This particular anime, all is fun, laughs, and goofs portrayed by the characters. The first time I saw this, I was at a friend’s house and he insisted that we start watching it. At first, I thought it very strange: a girl basically pretending to be a boy, joins a group of surprisingly heterosexual (Kyouya Otori is doubtful) boys, and every day, pays court to the highschool girls. It made me laugh and I had to complete it.
Enter Haruhi Fujioka, a commoner, who has a scholarship to attend the privileged Ouran Academy. At first, the viewer believes that they are seeing a depressing, fashion challenged boy. Haruhi stumbles into a music room, and gets introduced to the Host Club, a group of the school’s handsomest and eligible youths. There, she accidentally destroys a priceless vase, which, according to Kyouya Otori, puts her in their debt for quite a bit of yen. At first, all she does is run errands for them, until Tamaki Suou sees her eyes and orders a makeover. They transform the little shrimp into an adorable boy-girl. And now, she has to play a host in order to pay off her debt.
Now we have the ringleader, Tamaki Suou. Tamaki is the inspiration of the group, the one who comes up with the crazy ideas and pushes each member of the group to be whoever they are. Tamaki is considered the illegitimate son of a Japanese millionaire, but his rough past doesn’t seem to bring him down at all. Tamaki is quick to protect Haruhi, and his affection for her becomes more and more apparent as the season moves on. Tamaki is the heart and soul of the Host Club, which is obvious in the last two to three episodes when he ends it, and how everyone reacts.
The Mother Hen of the band is Kyouya Otori. Kyouya is always quick to put anybody who challenges him in their place. Despite Tamaki calling him (and the twins) homosexual supporting cast, Kyouya holds his own spotlight. Even though is never officially confirmed or spoken out loud, Kyouya has a specific loyalty to Tamaki, and it stems from a possible love… but it was never said aloud. Kyouya is a shrewd business man, and he is the one who really markets the Host Club. He’s always considering new ways for them to make money, in order to pay for Tamaki’s more expensive endeavors. He is ‘Mommy’ while Tamaki is ‘Daddy’.
Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, the borderline incestuous, identical twins. Hikaru and Kaoru are the resident troublemakers, always quick to have a laugh at the expense of their fearless leader. However, they use this sarcasm and sardonic quips as a cover to conceal their real feelings for every member of the Host Club. However, with the arrival of Haruhi, a sort of separation begins between the two of them. Not in a bad way, but Kaoru realizes that Hikaru kind of likes Haruhi (despite Tamaki’s unofficial claim almost from the beginning), so he begins to place his brother in situations where he is with Haruhi. It is a gentle parting that actually doesn’t really affect their sibling love, but is one we see later on in the season.
Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka, the cousins. The first time we meet Honey and Mori, we all mistake Honey for a child, until it is revealed that he is in fact a third year student. Mori is also a third year, but he is much more believable with his towering height, and grim bearing. Honey, on the other hand, is a pipsqueak, who still carts a fat, pink bunny around. However, they care very much for each other. Honey tries to make Mori smile, and Mori looks after Honey. Honey always likes to charm people with his almost toddler charm, while Mori is the strong and silent type. Honey treats Haruhi like a big sister/brother, sweetly calling her ‘Haru-chan’ whenever he addresses her. Mori just stares, picks her up, or just says, ‘hi’. However, they are (like the other members) important contributors to the club, and they clearly care for Haruhi.
The anime as a whole was meant to be light-hearted, fun, and in all honesty, a general mockery of public school. If boys have an entire afternoon to be a host club to girls, who also have an entire afternoon to be waited upon, then somebody is doing something wrong in the chain of command! Now, drink your commoner’s coffee and long live the poor!
And on that note, it’s been real!
It's Been Real! 