Haruhi Fujioka is a scholarship student at Ouran High School and because of the outrageous cost of the school uniform Haruhi wears baggy men’s clothing as a substitute. That combined with her short hair and huge glasses is enough to cause people to think that she is a he, and she does nothing to correct the misunderstanding. One day Haruhi was searching for a quiet place on campus to study and she stumbles upon the Host Club. In her confusion she accidentally breaks an enormously expensive vase and must work with them until her debt for the vase is paid. The school's unofficial motto is "Lineage counts first, wealth a close second"
Honestly, I never expected much from Ouran as my experiences with gender bender manga's aren't very good. After giving it a chance, I must say that it’s one of the few manga that have made me laugh. Tamaki’s OVER reaction to everything to the Host Club’s fascination the world of the "commoners" were highly amusing. Eg, They were shocked that the rumors of such a thing as instant coffee were true.
I also like the fact that it doesn't overwhelm the readers with romance and ignore the other side characters. I dislike the 'fall-heads-over-heel-at-first-glance' syndrome that seem to afflict other shojo manga. Even when you know our heroine is going to fall in love with someone (It is a shojo after all) The manga-ka build up the relationship between character, and actually romance plays a minor role til much much later towards the ending. It deals realistically with real life issues.
Hatori Bisco’s style flows, with characters that are attractive when normal and cute when necessary. The storytelling itself works well. We’re introduced to the characters and the situation early on. We as readers don’t feel lost or confused watching the plot move along. The story is kept amusing, with constant sight gags and jokes. Despite this, there is still a serious side lurking underneath, which is revealed in the later chapters.
In the end, I'd say that Ouran surpasses my expectations very well. The characters have depth and troubles each unique to each person very much like real life. There is not a single character to is there just because he's a bishonen. They all have a role to play and none was ignored. The art is also consistant, crisp and pleasing to the eye. All characters are discern able and each chapter shows that the manga-ka puts real effort towards this manga. This series ended at chapter 83 and so I look forward to Hatori Bisco's next work.
Rank: A+
