First Impressions / Ouran High School Host Club

Summary:
Today starts a special event where students from other schools are coming to Ouran High to see the culture clubs. The twins decide to send Haruhi out to buy some instant coffee. She’s not too happy to have to do it, but the other girls tell her that it’s thanks to her that Kaoru and Hikaru are having so much fun. They used to keep to themselves, but they’ve been much more social since Haruhi came. On the way back from the store, Haruhi slips on a banana peel (thanks to a random monkey) and falls right into the arms of a girl in a different uniform. This person, who immediately recognizes that Haruhi is a girl, brings her back to the Host Club. Her two friends are already there, having met the club members who are dressed up as knights today. Tamaki had tried to woo them by saying that he’d protect them even at the cost of his own life, but the girls just shot back by claiming that his statement was arrogant and that men are lower life forms who consider their own honor to be most important. The third girl, the one who caught Haruhi, then makes her entrance by saying that if she were the lover, the girl would never be left alone. This tall, short haired girl then swears to Haruhi that she’ll never leave her side.
When the three girls start admiring Haruhi as a girl, Tamaki tries to stop them, but he gets punched by the tall one. She says that Tamaki is even more of an imbecile than the rumors suggest. She also calls the club’s history short and the group frivolous. Kyoya recognizes that the uniforms of these girls belong to Lobelia Girl’s Academy. Actually, that would be St. Lobelia Girls School’s High School Division. The three girls introduce themselves as Amakusa Benio (the tall one), Maihara Chizuru (the long haired one), and Tsuwabuki Hinako (the youngest one). They are part of Lobelia’s White Lily Group, otherwise known as the Zuka Club. Tamaki is in shock at the sight of them whereas Hikaru and Kaoru can’t stop laughing. Renge then comes in through the floor to explain that Lobelia’s Zuka Club considers women to be supreme over everything else and hold such activities as tea parties to discuss what it means to be a girl. The top members can even perform songs and dances. Those top members would be none other than the three girls standing in front of them now.
The guys of the Host Club couldn’t be less interested though, and it prompts Benio to lament at how they involved an innocent school girl (Haruhi) into the club. She opposes the Host Club because they trifle with pure girl’s hearts using false love. She attributes it to Tamaki being a half-blood and says that the club is using its activities for personal profit. She and the other two then vow to abolish the Host Club. Kyoya asks her to put that on hold because Tamaki is sleeping from culture shock. Haruhi brings the girls some coffee, but then Tamaki wakes up and starts protesting about the girl on girl love relationships that the Zuka Club promotes. However, he slips on another banana peel (again the monkey) and dips his finger into the hot coffee. Haruhi helps bandage it up for him and reveals that she got the bandages as a gift from the store where she bought the instant coffee. It’s a store that always has bonuses like that. Anyway, Benio grabs Haruhi and says that they should start transfer procedures for Haruhi to enter Lobelia and be taken in by the Zuka Club.
Haruhi tries to refute some of the accusations that Benio levied, including Tamaki’s half-blood, the short history of the club, and the for-profit activities. But as it turns out, Tamaki is indeed half French and half Japanese, the club has only been around since Tamaki started high school, and Kyoya is running payment through a points system which involves internet auctions. Kyoya shows Haruhi the auction for the mechanical pencil she never uses anymore, which had been bought for 30000 yen. Haruhi is furious that they took her stuff and sold it, but the twins claim that it dropped not stolen. Tamaki tries to apologize and give his own bear pencil, but Haruhi doesn’t want it. The Zuka Club decides to leave for today since Haruhi is pissed off, but they promise to come back tomorrow. A still-angry Haruhi also takes her leave.
After thinking about the situation, Tamaki suggests that maybe it’s better for Haruhi to go to the Zuka Club. The other guys realize that everything would work out for Haruhi if she went to Lobelia, but Tamaki still has a secret plan. The next day, after a Zuka Club performance, the three girls return to the Host Club room with Haruhi. Inside, they find the Host Club all (except for Mori) dressed up as girls and singing the club name. Benio accuses Tamaki of mocking the girl’s culture, but Tamaki’s plan revolves around the “omake” (extra) concept. By choosing the Host Club, Haruhi would be able to have both males and females – basically she can experience both the Zuka Club and the Host Club by staying with them.
The ridiculousness of the situation causes Haruhi to start laughing uncontrollably. She asks why they’re doing this and Hikaru responds that it’s because they want to stay in the club together with her. Haruhi apologizes to Benio and says that she’s got her own future goals, which is why is studying here. She also confesses that she never had any intention of leaving Ouran. The guys are very happy that she feels this way, but Tamaki asks her why she got so angry yesterday. Haruhi says that naturally she got mad because they took her things and sold them. Before the Zuka girls leave, Benio declares that they haven’t given up and swears to smash the Host Club. The girls dance away, but the monkey throws more banana peels and they all slip. Renge rises up one more time and dramatizes the situation. When Tamaki protests her coming up whenever she wants, the monkey beside her throws a banana peel and makes her slip.

This was an absolute riot, especially the cross dressing parts. Leave up it to Tamaki to plan an entire strategy around offering Haruhi both oniisama and oneesama in one omake package lol. Especially Kyoya’s picture with his 「お母さま?」 (okaasama? – mother?) caption (since the running joke is that Kyoya is the mother and Tamaki is the father). And I can’t help but laugh every time I watch the part with Tamaki mixing the gender signs.
Renge and the monkey also get plenty of screen time this week. That monkey was so random, but that’s what made it so funny.
The Zuka club ends up being such a polar opposite from the Host Club, yet the two are actually quite similar (same-sex relationships, elaborate get-ups, melodrama, etc). But the contrast is part of what makes it so funny, particularly when the two clubs are just staring at each other. And just for reference, Zuka is short for Takarazuka, which is a type of theater that consists of only women acting. For more information, see the Takarazuka Wikipedia.
Next week is the trip to Haruhi’s home, aka. the introduction of Haruhi’s father!

36 Comments

  3. Oh my god!!! The cross dressing!!!! I thought I would be able to see Tamaki and Kyoya in that crazy Las Vegas type costume they were wearing in the manga but no!!!! They’re dressed up as woman instead! XD

    I really can’t wait to see this!!!!

    Cat_Cat
    Reply

  5. wait, that preview shot of haruhi’s father looks like he’s cross-dressing…is that really haruhi’s dad? that does explain a few things like why she doesn’t mind acting like a guy.

    jounin
    Reply

  14. Tamaki in drag…I are scared 0_o but I’m looking forward to watching the episode with Haruhi’s dad; hopefully it might be a two parter cause that’s one of my favourite stories in the manga ^^V

    mangaka-chan
    Reply

  15. This episode looks too good, I really laugh out loud at some of the screen caps, 😛 But I am more looking forward to next ep because of Haruhi’s father, haha, anticipating some good laughs.

    shojo
    Reply

  18. >>Ouran: Only place besides the Pentagon where pencils go for 300 bucks

    DoD E-mall is expensive… C’mon where is the raw I want to see how BONES envsioned Ranka-san in all her errr… his glory.

    Thank heavens they didn’t put Mori in drag, I wonder how they will look the next time they dress up in drag.

    Ouran is 26 eps hurray! Three Cheers for BONES and Ouran!

    Crusader
    Reply

  19. Hmm, I think the girls’ academy’s name is Lobelia, named for the genus of a flowering plant. Kyoya doesn’t look too bad, but somebody please save us all from Tamaki in drag. That’s incredibly scary.

    Atashi
    Reply

  24. Haruhi dad basic spoilers!

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Definitely a guy though ^_^ the moment when he meets Tamaki has to be one of the best I’ve read in the manga.

    Kylara
    Reply

  26. i’m the only fan of renge-chan !^^ ……….. renge-chan retunrs renge RULZ………… episode hilariuous ^^ obious……waaaaaaahhhhhhhh well to wait for the subs……. and see kyoya and tamaki dressed like las vegas gilrs ^^

    RICK
    Reply

  28. OMG!! dang this epi. sounds hella hilarious……….dude, i can’t wait to see it……..damnz……….is that really haruhi’s father!! ……..oh welps…..hahahaha

    jux_sos
    Reply

  29. This was a hilarious ep…I couldn’t believe that Saiga Mitsuki, who seiyuued as Amakusa Benio (also known for Jing in King of Bandits, Kousaka in Genshiken and Makubex in Getbackers) led the Zuka club. It was kinda weird at first…but as the ep went on, it seemed normal. It’s amazing how girls would bid to pay 300 dollars or 30,000 yen for Haruhi’s un-used lead pencil.

    Taishi
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *