Tag Archive for 'Ouran High School Host Club'

Year in Review: Ouran High School Host Club

30 Comments |
December 28, 2006
| Television

4. Ouran High School Host Club

When I come across someone who doesn’t care for Ouran High School Host Club, it always throws me for a loop. Why? Because, in my opinion, it’s one of the most consistently funny and entertaining anime series to come out of Japan in recent years, and even if the tone or subject matter isn’t to one’s particular liking, the show’s strengths are still instantly recognizable. Then again, in anime fandom, it sometimes seems there’s more hate to go around than there is recognition.

No shortage of hate, indeed.

And Ouran High School Host Club is an easy show to hate, I suppose, what with its conspicuous shoujo style, flamboyant characters, and over-the-top narrative. Oh, and pointy chins. Some people just can’t handle pointy chins. However, it’s because the show is willing to cut loose and have some fun that it’s so remarkably entertaining. I haven’t smiled and laughed so much in ages.

Even more surprising is how the show manages to maintain such a high energy level from start to finish. I’m willing to admit that few of my personal favorites exhibit such consistency. Every show has its ugly moments, right? Not Ouran High School Host Club. It starts strong and ends even stronger. I suppose there are a couple of episodes that fail to live up to their full potential, but for a show that sets the bar so high, that’s to be expected. And there are more than enough “WOW!” episodes to make up for it.

So, if Ouran High School Host Club is such a model of perfection, why do I rank it fourth? Well, as absorbing as it was for a half hour each week, the buzz always wore off too quickly. Like another immensely popular show from the past year (something involving aliens, time travelers, and espers… can’t recall the name), it was the anime equivalent of a hit-and-run.

Felt pretty darn good, though.

Lazy Afternoon

7 Comments |
June 28, 2006
| Television

I’m giving Simoun a try after all. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far, but the show has some serious problems. In particular, the direction and voice acting lacks energy. The show promises tension, but never really delivers. The phrase “going through the motions” comes to mind, unfortunately. That said, I still dig the art direction. The “sketchy” backgrounds are especially nice and reminiscent of Figure 17, which features some of my favorite background work of all time.

The character designs are starting to bug me, however. There’s an unusual amount of variation in style, and it can be a little upsetting when the entire cast is on screen at the same time. There have been some character model issues from episode to episode as well. In particular, the studio hasn’t managed to nail down Limone’s design. Speaking of which, I don’t care for teh Mamiko in this particular role. When Limone opens her mouth and Mamiko’s voice comes out, my brain produces some sort of instant “DOES NOT COMPUTE” response and shuts down for a moment. The voice doesn’t match the character.

Reports of the death of Ouran High School Host Club have been greatly exaggerated. After some thought, I realize there’s only been a couple of “bad” episodes - relatively speaking, that is. The only episode that really bugged me was the first “beach” episode, partially because it promised to be a Honey/Mori episode, yet never amounted to much, and partially because it was followed by yet another, more superior beach episode. Other than that, I’ve been absolutely delighted with the show. There have been enough “ROFLMAO” episodes to make up for the occasional “meh” episode, I think.

I’m going to skip the recap episode for Nana and give Madhouse a freebie by pretending it never existed in the first place. I really like that the story is starting to move along (at whatever glacial pace one could expect from a 50 episode TV series), but I have to admit: anime Hachi annoys me far more than movie Hachi or what-I-read-of-the-manga Hachi ever did. I think I understand now why her character ruins the whole thing for some people.

Oh, and the most recent chapter of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni has actually been kind of interesting. Probably because stuff actually… you know… happens.

What a novel idea.

Let’s Grow Old Together

10 Comments |
May 21, 2006
| Television

Over the past year or so, I’ve gotten into the habit of letting a week’s worth of new anime episodes pile up, only to work my way through them in a single sitting once a free evening presents itself. The days of eagerly anticipating new fansub releases, grabbing them on IRC the minute they become available, and rushing to the TV within seconds of the download finishing… those days seem like a distant memory. Anime has become a routine.

That’s not a complaint, mind you. I still get around to watching new episodes within a week or two of airing, with plenty of time in between to rewatch old favorites, catch up with forgotten shows, or (most of the time) do something entirely different altogether. I have to be especially careful about avoiding spoilers, but, for the most part, I’ve found the “my pace” approach to be pretty satisfying.

It’s funny, though, the shows I look forward to and the shows I don’t. This season, in particular, is a lot of trouble in that, with so many good shows worthy of “favorite” status, it’s been difficult to prioritize. Furthermore, those shows that achieve “favorite” status aren’t always the shows I look forward to most from week to week. A perfect example from the current season would be Ouran High School Host Club, perhaps my absolute favorite show currently airing… but not a show I eagerly await new episodes of on a weekly basis. Why? It’s the lack of a narrative hook, I think. As enjoyable as the show may be, there’s little to link one episode to the next. There’s no continuing storyline, for the most part, nor is there much promise of a continuing storyline to come. That’s not to say it won’t happen, of course. Plenty of episodic shows develop stories in their second acts as a matter of necessity.

And, of course, there’s everyone’s favorite, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. This is actually an odd specimen in that, while there may be some sort of underlying story to speak of, Kyoto Animation’s insistence on shuffling the episode order only serves to minimize it. Haruhi may be a show with a purpose, but, best I can tell, we won’t know for sure until it’s over and done with. Unfortunately, that makes the show a bit tedious to keep up with from episode to episode. Sure, I’ve enjoyed the hell out of each and every episode thus far, but once the end credits have rolled, it’s out of sight, out of mind until the next episode airs. It’s the anime equivalent of a hit and run.

So, what shows do I look forward to on a daily basis? The obvious winner, I think, would be Nana. In a lot of ways, Nana has what it takes to displace Ouran as my absolute favorite of the current season: it’s old fashioned shoujo, after all. But, what’s most important, I think, is that, since it’s based on a popular, long running, well developed manga series, it has a lot of story to work with from the very first episode. There’s been no dilly-dallying around thus far - in fact, if anything, the anime series has been more in-depth with regard to story than I ever expected. Four episodes of backstory to kick things off? Wow! Even the pseudo-recap episode was enjoyable. I watched the first episode a million times as is, so seeing those scenes again one last time didn’t bother me in the slightest - especially with the addition of a few new scenes along the way.

And I’d be remiss not to mention Strawberry Panic. Here you have a show that’ll never be a favorite, yet, I somehow grow more and more excited about it with each episode. Once again, I think it’s the presence of a continuous narrative that holds my attention between episodes. Nagisa and Shizuma may be the dullest leads around (seriously, do they even have a purpose in the story yet?), but the soap opera raging around them is awfully intriguing. Even “bad” shows can be compelling if they manage to push the right buttons.

Story is important. Plot is important. For all the shows I have especially fond memories of years after the fact, the presence of a deeply satisfying and obvious storyline is the one common factor. Maison Ikkoku. Cardcaptor Sakura. Full Moon wo Sagashite. Kaleido Star. Marmalade Boy. Planetes. The list goes on and on…

“Hit and run” anime has value, of course. But its value is “in the moment” - and a moment only lasts for so long.