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Ouran High School Host Club: Season 1, Part 1
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List Price: $59.98
Our Price: $42.99
Your Save: $ 16.99 ( 28% )
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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Manufacturer: Funimation Prod
Starring: Ouran High School Host Club
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0704400095306
Format: Color
Label: Funimation Prod
Manufacturer: Funimation Prod
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Funimation Prod
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-10-28
Running Time: 300
Studio: Funimation Prod
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Editorial Reviews:
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Ouran High School. An institution of extravagance and prestige where learning is secondary to luxury. Bookish Haruhi can't afford to slack, being on a scholarship and out of place among the moneyed. No matter… The Host Club is now open! A group of handsome boys dedicated to selling their charms to their bored female classmates, Haruhi is suddenly in debt to the club after breakingan expensive vase in their lair. The only way to pay for the damage? Haruhi will work as a Host! The only problem? Haruhi is a she! Between the wildly inflated ego of the expert escorts and the potential calamities of constant cross dressing, Haruhi's freshman year looks like it will be one to remember.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Series, Sub Par English Release
Comment: Let me begin by stating the following two things: 1) Ouran High School Host Club is, hands down, my favorite anime ever. I watched the subtitled versions back on Youtube years ago. When I found out it was being released in America, I was incredibly excited. Which brings me to my second point. 2) I have nothing against American dubs as a whole, I find that more often than not, I am able to tolerate their voice selections.
And besides, we can always watch the sub version on the dvd is the dub bothers us that much, right?
Unfortunately, it appears not. I watched the first few episodes dubbed, but upon hearing Renge's voice, I had to quickly switch over to Japanese audio and English subtitles. However, the subs on my dvd simply would not work properly, despite which dvd player I played them in. They would usually stick on one line repeating for several minutes while the Japanese dialogue continues, or sometimes just not show any subtitle at all.
I found this very frustrating, though it did occur to me that perhaps I just got a bad dvd. I just wanted to warn everyone before they went off and bought a $40 dvd set with the expectation that they can watch it with subs. However, if you're someone who doesn't mind the dub (and there are samples on Youtube if you have yet to see them) or you want to take the chance that perhaps the subs will work on your dvd, don't let my review hold you back from enjoying a truly amazing anime.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very good, 3 drawbacks
Comment: Please note that this is the first anime I have watched, other than Pokemon, Yugioh and Digimon shows. There's not a lot of text on screen in those shows; or when there is, it's not that important to be translated (menus and stuff like that). But I love the manga of OHSHC, so I want to support Ms. Hatori in its creation by buying this anime.
So, I had watched the Japanese (subbed) versions of Ouran on Youtube about a year ago, maybe longer than that. And I was surprised, when I got this DVD, to see that the times when text was used in the black & pink box in the middle of the page (for example saying 'Operation Haruhi Is Really a Boy' or whatever) - I was surprised to see these were still in Japanese with grainy English text superimposed over it. I had expected a classier treatment of erasing out all the Japanese text from the boxes and using a clean pink font to put the English text in the box. So in that respect this comes across looking slightly cheap.
The other thing is that when the voice actor for Tamaki is speaking, he sounds just like Matthew Broderick, and that is not consistent with my concept of Tamaki at all. I would have expected a more serious voice, though not a deep one like Kyoya or Mori.
Now, there's something I just can't understand. The manga has been out in its official English translation for years. So, in the manga, we have "Roberia" and "milord" and "Hunny" (among other translations). But in the anime it's been translated as "Lobelia" and "boss" and "Honey." Why didn't they use the same English that's used in the manga? In particular I think "milord" is a much better term for the half-French Tamaki than "boss"; every time the twins call him "Boss" I think of Agumon and Marcus on Digimon Data Squad! And I wonder why the English anime uses "senpai" all the time when it's not used in the manga and not really necessary. It's not as if they have to match mouth movements. The more I watch this the more I have to edit my review for these little things that bug me.
Otherwise, this is just what I remember from the Youtube versions, and it's entertaining to see so many favorite characters "live" as it were. Hatori is a genius and I think her little quirks in the manga panels just don't translate well to anime. You can have a lot going on in a manga whereas on screen it's tougher to do.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The hosts with the mosts
Comment: Look at any discussion thread on the net over the last few years about which shoujo anime fans most wanted to reach Region 1, and the resounding cry was almost deafening - give us Ouran. After a nail-biting wait for licensing news and a little bit longer for casting and English dubbing, the wait is finally over.
The plot reads like your typical reverse harem. Scholarship student Haruhi Fujioka has made the grade for the super-elite Ouran High School. Looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi runs into the six member Host Club - filthy rich young men with too much time on their hands who entertain filthy rich young women who also have too much time on their hands. Unfortunately, Haruhi accidentally breaks a very expensive vase they were going to use to raise money - and has to pay it off by joining the club. The catch? Haruhi is a girl. So begins her crossdressing adventures with Tamaki Suoh, the loud and overdramatic fearless leader; Kyoya Ohtori, the calculating veep who's the most normal of the group; Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, the mischievous, funloving twins whose world is turned upside down when Haruhi becomes the first person who can tell them apart; Mitsukuni "Honey" Haninozuka, who handles the cute niche with a vengeance, and Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka, your usual big, intimidating guy who's really a softie.
What makes Ouran more than just a relatively fun by-the-numbers reverse harem is that it's also a subversive parody of it's subgenre. Tamaki is an overexaggeration of almost every major pretty boy shoujo male lead. Hunny is a wickedly funny parody of all the characters probably best personified by Fruits Baskets' much more serious Momiji Sohma. Then there's the twins, who put on an incest act clearly meant to mock fanatical shounen-ai and yaoi fans who insist on reading it into characters even when it clearly isn't there. It's all done in a spirit of good natured fun, of course, and you'll definitely get much more out of Ouran if you're already familiar with two or three other reverse harem anime and/or manga to fully appreciate the parody elements. Not that the show doesn't also have heart. Although they're far from perfect, it's hard not to like the boys as they hatch hairbrained schemes - whether it be to get loving couples together, help their Goth acquaintance Nekozawa bond with his little sister or rescue Haruhi from the clutches of the fanatical lesbian feminists (yes, I did just write that) of the Lobelia Zuka Club.
The clincher is Haruhi herself, who is most definitely not your typical shoujo heroine. No shrinking violet, she's not afraid to let Tamaki have it when he goes too far overboard; and it's a joy to watch her hold her own against the twins and give them as good as she gets - all with deadpan wit.
As for faithfulness to the manga, the anime so far sticks pretty close, the most noticeable difference probably being that Renge's role has been expanded and Nekozawa's slightly cut.
As manga fans are aware, the best is yet to come in Part 2- but so far we're off to a good start.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Super Funny, Totally Random AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!!!
Comment: I have seen this entire series many times in Japanese, and I love EVERY SINGLE EPISODE!!! I even ordered the Japanese version, although they sent me the Chinese/Cantonese version with TERRIBLY HORRIFYING subtitles! How disappointing. Of course, you can still get the genereal idea of what's going on in each episode in that DVD set, but you miss out on many references and subtle jokes due to many, MANY typos and spelling and grammar errors.
Anywho, Ouran High School Host Club is a delicious cake made up of layers of romance, suspense, drama, and frosted over with randomness and humor! The show is refreshing to watch and hilarious overall! The characters are lovable in their own respects, especially Tamaki, who is WAY too overdramatic and obsessive over things (like Haruhi). The show features bishounen (beautiful or "pretty" boys), but it is not just for girls. This show is for anyone, male or female, gay, straight, or bi, who loves a unique anime that doesn't take itself seriously and can handle a reverse-harem theme. I mean, yes, there IS cross-dressing involved, like Haruhi's father, "Ranka" Fujioka, and the episode where Kasanoda-kun (Bossa Nova-kun) gets dressed up like a catboy maid (genius, pure genius! XD), but any dude can watch this show without feeling weird or less straight.
Now if you've read the product description and/or the other customer reviews, then I don't need to explain the plot behind this story. The show has the unique quality of replay value, meaning (in case you are stupid) that you can re-watch or "replay" the series many times without getting bored of it. After having watched the first 2 English episodes in advance, I can say that, while not as good as the original Japanese version (which by the way is completely flawless in voice acting, script, and overall execution of the idea), it still does an accurate job of conveying the essence of the original. I can also say that watching an episode in Japanese and watching the same episode in English will give you 2 completely different experiences, which is not at all a bad thing. In fact, it makes this box set even more fun!
Think about it! If you have a show with replay value and it's available in 2 languages, you can bounce back and forth between languages and double your pleasure, double your fun (just like Doublemint Gum)! I've already pre-ordered my copy and should get it in the next couple of days! And to celebrate, I shall watch the entire box set marathon style with my Ouran cosplay uniform, YAY!!!
In conclusion, if you can handle a little cross-dressing and sexual innuendo, including "forbidden brotherly love" (which is only a gimmick and never actually takes place in graphic nature on screen), then this is a must-have for your anime collection! Buy this, and you're sure to die laughing!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah, I hope my review wasn't too short, and I hope it actually helped SOMEONE out there.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I will treasure my copy...
Comment: I went to Anime USA and got a copy right from the Funimation table in the Dealers' Room. And got it autographed by Caitlin Glass, who is the ADR director and the voice of Haruhi Fujioka. It cost me 50 dollars, but with 13 episodes, tons of extras and a school badge, that's freaking cheap! Funny, touching, romantic, with such Voice Actresses as Luci Christian, Carrie Savage, Kate Oxley and Monica Rial how could you NOT buy this DVD set? Buy it the second it is available. Of course, if you had been a real fan you would have it by now.
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