Written by Shiggins
Sugar, spice and people that aren't nice.
I love Ouran Highschool Host Club. It's one of those comedy anime shows that have lasted the test of time, and is often brought up when people talk about their favourite comedies. Ouran is practically an icon of the genre, and everyone has watched it at least once. Weirdly though, I feel like nobody talks about the ending episodes... which I absolutely hate.
If you don't know, Ouran is about a girl named Haruhi Fujioka, who accidentally breaks a vase and must pretend to be a boy and participate in the host club to pay off her debt. Being the only "commoner" in a group of wealthy idiots, Haruhi becomes involved with tons of shenanigans and nonsense, from the spoiled ginger twins Hikaru and Kaoru having their first ever vicious fight, to her senpai Honey needing to stay off cake for three days because of a cavity.
This is the kind of series where an entire episode can be lots of fun purely because these characters are in it and observing their surroundings, as shown by the time they visit Haruhi's home and are shocked at how differently she lives compared to their privileged arses. They pass what I like to call "The Party Test", which is what I came up when I realised the best part of Avengers: Age of Ultron is just watching the heroes all have a party and interact together. If your characters are so charming that I could be satisfied watching them hang out at a party without any tension or drama going on, then you are a success in my eyes.
But despite all the positive notes I have for it, Ouran decided to end in a way that makes me hesitant to rewatch it. And yes I can stop before I reach the ending, but I love a good ending, and if the ending is bad then it affects my experience with the entire series. I know, it's a pain but that's how I operate. And Ouran's ending is one of the most boring, jarring resolutions to an anime I've seen in my many many years of life.
You see, the manga had not finished by the time this anime aired, and so the studio created their own ending instead. Not uncommon and since it was so open-ended, the finale does little to stop you checking out the source material or take away from the main plot. So I'll give you points for that, Ouran. The ending plot itself is two episodes long, with host club leader Tamaki Suoh being forced into a marriage with a controlling woman named Lady Eclair so he can see his mother again. We also have Kyoya Ootori's father slapping his son across the face, Eclair threatening our protagonist Haruhi Fujioka, the host club about to disband, and more.
What you'll instantly notice is that none of this sounds fun in any way. There are almost no jokes, except for a couple of silly Tamaki faces at the beginning and end, and everyone is miserable and angry and boring. The host club is disbanding, so they're all depressed over that and because Tamaki will be leaving them forever unless they can dramatically work together to stop him, much like how Ross stopped Rachel from taking her dream job by driving to the airport.
Lady Eclair is also a shockingly boring enemy. Most of the antagonists in this series have been ridiculous and childish, like the Zuka Club with their fanciful self-introductions, or Honey's brother who views him as an alien because of his ferocious appetite, but Eclair schemes and glares and psychologically abuses Tamaki for no apparent reason. She threatens his friend Haruhi, destroys his phone, and ensures he is always under her thumb, and it feels like cruelty to make sure the plot is dramatic, rather than a natural choice for this character, who "redeems" herself at the end by letting Tamaki go back.
There is so much bitterness from all these characters outside the host club, it's shocking. Tamaki's grandmother treats him like shit, Kyoya's father slaps him, there is everything Eclair does... The writers clearly wanted the audience to attach themselves to the heroes and feel for them, but I can honestly say that I felt more attachment to someone like Ritsu Kasanoda, the son of a gangster who just wanted to make friends despite his terrifying demeanour, because he felt like an actual character and not a plot device.
The episode, and the series, ends with the characters all dancing together while Tamaki's and Kyoya's fathers talk about how much their sons have grown and will continue to do so. The talk is boring, dry and almost the exact opposite of everything this show has been doing for 24 episodes before it. I can't emphasise how much I hate this part in particular, and want to fall asleep during it but my childish rage keeps me having a vicious tantrum.
Ouran Highschool Host Club is one of the best comedies in anime history, and I would most definitely put it in a Top 10 list if I were to make one, but the ending is what would take it down a notch or two. It's one of many unfortunate examples where a comedy show tries to raise the stakes by adding melodramatic problems for it's characters, while taking away the charm that made us watch it in the first place. If you're able, watch the series but finish at the end of episode 24. That's a far nicer and more fitting ending than the one we got.
Or just read the manga. It has pictures too so you don't need to be scared of it!
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