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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane I loved the Ouran High School Host Club anime back when it was the current Big Thing a couple of years ago, and I'm thrilled that the first half is finally available domestically, and that FUNimation is sensibly releasing the series in two box sets instead of a heap of individual DVDs. (Keep that up, guys.) Given that, I assumed I'd love the manga when I got around to reading it; I almost always prefer the original version of a story, and it seemed likely that Ouran would be no exception. But the first time I tried reading it, under admittedly less-than-ideal circumstances (volume 3, in a bookstore. Yes, I'm ashamed), I bounced off it. Ouran, for anyone who's not familiar with it, centers around a group of bored, rich high school boys who form a "host club" at their ultra-elite school, and an eminently practical commoner girl who gets dragged into their insanity. Haruhi, our heroine, keeps the other characters (as well as the readers) rooted; their reactions to and relationships with her are what keep the series from being an impossibly over-the-top collection of shoujo tropes (which the creator obviously enjoys playing with and dismantling), and also give it an unexpected depth. One of my impressions from that first attempt at reading the manga hasn't changed: Ouran benefited hugely from being animated. The show brought the story very faithfully to life, and the hyperactive comedy simply works better in motion than on the page, especially with a great voice cast. That said, the anime suffers from the fundamental problem of having been made while the manga was still running, and the itch to see what really happens brought me back to the original version. The second time around, I bought vol. 1-10 in one go and read them through in a sitting. Unsurprisingly, reading the manga from the beginning helped a lot, and by the time I was finished I was as in love with it as I was with the anime. Somewhere around vol. 8-10 the plot moves in directions that weren't covered by the anime, and now, in volume 11, there are things coming to the surface that might have long-lasting implications for the characters. While the plot often resets (time doesn't pass in the most realistic sense at Ouran High), the characters' arcs are taken more seriously. The nature of Kyoya and Tamaki's friendship lies at the heart of the school's first-ever sports festival, while it's becoming increasingly obvious to everyone (except Haruhi) that both Hikaru and Kaoru, the twins who are much less interchangeable than they like people to think, have feelings for her. The twins' relationship is one of the things that interests me most in Ouran, and I'm particularly looking forward to seeing how that develops as, for the first time in their lives, they're faced with both wanting something that they can't simply share. On the production side, VIZ is doing a very nice job with this title (although I do wish they'd retained the name honorifics). It reads surprisingly consistently, given that it's been through four translators and five adapters in the three years it's been running in English. I don't know that I would have even noticed if I weren't in the habit of reading credits, and that's very high praise. Volume 11 of Ouran High School Host Club includes a page of editor's notes and an extensive fanart section. Review copy provided by VIZ Media. Interested in writing for MangaLife? We're always looking for talented reviewers and columnists, so drop us a line! Charles Webb Editor-in-Chief, MangaLife.com |
1 September 2010
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