Hatori Bisco - Ouran High School Host Club, vol. 04-10 (Eng. trans.)

[oyceter]

I had read volumes 1-3 about a year or so ago and decided not to continue because the paneling was too busy and the manga lost a lot of humor without the sound effect of the anime.

But then, I saw volumes 2-10 at the library and decided to read them just for the heck of it. It also helped that rilina had been telling me that the manga got much better,

Comments

[swanjun]

I don't normally like episodic manga that makes the characters repeat the same school year over and over, but Ouran is an exception. Maybe it's that I don't expect much from it, but like you say, I like the club as a unit and I'm in no particular hurry for major changes in group dynamics. Oh, sure, I want Haruhi and Tamaki together in the end, and I'm happy to see glimmers of progress in that direction, but I'm not in a hurry.

One thing I have particularly enjoyed has been the evolution of Kaoru and how thoughtful and observant he has become. Like you say, it'd be nice to see some similar attention given to Kyoko and Mori, who I also like. Really, the only char I'm actually meh about is Hunny, because neither his cuteness nor his violence ever amuse me.

[oyceter]

Heh, I think I'm less invested in any romantic pairing, mostly because I think it'll mess with the group dynamics. Also, Tamaki, while wonderful down at heart, is rather high maintenance.

I... yeah. Hunny really doesn't do it for me. Part of it is because I keep comparing him with Momiji from Fruits Basket, who gets a lot more character development.

[lnhammer]

They get compared a lot, in no small part because they had the same voice actor in Japanese.

---L.

[rilina]

EEE! You are reading Ouran! I think it really begins to hit its stride around volume 8 or so; to me, it gets better at not just mocking the tropes with love, but also doing more with the ensemble's characterization (especially the twins, Tamaki, and Haruhi). And I too was so happy that Haruhi finally got a female friend.

I think the manga continues to improve after this, but I am very biased due to my love of spoilery arcs which I will not mention.

(As far as extras, I was very amused by the instructions from Hatori on how to tell Hikaru and Kaoru apart.)

[oyceter]

I am! I blame my library.

I totally took notes on Hatori's instructions re: the twins.

[snarp]

I wish ardently for more plotlines in which Kyoya loses his cool.

I'm pretty sure the Japanese word used to refer to Ranka and Misuzu is "okama," which is usually considered insulting when used by non-transvestites. I'm not actually sure whether transvestites ever use it to refer to themselves.

[swanjun]

"Okama" sounds right to me too, now that you mention it.

[jiawen]

Just FYI (and maybe you already knew this), "transvestite" is considered demeaning by most of the people it's normally attached to. Perhaps you meant "...when used by non-transgender people"?

As I've seen it, okama is used highly ironically by some Japanese trans folks. Fairly similar to the use of "tranny" in English, actually. But, like a lot of these words, it ain't cool for people who aren't a member of the group to use the term.

[snarp]

Ohh, okay. Really sorry about that - I wasn't thinking.

[lnhammer]

It is indeed okama in the original.

---L.

[oyceter]

Thanks!

[oyceter]

Gotcha, thanks! I... am not sure of how I feel of Hatori using it, even though she usually has crossdressers using it in the manga.

[parallactic]

Hatori's paneling did get clearer and less cluttered.

I like Mei as a new character, because she's just as lovably eccentric as the male characters and she brings out another side of Haruhi. But she hasn't grown on me enough on me to balance out how much I'd hate a heavier focus on romance in the series.

In volume 3, Ranka does mention giving birth to Haruhi, but Ranka does seem to identify more as Haruhi's dad than anything else. It could be that Ranka doesn't want to be seen as replacing Haruhi's mom.

[oyceter]

Yeah, I'm also very skeptical about the move toward romance... More Mei though! And I love the whole "win her heart through cooking!" thing.

*nods* OK, I wasn't sure if I was remembering wrong about Ranka or just letting Tamaki's fatherhood schtick get in the way of my memory or something.