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Ouran Koukou Host Club
27 Apr 2006 03:13 pmRecommend~!
Okay, to be really honest, Host Club requires an audience somewhat familiar with anime/manga/gaming and Japanese fangirl/fetish culture, because these are the main objects of satirisation. Otherwise it might be a bit disturbing - a bunch of rich high school kids getting together and forming a "Host Club". The concept of "host" doesn't seem to have a neutral equivalent in English, but the closest word is probably "gigolo". The existence of "hosts" and the female equivalent of high school girls being paid by businessmen to spend time with them is quite different to our perception of prostitution. They are paid to spend time with their clients, but it could be anything from as innocuous as going to karaoke together to getting a hotel room. The other thing is...although hosts are generally bought out by older women (yes, often hosts are about high school age boys >_>;;;), their client might also be male too, which is probably a bit different from the gigolo definition.
Host Club is pure comedy, employing some of the same devices which made Furuba so funny (making fun of typical animation conventions, for one thing). Haruhi's also one of the very few female main characters that I actually like, and probably the only normal presence that anchor the entire club down >_> (Kyouya just let's Tamaki run wild...)
( Episode 4 thoughts! )
Okay, to be really honest, Host Club requires an audience somewhat familiar with anime/manga/gaming and Japanese fangirl/fetish culture, because these are the main objects of satirisation. Otherwise it might be a bit disturbing - a bunch of rich high school kids getting together and forming a "Host Club". The concept of "host" doesn't seem to have a neutral equivalent in English, but the closest word is probably "gigolo". The existence of "hosts" and the female equivalent of high school girls being paid by businessmen to spend time with them is quite different to our perception of prostitution. They are paid to spend time with their clients, but it could be anything from as innocuous as going to karaoke together to getting a hotel room. The other thing is...although hosts are generally bought out by older women (yes, often hosts are about high school age boys >_>;;;), their client might also be male too, which is probably a bit different from the gigolo definition.
Host Club is pure comedy, employing some of the same devices which made Furuba so funny (making fun of typical animation conventions, for one thing). Haruhi's also one of the very few female main characters that I actually like, and probably the only normal presence that anchor the entire club down >_> (Kyouya just let's Tamaki run wild...)
( Episode 4 thoughts! )
