Manga Review: Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 18, by Bisco Hatori

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: VIZ Media (Shojo Beat)

Volumes: 18
Spoilers?: Yes.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audiences rated teen. In this screwball romantic comedy, Haruhi, a poor girl at a rich kids' school, is forced to repay an $80,000 debt by working for the school's swankiest, all-male club--as a boy! There, she discovers just how wealthy the six members are and how different the rich are from everybody else...

Final Volume!

Review:

I love this series, you guys. Just thinking about it makes me happy and re-reading it gets me all excited again and, while this wasn’t quite what I thought it’d be, it was still awesome. And I seriously wonder if Hatori can do something that I don’t love. And I want her to do more and for it to get published over here so I can read it.

This was the last volume of Ouran, which makes me so sad, because that means there’s no more of these characters to come, and I’m going to miss them so much. This was a very good ending, though.

God, just looking through this volume again as I write this makes me smile all over again.

The volume starts with the love confession between Haruhi and Tamaki, which is so completely awesome. It’s hilarious and they’re yelling at each other and they kiss and it’s so cute. The best confession ever and I don’t know how it could have been any better.

Some things get worked out between Tamaki’s father and grandmother, and Haruhi goes to talk to Kosaka. Haruhi wants to do something with Tamaki but is pretty content having just confessed to him, while he is freaking out and trying to think up the perfect date. There’s some commotion about that before they go on the date, which is over the top for Haruhi, but the gang is following them to make sure nothing goes wrong. And they end up going to Haruhi’s mothers’ grave, which is sweet.

And then we find out the big news, something that I didn’t think much about because I thought Haruhi would decide she cared too much about everyone and couldn’t possibly leave them to go away to school and there would be a big cheesy moment about it: instead, Haruhi has decided to go to school in America, as paid for by the school. There’s some trouble with this and Haruhi’s father is upset about it and the host club throws a party and do a thing for everyone at school to find out that she’s actually a she (which is particularly entertaining because they all say they knew, only to later find out that they meant they thought they knew Haruhi was a girly, maybe gay, boy). There are some very good moments between everyone. during this.

And then Tamaki tells her that he’s going with her, and he’s going to be living in the apartment right next to hers. And then everyone else moves into the apartments surrounding theirs. I wasn’t expecting this, and at first thought it was a bit too much, too cheesy, but after a while I’ve warmed up to the idea and just kind of love it. Particularly having Haruhi and Tamaki living right next to each other, with a door leading to the others’ place. I like the thought of them right next to each other, bickering and teasing and just so cute. Like a newly living together couple or newlyweds. Pretty much, I just love them. Also, I'd never noticed their height differences. But Tamaki is practically all legs in comparison to Haruhi, which is just adorable. They are just adorable and I love them.

After that, there a couple extras. There’s one long chapter featuring the group going to Spain because Kyoya’s father has set up his brother with some woman, and they end up helping her. This was mostly okay, although a bit entertaining a points, particularly at the end when Haruhi gets Tamaki all flustered.  Then there’s a tiny chapter starring Haruhi and Tamaki and a cuddle session which is just so adorable.

Throughout the volume, there are also several quarter or full page panels of the characters in the future, with what the author thinks might happen to them. She says that it’s not official, but I enjoyed them all nonetheless.

I’m so sad that it’s all over now; there’s no more Ouran for me to wait for or fangirl over. Although, since I do own them all, I can re-read them as many times as I want, which I’m sure will happen. While this volume, and several before it, never got a five star rating, the series as a whole gets one, in my mind. It’s one of my favorite manga, or story in general, if not the one at the top of the list, which is very high praise coming from me. But I just love this series so much, as I've stated before. And now I have to console myself because of the fact that it's all over now.

Manga Review: Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 17, by Bisco Hatori

Rating (Out of 5 Stars): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

VIZ Media Synopsis:

Tamaki’s father and grandmother, the heads of the powerful Suoh Corp., are behind the Host Club’s suspension and the plan for Haruhi to be shipped off abroad. Now the Host Club members must pull out all the stops to save their beloved leader from his family’s infighting.

Review:

I love this series, as I've mentioned already. (I have, right? Because I do.) But this volume wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped it would be.

Quite a bit happens, though. Tamaki is still trying to get his Grandmother to accept him, and his father so far hasn't done much of anything to help him in this. Tamaki also can't join the host club or interact with Haruhi.

Haruhi decides to go back to dressing like she did before joining the club. I totally understand the statement she is making by doing this, and I also completely understand why she enjoys doing that over getting dressed up and having to look nice. A bunch of people are upset about it, like the twins and Ranka. Anyway, the club is upset about Tamaki and trying to think of ways to fix things.

A lot of talking happens in this volume, and several things are found out. About Tamaki's father and what he has been planning (which is upsetting to Tamaki, but not necessarily a bad thing), and some things are resolved with Tamaki and his Grandmother, and Tamaki's mother's illness is fully discovered, and we find out why she seems to be getting better and what Tamaki's father has to do with it, and what Kosaka's role in all of it is. And Tamaki's mother comes over to Japan, but Tamaki decides not to see her as a statement to his Grandmother, but then he gets to see her, even if only for a very short time. And in order for that to be possible, the host club and several people from the school show how much they love him by making it happen.

I don't want to say too much about what happened aside from that. Just that some awesome things happen with Tamaki's Grandmother that changes a lot, and that's mostly what this volume is centered around. Although, I guess, really, most of the last few volumes, and just generally the serious stuff, revolves around him. A lot of stuff gets resolved, though.

Everyone is just so sweet to Tamaki in this volume. It's nice to see, especially considering how much of an unhappy mood he's in and what's been going on with him. And then at the very end, (like, on the last page,) there's this uber cute moment between Tamaki and Haruhi that is also a huge cliffhanger and I really want to know what happens. I believe that it's happy, since there's only one volume left, but I am so excited to see it happen. (While a little sad, since it is the last volume. What will I have after that? You know, besides all of those other manga I read.)

Most of this book was big statements and moments full of impact, and setting things off for the last volume. There were very few cute, fluffy moments. And it almost pains me to give a volume of this series only four stars, but it just wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. It was very serious. And while it did need to be, I miss the fun, fluff-filled moments. I love them. And I love the characters. I hope that some more things conclude in the next volume, as I'm thinking they will, and I'm excited for it. And I really hope that I don't have to wait too long for it, that they're not going to stretch out the release date too much. I just really want to see the happy ending for all of them.

Manga Review: Ouran High School Host Club Volume 16 by Bisco Hatori

5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Viz Media

Goodreads Synopsis:

The two senior members of the Host Club are graduating and will lead separate lives at university. Everyone is mourning the loss of the Hunny-Mori Combo, but the longtime duo already seems to have ended their close friendship. Now Mori has challenged Hunny to a duel - but why?

Review:

I'm going to talk about what actually happened in this volume first, because otherwise all I will do is talk about how much I love this series. And I already did a lot of that in my other review.

So, the first chapter was the continuation of Mori and Hunny's battle and impending graduation. Their battle was good and gave the feeling that perhaps there was something deeper going on with them, some doom coming. The fight was good, and it was definitely nice, though odd, seeing those two fighting each other so intently and not holding anything back. I was unsure who was going to win, and how the winner did it was funny, while it almost seemed like cheating. The reason for their fight made total sense, and the host club's reactions were very entertaining. As were their reactions to their graduation, and the fact that they would still be coming by the school as often as they could. I'm glad that Hatori did it like this, because of course she couldn't take them out of the story, but still. She put it off so long only for the result to not be that bad. We also see Hunny and Mori's fathers, who are very fun. They're really close friends, as they should be, and it was just nice to see.

Also, at the end of that chapter, Tamaki and Haruhi have an accidental kiss. This moves in to the next chapter. I loved this. It was adorable, and I loved their reactions and everything about it. I'm so excited to see more of this, as more of this should be coming within the next few volumes.

Within the next few chapters, Kyoya and Kaoru talk about Kosaka, Tamaki's father's lawyer, and what she might be doing behind his back, what she might have to do with Haruhi's father or mother, which we see some of. And then they start the next year of school: third year for Kyoya and Tamaki, second year for Haruhi, Kaoru and Hikaru, and first year for Chika (Hunny's little brother) and Satoshi (Mori's little brother). And in this new year, Tamaki has moved into Mansion #1 with his Grandmother, which sounds good but is actually quite terrible, and has to postpone and then quit the host club. This is upsetting for everyone, and makes the dislike for his Grandmother even higher. Haruhi and everyone (excluding Tamaki and Kyoya) even go to speak with the Grandmother, only to talk to his father instead. Before and after this, there are some words exchanged that aren't very good, mostly coming from Tamaki. And then the volume ends with Haruhi curled up under a blanket alone at home during a storm. Oh, also during some of this, Haruhi's father, Ranka, is talking to Kosaka as she tries to convince him that she should be an exchange student.

There are also two side stories in this volume. The first one is about Haruhi's parents and when they first met and started dating. It's a cute little story. The second is about the twins' grandmother, and how they dislike her but are very much like her. This is a funny story, especially with how she torments the twins when they are younger.

Ahh, I want the next one! I want to know what happens next! I love this series so much, and I don't believe anything real bad is going to happen, because that just wouldn't work with this series, but still. That doesn't mean that there isn't some suffering to happen before the end. Which is always upsetting, especially because of how much I love these characters. And there are only two more volumes! Ahhhhhhh!

Um, sidenote. The author keeps mentioning her previous series, Millennium Snow. She's done it in the last two volumes. Has she been planning to continue it? Because I've looked online and I haven't seen anything about her continuing it, but that doesn't mean that she hasn't. Does anyone know if she has? Because I know that there are only two volumes of Ouran left, so there's the possibility that Viz would continue with her next series, right?

Manga Review: Ouran High School Host Club Volume 15 by Bisco Hatori

5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Viz Media

Goodreads Synopsis:

One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the 'Host Club', a mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it's there that she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from everybody else.

Review:

Oh my god, do I love this series. I started reading them a while ago, and then I stopped for, like, a year or something. So I got very behind. A couple of months ago, though, I decided to catch up and re-read them. I have all of them that's out, and I re-read 12 through 14 yesterday and just finished 15. This series tends to be my go-to if I'm in a bad mood or upset, as lately Tobygames on Youtube has been, because it always puts me in a good mood.

I love all of the characters. They're all so different and entertaining and fantastic. In the last several volumes it's been getting into the actual plot line and character stories, and I love it even more for this. It doesn't get too cheesy when it's serious, it's just very heartwarming and adorable and sweet. When Haruhi starts actually reacting and realizing her feelings for Tamaki, that's when I started actually liking her and start finding her adorable.

In this volume, Tamaki realizes that he likes Haruhi. And it's so simple and cute how he realizes this. And then hilarious, of course, how he reacts to it with the other host club members. Haruhi has already realized that she loves him, so it's entertaining how she reacts to him. Of course they don't know how the other feels about them, but it's not done in an annoying way, like with miscommunication or with them avoiding telling the other (even though they are), it's done with humor, as is the Ouran way. I was totally fangirling over Tamaki in this volume.

Mostly why I like this series is because I love the characters and the humor. If I didn't, then I wouldn't get it and it wouldn't work for me. But I do, and my feelings grow for it with every volume that I read.

There are story lines in this volume, like 'Ouran Orienteering Tournament', which was entertaining. I loved the episode following that one. Tamaki had discovered his feeling the chapter before it, and in this one, Tamaki is reacting around Haruhi and getting all flustered and overloaded with emotions and it's hilarious. And the host club members are taunting him and bothering him. It was fantastic.

In the next chapter, Haruhi's birthday is coming up and everyone is deciding what to get her, which is also entertaining. In the last chapter, More and Hunny are about to graduate. Hatori has been putting this off forever, which is good because no one wanted them to leave. They are very nonchalant about it, while everyone else is not. Everyone's upset about it, as they should be. Mori is getting a lot of challenges, because everyone wants one last chance to duel him. He keeps looking over at Hunny, showing that he has something he wants to tell him, and then he challenges Hunny to a duel, which freaks everyone out. I liked seeing Mori not himself, clumsy and weak because he's all stressed out. Seeing this is always entertaining. We also saw Hunny being harsh to and about Mori, as we've seen some of before. This is always kind of upsetting, because it's not something we see from him, and I like seeing the cute and hug-able Hunny.

The last extra episode is about Kanazuki, the black magic club girl who is in love with Hunny. She's trying to put a curse on Hunny so he will accept her invitation to a date. It keeps messing up, though, and so she thinks he's put a counter-curse on her. It's funny how Hunny keeps messing it up, and especially cute how he talks to Mori at the end of it and when he calls her adorable. He is so cute.

Ahhhh, I love this series so much. I will probably be posting a review for volume 16 soon as well, since I am already half way through it.