Ouran High School Host Club
Seriously, this fucking anime.
So, apart from some of the first generation Pokemon episodes and a couple of Yu-Gi-Oh! ones, Ouran was actually my first full-on experience of an anime. The same person who introduced me to Kingdom Hearts, Sam, introduced me and my sister Lys to this as well, a little while after she'd gotten us hooked on Kingdom Hearts.
As I was watching that first episode, these were my first thoughts: This is weird as fuck. What the hell is Sam having us watch? What is even all this?
We only watched a couple of episodes that day. But afterward? I looked up the rest by myself. It was weird, I was in complete culture shock, it made no sense---and yet I couldn't stop watching it.
My first time through the whole thing, I didn't have that much of an opinion of it. My brain was too busy trying to assimilate this crazy ass fucking world, and basically being overloaded in the process. But I eventually learned to roll with it. Then I watched it all again for a second time, and fell head-over-heels in love with the damn thing.
This show...it's really something special. It got me through my darkest moments of my depression, brightened days that had never been blacker for me. It was also what I consider to be my first, and the characters ended up having so much more depth than one would ever believe from the beginning episode, and for all of this, Ouran High School Host Club will always be my favorite anime. :)
Favorite Episode: Hands down, it's "And so Kyouya Met Him", episode 24. Just....goddamn, this episode. It could also be known as the episode in which Kyouya completely punched me with all the feels. Like....okay. I am a gigantic fan of several types of relationships, but one of my favorites is what I sometimes call the "Mom/Dad" relationship. (Another example of this, and what I would consider to be the ultimate example of it, would be like Mufasa and Sarabi from the Lion King.) And not only do Tamaki and Kyouya nail the Mom/Dad relationship, but they also get another, sometimes related, kind, which is the Life Partners variety. (Examples of this would be like Roy/Riza, from Fullmetal Alchemist, or Balthier/Fran from Final Fantasy XII.) This, to me, is when a relationship largely goes unspoken in the canon source material, but not for it's lack of significance---it's because that the people involved have such an intimate understanding of each other, no words ever really need to be said. It's when I can't imagine one character ever being without the other in their life, like they're two halves of the same whole.
Up until this episode, that was how Tamaki and Kyouya's relationship was---largely unspoken, but there was always this underlying understanding and care they seemed to have for each other, even if it was slightly incomprehensible to us new-time viewers and Haruhi.
And then this episode happens. And takes us all back to show us how that relationship began. And it broke my fucking heart in the process.
Never before had the audience been fully let inside Kyouya's head before, allowed to view the world almost completely through his eyes. We see that it's a lonely, isolated place, full of never-ending calculations, immense and unbearable pressure, and no hope, for happiness or for anything else. And then Tamaki comes into Kyouya's life, and we get to witness him set Kyouya's world on fire. We follow Kyouya through his confusion, anger and rage, despair, outrage, bewilderment, jealousy, and so many other emotions towards Tamaki. As his sister says, we get to see him be passionate in a way he's never been before. We get to see as Tamaki breaks down Kyouya's walls, crack open his heart to see the person Kyouya truly is, and bring color and beauty into Kyouya's world. With the symbolism of Kyouya learning to paint a rainbow rose, to me it basically reads as a coming out story, but even more than that, Tamaki shows Kyouya that it's okay to be himself, and that that person will be accepted by Tamaki unconditionally. Tamaki reaches and touches Kyouya in a place that no one else ever has before, and we therefore get to witness the beginnings of Kyouya blossoming emotionally, and get to witness how two true best friends came together.
And it's all one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and I would definitely count it amongst my top favorite episodes of anything, period. So, yeah, I will never get tired of this episode, and could and have watched it over and over again, and is probably the episode I've rewatched the most out of the entire show. Therefore, no other episode can really compete with my love for this one.
Favorite Female Character: Hmm....*thinks of other female characters apart from Haruhi* Well, Renge always amuses me, and I really rather admire her passion and drive, but I suppose I do have to give it to Haruhi on this one. Poor girl; I don't envy her at all for having to put up with the antics of the boys. I know she tends to drive a lot of people nuts, but I've never minded her. And I do love the fact that she actually lets herself be open-minded to the nuances that she discovers in all of the boys of the Host Club, and I admire the way she plays her hands in situations with the twins and Kyouya and they try to divert her from her spot-on observations on their true personalities. I like that, for all of her grumbling and complaining, she's really lax enough to go with the flow most of the time, but that when the time comes for her to put her foot down, she puts that motherfucker down. I like that she learns as much from the boys as she teaches them. I love the dynamic of her outsider perspective, especially on rewatches, as I like watching familiar characters be observed by unfamiliar eyes. I respect the shit out of her for her unconcern towards gender. Haruhi is just a solid character, through and through.
Special mention goes to Fuyumi as well, whom I completely forgot about til now. I love her very much too.
Least Favorite Female Character: The Lobelia Girls' Academy characters. Sure, they have their own entertainment value, but I really rather hate it when the foundations of solid logic about things like feminism get warped into basically becoming Nazi-ism. I mean, I totally get that this show parodies a great many things, but...it still irks me.
Favorite Male Character: Fucking goddamn Kyouya, of course. Tamaki's probably my second favorite, but...I just have such a thing for badass hyper-competent second-in-commands. Such a huge thing. Not to mention that it's his relationship with Tamaki that completely steals the show for me.
Third favorite, for the record, is Kasanoda. *huggles him* He's just so precioius. :3
Least Favorite Male Character: It's a typical response, but this spot belongs to Kyouya's dad. Fuck him to the depths of hell for hitting Kyouya like that. Fuck. Him.
Favorite Scene Ever: When the Great Wall of Kyouya is finally broken by Tamaki, and Kyouya pins him to the floor and straddles him as he yells and rants. It's just.....there are so many goddamned things at work here. There's the obvious, that Kyouya's iron-clad self-control just breaks, and for the first time, he's truly real with Tamaki, but I also find it significant that Kyouya already cares so much about Tamaki that he's angry with him for "giving up". Sure, this scene is mostly about Kyouya, but I think that rant also demonstrates his concern for Tamaki as well. But my most favorite part of the scene is when Kyouya screams, "Damn it! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" while the screen flashes through a montage of all the moments they've shared up until that point, and then it just shows the words, "You're such an idiot! How can you see through me?" And that's the cue for my heart to break. The best best part of that is that it is UNSPOKEN. There's so much emotion going on in this scene that words could never convey, and that they sum it all up and don't have the characters actually say what they both know at that point, thus highlighting the relationship they're going to have with each other, one where they don't need words to understand how they feel, this relationship of intimate trust, acceptance, and understanding?
God fucking damn it, how many times do I have to say that this is just so fucking beautiful?!
Favorite Pairing: If you've read up until this point, I don't think it would surprise anyone that my favorite ship is Tamaki/Kyouya. Like...most of the above is obsessive gushing about how much I love the episode that's completely focused and centered around their relationship, and that their interactions steal the show for me. Really, who else could you possibly think?? Seriously, Mom/Dad + Life Partners will always equal to some of my very favorite kinds of ships. It'd be easier for me to quit breathing than to stop myself from sailing on this ship.
Least Favorite Pairing: Aside from my complete inability to pair Honey with anyone (THIS IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU ACT LIKE A CHILD)? Hmm....well, there really isn't a pairing that I can think of in this fandom, at least not one that goes anywhere near the territory of making me have, like, foaming at the mouth hatred for them. So...I'mma just go with Honey/anyone, then, at least as far as romantic/sexual involvement goes.
Favorite Friendship: Tamaki and Kyouya ---Man, I really need to stop having them be my answer for everything, huh? XD Well, apart from Those Two Guys.....I think I'm going to go with Kyouya and Haruhi. Maybe it's just because I love Kyouya doing anything ever, but I really do enjoy their interactions the most out of Haruhi's interactions with the Hosts. I love seeing her react to him, love seeing her peel back his layers just a little bit, I love him dropping bombshells on her when she asks for clarification about certain things (like when he tells her that Tamaki's dad is basically paying for her to go to Ouran), and the episode that is basically the two of them hanging out is one of my top favorite episodes of the anime ("Kyouya's Reluctant Day Out"). Kyouya and Haruhi play off of each other well, and I thoroughly enjoy their relationship. I like them best platonic, but like with, say, Merlin and Gwen in BBC's Merlin and how I think they basically can share Arthur, I think Kyouya and Haruhi could share Tamaki. :)
Favorite Fight Scene: Honey and Mori in the finale, I suppose. There's really not that much physical fighting in this anime. Though if we take this to mean just shouting and/or emotionally, then Tamaki and Kyouya in a previously talked about scene. :P
Favorite Character of the Week: Well, there's Fuyumi, whom I adore. And then there's also that Class Representative in that Halloween episode that I thoroughly enjoy. Also, my favorite one-time antagonists are the Newspaper Club. Those are just the ones that I can think of that appear in a single episode. A few more recurring characters, but who still don't pop up that often, that I love include Ranka and Kasanoda.
Least Favorite Character of the Week: That one "boring" dude in, like, the second episode or whatever. Tea Cup Boy, as I call him. Like...if you care about your girlfriend/fiancee so much, don't you think it's important to, oh I don't know, fucking TALK to her? And shouldn't you let HER be the judge of whether or not you're worthy enough for her? (Hint: Yes, you should.) Thank you, Haruhi, for laying the smackdown on him.
Favorite Location: Kyouya's room(s). I really, really, really want it. I'd fucking love to have that as my bedroom, just sayin'.
Favorite Funny Scene: TAMAKI ROBOT. OMFG, I basically just keel over and die laughing for that entire segment. Good God, it's just too much for me.
Favorite Romantic Scene: In the very first episode, when Tamaki helps Haruhi find her wallet in the pond. It's the very first time she gets to see hints of what's at the heart of the real Tamaki, and it's really the first time he jokes and talks about his beauty without being arrogant about it ("Besides, people are always telling me I'm dripping with good looks."). It's just a completely heartwarming scene, and for it alone, I come very close to actually being a Tamaki/Haruhi shipper. (But Tamaki/Kyouya is just better, obvs. :P)
So, apart from some of the first generation Pokemon episodes and a couple of Yu-Gi-Oh! ones, Ouran was actually my first full-on experience of an anime. The same person who introduced me to Kingdom Hearts, Sam, introduced me and my sister Lys to this as well, a little while after she'd gotten us hooked on Kingdom Hearts.
As I was watching that first episode, these were my first thoughts: This is weird as fuck. What the hell is Sam having us watch? What is even all this?
We only watched a couple of episodes that day. But afterward? I looked up the rest by myself. It was weird, I was in complete culture shock, it made no sense---and yet I couldn't stop watching it.
My first time through the whole thing, I didn't have that much of an opinion of it. My brain was too busy trying to assimilate this crazy ass fucking world, and basically being overloaded in the process. But I eventually learned to roll with it. Then I watched it all again for a second time, and fell head-over-heels in love with the damn thing.
This show...it's really something special. It got me through my darkest moments of my depression, brightened days that had never been blacker for me. It was also what I consider to be my first, and the characters ended up having so much more depth than one would ever believe from the beginning episode, and for all of this, Ouran High School Host Club will always be my favorite anime. :)
Favorite Episode: Hands down, it's "And so Kyouya Met Him", episode 24. Just....goddamn, this episode. It could also be known as the episode in which Kyouya completely punched me with all the feels. Like....okay. I am a gigantic fan of several types of relationships, but one of my favorites is what I sometimes call the "Mom/Dad" relationship. (Another example of this, and what I would consider to be the ultimate example of it, would be like Mufasa and Sarabi from the Lion King.) And not only do Tamaki and Kyouya nail the Mom/Dad relationship, but they also get another, sometimes related, kind, which is the Life Partners variety. (Examples of this would be like Roy/Riza, from Fullmetal Alchemist, or Balthier/Fran from Final Fantasy XII.) This, to me, is when a relationship largely goes unspoken in the canon source material, but not for it's lack of significance---it's because that the people involved have such an intimate understanding of each other, no words ever really need to be said. It's when I can't imagine one character ever being without the other in their life, like they're two halves of the same whole.
Up until this episode, that was how Tamaki and Kyouya's relationship was---largely unspoken, but there was always this underlying understanding and care they seemed to have for each other, even if it was slightly incomprehensible to us new-time viewers and Haruhi.
And then this episode happens. And takes us all back to show us how that relationship began. And it broke my fucking heart in the process.
Never before had the audience been fully let inside Kyouya's head before, allowed to view the world almost completely through his eyes. We see that it's a lonely, isolated place, full of never-ending calculations, immense and unbearable pressure, and no hope, for happiness or for anything else. And then Tamaki comes into Kyouya's life, and we get to witness him set Kyouya's world on fire. We follow Kyouya through his confusion, anger and rage, despair, outrage, bewilderment, jealousy, and so many other emotions towards Tamaki. As his sister says, we get to see him be passionate in a way he's never been before. We get to see as Tamaki breaks down Kyouya's walls, crack open his heart to see the person Kyouya truly is, and bring color and beauty into Kyouya's world. With the symbolism of Kyouya learning to paint a rainbow rose, to me it basically reads as a coming out story, but even more than that, Tamaki shows Kyouya that it's okay to be himself, and that that person will be accepted by Tamaki unconditionally. Tamaki reaches and touches Kyouya in a place that no one else ever has before, and we therefore get to witness the beginnings of Kyouya blossoming emotionally, and get to witness how two true best friends came together.
And it's all one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and I would definitely count it amongst my top favorite episodes of anything, period. So, yeah, I will never get tired of this episode, and could and have watched it over and over again, and is probably the episode I've rewatched the most out of the entire show. Therefore, no other episode can really compete with my love for this one.
Favorite Female Character: Hmm....*thinks of other female characters apart from Haruhi* Well, Renge always amuses me, and I really rather admire her passion and drive, but I suppose I do have to give it to Haruhi on this one. Poor girl; I don't envy her at all for having to put up with the antics of the boys. I know she tends to drive a lot of people nuts, but I've never minded her. And I do love the fact that she actually lets herself be open-minded to the nuances that she discovers in all of the boys of the Host Club, and I admire the way she plays her hands in situations with the twins and Kyouya and they try to divert her from her spot-on observations on their true personalities. I like that, for all of her grumbling and complaining, she's really lax enough to go with the flow most of the time, but that when the time comes for her to put her foot down, she puts that motherfucker down. I like that she learns as much from the boys as she teaches them. I love the dynamic of her outsider perspective, especially on rewatches, as I like watching familiar characters be observed by unfamiliar eyes. I respect the shit out of her for her unconcern towards gender. Haruhi is just a solid character, through and through.
Special mention goes to Fuyumi as well, whom I completely forgot about til now. I love her very much too.
Least Favorite Female Character: The Lobelia Girls' Academy characters. Sure, they have their own entertainment value, but I really rather hate it when the foundations of solid logic about things like feminism get warped into basically becoming Nazi-ism. I mean, I totally get that this show parodies a great many things, but...it still irks me.
Favorite Male Character: Fucking goddamn Kyouya, of course. Tamaki's probably my second favorite, but...I just have such a thing for badass hyper-competent second-in-commands. Such a huge thing. Not to mention that it's his relationship with Tamaki that completely steals the show for me.
Third favorite, for the record, is Kasanoda. *huggles him* He's just so precioius. :3
Least Favorite Male Character: It's a typical response, but this spot belongs to Kyouya's dad. Fuck him to the depths of hell for hitting Kyouya like that. Fuck. Him.
Favorite Scene Ever: When the Great Wall of Kyouya is finally broken by Tamaki, and Kyouya pins him to the floor and straddles him as he yells and rants. It's just.....there are so many goddamned things at work here. There's the obvious, that Kyouya's iron-clad self-control just breaks, and for the first time, he's truly real with Tamaki, but I also find it significant that Kyouya already cares so much about Tamaki that he's angry with him for "giving up". Sure, this scene is mostly about Kyouya, but I think that rant also demonstrates his concern for Tamaki as well. But my most favorite part of the scene is when Kyouya screams, "Damn it! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" while the screen flashes through a montage of all the moments they've shared up until that point, and then it just shows the words, "You're such an idiot! How can you see through me?" And that's the cue for my heart to break. The best best part of that is that it is UNSPOKEN. There's so much emotion going on in this scene that words could never convey, and that they sum it all up and don't have the characters actually say what they both know at that point, thus highlighting the relationship they're going to have with each other, one where they don't need words to understand how they feel, this relationship of intimate trust, acceptance, and understanding?
God fucking damn it, how many times do I have to say that this is just so fucking beautiful?!
Favorite Pairing: If you've read up until this point, I don't think it would surprise anyone that my favorite ship is Tamaki/Kyouya. Like...most of the above is obsessive gushing about how much I love the episode that's completely focused and centered around their relationship, and that their interactions steal the show for me. Really, who else could you possibly think?? Seriously, Mom/Dad + Life Partners will always equal to some of my very favorite kinds of ships. It'd be easier for me to quit breathing than to stop myself from sailing on this ship.
Least Favorite Pairing: Aside from my complete inability to pair Honey with anyone (THIS IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU ACT LIKE A CHILD)? Hmm....well, there really isn't a pairing that I can think of in this fandom, at least not one that goes anywhere near the territory of making me have, like, foaming at the mouth hatred for them. So...I'mma just go with Honey/anyone, then, at least as far as romantic/sexual involvement goes.
Favorite Friendship: Tamaki and Kyouya ---Man, I really need to stop having them be my answer for everything, huh? XD Well, apart from Those Two Guys.....I think I'm going to go with Kyouya and Haruhi. Maybe it's just because I love Kyouya doing anything ever, but I really do enjoy their interactions the most out of Haruhi's interactions with the Hosts. I love seeing her react to him, love seeing her peel back his layers just a little bit, I love him dropping bombshells on her when she asks for clarification about certain things (like when he tells her that Tamaki's dad is basically paying for her to go to Ouran), and the episode that is basically the two of them hanging out is one of my top favorite episodes of the anime ("Kyouya's Reluctant Day Out"). Kyouya and Haruhi play off of each other well, and I thoroughly enjoy their relationship. I like them best platonic, but like with, say, Merlin and Gwen in BBC's Merlin and how I think they basically can share Arthur, I think Kyouya and Haruhi could share Tamaki. :)
Favorite Fight Scene: Honey and Mori in the finale, I suppose. There's really not that much physical fighting in this anime. Though if we take this to mean just shouting and/or emotionally, then Tamaki and Kyouya in a previously talked about scene. :P
Favorite Character of the Week: Well, there's Fuyumi, whom I adore. And then there's also that Class Representative in that Halloween episode that I thoroughly enjoy. Also, my favorite one-time antagonists are the Newspaper Club. Those are just the ones that I can think of that appear in a single episode. A few more recurring characters, but who still don't pop up that often, that I love include Ranka and Kasanoda.
Least Favorite Character of the Week: That one "boring" dude in, like, the second episode or whatever. Tea Cup Boy, as I call him. Like...if you care about your girlfriend/fiancee so much, don't you think it's important to, oh I don't know, fucking TALK to her? And shouldn't you let HER be the judge of whether or not you're worthy enough for her? (Hint: Yes, you should.) Thank you, Haruhi, for laying the smackdown on him.
Favorite Location: Kyouya's room(s). I really, really, really want it. I'd fucking love to have that as my bedroom, just sayin'.
Favorite Funny Scene: TAMAKI ROBOT. OMFG, I basically just keel over and die laughing for that entire segment. Good God, it's just too much for me.
Favorite Romantic Scene: In the very first episode, when Tamaki helps Haruhi find her wallet in the pond. It's the very first time she gets to see hints of what's at the heart of the real Tamaki, and it's really the first time he jokes and talks about his beauty without being arrogant about it ("Besides, people are always telling me I'm dripping with good looks."). It's just a completely heartwarming scene, and for it alone, I come very close to actually being a Tamaki/Haruhi shipper. (But Tamaki/Kyouya is just better, obvs. :P)