Ouran High School Host Club ep.19

August 9, 2006 | 27 Comments

This is a funny episode which offers nice change from the boring, uneventful story from the last few episodes. The story marks the return of the Zuka Club and Roberia/Lobelia High School. Yes, these are the same girls who tried to recruit Haruhi to their club back in episode 9. Apart from the comedy, the best thing about this episode is an insert song which is delivered by Sakamoto Maaya. This is a nice character song which I hope will be included in the official soundtrack. Animation-wise, this episode also looks a lot smoother and detailed than the last few episodes. Overall, this is a pleasant episode that reminds me of the early episodes of Ouran.

The episode begins with the Host Club visiting Haruhi house but is surprised when they see a man opening the door. They immediately assume that they've got the wrong house. The man, however, stops then and reveals that he's actually Ranka, Haruhi's father, but his face is unshaven and he is not in drag. Tamaki immediately presents the guy with a box of cake but Ranka ends up punching him and greets the other members instead. He then informs them that Haruhi has left earlier in the morning with a few female friends. The guys immediately assume that the girls are Haruhi's middle school friends and set to leave in disappointment. They, however, stop right away when Ranka mentions that the girls are actually from Lobelia Girl's Academy. Meanwhile at Lobelia High, the Zuka Club girls lead by Benio are walking through a set of admirers. A girl comes out of the crowd to present Benio with a Bento containing Benio's favourite: Octopus-shaped sausages.

In return Benio tells the girl that she is similar to the dishes she had prepared and wonders if she wants to be eaten too. This immediately drives all the girls wild, wanting to give their sausages to Benio as well. The girls eventually manage to wade through their fangirls and arrive at a room. They immediately check on Haruhi, who is now wearing Lobelia school uniform. At the same time, Ranka is in panic because she's afraid Haruhi will get her first kiss from the Zuka Club. The twins remember that Haruhi had experienced her first kiss but Tamaki silence them up using bandages before they can tell Ranka about this. Back at Lobelia, Haruhi is not happy that the Zuka Club has abducted her while she was on her way to go shopping. She likens their attempt to that of the Host Club, a comparison which Benio hates. Benio, however, calms down and explains that they simply want Haruhi to perform in a play to commemorate the birthday of Zukabu founder.

Apparently the girl who's supposed to play the heroine got hit by a motorbike and is now hospitalised so they've decided to assign Haruhi the role of the heroine. Haruhi doesn't want to play the role and refuses them flat out. The girls are shocked to hear the refusal so Benio tries to persuade Haruhi by saying that the role only requires her to stand around symbolically. In addition to this, they think Haruhi would have been easiliy memorise her lines. Haruhi, however, still doesn't care until Benio kneels on her legs asking for forgiveness from her mother because she can't be like her. Chizuru and Hinako informs Haruhi that Benio's mother is a graduate of Lobelia's White Lily Society and Benio aspires to become just like her mother. That means if they can't get today's performance on the go, that means Benio won't be able to realise her dream. Haruhi, who's weak when it comes to hearing the word 'Mother' eventually agrees to help the Club in the play.

Meanwhile outside the school, Ranka is worried about his daughter because he thinks once a girl is corrupted by them, you can't escape anymore. Kyoya, however, assures him that Haruhi won't be easily deceived. In retaliation, Ranka points out that when he was cleaning up his house one day, he found out that his normally calm wife, Kotoko, possesses a large amount of Zuka Club photo collection. The Host Club panic upon hearing this because they are afraid that Haruhi will follow her mother's footstep. In his panic, Tamaki asks Kyouya to obtain Lobelia uniforms so they can dress up as the students. Before he can proceeds further with the plan, however, Ranka kicks him on the back, wondering if Tamaki is trying to make fun of a professional cross-dresser like him by doing this. Besides, Ranka has his own plan. Meanwhile, Haruhi is now seen rehearsing a play called The Memoirs of Senorita. Although the only line she gets to say is "Frederique-sama".

Upon seeing Benio (who plays a dying man) delivering her lines with enthusiasm, Haruhi tells herself that for a dying man, Benio's character sure talks a lot to the point of looking healthy. At the same time, the Host Club members have now managed to penetrate the school and are now looking into practice room. They are horrified with Haruhi's flat, monotonous delivery though and Tamaki even calls Haruhi "Daikon" (not the vegetable, but a short way of saying Daikon Yakusha, a Kabuki term used to decribe a bad actor). Ranka is especially worried when Haruhi is about to sing because he knows that Haruhi is a bad singer. Everyone, however, is surprised when they hear a beautiful song coming from Haruhi. Not long after this, however, the sound disappears although Haruhi's mouth is still moving. It appears that Haruhi has been lip-synching to a song and Hinako just tripped over the cable of the tape recorder that plays the song.

Outside, the Host Club, who are now wearing Benibara shirts, are caught by a bunch of Benibara fangirls. They end up being forced to practice giving proper greeting to Benio with the rest of the fanclub. Tamaki wonders if this is a part of Ranka's plan so Ranka tells him that it's necessary to get the fans' opinion if they want to get closer to the Zuka Club. During break, two Benibara fans start to question the guys about what part of Benio they like. Thankfully for the Host Club, Ranka knows well how to answer like a gushing fangirl. Through this conversation, however, they find out that the girls has assigned some Yankee girls to ensure that no one ruins Benio's performance. The Host Club are disturbed about this because they're afraid that Haruhi's bad acting will ruin the entire performance. Because of this, the guys decide to sneak into the auditorium. Unfortunately for the group, their sneaky attempt is spotted by Benio.

At the same time, the Host Club realises that Kyouya is not with them anymore. As it turns out, Kyouya has been using his Ootori's family name to get a tour into the the control room. A woman shows him a device which will be used to project various pictures onto the stage's large digital screen. The performance then begins with Haruhi lip-synching to the song. Everyone, however, is shocked when they see her wearing too much make up. Tamaki wants to save Haruhi right away but Ranka stops him because Haruhi seems to be doing her best on stage. In the end, everyone agrees that they should not interfere. However, the time then arrives for a kissing scene. Tamaki remembers that Benibara fangirls once told them that the play is about Frederique exacting revenge. At the same time, Frederique (Benio) tells Marianne (Haruhi) that he can't forget his desire for revenge towards that man. All of a sudden, three spotlights highlight the Host Club members.

Benio tells Haruhi that she'll steal Haruhi's first kiss in front of Tamaki as a revenge on the guy. Tamaki tries to stop the two but a monkey throws a banana skin, causing him to trip over. Benio uses the opportunity to take Haruhi to an elevated stage, making it impossible for Tamaki to reach them. However, before Benio can kiss Haruhi, Kyouya manages to project a picture of Haruhi's first kiss with Kanako onto the stage. Everyone is shocked to see this and Tamaki uses the opportunity to ask Haruhi to jump into his arms. Haruhi lands on Tamaki's body, flattening the poor guy in the process. Haruhi, however, has her own horror next because her father is not happy that she has already had her first kiss. Poor Haruhi ends up running around trying to avoid her father and everyone else who wants to get her. She now wish she's at home studying. The episode then ends with a monkey eating Takoyaki and throwing one onto a stage to trip everyone off.

Impression:

There are many funny dialogues in this episode but the one that made me burst into a big laugh was Haruhi's line when she tells herself that Benio's character talks too much for a man who's about to die. I found the scene to be very funny because despite Benio's attempt to deliver her line in enthusiastic manner, Haruhi is not impressed one bit. I always find this part of Haruhi's personality to be amusing because she tends to be very direct and slightly insensitive when it comes down to things that she doesn't like. I also like the fact that other people can easily abduct Haruhi. I think this is the second or third time that Haruhi gets taken to another place without her consent. Anyway, it's good to know that Haruhi is not good at everything. Her acting was bad and her singing voice is apparently worse. The song that Haruhi lip-synching to is actually titled Little Wing by Kawabe Chieko. The song was also used in Otogizoushi.

Moving on to other characters, I have to give props to Kyouya for actually coming up with a cool-headed plan instead of running around like a fool like Tamaki and the twins. His plan to project Haruhi's first kiss on screen is both effective and evil. Sure, it ends Lobelia's girls attempt to rile up Tamaki but at the same time it also makes Haruhi's life hell. I'm sure Kyouya enjoys the entire spectacle all the way through. The twins didn't do that much here and had minimal screen times. Mori and Hunny barely get any lines as usual. Mori actually looks so tired that he ends up sleeping outside the practice room. As a side note, I am amused to see the writers incorporating Octopus-shaped sausages and Takoyaki into the story. It reminds me that I've been wanting to pimp out this nifty gadget: Octodog! I actually found out about this a year ago and has been looking forward to include it in a review somehow but never had the chance until now. :D

Preview

Next week is a flashback to the time when Tamaki tried to persuade the twins to join the Host Club.

© memento 2003