Kiss, Kiss, Fall in Love!

Whether you’re a fan of romance stories or not, first-time and old hand anime watchers will quickly fall in love with this amazing yet quirky cast of characters and their kooky hijinks.

The general storyline follows Haruhi Fujioka, a poor high school student who manages to get into a high profile high school by earning a scholarship. Obviously the reality of having scholarships for high school isn’t real, but just roll with it. The school is populated almost entirely with the children of the prominent and VERY idly rich. Coming from a poorer neighborhood, Haruhi does not have enough money to afford a school uniform and comes in on the first day looking rather androgynous. While looking for a quiet place to study, she stumbles upon “Music Room 3,” and when she opens the door she’s greeted by a group of 6 boys with very unique tastes. Haruhi is now in a rush to get away from the weirdos who have begun to flirt with her.

She then knocks over an expensive vase and it breaks on the floor. The cost to replace it is much more than she could possibly afford, so the group of boys decide to force her to work for them to pay off her debt.

The boys turn out to be members of the school’s illustrious, “Host Club,” a place where students with free periods can come into the clubroom and basically be flirted by the club’s members based on which personality type they prefer. In the course of very insane events, the club eventually discovers that Haruhi is actually quite attractive under her sloppy clothing and operating under the impression that she’s a guy, they change her debt agreement. So that now she has to get a certain number of customers to request to talk with her while she plays Host in order to pay the debt off. From there on, Haruhi is caught up in the utter insanity of the idle rich and manages to maybe find love of her own along the way.

The story originally appeared and is now completed in 18 manga volumes, which then were changed into an anime with currently only 1 season. The second 1 is slated to come in some time early next year. The anime departs from the manga around episode 20, and to some fans, the manga’s ending is more satisfying. However, with the second season coming out anything can happen. The anime may live to see the ending it deserves.

If you’re wondering, yes, the show is sexist, and yes, the show is silly, but it is also very funny and well worth a bit of time. For an emotional pick-me-up or an introduction to the wonderful world of anime, Ouran High School Host Club remains one of the best options available.