Ouran High School Host Club
Ouran High School Host Club is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Bisco Hatori, and serialized in Hakusensha's LaLa magazine between the September 2002 and November 2010 issues. The series follows Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student at Ouran High School, and the other members of the popular host club. The romantic comedy focuses on the relationships within and outside the Club and satirizes the clichés and stereotypes that endure in shōjo manga.
The manga has been adapted into a series of audio dramas, an animated television series directed by Takuya Igarashi and produced by Bones, a Japanese television drama series, a live action film adaptation and a visual novel by Idea Factory.
Plot
The comedic series revolves around the escapades of Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student at the prestigious Ouran Academy, a fictitious high school for rich kids located in Bunkyo, Tokyo. Looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi stumbles upon the abandoned Third Music Room, a place where the Ouran Academy Host Club, a group of six male students, gathers to entertain female "clients" with sweets and tea. During their initial encounter, Haruhi accidentally destroys an antique vase valued at ¥8,000,000 and must work off the debt as the club's errand boy. Her short hair, slouching attire, and gender-ambiguous face cause her to be mistaken by the Hosts for a male student, though they soon realize her actual gender and the fact that she's a "natural" in entertaining girls, promoting her to full-Host status.Media
Manga
The Ouran High School Host Club manga was serialized in Japan between the September 2002 and November 2010 issues of LaLa. The individual chapters were collected in 18 tankōbon volumes between August 5, 2003 and April 5, 2011. Hakusensha released a fanbook for the series on August 4, 2009 titled. The series is licensed in English North America by Viz Media under its Shojo Beat imprint, and in Indonesia in the monthly manga magazine Hanalala. It is published in Singapore by Chuang Yi, and in Poland by JPF.Anime
A 26-episode anime television series aired between April 5 and September 26, 2006 on NTV. The series was produced by Nippon Television, VAP, Bones and Hakusensha. It was directed by Takuya Igarashi, with Yōji Enokido handling series composition and writing the scripts, Kumiko Takahashi designing the characters and Yoshihisa Hirano composing the music. It features a different cast from the audio dramas, with Maaya Sakamoto as Haruhi Fujioka and Mamoru Miyano as Tamaki Suoh.The series is licensed for distribution in North America by Funimation Entertainment. Caitlin Glass is the ADR director of the series. The first anime DVD set containing the first thirteen episodes was released on October 28, 2008 in North America. The second volume containing the last thirteen episodes was released on January 6, 2009. On April 27, 2009, the series made its North American television debut on the Funimation Channel.
Music and audio CDs
Three drama CDs were released in 2003, as well as two tracks included in LaLa magazine's 28th and 29th anniversary CDs. Three soundtracks were released by Video and Audio Project for the Ouran High School Host Club anime adaptation. The first, Ouran High School Host Club Soundtrack & Character Song Collection , was released in Japan on July 26, 2006 and contained twenty tracks, including the anime opening theme song. The second, Ouran High School Host Club Soundtrack & Character Song Collection 2, contained an additional nineteen tracks and was released on August 23, 2006. On September 20, 2007, a third soundtrack, the Ouran High School Host Club Soundtrack & Character Song Collection Special Edition was released containing eight songs from the previous two tracks, with four additional songs.Visual novel
The Ouran Host Club visual novel was released for PlayStation 2 on April 19, 2007 by Idea Factory. Based on the television series, the player makes decisions as Haruhi that affect the other hosts feelings toward her. The game features the characters of Jean-Pierre Léo, a longtime French friend of Tamaki, and Sayuri Himemiya, a childhood friend of Haruhi, designed by the series creator. There are two other original characters. The game has been released exclusively in Japan. A Nintendo DS port of the game, updated with a fully voiced cast and new character-specific scenarios, was released on March 19, 2009.Live-action TV series and film
A live-action TV series of Ouran began airing in Japan on TBS on July 22, 2011. The live-action adaption features Yusuke Yamamoto as Tamaki Suou and Haruna Kawaguchi as Haruhi Fujioka.A live-action film of Ouran was announced during a fan meeting on August 25, 2011 and continues off from the conclusion of the television series. All actors of the live-action television series reprised their roles. The film was released on March 17, 2012. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on October 10, 2012.
The series had a spin-off named Ouran High School Host Club: Haruhi no Happy Birthday Daisakusen with the same cast that was originally broadcast on January 6, 2012 by LISMO drama, a mobile drama provided by au. This LISMO drama tells an original story worked on by the author of the manga. The drama revolves around the host club members becoming flustered upon learning that it is Haruhi's birthday. Through their misunderstandings about celebrating her birthday, the members make Haruhi angry. Kawaguchi, who plays Haruhi Fujioka, commented, "You will see an explosion of this well-known bright and silly character! It was fun playing the role, and all the host club members enjoyed the filming." Each episode is approximately five minutes long, and there are four episodes.
Reception
The series is a parody of otaku culture, especially cross-dressing. The club often dresses up in flamboyant costumes, and Renge Hōshakuji is also identified as an otaku. Rose Bridges, writing for Anime News Network, regards Ouran as being the first example of a "fujoshi comedy" genre—loosely defined as humorous anime with predominantly male casts that cater to shipping-obsessed fangirls.Mangaka Bisco Hatori appeared at Anime Expo 2019 held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, USA. During several interviews and panels, she indicated that she would welcome another project concerning the characters and topics covered in Ouran, but is in no position to produce an anime and advised fans to continue petitioning the studio. When asked about the Boy Love suggested in the series, she stated that Ouran has always been meant to be a parody of shōjo manga, but doesn't feel there is a thematic gap between shōjo and BL themes. As for Haruhi being a female, it was revealed that the character was originally meant to be a boy, but one of her editors suggested a gender swap. Thus, Hatori invented a female character that "doesn't need to dress up like a boy other than the fact that those are the clothing she wears and likes" without subtext. She expressed that she isn't hung up on genre parameters or gender orientation because every person should be proud of being unique while remaining true to themselves. In summation, Hatori stressed Ouran being a story about family and friendship, without any intention of being a pioneer of "fujoshi comedy," though admits that it happened just the same.