First Impressions / Ouran High School Host Club

Summary:
Haruhi introduces Hikaru and Kaoru as her classmates to Arai. She almost introduces Tamaki as her senpai, but then remembers that he doesn’t want to be called that. So instead, she calls him an acquaintance, which is actually worse. She and Arai sit down together and start catching up, talking about how she cut her hair and how she’s still in contact with some of her middle school friends such as a girl named Kazumi. Hikaru interrupts them by hold up his cup and complaining that Haruhi should be working. Haruhi responds by saying that she’s on break. She then turns towards Tamaki, who is slowly shredding his vacation guide, still sore about being called an acquaintance. Arai finds all of this very amusing, and is relieved that Haruhi is doing well at Ouran. He gets flustered when Haruhi smiles at him, which also causes Hikaru to speak out with disdain about Arai’s attitude. Hikaru accuses Arai of being attracted to Haruhi, and Arai doesn’t deny it. In fact, he claims that Haruhi already rejected him. This surprises everyone, including Haruhi.
During the summer of their third year of middle school, Arai had talked to Haruhi about her going to Ouran. He had wanted to go to the same high school as her, but she took this the wrong way and assumed that he wanted to get into Ouran too. Arai had tried to tell her that he wanted to go out with her, but again she misunderstood, thinking that he wanted to go out to the faculty room. The current Haruhi realizes her mistake and gives Arai an answer in the form of a sorry, one year later. Arai doesn’t mind the rejection, though he does comment on how he liked how Haruhi looked straight into the eyes of the person she’s talking to. The other guys in the Host Club quickly become friends with him and start learning about Haruhi’s middle school days. But keeping their distance are the twins, mainly because of Hikaru. When Tamaki tries to call them over, Hikaru refuses to because he thinks that it’s stupid – he doesn’t see any point to hearing old stories. Hikaru also claims that there’s no room inside of Haruhi’s feelings for Arai. This earns him a slap from her.
Haruhi says that that’s not something for Hikaru to decide, and that it’s unforgivable for him to be this rude to a person’s friend. Hikaru doesn’t care about other people and, in anger, he says that Haruhi’s friends consist of himself and the other Host Club members. He then runs off angrily with Kaoru chasing after him. In their room, Kaoru scolds Hikaru for throwing his selfish feelings around like that and shocking even Haruhi. Hikaru says that he couldn’t help it because he was so irritated. Kaoru suggests that he go apologize to Arai, who is leaving. It seems that Hikaru does show up downstairs and he does apologize. After Arai rides off, Haruhi asks why Kaoru is pretending to be Hikaru. Kaoru actually hid his facial scar with makeup to fool everyone. But anyway, he has a request for Haruhi: to go out on a date with him tomorrow. Of course, this is part of Kaoru’s plan. The next morning, Kaoru pretends to be sick and makes Hikaru go in his place to escort Haruhi around town. Before Hikaru left, Kaoru advised him that he can’t communicate his feelings without saying something.
Of course the rest of the Host Club is nearby watching as Hikaru and Haruhi embark on this date in Karuizawa. Tamaki is going bonkers because Haruhi is out on a date that Honey thinks might be her first. To top it off, Haruhi is super-cute because she got a make-over this morning, courtesy of the twins’ maids. Kaoru feels that it’s good for Hikaru to find more people or things important to him. For a long time, they only cared about themselves and not what others thought. Hikaru is still like a child and lets his feelings run amok. Kaoru thinks that Hikaru likes Haruhi a lot, but he doesn’t know how to control his feelings and acts like a kid trying to monopolize something. If Hikaru wants real friends with someone, he has to respect that person; he has to learn how to associate with other people. As Kyoya puts it, today’s date is a trial for Hikaru to grow some consideration for other people. And Kaoru makes it clear that he doesn’t want any of them to interfere.
As for the two on the date, they are trying to figure out how to spend the day. Hikaru suggests going to an outlet mall, but neither of them want to buy any clothes. Staring at the sky, Haruhi remembers Misuzu telling her that the weather may change, and she hopes that there’s not a thunderstorm. Watching from afar, Tamaki is once again going berserk because of how poorly the date is going. He even suggests that Kyoya be a hoodlum so that Hikaru can save Haruhi, but no one listens. Unexpectedly, Honey makes the first move by pretending to be an ice cream vendor. But before Haruhi and Hikaru can recognize him, Mori carries him away. From that, Haruhi does get the idea to get some ice cream and then offers some to Hikaru. Tamaki won’t have any of that, so he pretends to be the ice cream guy and gives a free cone to Haruhi. Haruhi then spots a store selling pickled yams. She feeds a sample to Hikaru, and since he likes it, she buys two bags. She explains that she’s buying it for Kaoru, and then suggests that they spend the day looking for presents for Kaoru.
With Haruhi and Kaoru getting along so well, the rest of the Host Club decides to go home. After going through a number of shops, Haruhi suddenly hears the sky start to rumble. Though Hikaru didn’t hear anything, he does think that it will rain, so he suggests that they go home. Hikaru is about to go get a taxi when from nearby, Arai spots Haruhi. She tells him about them going home, so Arai offers to drive them. Hearing the oncoming thunder, Haruhi really wants to take the offer and get back quickly. Hikaru angrily tells her to do what she wants and then runs off. Arai can’t understand why Hikaru is opposed to old friends since he assumes that Hikaru has some too. Remembering what they had told her earlier, Haruhi knows that the twins didn’t have any other friends. Back at the pensione, the rain is now really coming down. Everyone is worried about Hikaru and Haruhi, and Tamaki is frantically pacing around the room. Misuzu gets a phone call from Arai and learns about what happened between the two.
Tamaki then calls up Hikaru, who has taken refuge from the rain under a tree, and angrily tells him to go find Haruhi. He reveals that Haruhi is afraid of thunder, and tells Hikaru to think of others before he starts acting so jealous. Hikaru remembers how Haruhi kept looking at the sky and talking about the weather during their date. He frantically runs through the city looking for her, but to no avail. Finally, he comes across a church and notices that the front door is open. As he walks inside, Hikaru recalls Kaoru telling him that he can’t communicate his feelings without saying something. Kaoru had also said that if he cared about the other person, then he should not overlook the trivial hints because they could be important. Hikaru finds Haruhi hiding under the altar, cringing and in tears. He covers her with the altar cloth and provides her with his headphones to drown out the thunder noise. As he holds her tightly beside him, Hikaru repeatedly apologizes for what he did. With her eyes closed, Haruhi thanks him.
The next day, Arai brings a large watermelon to the pensione. He and Hikaru are able to smile at each other, and Hikaru thanks him. Watching everyone else from the second floor, Kyoya asks Kaoru if he considered that Hikaru might fall in love. Kaoru thinks it’s too early for that since his twin is still an idiot. Seeing Tamaki so happy about the watermelon, Kyoya agrees – there are a lot of idiots in their club.

Preview:

I’m surprised they managed to fit so much material into a single episode. I think this covered some 54 pages of the manga, which is considerably more than I thought they’d be able to get through. They got almost all the dialogue, though they only added one or two new things from the manga, such as the twin maids coming for Haruhi. In that sense, this episode didn’t have a lot of the extra funnies that some other episodes have. But this is a relatively serious episode after all.
For me, this episode shows Hikaru as a jerk without consideration for other people’s feelings. The parts at the end where he kind of redeems himself didn’t really make me like him any more because of how much of an asshole he was at the start. Kaoru, on the other hand, came off as a lot more considerate because he was the one who planned the entire date.
Next week is the Kyoya story from volume seven of the manga. Looking ahead, the titles for episodes 18 (Chika-kun’s Defeat Honey Declaration) and 19 (Counterattack of Lobelia Girl’s Academy) both also appear to be volume seven material. I wonder if they’re saving volume six and the Tamaki family stuff for the end…

56 Comments

  3. Yeah I didn’t think they’d fit all that into one episode either. But they are jumping around a lot by going to the story with Kyoya and Haruhi at the mall right after the summer vacastion story.

    mangaka-chan
    Reply

  14. I’ve been waiting for this episode ever since I read the manga chapters a few weeks ago. Waiting for the subs is going to slowly kill me, but it will be oh-so-worth it

    bellatora
    Reply

  18. Yeah, it seemed like in the earlier episodes they were changing things up a little bit from the manga to EMPHASIZE the TamakixHaruhi pairing. Now in the last few episodes they are LEAVING OUT scenes between them. I can’t figure out how they are going to end the show anymore…probably open ended with no romance at all between anybody.

    Isn’t it a little strange that the “Kyouya episode” is next week right after the “Hikaru episode”? You’d think maybe they’d want to put something else in there since the two are somewhat similar.

    May
    Reply

  19. This is somewhat irritating…it’s becoming another harem series except with the male and female roles reveresed. Unless they develop one relationship more consistently, it’s difficult for me to not dismiss this as another harem series…ugh….disappointing.

    shakugan no shana
    Reply

  24. Nice to see the series is starting to actually have some serious character development; but it’s expected, we’re in the second half of the series’ run after all.

    Great episode preview as always!

    *Still ships for MorixHaruhi – hey it could happen!*

    nowhere man
    Reply

  26. X3
    It’d be nicer if Haru-chan didn’t cut her hair. She looked really cute.

    And to anyone whose still curious. Her hair was like that on eppy 16 because the twin maids probabaly had her wear a wig. =3

    Reeka
    Reply

  28. Hm, this completely made me doubt whether or not Tamaki really have feelings for Haruhi. If he does, he would at lesat have been jealous (in a serious way, and not just throw a tandrum like he always does). I mean it did seem like the Tamaki and Haruhi fairing for awhile, but now that I think about it…does Tamaki even like her like that? Or is it just a friend? I mean, his character shows that he cares for everyone, and it seem like he was just looking out for her at some point in the anime. This episode was extra cute for me. I’ve gotten a better look at the difference between Kaoru and Hikaru, and I have to say, I love Kaoru’s character. However, Hikaru isn’t a jerk (X] preview), to me, he was just frustrated because he have not yet learned how to best deal with his emotions when he comes to others. Ah, but I can’t wait for the next episode. ^^ Thanks for the summary.

    Tama
    Reply

  29. So, the twin begin to have own personality. I love this part most from the first 5 Vol of comic. Hikaru had grown to be more mature since he had to deal with people other than his twin.
    I think that Hikaru can be crushed to Haruhi…may be…I can’t figure out what this series will end up by coupling Haruhi with who? (because Tamaki still too childish and sometime Mori and Kyoya show some interest in Haruhi)

    In thailand the comic version still release at Vol.5, so I don’t know what will happen in next episode. Aww, I can’t wait for what happen between Kyoya and Haruhi in next Episode.

    Jin , Masked Wizard
    Reply

  30. For me, this episode shows Hikaru as a jerk without consideration for other people’s feelings. The parts at the end where he kind of redeems himself didn’t really make me like him any more because of how much of an asshole he was at the start. Kaoru, on the other hand, came off as a lot more considerate because he was the one who planned the entire date.

    Come down Omni. I completely can understand him since the twins never had some friends and don’t really know about much things.
    I’m sure Hikaru will learn soon about those. Curious about next episode.

    Chi
    Reply

  32. Tamaki looked plenty jealous to me. The only reason he didn’t go completely off the deep end is that Kaoru explained the date was just to help Hikaru, not really a big romantic thing. Anyway, Tamaki is still oblivious to the fact that he is head over heels in love with Haruhi and not her second father, lol. He’s so dense.

    The manga is still running and is on chapter 41. Vol. 8 is the latest one out in Japan.

    May
    Reply

  35. Man, this was such a cute episode!!! If you look closely in the older episodes, the HikaruxHaruhi pairing was kinda hinted…although her and Tamaki were the main choices..I really don’t know who she’ll end up with, but I hope it’s not a “they’re all just my friends” kinda ending…=_= would be really bad..

    I always loved Hikaru…actually, both of the twins!!! I’ll be rooting for hikaru and haruhi to get together, although i pretty much doubt it. =P Tamaki cares a lot of her, and he doesn’t realise he likes her because he’s a baka =P just like Hikaru, who I’m sure will realise his feelings soon. =D

    nin9
    Reply

  36. I love your detailed summaries and review, but

    “With Hikaru and Kaoru getting along so well, the rest of the Host Club decides to go home.”

    you put kaoru instead of haruhi in this sentence

    shirokiryuu
    Reply

  37. I was really surprised by how much the twins split off into their different personalities this time. I haven’t been keeping up with the manga, since I find the animated so much fun, but the vibes I was getting from the different twins have now burst into very separate entities.
    I also liked the fact that they’re keeping it all on a friendship level, even though Kyouya realizes the potential for more with any of the members. This doesn’t appeal to everyone, but with so many great characters, I hate choosing. And I’m the kind of girl with lots of guy friends (but no boyfriends), so I can sort of empathize with her. Kaoru is right about Hikaru; for now, he needs to work on how to be a friend, and to me, that’s great.
    I like the simple but sweet stuff. This is probably one of my favorite episodes of the bunch… and they’re all good.

    MossyT
    Reply

  41. I do find it rather puzzling how the creators of the Anime have strayed from TamaxHaru. Albeit, I’m not a fan of the ever-so-obvious coupling, it gave grouding to who Haruhi would eventually be with. In the Manga, it’s obvious TamaxHaru are the eventual couple. But, in the Anime, it seems their leaving out fewer scenes of the two and clawing even harder at other possible couplings- such as MorixHaru, and HikaxHaru. It’s terribly irritating! Teasing us like they are- forcibly creating equally large fanbases for every possible couple. They’re only bound to disappoint a decent amount of the Host Club fanbase.

    *Curious, nevertheless.* Oh, well. I suppose this only adds to the suspense. But, honestly, I support HikaxHaru. Yes, Hikaru. With his obvious little schoolboy behavior, jealous and teasing over Haruhi, and yet, there for her when she needs him. Adorable, ne? Hai, I support HikaxHaru from the very depth of my soul. Tamaki is such a fatherly figure to the point I dislike TamaxHaru, and their annoyingly obvious relationship is a pet peeve that cannot be cured (Nai offense to their fans).

    I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see…
    Fya! The suspense! How they make us wait- Cruel! Cruel, I say! DX

    Jayden
    Reply

  50. i love this episode its ssoooo cute and it looks like hikaru is really in love with harihi but i dont think haruhi loves him back T.T soo sad!!! they make such a cute couple!!!
    hikaruXharuhi 4 ever!!

    lauri
    Reply

  51. Hikaru wasn’t a jerk! Okay, he kinda was, but he just doesn’t know how to deal with his emotions. Personally I love Haruhi and Hikaru together, though I’m in the minority. XD; Oh well. I like looking at some of these entries to see what people think and obviously the series is long over and I finished it months ago (actually I finished the whole thing in a week- I was obsessed). Anyway, this was one of my favorite eps- it was so cute. <33

    liltrix7
    Reply

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