Summary
Ouran High School Host Club is an iconic anime that was released in the early 2000s. This anime is only one season, but it is truly an incredible season. Over the years, Ouran has becomealmost a cult classicamong anime fans, particularly for the way it leans into parody.
Every single episode of Ouran High School Host Club has some form of parody. It’s meant to make fun of (in the most loving way) the most absurd tropes out there. For the most part, this parody still works when compared with modern day anime. Here are the best ways Ouran mimics other romance manga and anime.
9Commoner Culture
Commoner’s Coffee!
Often in anime, there are characters poorer than others who happen to end up in situations where they are surrounded by rich people. Ouran parodies this often in the show. There is the most obvious example: when Haruhi, the only commoner in the host club, buys commoner’s instant coffee, they take turns being brave enough to try it.
But there are more moments too, such as Tamaki dreaming about how Haruhi lives and picturing the worst, or the club whispering and making sure they aren’t “insulting the commoner.” There’s even some bullying. Some examples of this trope are Princess Lover and Hayate no Gotoku.
8Host Club
And Maid Cafes
The entire premise of the show surrounds a host club. A host club is when a group of guys host women for tea and snacks. There is the opposite version too, which is a maid cafe. This is when women dress like maids and serve people in a cafe. In both circumstances, the idea is mostly entertainment.
One main example of this would be Maid Sama, but often host clubs and maid cafés are formed and shown within one episode of anime. This usually happens during school festival episodes.
7Harems
And Reverse Harems
Harems are so common in anime they’re considered their own genre. In this show, there is one girl, Haruhi, and a ton of guys who all have feelings for her or love her deeply. This is actually considered a ‘reverse harem,’ because the original harem is a man surrounded by girls.
Some examples of this in anime are Romantic Killer, Brothers Conflict, and Yona of the Dawn. Not all of these are great. Yona is a great example of a lot of people who love the main character, but Brother’s Conflict shows just how messy (and honestly kind of awful) these haremscan be in the end.
6Breaking The Fourth Wall
Narration
Within this show, there are so many moments where the fourth wall is broken. One of the most famous examples is when Tamaki says, “Me and Haruhi are the main characters, which means we are love interests. And you boys are the homosexual supporting cast!”
On top of that, they often refer to past events as “past episodes,” will talk about how they are in an anime, and refer to themselves as part of a cast. Fruits Basket does this when Haru makes a comment to the audience, and Kaguya-sama: Love Is War does this with its narrator.
5Beach Episode
Iconic And Typical
The beach episode is a staple in the anime community. It appears in so many romance anime, particularly ones that are 12 episodes long. The idea of it is to have a reprieve of the plot, and to bring the main couple closer together.
If you’re looking for other beach episodes, check out Fruits Basket, Toradora, Maid Sama, Tomo-chan is a girl… the list goes on and on. It’s really up there as one of the most popular romance anime tropes. In Ouran’s beach episode, Haruhi opens up to Tamaki and admits that she’s terrified of thunder.
4Homosexuality
“Homosexual Supporting Cast!”
Having hints of homosexuality is popular in anime. Some are more outright, like Kiss him, not me, while others are more subtle, such as the Vampire Dormitory. Of course, there are beautiful anime that actually surround gay couples, but that’s not what Ouran is making fun of.
Ouran is making fun of characters that aren’t gay but are often put in positions where it seems like they are. There are so many moments in the show where two of the male characters get close to each other in an intimate way. There’s even awkwardness around people thinking characters are gay because they like Haruhi, such as Kasanoda.
If you’re looking for some anime that are actually about LGBTQIA+ relationships, check out: Sasaki and Miyano, Welcome Home, Kase-san and Morning Glories and Adachi And Shimamura.
3Dense Main Couple
Haruhi and Tamaki
Haruhi and Tamaki are both incredibly dense in their feelings for each other up until the very end of the show. In fact, many of the other characters talk a lot about how they don’t even seem to know that they love each other, especially in Tamaki’s case.
One great example of this trope is Inyasha, where there are multiple seasons of will-they, won’t-they. Another is Apothecary Diaries, where Maomao has seemingly no idea that Jinshi is into her. This trope can actually be a lot of fun because it keeps the tension going throughout the show.
2Romance Tropes
Each Character
Each and every characterin this show is a romance trope. Honey is the little lolita type; Mori is the strong, quiet type. The twins are little devils who protect only each other: Kyoka is the smart and slightly arrogant type, and Tamaki is the blonde, princely type.
You see these characters everywhere, in too many anime to count. The Bibliophile Princess is the perfect example of the princely type, and My Happy Marriage is a beautiful example of the strong, quiet type. Usually, we don’t see them all in the same show, but it’s easy to recognize these tropes once you know them.
1Gender
Exploring Gender
Gender is explored a lot in this show. The main character, Haruhi is the best example of this. She often says she doesn’t care at all about how she’s seen, and doesn’t mind being mistaken for a boy. But she’s not the only example. Girls dress like boys, and the host club dresses like girls.
It’s awesome to see gender challenged in Ouran and other anime. A few other shows that tackle this topic are Fruits Basket, Vampire Dormitory, and Ranma ½. Some do it better than others, but it’s often explored in romance anime.
