Hi! It’s Annie!
We’ve talked very briefly about ‘Ouran High School Host Club’, and we’ve only talked about it previously for Hikaru and Kaoru. That was entirely because of our twins in media posts, so feel free to check out what we think about them as twin representation in those posts! But neither of us have really discussed the show itself or the characters, and recently this one popped up again in my Netflix recommendations. While I will always have some issues with how this show aged (such as Tamaki’s overprotectiveness of Haruhi and the entire beach episode from the discussion of how girls aren’t strong to the sexual assault), it’s difficult for me to not still have a space in my heart for it. I have to admit, part of that is the music. This is still one of the best soundtracks for any show ever. It also had a lighthearted and silly vibe most of the time that allows me to appreciate this show very much whilst still skipping the two parter beach episode. Recently, I was thinking about each of the members of the Host Club and which ones I would actually consider dating. Because there are members of this club that I love, but you could not pay me to date. Similarly, some of these members are more complicated as I don’t enjoy their persona in the club, but maybe I would actually consider them after having gotten to know them better. So, I’m going to go through all of the members and discuss all of that. Also, keep in mind that the entire plot of this show is pretty messed up. Host Clubs in general are pretty controversial and are definitely not appropriate for a High School. With that aside, this may contain MAJOR SPOILERS for the show. Though, who hasn’t seen this one already? Anyways, let’s just get into it!
Tamaki:
To start out, I’ll discuss his main persona for the club itself. Which is, the Prince. Tamaki is a French speaking and royal looking Prince, who mostly entertains his clients through extreme flattery and his noble attitude. Personally, I wouldn’t be attracted by this in the least bit. Most of what Tamaki does is either invade personal space, which I wouldn’t be too happy with, or recite really bad “poetry” that he comes up with on the fly. I know he gets the highest number of clients, but I wouldn’t be one of them. Especially since he definitely has an ego that goes along with it for everyone to see. Now if I really knew him….I still wouldn’t date him. I probably would appreciate who he was as a person, but is Tamaki really dateable to anyone? He doesn’t really know how to take care of himself. While at home he has servants for that and while at school, Kyoya and Haruhi are constantly the ones having to pick up after him. He also constantly throws tantrums like a five year old and gets very jealous very easily. And just like he has personal space issues with his clients, he seems to also have personal boundary issues with his friends. He never respects when Haruhi says they want privacy, and honestly doesn’t respect Kyoya when he says he wants privacy either. Also, I know he’s constantly jealous of Hikaru and Kaoru; but he doesn’t have to constantly insult them to their faces. Tamaki can be very nice and adorable when he wants to be. He is certainly charming. But I think we all have to admit that Tamaki is a large child for most of the series. Definitely, not dateable.
Haruhi:
There have been discussions about Haruhi as a character that I find to be incredibly important. Such as the fact that Haruhi doesn’t care about being seen as a boy or a girl and has no issues identifying as both or neither. This is an extremely progressive take, especially considering how old this anime is now. Most people now view Haruhi as being non-binary, and I agree with that. So I’m going to refer to Haruhi using they/them pronouns. If you don’t like that, then sorry but you’ll have to deal with it for the rest of this post. Haruhi is the ‘boy next door’ or the regular one when performing for the club. Haruhi’s form of conversation isn’t overwhelmingly flattering or flirtatious. Haruhi just has regular conversations about the lives of their clients and the lives of themself. Admittedly, they will sometimes resort to emotional manipulation. Such as the constant mention of their mother and her death. This is something I would appreciate a lot less. But I think having a regular conversation with someone within the dramatics of this club would be refreshing. I personally think I would find Haruhi dateable as a member of the club. Outside of it though….Haruhi is still completely dateable. Haruhi is responsible, they know how to take care of themself, and they are very hardworking. Haruhi is also an incredibly good listener and will drop anything if any of their friends need help. Haruhi has an incredible capacity for standing up for themselves and others, as wrongly portrayed in the beach episode. Haruhi is completely dateable.
Kyoya:
Kyoya is also a bit of a complicated person to talk about, somewhat because he keeps his emotions and intentions pretty close to his chest. It can be difficult to figure out if his intentions are to help his friends or completely out of greed and gain. There’s also the complicated matter of Kyoya being the one to commit the sexual assault in that beach episode (no, I will not stop talking about it). I will give a bit of a reprieve here because I feel this is more of a writers misstep than a character misstep. Especially because the writers viewed this as a moment to show that Kyoya was caring (what?). Meaning that I’m going to take the blame off of Kyoya for this and entirely put it on the age of the anime and the writers who thought it was a good idea. Now, having said that, Kyoya probably entertains his clients the least. I don’t know if this is because he just doesn’t get many or if it’s because he constantly has to keep the club running. But being his client would either involve constantly running around after him or waiting around for him. But he’s the smart type and he seems very amiable and very nice to talk to. He’s not overly flattering either and is also the type to have less of a penchant for the dramatics. I would say that he’s dateable here. Outside of the club…I personally think he’s also dateable. Whenever it feels like Kyoya is doing something for his own gain, it generally turns out to not be the case. And he probably carries the most responsibility of everyone. He can be scary sometimes, but I think he doesn’t necessarily try to be. Kyoya is dateable.
Honey:
Ok, this probably won’t be long because the answer to this one is pretty clear. Within the Host Club, I have absolutely no idea how Honey ever has any clients at all. Honey is essentially a child. He’s short enough to be a child, he talks like a child, he’s constantly babied by everyone and seems to enjoy it, he acts like a child, and he throws tantrums like a child. The fact that he’s actually a High School student, and a senior at that, is usually very surprising news to pretty much everyone. So no, not dateable. Very not dateable. But outside of the Host Club….he’s still a child. His persona within the Host Club and outside of it is pretty much the same. Who knows why this High School student decided to revert back to a childlike state? Or maybe he didn’t decide. But either way, Honey doesn’t make sense to me as a host because the entire point of the club is for women to associate with men they would find dateable. And if any of them find Honey dateable, I would kick them out of the school and never let them associate with children. Ever. Honey is very very not dateable.
Mori:
Mori is advertised as the strong and silent type. That’s what his persona is within the Host Club for the most part. If you decide to sit near Mori, you can expect little to no conversation. Which, let’s be honest, probably isn’t the most sellable image for a club where the entire point is to sit down and get to know these guys through talking to them. The other aspect of Mori’s appeal within the club is his duality with Honey. Essentially he is part of one of two duos that the Host Club advertises. Both of these duos do bank off of the possibility of their clients “shipping” these duos. And I have to say, both duos are incredibly disturbing for anyone to actually ship. Because Honey is, once again, pretty much a literal child. And Mori is Honey’s cousin. Eww! However, Honey and Mori participate in the blatant flirting much less than the other duo, and Mori tries to be attentive. He seems kind. I really think whether or not you think he’s dateable in the Host Club depends on the person. Personally for me; maybe? He’s better than a lot of the other options, but he’s not really what you would attend this club for. Outside of the club….Mori is absolutely dateable. One of the most dateable members of the club, I would argue. Though he doesn’t say much, he’s one of the most caring members. Which he shows more through actions than words. He’s protective, but he’ll let you do your own thing. And he’s incredibly kind. Mori is incredibly dateable.
Hikaru:
Now to the boys I have already talked about so much on this blog. Hikaru and Kaoru within the Host Club, would quite possibly be my least favorite hosts to be around. And that’s saying something considering how uncomfortable I would be around Tamaki. Hikaru and Kaoru are presented as a duo, much like Honey and Mori. Though I really don’t appreciate the stereotype of twins being introduced as a duo. They are both the mischievous type. Fine, but I don’t like that they are presented as being the same type. At least Honey and Mori have separate types. But none of this is even the worst of it, because their major draw is “twincest”. Please hold while I barf. They actually act like a couple too! I take back what I said before, this is definitely the most disturbing of the duos. I do not consider them dateable in this setting, would be extremely uncomfortable around them, and might even complain to Kyoya if I actually attended about the way they were making twins in general come across and for promoting incest. Anyways, Hikaru himself outside of the club…is probably not dateable. Hikaru struggles with maturity sometimes, and is more prone to pushing people away. While I can really understand this and he will eventually learn to overcome this, he can be a bit mean and aggressive about the way he pushes people away. Hikaru probably has some more trust issues to work through. While he may eventually be dateable, I think Hikaru has some stuff to work through before he becomes completely so. Hikaru probably isn’t dateable for now, though I think he’ll get there very soon by the end of the series.
Kaoru:
I already discussed his presentation within the Host Club, because unfortunately he and Hikaru have the same presentation within the club. A concept that I very much hate. So I’m just going to repeat that he is definitely not dateable within the Host Club and that I would also complain to Kyoya about him as well. But outside of the Host Club….I think Kaoru is definitely dateable. Kaoru is shown to be a very open, understanding, and an overall sweet person. The amount he cares for his brother is incredible and you can see that his love for his brother and friends is possibly the most unconditional of everyone. He’s even understanding towards Tamaki, despite all those times Tamaki insults him to his face. Kaoru is just as mischievous as his brother, sometimes to a pretty deceptive extent. But I think Kaoru is responsible and caring when it counts. Kaoru is also dateable.
I think four members of the Host Club being dateable isn’t all that bad, all things considered. But it is a fairly half and half situation. I thought it would be difficult to decide for some of them, but to me this was actually pretty clear in the end. This show is really cute, but thinking about how realistic it is, is something else entirely. Such as the fact that only two of these members would possibly seem dateable to me within the Host Club. Anyways, I know I didn’t do a full post on this- but I want to say a very Happy Birthday to Yunho from ATEEZ! I don’t want to get out of control on the blog making birthday posts for all of my favorite idols, but Yunho deserves all the well wishes!
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 