Ouran High School Host Club : Final Thoughts

Yaaay, I finished all the dramas I said I would. And in less than a week. Good progress!

There’s really not much to write about this drama. It’s mindless enjoyable fun. The acting is over the top, the antics are ridiculous, and the setting is out of this world. For what it’s worth, Ouran does what it needs to do: Appease the fans of the manga and animation.

And that it did.

Welcome

As a fan of Ouran, I found it entirely enjoyable. At first the characters are hard to warm up to because its strange seeing animated characters portrayed by real people but then you kind of get used to it and enjoy it. I originally had major reservations against Yamamoto Yusuke as Suoh Tamaki but now I can’t see anyone else but Yamamoto as Tamaki. He has the character down to the “HARUHI!” and is just hilarious to watch. The Takagi twins really bring out the Hitachiin twins and everyone else adds their own piece to the puzzle to bring out the picture that is Ouran High School Host Club.

The only qualms I had with this drama is the music and how condensed it is. The anime really captured Ouran with it’s soundtrack but the drama completely misses the point, and while you get used to the music in the drama, it was the animation soundtrack that really made you feel as if you’re in a school full of aristocrats and rich brats. Another problem was the story, while the first 8 episodes are absolutely great. The second half seems extremely rushed.

I like how the episodes tried to stay true to the source

Ouran is a long story and while the first half of the story is a parody of shoujo manga, the second half takes a turn into a more serious love story between the three leading characters, Hikaru, Tamaki and Haruhi. I was a bit worried on how they were going to fit an entire 70+ chaptered story into this 11 episode, 25 minute, drama but it seems as if they skated by that by coming up with their own story to wrap it up.

They briefly touch upon the relationship and potential triangle between the three but only that. Using that the reason Tamaki considers the Host Club a family not because of his issues with his attraction to Haurhi but because he lacks a family at home. There’s going to be a movie in 2012, so I don’t know where they’re going with this franchise.

Another great thing was the effects. For a midnight slot drama, which are notorious for their low budgets, this drama had some pretty nice effects. I was glad that they didn’t skimp on that budget. I also liked that they decided to stretch the drama into the fantasy/anime realm by making the characters do outrageous, anime-ish, things. Sometimes reacting just as if it was the manga itself. I don’t know if I would be able to handle a “serious” Ouran (ala Hanakimi).

Ouran is a great drama if you’re a fan of the series. But if you’re not a fan, you probably won’t like this drama. It’s silly and outlandish and can turn a lot of people away but if you’re into that slap stick ” Hana Kimi-esque” humor, then by all means, watch Ouran.

I really wonder what the movie is gonna be about XP