This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
Spinoff from the Favorite Anime/Manga thread. That's right, discuss the guilty pleasure that is Ouran High School Host Club. It's a witty, takes-no-prisoners parody of shoujo anime that manages itself to be sweet and fun shoujo anime. Wow! (Best thing I've seen in a while, anime's been sucking lately. )
There are many, many references, some direct, some not, to other anime series in Ouran, although the focus is very much on shoujo anime. The main cast prides itself on being stereotypes. Theres Toug-er...Tamaki, the dashing (FRENCH!) prince that leaves a trail of swooning girls in his wake, there's the (kinda) incestuous yaoi twins, and a cross dressing female lead that's really quite good at heart! They all attend an obscenely rich snobby school and run a host club where they entertain girls in one of the music rooms. The whole club is Tamaki's idea. Let us now consider how Touga prefers to entertain girls in the music room.
Ouran is quite free of sex, unfortunately, and cute and sweet enough that I personally felt rather guilty for enjoying it, but apparently a lot of you folks did as well, so DISCUSS.
PS. If some branch of the Ohtori family dabbles in medical supplies, I'm almost afraid to imagine how Akio could take advantage of the inventory.
PSS. The school's layout reminds me somewhat of Ohtori Academy as far as the placement of the buildings, but I don't know if it's a reference or if schools are often designed that way in Japan.
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I love Ouran because it's irreverently self-mocking in that it shamelessly makes fun of shoujo anime in particular. The fluttering rose petals all over the damn place, the "prince" facade Tamaki has, and the crossdressing female lead are definitely not coincidences, in my opinion. I think somewhere on my PC I have a fanart of the cast of SKU dressing up as the Host Club, or possibly vice-versa. Now if only I could find it...
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for The Zuka club!
>.>
<.<
*kidnaps Haruhi*
lol i think it was episode 19..but that just cracked me up badly after watching that
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Giovanna wrote:
Ouran is quite free of sex, unfortunately, and cute and sweet enough that I personally felt rather guilty for enjoying it, but apparently a lot of you folks did as well, so DISCUSS.
Why should you feel guilty about enjoying a show that doesn't automatically make you want to 'slip your hands down your pant' anyway? Too much of and will leave your fingertips smelling funny.
Giovanna wrote:
PS. If some branch of the Ohtori family dabbles in medical supplies, I'm almost afraid to imagine how Akio could take advantage of the inventory.
Well you can bet that while Anime-Akio would be stocking up on the grounded Rhino's horn and other aphrodisiacs, Movie-Akio , being the wimpish wannabe bad guy that he is would be hoarding all the Rohypnol he could get his hands on.
Giovanna wrote:
PSS. The school's layout reminds me somewhat of Ohtori Academy as far as the placement of the buildings, but I don't know if it's a reference or if schools are often designed that way in Japan.
Ouran isn't based on normal Japanese schools thats for sure, but then again, Ouran would certainly be classified as an elite private school and they are more flexible in how they look as they can and do use old historic buildings as part of their (for want of a better word) group of classrooms.
As for Ouran being like Ohtori, its missing two key things, there where hardly any roses or rose motifs (Outside the host club anyway) around the place and in the aerial shots, there's no size of an Akio-sized phallic tower that I could see
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UtenaFanGirl wrote:
for The Zuka club!
>.>
<.<
*kidnaps Haruhi*
lol i think it was episode 19..but that just cracked me up badly after watching that
I loved the lesbian school group! Save Haruhi? But they were even worse.
Tamago wrote:
Well you can bet that while Anime-Akio would be stocking up on the grounded Rhino's horn and other aphrodisiacs, Movie-Akio , being the wimpish wannabe bad guy that he is would be hoarding all the Rohypnol he could get his hands on.
I doubt Anime-Akio needs Rhino horn. I was thinking more along the lines of kinky medical instruments.
Tamago wrote:
As for Ouran being like Ohtori, its missing two key things, there where hardly any roses or rose motifs (Outside the host club anyway) around the place and in the aerial shots, there's no size of an Akio-sized phallic tower that I could see
Well yes, there was no penis tower. But only SKU can have that!!!
Or not. Ohhh. I should post a thread about that...Akio's tower pops up in strange places...
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Giovanna wrote:
I doubt Anime-Akio needs Rhino horn. I was thinking more along the lines of kinky medical instruments.
I'm assuming that we are not talking about tongue depressers *hehe* How about this old set here.
Perfect for the S&M crowd!
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I've only read the manga, have never watched a single episode. I like it a lot, still, though I find Tamaki is a bit too brainless. For me, that is the only drawback up to now.
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Tamago wrote:
Giovanna wrote:
I doubt Anime-Akio needs Rhino horn. I was thinking more along the lines of kinky medical instruments.
I'm assuming that we are not talking about tongue depressers *hehe* How about this old set here.
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o50/ … calset.jpg
Perfect for the S&M crowd!
There we go! What a bad, naughty, kinky family the Ohtoris are. They need to be spanked.
(Kyouya struck me as someone that would kill people with a surgical set like that. )
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Oh yeah, and is there going to be a second season of this?
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Giovanna wrote:
Oh yeah, and is there going to be a second season of this?
Considering how insanly popular Ouran got to be, I wouldn't be at all suprised. Bones took quite a few liberties with the story, and a few of them would allow for a continuation. I also think that it's status as Bone's very first Shoujo anime, coupled with its success, may also lead to more being made, if for no other reason than Bones can use it to try out things with a genre they are not used to while still making a ton of money off it.
...Also, did you know that the man who wrote the music for Ouran is the same guy who arranged the music for Utena?
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Squirrama wrote:
...Also, did you know that the man who wrote the music for Ouran is the same guy who arranged the music for Utena?
No I didn't, but you know, now that you say that, I do recognize the style. Sweet!
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I've seen a few episodes of this on youtube, and my friend has been lending me the manga. I have to say it's halarious. I love that the main character is mistaken for a yaoi boy at first. And I love all of the shoujo parodies. It's a refreshing, enjoyable series. Also, I did notice a lot of parallels between the layout of the school and that of the Ohtori campus. It just made me like it more.
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belladonna wrote:
Also, I did notice a lot of parallels between the layout of the school and that of the Ohtori campus. It just made me like it more.
I kept trying to sort out whether that was in my head. The episode with the whole she's hiding in the church during a storm thing seemed familiar too...
How are you liking the manga versus the series?
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That's all I have to say about that.
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Ugh, that show makes me want to kill myself. I tried to like it, really, but the overall energy of it was just irritating (Renge made me want to outright stop watching the episode on a few occasions). I've been told it improves by the end, but nine episodes in and I had a hard time believing that.
Last edited by Archambeau (12-02-2006 10:43:33 AM)
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Archambeau wrote:
Ugh, that show makes me want to kill myself. I tried to like it, really, but the overall energy of it was just irritating (Renge made me want to outright stop watching the episode on a few occasions). I've been told it improves by the end, but nine episodes in and I had a hard time believing that.
I guess Ouran to you is like what lemon curry is to me, I tried to like it as well but it just didn't sit too well with me either.
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Hee, I just posted about my Ouran-love in one of the anime threads.
I love Ouran, though. It's insane as all hell, but it's so energetic and fun. The shojo parodies crack me up, and Haruhi is so refreshingly snarky and low-maintenance. A huge rarity in shojo heroines, I've noticed. And Tamaki is a huge dork--he just has yet to realize the fact. Poor thing.
I really do hope we get more Ouran. I'd watch it in a heartbeat.
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Giovanna wrote:
I kept trying to sort out whether that was in my head. The episode with the whole she's hiding in the church during a storm thing seemed familiar too...
How are you liking the manga versus the series?
I thought it was in my head, too. But it gets worse. Did you notice that in sometimes when a character is shown close up, if he is a member of the host club, there's a rose border around them? I swear I was waiting for them to start spinning. I feel like I'm tricking myself into thinking the two series look similar. I'll have to compare scrren caps to make sure.
Manga vs. series? Right now I'd have to go with the series, but it doesn't help I've only gotten my hands on two volumes of manga. I do like the art, and color scheme, and I'm all crazy over the OP and ED themes.
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I think the end of the Ouran series was one of those few instances of where an anime-only portion is done just right. It seems like when its left up to the anime writers to write in some of their own material generally things do not go smoothly, but Bones did a spot-on job.
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belladonna wrote:
I thought it was in my head, too. But it gets worse. Did you notice that in sometimes when a character is shown close up, if he is a member of the host club, there's a rose border around them? I swear I was waiting for them to start spinning. I feel like I'm tricking myself into thinking the two series look similar. I'll have to compare scrren caps to make sure.
That would be interesting! I'm quite sure it's not a coincidence, since the series pretty much prides itself on how it refers to others. Is Ohtori really common enough a name that it can pop up in a series like that and be an accident?
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When I saw the first episode of Ouran, I imagined it would be silly romance. I kept up with the seires, and while I did not find the type of silly romance I was looking for, I did find a very cute show. The twins and Nekozawa are my favorite. I also think Renge makes the show worth watching. Her bits are always amusing.
But I... I don't actually like Haruhi very much. At all.
Last edited by dollface (11-05-2008 01:01:21 PM)
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Funny you think that, as Renge sent the Ouran folder into the Recycle Bin for me. I will agree that Haruhi was irritating in that she followed the reverse-harem principle in how the entire male cast ended up falling for her. She was like a disaffected Miaka.
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I LOVE Ouran... love it! Kyouya, of course, is my favorite member of the club. I have a soft-spot for clever manipulators I guess. Granted, I also adore Haruhi for not being the stereotypical naiive ding-bat female lead.
I like Renge if only for the hilarious anime in-jokes she provides.
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I found a few fun Ouran Host Club/Rocky Horror paradies on Youtube that might amuse the fans of both series.
It's not just songs from the movie. its also using the dialogue from the Rocky Horror Picture Show as well.
The lip-syncing/scene matchup is pretty damn good and its worth spending the time to watch these ones.
The Ouran Horror Picture Show-A Trailer
The Ouran Horror Picture Show:Ep 1-Dammit Janet!
The Ouran Horror Picture Show:Ep 2-Over The Frankenstein Place
The Ouran Horror Picture Show:Ep 3-Time Warp
The Ouran Horror Picture Show:Ep 4-Sweet Transvestite
The Ouran Horror Picture Show:Ep 5-The Sword Of Damocles
The Ouran Horror Picture Show:Ep 6-I Can Make You A Man
The Ouran Horror Picture Show:Ep 7-Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?
The Ouran Horror Picture Show:Ep 8-I Can Make you A Man(Reprise)
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