ouran yearbook
Categories: anime, general review
Tagged: ouran
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Think I can toss up 2,000 words on a shoujo series? You’re on. It’s time for some homo side characters.
After wrapping up Ouran Host Club, I’m impressed with the level of intelligent humor and the use of motifs and metaphors, both subtle and not, in presenting a highly entertaining series. Even though it’s billed as a series with shoujo roots, it’s nothing of the sort. Like how Nanoha was the evolutionary mahou shoujo series, Ouran is the evolutionary shoujo series.
Prior to 2004, magical girl series were very typecast– it’s like seeing Horatio Sanz or Chris Farley in an SNL– oh! They’re playing the clumsy fat guy! Whatashock! Magical girl shows were very light on plot, action, and animation and mostly carried by the romance angst aspect that would appeal to the female audience or the moe aspect that would appeal to the male audience (see Moon, Sailor). Nanoha came along and pretty much proved that yes, plot and action can carry a magical girl show. While Nanoha did carry traditional magical girl elements (she is a magical girl, after all), the series took them to the next step.
Ouran does a similar thing to shoujo– it’s one of the rare cross-genre shows designed to suck in both genders without anyone noticing. If Strawberry Panic was the shonen harem series gone shoujo, Ouran would be the reverse. While there are traditional shoujo elements in Ouran (the art style, the “helping others in their relationships” angles), it doesn’t carry the traditional angst– very subdued– and tries to appeal to its viewers through comedy, sympathy, and intelligence– the latter of which seems lost on the producers of Zero no Tsukaima.
What really makes Ouran tick though is Bones. They did a fantastic job in animating this series and bringing the max out of the source material. While not up to the production levels thrown out by Kyoto, Bones sure prove that they’re one of the rare anime studios who know what they are doing. After flipping through the manga, it’s nothing special. I have a hard time pinning down why Ouran would be a better series than, let’s say, Super GALS, which takes a similar approach– shoujo sensibilities with shonen dressing– based on their mangas alone. The difference is that Bones took the forumla and refined it much like Kyoto Animation has done with Haruhi.
Let’s start with a change to one of my favorite characters– Orenge-sama. She’s very sparse in the manga, but she’s a fantastically random and reckless character– she’s the Ichijou of Ouran in terms of “Did I just miss that?!? Rewind!” Bones must have looked at the manga, saw the possibilites, and gave her more screentime– basically, no different than KC giving Larry Johnson carries last season and having him crank, crank, crank yardage. (This season… ugh… I should have taken LT over LJ.) They changed her character around a bit and made Orenge-sama even more over-the-top and reckless. She’s now a full-blown cosplay maniac (just a step below Ohno) as well as having the most enjoyable enterence sequence since Utena. Bones giving Renge her time is much like Kyoto giving LOL FANG-TAN her time. Too bad JC Staff hasn’t realized yet that Jessica should be carrying the franchise (or at least sharing carries with Siesta).
Another of the changes they made was, “Well, if the story is about a rich, pompous school, why not gear all the art to that?” The art style is subtly difference between manga and anime– the anime has distinct overtones of another evolutionary series: Revolutionary Girl Utena (keep in mind Utena’s school is Ohtori Academy… hint…). The style of the gates, the roses, the doors, the arctitecures, the use of shadows talking– all smacks of Utena. That’s class, and the style accentuates the premise well.
What Bones really excelled at was the use of motifs and metaphors… top notch stuff. The series had me in the first episode when it started displaying the light bulbs to indicate when a host club member realized that Haruhi is female (leading to a change from the manga– Tamaki has a typical harem moment to discover Haruhi’s gender vs finding her student ID in the manga). Then Bones did a fantastic job in bringing that motif back for one last character at the very end. Also, in the end, it ties up the Twin’s “pumpkin carriage” motif a bit less noticably– remember, they were dumped in a pumpkin patch by Haruhi’s carriage at the very end. The series doesn’t forget where it’s been. Unlike, oh, the Hinamiwaza residents.
There’s just a lot of weird yet fitting motifs and metaphors… everything from the monkeys that show up when Lobelia’s girls show up to Kyouya’s slamming of things with creases to the pantheon class Wonderland parody in episode 13 to Eclair’s glasses (though weren’t these originally Orenge-sama’s back in 23?).
(There’s also just a lot of great random stuff tossed in– like how Haruhi’s dad crossdresses for a living, the running commoner gag with instant coffee, the general pompousness, and all the costume changes. Costume changes are very important to anime nowadays… Ouran really milks Haruhi’s crossdressing by tossing the audience a bone once in a while by showing Haruhi really dolled up… still, I prefer Orenge-sama and The King.)
I’m also impressed with how Bones wraps up the series (even if the manga is on-going)… usually, for a romantic comedy, especially in with shoujo roots, wouldn’t you think a confession would save the day? Well, it’s not like Ouran explored heavily anything between Haruhi and Tamaki, but her ending confession was great because it wasn’t for Tamaki, yet could be, but still a greater vindication for the host club. Seems like an obvious ending, yet still enjoyable– especially when Tamaki– Tamaki! Has to be saved. And he ends up saving someone else in the process. It’s a good evolution twist for this evolutionary series.
(And the epilogue… in typically circle fashion, the beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning. Same line.)
Still, just having animation style or Orenge-sama doesn’t carry a series (see Ragtime Show, Coyote), a series has to have a good base to start with, and Ouran has a great base. The whole concept of a “host club” that entertains the ladies is just such an over-the-top idea that I love to see in anime– just like over-the-top ramen shops, over-the-top invasions of pekopon, and over-the-top emo facial distortions. It’s definitely entertaining to see the exact opposite of Keitaro, Shinji, and all the other loser males typically found in anime male lead roles. I broke down the cast earlier, so I’m not going to do it again here, but I still think that Tamaki, “The King” as referred to sometimes in this blog, has no anime equal. Just an unique and refreshing character.
(I always found scenes involving both Tamaki and Renge somewhat awkward. Maybe it’s because both are such wild cards and start cancelling each other out.)
Unlike most male leads, Tamaki is both the center of attention yet not the center of attention. His stories throughout Ouran are both the least and most important– which makes zero sense, but bear with me. Ouran focused more episodes on the twins (by far my least favorite characters by the end) than Tamaki, who is undisputedly the show’s signature character. Can I think of another male lead character who charms ladies to great success that he gets paid for it as a high class escort? Can I think of another male lead character who can see through others yet are transparent as glass themselves? Can I think of another male lead character who gets rescued at the end like how typical female lead characters get rescued? (I think the closest would be if Osaka suddenly supported Mikuru-class melonpan and had guys and girls drooling over her… but Osaka and Tamaki are different types of dumb in two types of roles. So still fundamentally different. Still… Osaka… 36DD… seems…. wrong.)
Even though Tamaki is supposed to be the “hero,” in his grandest story, he has the traditional “heroine” role. He ends up seemingly like a figurehead for Shadow Boss, but in reality, he’s the one who makes the host club tick. It’s not his blonde hair nor charm nor tea brewing skills that is valuable, it’s the chemistry and vision he brings. He’s like a clubhouse manager for a winning baseball team– he doesn’t tell the pitchers how to pitch or lead hitting practice, he just makes sure everyone is loose and unified while egging on everyone to be their best. (See Leyland, Jim.)
Speaking of the female lead character, I disagree with many others with respect to the value that Haruhi Fujioka brings to the series. There’s nothing unique with crossdressing. There’s nothing unique about being flat chested. There’s nothing unique about being a wet blanket. Haruhi’s popularity reminds me a lot of Shinobu in Love Hina— highly popular because she’s domestic and loli– two reasons that really don’t appeal to me, yet appeal to many other fanboys. I don’t share in Fujioka’s appeal– typical “straight man” in a comedy series– not unlike a less busty Rei Tachibana from Pani Poni Dash, a more patient Yomi from Azumanga, or a female Rock from Black Lagoon. Yes, that’s right– if Tamaki were Revy, Haruhi would be Rock. (Kyouya would be Balalaika, of course.)
(If there’s one thing bad to say about Ouran, it’s that it makes absolutely zero use of Maaya Sakamoto’s abilities. I felt like I was watching GSD. Again, she’s a top tier seiyuu– so use her in a role befitting a top tier seiyuu. After watching Escaflowne and Macross 7, I walked away thinking, “Man, I can’t think of another seiyuu wouldn’t I want instead of Maaya Sakamoto”… I just can’t say the same thing for Haruhi Fujioka– they literally could have dropped in Minori Chihara or Aya Hisakawa or Megumi Toyoguchi, and I couldn’t have told a difference in quality of work. Think if they replaced Aya Hirano as Haruhi Suzumiya with Ayako Kawasumi… it just wouldn’t be the same. To put it bluntly, don’t use your best seiyuu to give life to the show’s most straight-faced character. Yes, it’s definitely a great series if all I have to bitch about is how they probably could have saved money going with a lesser known seiyuu and achieved the same results– let’s call this the “Maybe they should have signed Brees instead of Culpepper” complaint. I’m also proud that this is the first Ouran review that uses Brees and Leyland as metaphors for Ouran‘s success.)
Still, Haruhi Fuijoka is a necessary character because she grounds the series and gives it that noble vs commoner spirit that made Zero no Tsukaima that fabulous series that it is… (sorry, I was just outside taking a ten minute laughing break). She’s necessary because she makes Tamaki go into his overdrives and spurs some of the top tier humor. Definitely a necessary catalyst– an example would be my favorite sequence (supplanting the homo side character bit) has to be when Tamaki goes into robot mode because Kasanoda was hitting on Haruhi. Just slayed me. A perfect storm of organic LOL.
The stories and conflicts in Ouran are generally simple and let the characters and the comedy carry the viewers from the first to the last minute. Just like how evolutionary Nanoha shunned the typical romanic aspect (not counting any possible Fate-chan lesbianism, of course) to focus on the magical girl combat, evolutionary Ouran shuns typical teenaged angst (very little for a shoujo series) in favor of comedy and character interaction. This is the probably the same reason I watch The Hills and stay away from Grey’s Anatomy. Very few of the plotlines require deep thinking like Mushishi nor are they intertwined like Escaflowne, yet Ouran does simplicity… and does it well. I don’t finish watching an Ouran episode shaking my head wondering how the ending came to be… instead, all the endings are logical for the characters and don’t require any of them to break character to achieve the ending. The complete and utter opposite of Higurashi.
For example, during the episode when the newspaper club was trying to dig up (or manufacture) dirt on Tamaki, not only were they predicatbly rebuffed by Tamaki (because he’s that transparent) but they were upended by the Shadow Boss. Given the setup and the conflict, was there any logical doubt to this ending? Or the outcome of the “dochira wa Hikaru?” gay-mu? Or when the Zaku girls kidnap Haruhi for their play, 5/6th of the remaining members fell for their unique “trap,” yet the Lobelia girls ended up getting upstaged in the end. With Haruhi’s typical, “Explain to me how this is better than studying?” comment tossed in. Or how everyone miscontrues Tamaki’s “pure” intentions?
(Though there is a tiny plot flaw– Tamaki goes on and on about his love of kotatsus in Ouran 24 when Kyouya is going over his story. Well, didn’t Tamaki in episode 2 say, “Fearing the chill and curling up in a kotatsu is nonsense! We have great central heating!” See, this is the type of hard-hitting analysis AoMM brings– kotatsus. I’ll be outside sulking right now, thanks.)
Ouran is an evolutionary shoujo that both genders can appreciate. For a series that focuses so much on extravalent lifestyles, it’s a series that is fundamentally grounded in what makes a good, enjoyable anime series with its superior translation from the source material and eccentric cast.
(And, if you don’t believe me, check out what a real manly man has to say about Ouran.)
(It’s definitely a series that I can see opening doors to new types of anime and anime fans if it ever gets shown on American cable– a show that relies on smart comedy rather than epic fanservice or mindless powering up can succeed in the US. I have to believe that.)
32 Responses to “ouran yearbook”
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“The whole concept of a “host club†that entertains the ladies is just such an over-the-top idea that I love to see in anime”
Would it freak you out if I tell you Host Clubs are real in Japan? (not in schools, of course) And yes the best host is called “the King”?
I saw a documentary on that a while ago. This is not over the top; this is art imitating, and exaggerating, life.
I always thought of Ouran as more like Muteki Kanban Musume and Keroro: good, clean, simple fun. For many shows, the entire drive is based on cliff-hangers and the urgent plot. When you hit filler material, you can’t stand it. When fansubbers are late with an episode, it’s like slamming into a brick wall. When a story arc ends, it feels like the whole bottom drops out of the show.
With Ouran, there was no urgency, no episodes that felt anticlimactic. Each story that was heavy in relationships and plot was wrapped up quite quickly and efficiently without losing impact. They didn’t drag out the content with 10-episode cliff-hangers.
Ah, well, they’re the most chaste host club on the planet, so they can survive in their lovely, pink school.
I actually liked Sakamoto’s flatness. And it was really funny when she did the bad acting for Haruhi in the Zuka’s musical.. tragedy.. thing. Anyway, I love Escaflowne and I love her in Escaflowne, but she has some low, low VA moments in that anime. (When she starts crying at the end of episode one.. oh, dear. Watched that yesterday and it hurt.)
I would argue that Haruhi is less of a wet blanket and more of a very basic foundation, very straight-forward and refreshingly direct. Plus, at random moments, she can be really adorable. Ah, well, personal preference.
(I love your Tamaki=heroine argument. Snrrk.)
This show is one of the best I have watched in a long time. I forgot it was a shoujo anime after the second episode. (Although some of the yaoi vibes reminded me this sometimes).
I hope they bring this to America. No one should miss this one.
A couple of things:
1) I thought “Host Club” took the torch Utena had and ran with it. And yeah. It’s the only show that made more sense for a show that’s not suppose to make sense. (Rich people, their school and flowers belching out.)
2) I believe that “Host Club” is a continuation of Garbage Seed Destiny; staring Lunamaria and Shinn (respectively) as Haruhi and Hikaru. :P
A little sidenote about how Takami becomes Shams (dat black dude) in the Gundam Seed Stargazer ONA.
Otherwise, top quality VA for a show like that.
The End of Ouran, the end (I hope) of my ADSW orders the, and end of my bitter struggle with student accounting over their monumental fuck up of my TAs. Tuesday was indeed an auspicious day and this was coup de grace to my woes after reeking of aviation fuel and a unit move that’s finally over for me at least.
While you dear sir may have not been swayed by the charms of Fujioka I don’t think that Ouran could have been as successful if Haruhi was even more than mildly affected by the males of the host club. Still the admission of Fujioka as vital to the equation took a bit effort on your part and given your last character breakdown for Ouran is probabaly the best we can hope for. While it may be a tragedy that Ms. Maaya Sakamoto has been relegated to the miserly status of Sir Ben Kingsley after Gandhi, it was a treat to have her nonetheless.
I agree whole heartedly with your assessment of BONES’ brilliant manuever to give Renge-sama more screen time she deserves a statute plus pedestal in every town and city square, yes even Tiananmen.
While the Twins nearly drove my to break into the armory or even lateral into aviation to get crew chief quals just to be a door gunner or play with that lovely .50 cal sniper rifle, my hatred abated when I saw their complete and utter impotence against Kasanoda. It was also the first time I sympathized with ficticious Yakuza.
Ouran, I do believe deserves special mention in you next golden age of anime posts since it has shown that shoujo can have gender spanning appeal. Ouran and SHnY made the spring season most enjoyable. I liked Haruhi as sugoi daikon and the first coming of Renge.
Now to catch up with ZnT and find out who this Jessica you speak of is and how she could possibly share Siesta’s burden…
Funny how Tamaki is half-french and Renge used to live in France…
Anyway, I love that show, I think there’s a lack of pretention (and fanservice) that appeals to me.
But people (male viewers mostly) are harsh on the twins. They were definitely funnier and more interesting than Mori or Honey imo.
That was an outstanding piece of writing Jason.
I think Ouran will age well as time marches on- it’s solid and straightforward ( just like Rudi Johnson).
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
>>Still… Osaka… 36DD…
Satan called, he is keeping a spot for you :P
>>if Tamaki were Revy, Haruhi would be Rock. (Kyouya would be Balalaika, of course.)
You just made me imagine a horrible picture inside my head, that I can’t forget :S
Anyways, great review.
Holy crap that thread/pic you posted was freaking hilarious!!!! How did you find such a thoughtful review?!
I think you’ve found the perfect vocabulary for writing about anime, and I’m very glad you took on Ouran. By the end of its run, it was the series I looked forward to most. Perhaps even more than fairytales, anime is best analyzed in terms of archetypes (in a way, the specialty here at AoMM). After witnessing such a well-executed show, I’ve lost much of my desire to finish of Zero no tsukaima or Higurashi. Their inherent crappiness is causing me to question my own mental health for watching them.
Cole Says:
>>if Tamaki were Revy, Haruhi would be Rock. (Kyouya would be Balalaika, of course.)
You just made me imagine a horrible picture inside my head, that I can’t forget :S
———————————————————–
in the black lagoon manga, there is actually an extra(about 2 page) where every1’s gender flip, so it’s not that hard to picture ; ;
I really like straight-man characters. Fujioka isn’t Suzumiya or Renge (or Zelgadis, for that matter) but I think she’s plenty entertaining in her own way.
indeed. ouran was good
Ouran was an awesome show…
Good review, I agree on a lot of points, but I have to disagree with your assessment of Maaya Sakomoto.
First of all she wasn’t in Macross 7 (although if she was Myline it would have been awesome)… maybe you were thinking of RahXephon?
Secondly… I actually thought she did an awesome job in this show. It’s hard to be the kind of sarcastic kind of character that Haruhi is without also being incredibly sweet. Perhaps it was because you didn’t find Haruhi sweet at all. Sure she wasn’t a moe~~~ character at all, but I think she is one of the most ‘real’ characters out there. Unlike the super moe~~ characters, she’s not cute all the time but only in select moments. Unlike characters like Suzumiya Haruhi, she’s not crazy all the time, but rather acts much like a real person. Even her caring about people is not overly unrealistic like Belldandy. She has very real flaws, but very real good qualities good. I think for me what made me like the show was the comedy, but what kept me watching through 26 pretty predictable episodes was Haruhi…
“Haruhi’s popularity reminds me a lot of Shinobu in Love Hina– highly popular because she’s domestic and loli– two reasons that really don’t appeal to me, yet appeal to many other fanboys. I don’t share in Fujioka’s appeal– typical “straight man†in a comedy series…”
Well I dunno about the Haruhi-to-fanboy appeal, but let me tell you that the Haruhi-to-fangirl appeal is very simple. Haruhi doesn’t suck. She’s not clumsy, stupid, infuriatingly pure-hearted, or fawning all over her bad boy love interest. She’s smart, self-posessed, and a damn respectable representation of my gender. It has nothing to do with the fact that she’s cross-dressing or surrounded by bishounen (although that’s all a nice icing on the cake). It’s that we fangirls have been STARVING for non-sparklypoo (and/or non-jiggly) female lead characters, even in shoujo anime and manga. Is it too much to ask for a heroine who isn’t an idiot, isn’t fawning over some boy, and doesn’t have to be rescued by a masked bishounen every five minutes? Until Ouran came along, it almost seemed like it was too much to ask.
/ feminist rant
Also… Personally I don’t count Nanoha as mahou shoujo because it wasn’t targeted toward girls. I think it counts as an example of “seinen mahou shoujo” (mahou shoujo shows targeted towards boys), but as far as I’m concerned it didn’t revolutionize anything about mahou shoujo. Because girls didn’t watch it. (Honestly, we didn’t want to. All of those Megami magazine panty-flashing pinups were a bit of a put-off.)
Agreeing to the following about Nanoha:
>>I think it counts as an example of “seinen mahou shoujo†(mahou shoujo shows targeted towards boys), but as far as I’m concerned it didn’t revolutionize anything about mahou shoujo. Because girls didn’t watch it
Cardcaptor Sakura is a better fit for where you put Nanoha, IMHO. I’d have to think about it/watch it again to say exactly why, but that it seemed to be the case for me.
It’s funny…you say the manga is “nothing special” but most of the elements you praise in the anime came directly from the manga. Other than the reworking of the Alice in Wonderland episode and eps. 25 and 26, pretty much everything else follows the manga quite closely.
Don’t get me wrong; Bones did an outstanding job on the production of the show. However, they didn’t create the characters; Tamaki is there in the manga in his full glory. Give Bisco Hattori some credit for him at least, since you love him so much.
Oh, and speaking as an unregenerate Ouran fangirl: Renge sucks.
Well, speaking as an unregenerate fangirl, I adored Renge. ^^;; And I agree with Jason that Renge was one of the many ways in which the anime improved over the manga; yes the original elements were all in the manga, but the manga had its flaws (sloppy artwork, bad layouts, questionable comic timing) that the anime simply eliminated. And I’m saying this as someone who devoutly read the manga since it first started running in LaLa. The manga was (is, rather) good, but the anime was great.
I also agree with omoroiyarou that CCS more truly revolutionized mahou shoujo in the way that you credit Nanoha for doing. Honestly, though, I hate to harp on Nanoha, but I think you’re giving it far too much credit. Granted I only watched the first season, but as far as “plot and action carrying a magical girl show” go, both CCS, the last three seasons of Sailor Moon, pretty much any kaitou (theif) magical girl show, Pretty Cure, Pretear, Princess Tutu, etc. were entirely comparable in their focus on plot on action.
With regards to MS-Lyrical Nanoha, much of the fanboying over the action refers to the second season. Watching the first episode alone will set the record straight about which Mahou Shoujo defines the concept about Magical Girls beating the living tar out of each other.
The first season was pretty a setup season where they introduce the characters and lay out the background world. Not so much focus on action as the second season, since they needed to devote time to main character development.
Cheers.
For Kotetsu,
MS-Lyrical Nanoha A’s OP
Cheers.
Well, I guess I will have to watch A’s now, since I do shamelessly enjoy anime where anybody beats the living tar out of anybody else.
(But will it beat the Sailor Galaxia vs. Sailor Starlights fight from the last season of Sailor Moon? With all of the explosions and blood and death and hair-pulling and women in high heels stomping on each other when they’re down? In terms of animation quality it can’t beat anything made today, since it was made ten years ago on a shoestring budget, but still…)
But waitaminute, is the “evolutionary” series now “evolutionary” just because it’s dark and violent? I think the point of Jason’s post (if I understood it correctly) was the Nanoha was “evolutionary” because it focused on plot and action, as opposed to endless monster-of-the-day battles, filler, and weekly lessons about the power of love. This is not the same as saying that “evolutionary” means “action-packed and violence-filled.”
Well, either way, Nanoha is still not the first or most influential magical girl show to be plot-focused and include lots of action and violence. Nor is it even truly mahou shoujo in the first place – it’s just bishoujo masquerading as mahou shoujo. But the OP video has intruigued me and I would like to see the second season, since it seems to come with the official fanboy seal of approval. ^__^
There’s quite a number of good comparative sentences here. Very humorous and thoughtful read. I’d have to say, that I agree with Epi on half my reason for watching the show. Haruhi is stunning, not Suzumiya stunning (like omg I can’t believe she said/did that), but stunning in the way Kotetsu explained. Fujioka Haruhi is grandiose. Even though this was shoujo, I felt identified with the host club for being so damn in love with Haruhi. May be that is the pivot point that enabled this anime to suit two genders; there are two identifiable POVs (or more).
Tamaki was spectacular, and he was my favorite host (in the end), especially as the season went on. Seeing how he was able to bring them together makes him genius; he could be called the perfect people person. And at the same time, like you said, he is almost entirely unaware (oro-style). I find that this unawareness really shows that his skill or w/e is really a natural born attribute. He deserves to be the king!
Great show, great post! thanks
I have to give it to Bones for such a great ending, since the closing of a series is probably the most dangerous task of any studio, as many, many have failed in the task.
As for the mahou shoujo evolution, I’ve yet to watch nanoha. However, it must be one seriously awesome show to take on the greatness of CCS. I’ll look into it one of these days.
Though I agree that Bones worked wonders in giving Host Club that extra Utena elegance and quirk, I think more credit should go to the writer, Yoji Enokido, who was also a member of Be-Papas. The kind of abstract symbolism like the lightbulbs and his sense of random humor (Nanami:Renge ?) are kind of his signature style.
In all honesty, Haruhi plays a more important role then you give her credit for… That aside, good post on a great show!
“Also, in the end, it ties up the Twin’s “pumpkin carriage†motif a bit less noticably– remember, they were dumped in a pumpkin patch by Haruhi’s carriage at the very end.”
Honestly, the “pumpkin carriage” picture is my favorite. I’m not a fan of Tamaki’s so I think that I am not that much satisfied with the anime. Sure, I like Renge-chan too (we’re both fangirls!), but I like chapter 45 of the manga more. If Bones had only gotten the chance to put that in and divert the storyline to prove that Tamaki and Hikaru are the only top contenders for Haruhi’s heart (remember, she hasn’t fell for anyone yet!) I would be more happy. You see, i’m a shipping fangirl.
I may be posting at the wrong site, but I am eleven years old, and if I see those “manly men” I will rip their heads off. HIKARU AND KAORU MAY BE HOMOS BUT ITS JUST AN ACT YOU DOZOS!!!!!!!! Sorry, just had to vent. THEY ARE FALLING FOR A GIRL OKAY? IT’S JUST NOTHING BUT AN ACT!
‘Ouran does a similar thing to shoujo– it’s one of the rare cross-genre shows designed to suck in both genders without anyone noticing.’
-Huh, no. There is no such thing as shoujo which tries to suck guys in, because 99.99% of guys in Japan won’t lay their hands on shoujo anyway. There is female friendly shounen though because it is a 100 times easier to get a female to read/watch shounen because there is no stigma against doing so. It is not like the US market.
‘While there are traditional shoujo elements in Ouran (the art style, the “helping others in their relationships†angles), it doesn’t carry the traditional angst– very subdued– and tries to appeal to its viewers through comedy, sympathy, and intelligence– the latter of which seems lost on the producers of Zero no Tsukaima.’
-So you attribute the show’s comedy, symathy and intelligence to the fact that you think it’s aiming for male viewers if I understand well… Because you say these are not typical shoujo elements… And that it is a show which is designed to pull in male viewers as well… Well, the only I can see from your comment is your *prejudice* against shoujo… If it’s not sappy and angsty, of course, it can’t be for real girls! No no no, they must be trying to pull a few odd male viewers by making a show more refined than the dreck they usually call shoujo, of course… Now tell me, if this show was aimed at both a female and male audience, why on earth the video game on the PS2 has you play as Haruhi and have a romance with the guys?? That’s not male friendly at all… Guess the male Ouran fans are not that numerous in Japan (overseas market: peanuts in Japanese minds)… Also, shoujo does *not* equal sappy romance, there is Sci-Fi shoujo (Jyu-Oh-Sei is based on a shoujo manga! and so is the upcoming Terra E! and there is also Night Head Genesis) horror shoujo, actually there seems to be more horror shoujo than horror shounen… And no, these mangas are not made to pull in male viewers/readers, because the average Japanese guys won’t read them anyway for fear of being labeled gay/girly and/or they think it sucks because it’s for girls blah blah blah (same thing as in the US with Harlequin novels). Yes, girls can and DO like other things than sappy romance unlike what you think….
You have a misunderstanding of shoujo as for girl = girls like sappy angsty romance = equals sappy romance. But that is incorrect. Shoujo is just aimed at a girls audience and spawns many many genres. Japanese people know this, it is *only* westerners who make this assumption that corny romance=shoujo… Ironically this reveals more about westerners thougts about girls than about Japanese…
“Ironically this reveals more about westerners thougts about girls than about Japanese”
Ironically, this statement also reveals your state of mind. You seem to think your prejudices are better than others.
No juice for you!
*inhanha pu ceis*
I personally don’t know why anime genres must be bound to a demographic indicator. All a genre should tell you is what themes and settings are in a story. All a demographic indicator should do is say what ages said story is appropriate for (and if you’re a retarded sexist, gender).
Does it contain giant robots with pilots? Well, then it’s mecha. Does it focus on a girl with arcane powers that are not common in her world? Well, then it’s mahou shoujo.
As for the article commenting on revolutionizing the shoujo genre, guess what; SHOUJO IS NOT A GENRE, IT IS A DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATOR.