! (Or tell me to fuck off for disliking parts of Ouran. Either is acceptable).

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Shiggins enjoys many strange forms of communication, especially those including cosplayers or presents or videos. However, until that wonderful day comes when people care enough to give him things for being him, you can contact him on his Skype; shigginsishere. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/.