Ouran High School Host Club (2006) - Japanese TV show

* * * * 1/2

I approached this series not having ever watched any anime before and was very confused for the first few episodes by the style, as I watched more episodes, and especially after I had watched the series twice, I grew to adore this show for all its eccentricities. The story follows a group of attractive boys who have started a Host Club to earn extra money by wooing girls, however one of the Host Club members is actually an unfortunate girl who has been duped into working as a host.

The comedy style of the series, though hard to understand fully at first, is brilliant. Since watching this I have seen some more anime and it seems as though a lot of the rely on physical humour whereas in this there is also a very good script that delivers funny lines without the need to add exaggerated animation. Furthermore, the longer you watch the series then the better you know the characters and the more inside jokes become apparent.

The characters seem to be staple anime characters but are very self-aware of this fact because, as part of the Host Club, everyone must fit into a typical type of attractive role.The good thing about these characters is that most of them are given their own episodes, the girl (Haruhi) is the character followed most often, but you get to see more about the boys and what makes them who they are. The fact that you explore the characters quite deeply, and in a short space of time because there has only been one series, means that the audience feels very attached to them.

This light-hearted programme creates a short but sweet series. There is something for everything, not only in the Host Club, but because it can be serious or funny or meaningful all in the same episode.Personally I found that it took some getting used to because of the difference between anime and the TV cartoons that I have watched all my life but I would recommend it to anyone.