I recently watched a documentary about the culture of Japanese host clubs and thought it was really interesting. I mean if I was rich and a woman I could definitely see myself as a regular at something like this if I lived in Japan I do love attention after all. I suppose what Im trying to say is that the concept of host clubs was interesting to me and when I discovered there was a pretty wellreceived and popular anime about hosting I thought Id check it out. This one was definitely a ride. I almost rage dropped the show halfway through the only thing keeping me going was knowing that people really like this show and its got a cult classic status so I gave it the opportunity to redeem itself and luckily it did bounce back. Dont get me wrong there are a LOT of problems with this series oh my god are there problems. But it has a charm to it that I didnt expect. Things I thought were great about this show include the characters. All the host boys and the side characters are all distinguishable in design and personality. Theyre not the greatest guys we will talk about that later but they are unique and the writers in the show tend to understand the characters and their motivations very well so they never really deviate from what we would expect from them or break character except for one instance Ill mention in the spoiler section of this review. I like the comedy as well the show isnt laughing out loud funny but it has a cheeky for lack of a better term scenes of humour that entertained me. Keep in mind though the show is 15 years old and good god the comedy is a bit dated I definitely cringed in places. The subplots were fun and the show followed many characters in their journey to overcome challenges and become better people. For instance Honey is challenged by his toothache Haruhi is challenged by thunder the twins are challenged by navigating friendships and feelings of jealousy and Tamaki deals with being attracted to femboys/j. There are also the dynamics between the boys and their families given they all come from money power and fame. These aspects of the boys lives are not overlooked and end up playing a significant role towards the end of the story and I liked that the audience gets to know the characters on a personal level like that. This is the kind of show I could see having several seasons it doesnt but if it did I probably wouldnt watch beyond this season if Im honest I feel like I get the idea. There is quite a lot of filler content in this but luckily its not too boring but yeah sometimes it hits and sometimes it misses. Judging by the way the show ends I can see it is possible that the writers were leaving certain plot points open in case they were renewed for a second season. Personally I think its fine the way it is and I feel like most people agree. Now I want to talk about the problems this show has. It doesnt have a lot but it cant be ignored. I want to preface by saying I am aware this show is 15 years old and Im not holding it to the same standard I would hold shows today. I mean I wouldnt even consider Ouran to be offensive by todays standards not at all its just super fucking cringe in some places. The taboo topics are very hit or miss. For instance Honey as a character doesnt freak me out I know the idea is that hes supposed to look and act 5 but is actually 17/18 which is why hes a hit with the ladies. Like sure its weird that the fact hes very young at heart is what makes him attractive but like I understand why its done. In an early episode it is explained that the boys appeal to the female gaze and thats why they do what they do so well. In the west I dont think men who act like toddlers are a hit with the ladies but it may be different in Japan and thats fine it is what it is its age play Im not going to judge just acknowledging that its all a bit weird. Despite that though I really liked Honey as a character I thought he was unique and I like that he overcomes challenges in order to be his true self at the end of the day and I think thats a good message. Theres not really an easy way to dance around the fact that if you really wanted to nitpick at the show the certainly an argument to be made about how it sexualises infancy but I just dont have the mental strength to initiate that discussion. However the situation with the twins is less innocent. Like for what reason is it implied that they fuck? I know its meant to be for the female gaze and was just an act to play into taboo female fantasies but gee whiz theyre still grabbing each others asses while the girls are away. Is this fan service for the women watching the show? Look maybe its just not for me I acknowledge I am not the target audience for this show not at all. But the boy love scenes between the twins is cringe af I hate to kink shame the ladies who thought this was hot but please girls go watch Haiyku to get your hot teen boy action like everyone else. The rest of the boys in the host club are less fetishy. Youve got the Prince Charming the sensitive type the dark and mysterious one things vanilla women usually gravitate towards. But then there is the situation with Haruhi. Now Im not sure whether its just the translation I saw and if its different in the original but the translation I watched heavily implied for the first few episodes that Haruhi was a trans nonbinary gender fluid or possibly transmsac. Not that she was a masculine girl it was heavily implied based on the language used that Haruhi was trans. This excited me so much I would have LOVED to see this plotline it would have been absolutely groundbreaking. But like I said the show is 15 years old and as you continue to watch the show you discover that at no point did the writers of the original series ever consider Haruhis gender identity to be up for debate. She was 100 just an androgynous girl. Thats fine too but for the love of God it would have been nice if her androgyny wasnt fetishised so much. For a shoujo show meant to be about what women want the male gaze is so painfully obvious here. Then theres all the queerbaiting with the guys which isnt cool but look its an old show from a culture vastly different to mine Ill just consider it a win that homosexuality isnt weaponised or demonised. For all I care the boys can pretend to kiss each other for female attention all they want. Knock yourselves about boys If the young Japanese female population lead to believe that gay men are hot then kudos because over here in the west theyre still young people growing up to believe that gay men are a personification of evil and of devils. I know which interpretation I prefer personally. In conclusion Ouran has its ups and downs its peaks and valleys. At the end of the day it was a show that surprised me with how much heart and attention to detail it possessed. I know I can safely recommend it to certain people not for everyone but for people I know will benefit from the messages and themes the show presents. Now somebody point me in the direction of some Ouran fanfiction in which the boys buy Haruhi their first binder. Hurry up before Im forced to write it myself.