Ouran High School Host Club - Complete Series [DVD]

"The Ouran host Club is where the school's handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands."

Well, that's the basic description. But "Ouran High School Host Club: Complete Series" is so much more than just a slapsticky reverse-harem anime -- it's a charming little comedy series that's constantly awash in costumes, geekery, over-the-top schemes, and an adorable budding romance. Even in its more serious moments, it's utterly charming.

Haruhi Fujioka has just started on her scholarship at the elite Ouran Academy, and is looking for a quiet place to study... when she stumbles across the Host Club. The six wealthy boys there entertain girls with flirtation and elaborate costumes and decorations. The members: melodramatic and not-too-bright Tamaki, mischievous Hitachin twins Kaoru and Hikaru, cool-headed genius Kyoya, childlike Honey, and his silent stoic cousin Mori.

But when Haruhi accidentally breaks an antique vase, she finds herself drafted into the Host Club to pay off the debt... and only THEN does Tamaki find out she's a girl. But she continues working at the Host Club, and encounters some pretty bizarre adventures as she tries to navigate the world of the uber-wealthy. And when they aren't entertaining girls, the Host Club tries to help people with their fragmented relationships and troubles.

But just being rich doesn't keep the Host Club members from having their own troubles -- and as she gets to know them, Haruhi learns that the happy-go-lucky Tamaki has a tragic past that threatens to ruin his future. Will the little band of friends be able to help their "boss"?

It's hard to really summarize an anime like "Ouran High School Host Club" -- it's a big fluffy whirl of costumes, roses, over-the-top luxury, and lighthearted pokes at anime conventions ("Yay! There's debauchery here!"). It's just such a fun little show, and it's made even better because it's almost surreal at times -- Haruhi even notes, after an "Alice in Wonderland" dream, that she can't even tell when she's awake or asleep.

There's lots of funny goofy dialogue ("I never would have pegged the boss as an S&M pervert." "I told you! It wasn't like that at all!") and hilariously weird situations (the guys all dress up in over-the-top drag, causing Haruhi to roll around screaming with laughter). But there are some more touching moments as well, such as Tamaki comforting Haruhi when she's frightened by a thunderstorm, or the flashback episodes where we see how Tamaki befriended the icy Kyoya or the manipulative twins.

But the best part of the show is the characters -- Haruhi is a likably down-to-earth, sensible "commoner" who often seems weirded out by the antics of the megarich teens of Ouran. But she's slowly charmed by Tamaki, a sweet but not-very-bright young man who seems pretty confused about his romantic feelings. You end up liking Tamaki even better when you find out the truth about his family, and what a kind person he is.

And the rest of the cast is lots of fun as well: Hunny's cutesiness is a little annoying, but it's fun to see him kicking the collective backsides of a secret police force. Mori is cool (if underdeveloped), Kyoya is a delightful mix of insecurity and Machievellian scheming, and the twins are simply hilarious (especially since their "theme" is twincest).

"Ouran High School Host Club: The Complete Series" is a delightful, lovable anime series, and leaves you desperately wishing it would never end. Charming, fluffy and fun.

After reading the manga I had to have MORE. So I instantly went for this purchase. The price is good, the box is nice, and the disc-menus are straight forward and simple (perhaps not much for those seeking huge amounts of additional content.)

For those of you with HOST CLUB Knowledge: I was really impressed at how loyal this kept to the manga, sometimes scene for scene, all the while the animation was lovely and polished and never skimped on. I'm usually a huge critic on english voice acting because it's so easily done WRONG, but Vic Mignogna wins again with an awesome representation of Tamaki, also the twins are very well done, the voices were both unique and similar. The only one I have qualms over is Kyouya... although I can concede on what they chose him for, I just hoped it might sound more natural.

For those of you Newbies to the title: Now MEN, don't be afraid of the title,the overtly pink box, or the attack of rosy florals!!! This is very much an anime for all genders! It by no means enters territories of extreme shoujo-isms and gooshy romance! My husband was skeptical when I first brought it home but he's now looking forward to our second watch-through. The only thing people might squick over are the twins and their act...

Now if you've read this far and you're looking for some kind of...summary... basically an unwilling Haruhi, scholarship student with an unfortunately boyish haircut, gets indebted to the Host Club; a group of "good looking boys with way too much time on their hands" who serve tea to female students and generally spend their afternoons flattering the young lambs and dressing up in elaborate costume. Not your usual "gender-bender" as Haruhi never meant to look like a boy, nor pose as one. But with this pack of colorful characters tries to both hide and expose her "secret" in practically the same breath, laughs and chaos ensues!!

Watch it.

As an enthusiastic British Ouran fan, I couldn't WAIT to get the boxset when it was out in England. But when I finally got it and popped it on, the biggest niggle I found with the set was the fact that it squashes all the episodes into a 16:9 letterbox! I was excited to see the back of the boxset state that the episodes were going to be presented in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio [as I'd only ever seen the episodes in a standard aspect ratio before], but was disappointed to see that all they'd done was squish the original 4:3 standard viewing experience to make it look faux widescreen! Very disappointing! I'd much rather watch the episodes as they were originally intended, unsquished, rather than forcing it to fill the screen and ruining my viewing experience. Other than that, the 4-disc boxset seemed good enough. A bit vanilla with its lack of extras [trailers for other anime shows and a few pages from the Ouran manga] but the sound of the English dub is pretty epic and surround-soundish - though I prefer watching the episodes in Japanese.

In summary, if you're going to buy the set, you should be prepared for a squished viewing experience. I get a better viewing experience from the Funimation Youtube channel!