Ouran Koukou Host Club
27 Apr 2006 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mayoraaseiRecommend~!
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...)
This was the episode where Renge the otaku comes in...
It wasn't as funny as the manga, for some reason. When I watched it again without trying to compare it to the manga, it felt funnier. A few things made me smirk (and would probably make anyone who knows anything about yaoi smirk too...)
I liked the bit where they realise Renge is an otaku -
Haruhi: Uki?
Honey: Doki?
Tamaki: OTAKU!?
Hikaru: OTAKU!!!
Mori: Huh?
Kaoru: IT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN ONE!!!!
...which I think says a lot more about each of the characters' childhood than anything else XDD
And the other bit that was smirkable was the bit where Hikaru was looking at the script and complaining -
Hikaru: And why is Kaoru the seme?
Haruhi: Seme?
Kaoru and Hikaru: Don't ask if you don't know.
Haruhi: Seme?
(The screen even shows up the word SEME in all its kanji glory...for anyone who knows the word and not what the kanji is....let's just say it means "attack"...)
....Man, I wonder what the target audience age is XDD
Kaoru and Hikaru's interactions always crack me up XDD It just reminds me of all the...ahem, imagination of the yaoi fandom that drives stuff like these XDDD Which reminds me..........................if Kira had been voicing this like he was in the drama CD, then he would have been the seme...............SHINN IS THE UKE?!?!?!?! *THUD*
The other thing I liked about this episode (and anime in general) is that there's a lot of movement in the background. It was hilarious hearing Tamaki scream "MUUUUUUUUUUUUM!!!!! THE TWO OF THEM!!! MUUUUUUUUUM!!!!!!!!!" in the background while Haruhi solemnly tells the twins she can take care of the cookie herself XDD (Hmm, although it did bother me that Haruhi already had that piece of cookie on her face before she started eating and then Kaoru licked it off...)
Next episode: The war of the twins!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! (Can't wait XDDD)
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...)
This was the episode where Renge the otaku comes in...
It wasn't as funny as the manga, for some reason. When I watched it again without trying to compare it to the manga, it felt funnier. A few things made me smirk (and would probably make anyone who knows anything about yaoi smirk too...)
I liked the bit where they realise Renge is an otaku -
Haruhi: Uki?
Honey: Doki?
Tamaki: OTAKU!?
Hikaru: OTAKU!!!
Mori: Huh?
Kaoru: IT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN ONE!!!!
...which I think says a lot more about each of the characters' childhood than anything else XDD
And the other bit that was smirkable was the bit where Hikaru was looking at the script and complaining -
Hikaru: And why is Kaoru the seme?
Haruhi: Seme?
Kaoru and Hikaru: Don't ask if you don't know.
Haruhi: Seme?
(The screen even shows up the word SEME in all its kanji glory...for anyone who knows the word and not what the kanji is....let's just say it means "attack"...)
....Man, I wonder what the target audience age is XDD
Kaoru and Hikaru's interactions always crack me up XDD It just reminds me of all the...ahem, imagination of the yaoi fandom that drives stuff like these XDDD Which reminds me..........................if Kira had been voicing this like he was in the drama CD, then he would have been the seme...............SHINN IS THE UKE?!?!?!?! *THUD*
The other thing I liked about this episode (and anime in general) is that there's a lot of movement in the background. It was hilarious hearing Tamaki scream "MUUUUUUUUUUUUM!!!!! THE TWO OF THEM!!! MUUUUUUUUUM!!!!!!!!!" in the background while Haruhi solemnly tells the twins she can take care of the cookie herself XDD (Hmm, although it did bother me that Haruhi already had that piece of cookie on her face before she started eating and then Kaoru licked it off...)
Next episode: The war of the twins!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! (Can't wait XDDD)
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-27 01:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-28 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-28 03:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-03 07:38 pm (UTC)That's seme thing made me spit out my lemonade XDDD
Especially when Kaoru was like：ne~ 一"一
XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
自认的小受（炸）
no subject
Date: 2006-05-03 11:02 pm (UTC)原來想說“真是辛苦了兩位聲優”不過他們聽起來倒是樂在其中XDDD
說起來光啊，可是 X 里的超級小受---神威是也（爆）
Anyway, what happened to your blog? Let's meet up some time! Do you have time next Tuesday afternoon? (After 12/1?)
no subject
Date: 2006-05-03 11:08 pm (UTC)pw kazu223