Search - Ouran High School Host Club: Season 1, Part 1 on DVD

Tina F. (ginsusamurai)
Reviewed on 3/17/2009...

What happens when a scholarship student finds himself indebted to the Host Club at his very expensive private school? He becomes their slave to pay them back. What happens when they find out he's actually a she? Comedy. This fantastically funny series follows the adventures of Hikaru as she tries to pay off her debt, and comes to know the other members of the club along the way. With tongue in cheek comedy that's not ashamed to make fun of the fact that this is fiction, you'll fall in love with the Host Club, no matter what your type is!

A Personal Favorite

Niki R. | New York | 10/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To try and explain Ouran with a basic synopsis does this anime little justice. There's always so much going on, and with a diverse cast of character's including the princely, yet sometimes idiotic, drama-king, Tamaki, or the mischievous, trouble-making Hitachiin twins, there's no end to the variety of often strange activities the club members get into at Ouran Academy, a high school for the rich and prestigious. Add to this, Haruhi, a scholarship student and "commoner" who was drafted into the Host Club after she accidentally broke an $80,000 vase. The twist is, Haruhi is actually a girl and only the club members know it. Being very plain spoken, Haruhi nicely complements the strange behaviors of her rich counterparts and is often the inspiration for many of their adventures, much to her annoyance.

Probably the biggest concern of Ouran fans about this dvd collection is the transition over from Japanese to English. As many fans will argue (myself included), the Japanese voice acting is flawless, making an English dub no easy task. But after getting a recent peek at episode one, I feel Funimation has met the challenge with great success. While I'm not as hard core of a critic as some, I did carry some doubts as to how well they could pull off a decent dub. Let me just say, I'm sorry I ever doubted them. Usually it takes me a little while to adjust when I switch from the sub to the dub, but that wasn't the case for me here. While there is the occasional rough patch, I think each voice actor did an excellent job matching his or her character's personality. I found nothing distracting or out of place about any of them.

My biggest beef, if any, is with the English opening and ending songs. They aren't horrible, but they are a bit weak compared to the originals. Not a big deal, though, as I'm sure you can still listen to the originals on the dvd.

Overall, I'd say this is a must buy, whether you're already a fan or a newcomer. The acting in both versions each have their own charm and you're bound to enjoy a few laughs every step of the way. This anime also has the ability to keep you coming back again and again. I never get tired of watching it, and the ability to have it in two languages just makes for double the fun. Subtract a star from my rating if absolute randomness bothers you. The Host Club members thrive on the out of the ordinary. They are a bunch of rich kids looking for entertainment after all (well, except poor Haruhi)."

I've already seen the ENGLISH version... :D

JapanFreak | Georgia | 09/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Usually I don't get excited about anime getting dubbed. I like it either way, BUT... Vic was awesome. I got to see the East Coast premiere of Ouran today at DragonCon. They did a REALLY spot on job of dubbing. They were even really faithful to the translation and intent.

I'm also excited because the series is being released in two shots, part 1 and 2, 13 Episodes at a time. The Second half comes out soon after part 1, so not much of a wait. $44 is not bad at all."

The hosts with the mosts

Kellyannl | Bronx, NY USA | 10/30/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Look at any discussion thread on the net over the last few years about which shoujo anime fans most wanted to reach Region 1, and the resounding cry was almost deafening - give us Ouran. After a nail-biting wait for licensing news and a little bit longer for casting and English dubbing, the wait is finally over.

The plot reads like your typical reverse harem. Scholarship student Haruhi Fujioka has made the grade for the super-elite Ouran High School. Looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi runs into the six member Host Club - filthy rich young men with too much time on their hands who entertain filthy rich young women who also have too much time on their hands. Unfortunately, Haruhi accidentally breaks a very expensive vase they were going to use to raise money - and has to pay it off by joining the club. The catch? Haruhi is a girl. So begins her crossdressing adventures with Tamaki Suoh, the loud and overdramatic fearless leader; Kyoya Ohtori, the calculating veep who's the most normal of the group; Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, the mischievous, funloving twins whose world is turned upside down when Haruhi becomes the first person who can tell them apart; Mitsukuni "Hunny" Haninozuka, who handles the cute niche with a vengeance, and Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka, your usual big, intimidating guy who's really a softie.

What makes Ouran more than just a relatively fun by-the-numbers reverse harem is that it's also a subversive parody of it's subgenre. Tamaki is an overexaggeration of almost every major pretty boy shoujo male lead. Hunny is a wickedly funny parody of all the characters probably best personified by Fruits Baskets' much more serious Momiji Sohma. Then there's the twins, who put on an incest act clearly meant to mock fanatical shounen-ai and yaoi fans who insist on reading it into characters even when it clearly isn't there. It's all done in a spirit of good natured fun, of course, and you'll definitely get much more out of Ouran if you're already familiar with two or three other reverse harem anime and/or manga to fully appreciate the parody elements. Not that the show doesn't also have heart. Although they're far from perfect, it's hard not to like the boys as they hatch hairbrained schemes - whether it be to get loving couples together, help their Goth acquaintance Nekozawa bond with his little sister or rescue Haruhi from the clutches of the fanatical lesbian feminists (yes, I did just write that) of the Lobelia Zuka Club.

The clincher is Haruhi herself, who is most definitely not your typical shoujo heroine. No shrinking violet, she's not afraid to let Tamaki have it when he goes too far overboard; and it's a joy to watch her hold her own against the twins and give them as good as she gets - all with deadpan wit.

As for faithfulness to the manga, the anime so far sticks pretty close, the most noticeable difference probably being that Renge's role has been expanded and Nekozawa's slightly cut.

As manga fans are aware, the best is yet to come in Part 2- but so far we're off to a good start.

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