Bisco Hatori

One of the funniest things, manga or book, that I've ever read, this series is a classic of light-hearted fun mixed with character development and touching truth.

Haruhi is a smart, snarky, quiet girl moving under the radar at the prestigious Ouran Academy. Compared to the rest of the school's wealthy students, she's a nobody, so she devotes herself to studying, often dressing as a boy to avoid further notice.

But Haruhi's whole life gets thrown a loop the day she goes looking for a quiet show more place to study...and instead walks into the Host Club, an eccentric and charismatic group of good-looking guys dedicated to entertaining females. Haruhi wants nothing to do with them, but as fate would have it, one series of unlucky happenings later, Haruhi gets roped into service as a host. The only problem is that the club members, at least at first, believe Haruhi is a boy.

So begins a wild, hilarious, oddly warm tale, as Haruhi slowly develops an involuntary affection for the crazy Host Club. Sweet and childlike Honey, with a sweet tooth and mad karate skills; Mori, Honey's loyal bodyguard and the club stoic; calm and sharp-minded Kyoya, the club's overseer and vice president; irrepressible and sly twins Hikaru and Kaoru; and the club's handsome, manic, and hilarious president Tamaki. They all have something to teach Haruhi in their odd ways, and she in turn will touch each of their lives in ways none of them could have imagined.

One of my favorite mangas ever, the characters and the humor make it. But there's real substance sometimes, which makes it even better. But ultimately it's the story of a girl who discovers a place she fits in...in the place she least expects. show less

This manga is so much better than its description will have you believe. Yes, it has a tad bit of shoujo clichés, but there are a lot of elements that are different. It is hilarious in the beginning. Somewhere in the middle the humor starts to fade and the plot drags on. Towards the end, there is some drama, but it's not the kind that makes your eyes roll, it's the kind that makes you look forward to how the story will end.

After a long time, I’m reading a manga where I actually like the show more main and supporting characters. Granted, the male lead is a blithering idiot, he meddles into other people’s business and acts like a player, but he has a good heart and I dig that. I’m so sick of the “jerk male lead” thing, that it is refreshing to see a nice guy as the lead.

The female lead was a complete contrast. Her no-nonsense attitude was cool. I liked that she comes across as cold, blunt, cynical and emotionless, because that is the opposite of a typical shoujo girl. Though she appears cold, she is sweet and considerate. She just doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve.

The side characters are adorable as well. They may be stereotypical in the beginning, but their backstories and character development (though not much) make them interesting. The whole "host club" may sound weird, but the story focuses more on the characters and the club activities don't make you frown.

If you are looking for a fun read with some humor and not too much drama, I’d highly recommend this manga. show less

I'm hiding this so I can just say that the whole last minute incestous relationship plotline was extremely fucking weird, and I would not have continued the series if it didn't end a few pages later.

I really enjoyed the first two volumes of the series, and the whole chapter dedicated to Tomu was really interesting. I feel like the series would have been really good, if it was maybe 12 volumes at most, so some of the character's could have had more time to develop, and Hatori removed the show more romance part of the series. I think the group just being friends, with maybe Goda and Ruka dating would have been perfect. For me it started to go downhill as soon as Ranmaru developed a crush on Ruka and Soh on Izumi. This series just needed more time and less romance.

I feel like a problem with some manga is that the Mangaka wants all the characters to somehow get together in the end, and this happens in many other different forms of media. The problem with that and this series in particular is that there are 7 characters, 4 boys and 3 girls, and there need to be straight relationships (sarcasm intensifies). I personally felt while reading the first couple volumes, that if there was going to be a romance subplot, Ranmaru should date either Maasa or Izumi. I can't explain why I like those pairings I just do. Not every story needs a romance for it to be good, and authors need to learn this lesson, and even just people need to figure this out.

I just want to reiterate, this series struggled because it was so jam packed with plot points, characters, and even art that the overall story struggles. So much happened but also nothing happened. I may just recommend the first two volumes to people, or even just the first because I thought it was a fun beginning. show less

As that summary probably tells you, Ouran High School Host Club is completely over the top ridiculous. It's a reverse harem with an uninterested heroin, which is definitely the best kind. Haruhi finds being surrounded by the most attractive guys at school boring, often frustrating.

This absurdness and crazy comedy is what Ouran does best. Hatori embraces that this story has nothing to do with the real world. After a while, she writes in, for example, that for narrative purposes, years will show more pass without the characters moving up a grade. While I do think that's ridiculous, I accept it, since Hatori drew attention to it, rather than just pretending time wasn't passing. I respect that she was willing to acknowledge the crazy. In case you're curious, they do eventually age.

The series maintains consistency pretty well throughout the volumes. I can't remember any terrible story lines off the top of my head, which is definitely doable with most shoujo manga. I'll tell you all about that in an upcoming review (I'm about to reread Boys Over Flowers just so I can review it).

My main criticism of the story was always that I shipped Haruhi with a character that did not get to win her heart. This still makes me sad, but, by the end, Hatori had me at least partially convinced that the winning guy was the right one. Whatever. Kyouya's still my favorite; I have a weakness for the tall glasses-wearing ones. show less