One of the most popular and iconic shojo manga/anime of all time is Ouran High School Host Club. Many viewers’ first title for the shojo demographic, this early 2000s series continues to have a huge fanbase that audiences rave about to this day. This is due to a combination of both the story and art quality, as well as the fact that it’s a kind of parody of shojo manga archetypes.
Obviously, if it’s one of those anime and manga that has to be read and watched, it helps if doing so is pretty easy. Thankfully, this is as simple as pulling up a chair at a host club. Here’s what the legendary Ouran High School Host Club is about, plus where it can be enjoyed.
The Plot of Ouran
Ouran follows a normal high school student named Haruhi as she becomes involved with the resident host club of Ouran Academy. Japanese host clubs are the male version of hostess clubs, which are themselves somewhat similar to maid cafes. Full of pretty young boys who entertain female guests, the Ouran Host Club gets a new unwitting member when Haruhi accidentally breaks one of their priceless valuables.
Doing favors for the club in order to pay off her debt, Haruhi eventually becomes quite adept at hosting guests herself. From there, Ouran High School Host Club focuses on the various relationships of the club members, essentially turning the story into a reverse harem series.
Where to Read Ouran Host Club
Created by Bisco Hatori, Ouran was published in the shojo magazine LaLa from 2002 to 2010. This nearly decade-long publication history garnered it 18 completed tankobon volumes, the likes of which were handled by Viz Media in the West. This was initially through their Shojo Beat magazine, as well as translation of the actual manga volumes.
Despite now being an “older” series, Ouran High School Host Club is a pretty easy client to host in its manga incarnation. The physical books can all be bought or ordered through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million, with the brick and mortar stores of the latter usually having the manga volumes in stock. These retailers also have the box set available with the entire manga series, but it’s definitely an expensive venture. For those who prefer digital manga, Ouran can be read through Comixology and Kindle at a cheaper price.
Where to Watch the Ouran High School Host Club Anime
The hit anime adaptation of Ouran originally aired in 2006, and it was produced by the well-known studio Bones, which has worked on the anime for Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater and My Hero Academia. Funimation Entertainment brought it over to the West in late 2008, with the final DVD collection being released in early 2009. Ouran quickly became a huge hit among Western otaku, in large part due to its collection of pretty boys.
For those who didn't purchase the original DVD collections over a decade ago, it's still very easy to watch Ouran High School Host Club. The Blu-ray version can be purchased from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Right Stuf Anime, Walmart, Best Buy and pretty much anywhere else that sells anime and disc media. If streaming is more your speed, it's just as simple to do that too. OHSHC is available to stream through Funimation, as well as Tubi TV and Hulu. Individual episodes can also be purchased through Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
