List of Ouran High School Host Club characters

This is a list of characters from the shōjo manga series Ouran High School Host Club created by Bisco Hatori. The story takes place in a fictional high school named Ouran Academy and follows the adventures of Haruhi Fujioka as she is forced to join a group of six male students that entertain female clients, the Host Club, after an accident puts her in their debt.

The Ouran High School Host Club characters have been praised as well-rounded comedic creations that "play on bishōnen stereotypes", a theme commonly found in other Japanese manga.^[1]

Name romanizations differ among the several different English-language products released for this franchise: English-language editions of the manga published by VIZ Media and Chuang Yi, the anime from Funimation and the Nippon Television's Japanese-language website on the series.

Background

The plot centers on a group of students from Ouran Academy, a prestigious high school mostly attended by pupils from wealthy aristocratic families. Much of the series takes place within a student-run host club where beautiful, charismatic male students entertain female students.

In the series, the club was created and presided by Tamaki Suoh, the son of the school's chairman. Suoh hand-picked most of the members, looking to create a varied selection of aesthetics and personalities for the club's customers. The exception is Haruhi Fujioka, a new student that stumbled across the club room while looking for a quiet study area. After accidentally breaking an expensive vase, she is indebted to the club and is forced to join and work as a host to pay off this debt The Natural type. Each club member plays a specific role as a bishōnen stereotype: Mori is the strong silent type; Honey the Loli-shōta type; Kyoya the cool type; Hikaru and Kaoru the little devil type; Tamaki the prince type; and Haruhi the natural type. In addition to the club members, the storyline also features customers and associates, as well as various family members, schoolmates, rivals and other characters that come and go.

Host Club members

Anime screenshot featuring the Host Club members dressed as caterers. From left to right: "Mori", "Honey", Haruhi, Kaoru and Hikaru, Tamaki and Kyoya.

Haruhi Fujioka

Haruhi Fujioka (藤岡 ハルヒ, Fujioka Haruhi^?) is the main character of the series. She was born on February 4^[2] and is 15 years old at the start of the series.^[3]

As an intelligent first-year student of the exclusive Ouran Academy that comes from a poor family, having a cross-dressing father and a deceased mother, she is required to achieve academic excellence and rank first in class to maintain a special scholarship. She comes across the Host Club while looking for a quiet study place and accidentally breaks a ¥8,000,000 (80,000 USD in the English edition of the manga) vase that was to be featured in a school auction. She clears her debt to the club by disguising herself as a boy and working for them as a host. She finds this task easy because she feels gender does not dominate her personality. She soon realizes that acting as host and talking with girls comes naturally and begins to enjoy the work. However, she dislikes taking time away from studying and finds the antics of other hosts bothersome. Although she appears indifferent and fearless, she is revealed to suffer from brontophobia, a fear of thunder.

Throughout the manga, Haruhi grows to appreciate the Host Club and falls in love with Tamaki, the club's self-proclaimed King. She refuses to accept her feelings for him in the beginning, but as time goes by and the Host Club has to endure several trials together, even having Tamaki leave due to his grandmother's orders, Haruhi finds her courage. She confesses to him after the Host Club makes sure he is reunited with his mother. Shortly after becoming a couple, Haruhi accepts an offer to leave for America on a one year scholarship program. Originally supposed to go alone, Haruhi is happy to learn that Tamaki is going with her, as he has no intention of leaving her. Days after their arrival in America, they discover the other club members have followed them to live in the same building.

In a one-shot released in January 2011, the Host Club follows Kyoya to Spain. Haruhi finds herself troubled with how to deal with Tamaki's growing confidence in their relationship. After Kyoya explains to her how Tamaki would get just as flustered as her if she should flirt back, however, Haruhi tries to hug Tamaki and ask him to carry her, which causes Tamaki to faint out of embarrassment.

In April 2011, a list of short stories was released in volume 18, the last volume. One had to do with Haruhi and Tamaki in Boston and showed Tamaki thinking about marrying her. In one short story, Haruhi and Tamaki are preparing to ask her father for permission for Tamaki to marry her. In another, their wedding is shown followed by a story that reveals that they were the first of the club to have children.

Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese anime and later drama CDs),^[4] Aya Hisakawa (early drama CDs), Haruna Kawaguchi (live-action), Caitlin Glass (English)^[5]

Tamaki Suoh

Tamaki Suoh (須王 環, Suō Tamaki^?), whose full name is René Tamaki Richard de Grantaine,^[6] is a second-year student at Ouran Academy and the founder and president of the Host Club. He was born on April 8(Buddha's birthday),^[2] and is 16 years old at the beginning of the series.^[3] Flamboyant and narcissistic, he is dedicated to his duties as a host. He is the princely type, who entertains customers with upper-class etiquette and shameless flattery. He is partial to classic piano music and plays exceedingly well. He refers to his club as his "family": himself being the father figure; Kyoya the mother; Haruhi the daughter; Hikaru and Kaoru the brothers; Mori and Honey the cousins.

As Tamaki is the main comic relief character of the series, he is outspoken and naïve for his age, especially since he only views himself as an obsessive father figure to Haruhi, when, in reality, he is in love with her. Mori and Honey point out his naiveté when it comes to how he truly feels about Haruhi and the rest of the club sees this too. His naiveté applies to his overall dense approach to his own feelings, although he is very perceptive to the feelings of others, which Hikaru and Kaoru both note. He often becomes jealous of other boys who approach Haruhi and admires her natural personality. When he is kicked out by Haruhi or made fun of, he has the tendency to grow mushrooms in either the closet or the corner, which appear like they were worked on for weeks.

Tamaki is half Japanese and half French, and lives under the custody of his father, the wealthy chairman of Ouran Academy. They are separated from his French mother because of a deal made between Tamaki's ill mother and his cold-hearted paternal grandmother. He lives at the Suoh family's second mansion, while his father stays at the main mansion with Tamaki's grandmother. Eventually, he is accepted into the main residence where his grandmother lives. At first, she does not acknowledge him and makes his life sour by "pulling him back to reality", but he manages to win her approval with his mind and kindness and the two grow close. She also allows him to meet with his mother.

At one point in the manga, Tamaki realizes that he loves Haruhi as a woman and not a daughter. However, he does not act on it because of his own divided family, fearing that something similar will happen to the Host Club should he ever pursue Haruhi romantically. Thanks to his friend's efforts, however, he accepts that doing so would not hurt the club. Even then, though, he cannot find the courage to confess to her, frightened that she will not return his feelings. Later, upon hearing Haruhi's confession, he admits to his feelings and the two become a couple. Towards the end of the manga, he surprises Haruhi by going with her to America. The two move into a dorm building together, soon followed by the rest of the Host Club members, much to Haruhi's and Tamaki's surprise. While living in Boston, Tamaki reads a magazine on how to be a good husband. In a short story, a scene of their wedding is shown followed by another which reveals that they were the first in the club to have children.

His family name is romanized by VIZ Media as Suho^[7] and by Chuang Yi, Funimation^[8] and Nippon Television's Japanese-language website as Suou.^[9]

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (anime and later drama CDs),^[4] Hikaru Midorikawa (early drama CDs), Yūsuke Yamamoto (live-action), Vic Mignogna (English)^[5]

Kyouya Ootori

Kyouya Ootori (鳳 鏡夜, Ōtori Kyōya^?) is an attractive, calculating second-year student at Ouran Academy and vice-president of the Host Club.^[10] He was born on November 22 (Good Wife Day)^[2] and is 16 years old at the beginning of the series.^[3]

Kyouya is best friends with Tamaki, despite their completely different demeanors. Kyouya is secretive and intelligent, as his ability to calculate the financial and social benefits that result from the Host Club's adventures demonstrates. He is a very realistic and pragmatic person, as well as a competent and accurate accountant. Despite his occasionally antagonistic traits, the Host Club would not have been successful without Kyouya's uptight resourcefulness. Although he is rarely seen entertaining guests of the Host Club, he is considered the cool type.^[10]

Kyouya lives with his father, an influent zaibatsu owner who specializes in hospital management. He has two brothers that he has to surpass to become his father's successor and a married sister who cares deeply for him. Despite his cold and uncaring exterior, Kyouya occasionally demonstrates his concern for others. For example, when the Club goes to the beach and Haruhi is harassed by men, he pretends to intimidate Haruhi to show her why the other members of the Host Club were worried about her. Another example is when he points out the false nature of an antique to an old woman who was about to buy it. Haruhi is able to see through his mask, however, and understands him well. In volume 16, his actions helped Tamaki strengthen his relationship with his grandmother.

Kyouya is incredibly irritable and slow to wake up in the morning, which is attributed to low blood pressure. He carries a clipboard with him and it is a long-running joke that it is unknown what he writes in it. In almost everything he does, he gets something out of it. Kyoya seems to have a particular interest in smooth jazz music.

According to the author, if Hatori Bisco had allotted forty pages for the first chapter of the manga instead of fifty, she would have cut Kyouya from the cast, but is glad this did not happen as "since the rest of the members are the way they are, he is invaluable for maintaining order and offering explanations."^[11] Bisco named him after the fact he wears glasses by taking the last syllable of gankyō, meaning a pair of glasses.^[12]

Viz Media romanized his name as Kyoya Ootori,^[13] Chuang Yi as Kyouya Ootori, FUNimation as Kyouya Otori,^[14] and Nippon Television's Japanese-language website as Kyoya Ootori.^[9]

Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze (anime),^[4] Junichi Suwabe (drama CDs), Shunsuke Daito (live-action), J. Michael Tatum (English)^[5]

Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin

The twins Hikaru Hitachiin (常陸院 光, Hitachīn Hikaru^?) and Kaoru Hitachiin (常陸院 馨, Hitachīn Kaoru^?) are depicted as mischievous, devious and otherwise childish young men who toy with people, including their schoolmates and fellow Host Club member Haruhi. As Hikaru and Kaoru come to better understand Haruhi, they start to care deeply for her, especially after she learns to tell them apart. They were born on June 9, a date chosen by the manga artist to show that they are alike yet different,^[6] and are 15 years old at the beginning of the series.^[3]

When Hikaru and Kaoru were young, they were fond of their maid. One night, they discovered her trying to steal from their mansion and offered her a deal. She needed to guess which of the two Hikaru was in exchange for the combination to the safe. The maid took the combination number from them anyway and said that no one would ever be able to tell them apart. They eventually learned many skills from the maid, including how to fake emotions, before she fled the mansion and never returned.

During their second year of junior high, they meet Tamaki Suou, who wants them to join the newly-formed Host Club. The twins agree to join only if Tamaki can guess which twin is which. Although Tamaki fails many times, he eventually guesses it, at which point the twins give in and decide to try the Host Club. The club opened them up to new experiences, including the development of a deep bond with Tamaki. Prior to joining, the twins described the world as "us" and "them", being very distrustful and unkind to others. Additionally, because their parents were often away, they were deeply dependent on each other. Joining the club and meeting Haruhi helped them become more independent.

The Hitachiin twins use acts of "forbidden brotherly love" as their main draw in the Host Club, with highly suggestive themes of incestuous boy love. When their popularity amongst the Ouran females is questioned by Haruhi, the twins admit to having homosexual tendencies, though it is never clarified if they are bisexual or not. In addition, they are both considered the mischievous, tricky, little devil types in the club. They have their differences: Kaoru is nicer, more mature and considerate to the thoughts of others, while Hikaru is more childish and immature, even though he is the elder. Both have been shown to have romantic feelings for Haruhi, however Kaoru chooses not to pursue her, so that Hikaru can realize his own feelings first. Their different personalities are best shown when they are separated and there is also a slight difference in the way they speak. There are several ways as to how to tell the twins apart, the most used being that Hikaru's hair is parted to the right side and Kaoru's hair parts to the left. Besides this, Hikaru dyes his hair a darker color after a fight and later reconciliation with Kaoru, in which Kaoru encourages him to be more independent.

Hikaru decides to pursue his feelings for Haruhi, not wanting to lose to Tamaki. However, he begins to suspect that Haruhi returns Tamaki's feelings. In chapter 61, Hikaru confesses to Haruhi, but she rejects him. In chapter 78, Hikaru confronts Haruhi about her feelings for Tamaki for a second time, and unlike the first time, Haruhi admits that she loves Tamaki. Hikaru tells her to confess, which she does after Tamaki's reunion with his mother. He is visibly upset, but the other Host Club members comfort him.

The twins live with their mother, Yuzuha, a fashion designer, and their considerably meeker father, a computer software designer, until the final chapter in which they and the other Host Club members move to America to study with Haruhi.

In the volume 18 extras, they are shown around college age with their younger sister Ageha, born after the end of the series. She likes butterflies and flowers but has a personality much like her older brothers. She is attached to Tamaki, referring to him as milord/tono/boss like Hikaru and Kaoru. The twins dote on her a lot.

Hikaru voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (Japanese anime and later drama CDs),^[4] Soichiro Hoshi (early drama CDs), Shinpei Takagi (live-action), Todd Haberkorn (English)^[5]
Kaoru voiced by: Yoshinori Fujita (Japanese anime and later drama CDs),^[4] Kenichi Suzumura (early drama CDs), Manpei Takagi (live-action), Greg Ayres (English)^[5]

Mitsukuni "Honey" Haninozuka

Mitsukuni Haninozuka (埴之塚 光邦, Haninozuka Mitsukuni^?) was born on February 29 and is 17 years old at the beginning of the series. The author has joked saying he only ages every four years because his birthday only comes on leap years.^[6]

Honey is depicted as a childish and cake-loving boy who is much older than what his elementary school appearance would indicate. He is also a strong fighter who can send people flying with one kick. When Haruhi is warned about his legendary fighting skills, the point is illustrated in the anime by a mushroom cloud erupting where a city had once stood. In the anime, there is a scene which shows Honey's true strength and it is said that Japan's Defense Minister has told him not to show his full power for fear that other countries might think Japan holds a weapon of mass destruction, causing them to fire missiles upon Japan (episode 18 of the anime). Honey is often around his cousin Mori, to whom he is very close, and lives with his father, the owner of a famous dojo, and his little brother, Yasuchika, with whom he is often at odds.

Honey is very fond of eating sweets and his room is full of stuffed animals. He always carries around a plush bunny named Usa-chan, an abbreviation of usagi, which means rabbit (also called Bun-Bun in the manga). He used to hide his true self with much difficulty by acting like a "real man" for some time, but after Tamaki convinced him that liking cute things was not bad, he realized that there was absolutely no need to hide. Together with Mori, he joined the Host Club, attracting customers with his shotacon cuteness. It is possible his nickname, Honey, came from his first name, Mitsukuni (光邦^?), as mitsu can mean honey (蜜^?). It could also be an abbreviation of his family name, Haninozuka. He is referred to almost exclusively by this nickname, Mori being the only one who calls him by his first name.

In chapter 72, he graduates from Ouran, but says that he will return to the Host Club every so often, as will Mori. They often return for visits and for a picnic planned by Haruhi. He and Mori also help fetch Tamaki for the reunion plan. He later marries Reiko Kanazuki as writen by Bisco Hatori for what happens to the characters in the future.

Honey, like Kyouya, has a difficult time waking up. Despite his cute nature, he wakes up in the same manner as Kyouya, though he is much quicker when dealing with the person that wakes him up, for example the platoon soldier when he visited America.

He was originally intended to have an extreme dual personality. However, the "crouching in the corner, depressed" stance was reassigned from him to Tamaki.^{[citation needed]}

Voiced by: Ayaka Saitō (anime and later drama CDs),^[4] Ikue Ōtani (early drama CDs), Yūdai Chiba (live-action), Luci Christian (English)^[5]

Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka

Takashi Morinozuka (銛之塚 崇, Morinozuka Takashi^?), usually called Mori (モリ^?), is a third year student at Ouran Academy. He was born on May 5, Children's/Boys' Day, and is 17 years old at the beginning of the series.^[3] The manga artist felt Children's Day a bit of a mismatch, but she later found Boys' Day to be quite fitting.^[15]

Mori is depicted as tall, quiet and somewhat intimidating, but he is very protective of Honey, whom he calls by his first name, Mitsukuni. This was seen in the anime and manga when Honey had a toothache (anime: episode 12, manga: chapter 14). Mori blamed himself for not reminding Honey to brush his teeth and restricted his cousin from eating candy until he had a filling for his cavity. Honey ended up judo-throwing Mori to the floor in a fit of anger, but they made up soon afterwards. The Morinozuka family had protected and served the Haninozuka family for many generations. As the two families were joined by marriage two generations back, they became related to each other, thus breaking the master-servant tradition. Nevertheless, Mori still faithfully protects Honey and is always by his side, attending to his wishes and watching out for him. His protective personality extends to his classmates and the Host Club members, earning him a level of respect. He is also protective of Haruhi, as shown in episode 7, of whom he thinks in a very kind, brotherly way. Although, as a host, he is considered the wild type (changed to the strong, silent type in the English anime dub), he normally does not try to woo girls. The girls like how he cares for Honey and shyer customers are attracted to his tall physique and taciturn personality. In the manga, he has an outgoing little brother, Satoshi Morinozuka, who does not appear in the anime. He also thinks about kissing Honey but it isn't clear if he ever does.

Mori's hobbies include kendo, of which he is the national champion. In the manga, he becomes uncharacteristically talkative and flirtatious when he is tired.^[16] In the later chapters, he raises a chicken he names Piyo and takes in a stray tanuki.

In chapter 72, he graduates from Ouran, deciding to study Theory and Philosophy of Law (or Jurisprudence). Although he is leaving for the university section, Honey and Mori state that they will visit the Host Club often.

Voiced by: Daisuke Kirii (Japanese anime and later drama CDs),^[4] Kenjirō Tsuda (early drama CDs), Masaya Nakamura (live-action), Travis Willingham (English)^[5]

Host Club associates and customers

Renge Houshakuji

Anime screenshot depicting Renge.

Renge Houshakuji (宝積寺 れんげ, Hōshakuji Renge^?) is the Host Club's self-proclaimed manager who tends to be very loud and outspoken. She lived in France for a short time before attending Ouran and first came across the Host Club by maintaining the belief she was Kyoya's fiancée despite never having met him in person. This is due to her extreme love of visual novel-type video games, which sometimes makes her confuse them with real life. Her fascination with Kyoya originates from her obsession with one such dating game, since he greatly resembles the lead character. Still, her experience with dating sims causes her to be more aware of character and plot development. She and Kirimi Nekozawa (see Umehito Nekozawa) seem to be aware of the tropes and conventions displayed in the Host Club manga and anime more than anyone else, although Renge is better at picking out mature things than the shōjo-obsessed Kirimi.^{[clarification needed]} Tamaki initially makes Renge the Host Club's manager hoping that she will become a female friend to Haruhi and inspire her to act and dress more feminine. He is disappointed when Renge develops a crush on Haruhi, believing her to be a boy.

In the anime, she almost always enters using a rising platform that opens from a hidden hatch on the floor and is powered by a "high-powered motor" ("powerful motor" in Funimation's English version) with a high-pitched giggle, even when the Host Club is off campus. At first she often complains how the members of the Club are "not good enough" in various ways, but as she grows more satisfied with the hosts, she begins bringing in more customers with her fangirlish ways. She changes favorites every once in a while. Renge has proven an asset to the Host Club as a manager on several occasions. She can accurately predict what will win the greatest approval of customers due to her extensive knowledge on various subjects, most of which connected to the concept of moe. Kyoya compliments her on several occasions. Renge also has activities which allow her talents to flourish that do not directly concern the Host Club; in the anime, she is shown hosting a sentai show for school children and she is involved in producing the Moe Moe Ouran Journal (萌え萌え桜蘭日記, Moe Moe Ōran Nikki^?), a school magazine containing all things related to moe at Ouran Academy. Her catch phrase, "I could eat three bowls of rice", is a reference to the anime Green Green.

In the manga, Renge mostly disappears after her initial appearance in chapter 3, making only cameo appearances in subsequent chapters. Hatori mentioned that Renge was going to be a recurring character, but it never happened.^{[citation needed]} Her comment probably led to Renge's numerous anime appearances in situations that originally included Tamaki in the manga, like the coaching of Shiro and Nekozawa. In volume 9, her appearances were significantly increased and she appears in the later chapters to help the club.

A trait that Renge displays in both the anime and manga is that, when she becomes extremely angry, she assumes a Medusa-like look, with her hair transforming into snakes. At such times, she can drive most of the other characters before her to blind panic. She is presented as an undersocialized otaku.^[17]

Voiced by: Kozue Yoshizumi^[4] (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

Umehito Nekozawa

Umehito Nekozawa (猫澤 梅人, Nekozawa Umehito^?) is depicted as a hooded individual who holds a cat puppet named Belzeneff (also spelled Beelzenef or Bereznoff). Umehito has photophobia, which causes him to collapse and, according to him, die when under any kind of direct light; he tends to refer to anyone who drags him into lights as "murderers". As the Black Magic Club's President, he tries to get people to join his club, though not too successfully. Anyone who joins gets a free Belzeneff doll. Besides his own puppet, Umehito also has a wooden voodoo doll version of it. Nekozawa claims that if the name of a hated person is written on the back of the doll, that person will be showered with misfortunes. Tamaki, especially, is superstitious about Nekozawa's curses, having experienced them first-hand.

Umehito is very handsome under his hood. He has bright blue eyes and wears a black – dark green in the anime – wig over his naturally blond hair to keep his hair from exposure to the light. He has a child sister named Kirimi who is afraid of the dark and is under the impression that he is a monster due to his dark clothing. As a result, the two siblings are unable to be around one another until Tamaki and the Host Club get involved and prompt Umehito to adjust to light and display his more heroic and princely side. In the end, it is Umehito's love and desire to protect his little sister that endears him to her, as he braves daylight to save Kirimi. He collapses right after exposing himself to sunshine, but Kirimi finds him a place in her heart for his willingness to brave that which he loathes so much to protect her. At the end of volume 8 of the manga, it is shown that Kirimi has turned into a nearly identical darkness fanatic. Both sport dark cloaks and have their features covered, but Kirimi carries a giant plush kitty instead of a Beelzeneff puppet. Despite the Host Club's efforts to help him brave the sun, he is still just as obsessed with his occult passions. In the Halloween episode, he appears before Tamaki from a coffin and offers his services to help scare the student body.

In Volume 3 of the manga, the Host Club stay at Umehito's private beach and mansion, not Kyoya's, although Umehito does not attend dinner because Haruhi switched the lights on and caused him to go into shock. The Host Club – Mori, Honey, the twins, and Haruhi –also see Umehito without his cloak and wig for the first time as he comes out to see what is wrong when Haruhi is taken to the bathroom. It is unclear if he realizes that Haruhi is a girl. It is possible he knows her secret and does not care, as she spent the whole vacation in a dress instead of her typical boyish clothes.

The Nekozawa family traces their heritage to the Tokarev Dynasty in Russia, suggesting that Nekozawa family may work with gun manufacturing companies (a firearm appears in the manga, and as a symbol in the anime).

Voiced by: Yuji Ueda^[4] (Japanese), Patrick Seitz^[5] (English)

Ritsu Kasanoda

Ritsu Kasanoda (笠野田 律, Kasanoda Ritsu^?) is the successor to the third generation master of the Kasanoda-gumi, the most powerful yakuza group in Kantō, Japan. Since Kasanoda's features have been intimidating since birth, his father claims he has the right face to become the most frightening yakuza boss in history and raises him to be the next leader. He is trained to appear tough and unapproachable so most see him as a very intimidating person and he has few friends. Kasanoda therefore initially does not talk much, though he can be angered easily. He is most well-known for his long red hair and frightening face. Despite his outward appearance and upbringing, however, he tends to be a kind person who enjoys helping others. His classmates have nicknamed him as the feared "human blizzard". Haruhi calls him "Casanova", while Tamaki and the Hitachiin twins call him "Bossa Nova".

Kasanoda initially seeks to apprentice under Morinozuka, hoping to become as respected and admired as he. He suffers humiliation at the hands of the Host Club members out of a desire to learn how to make friends and be able to have fun with people. Later experiences concerning a member of his household named Tetsuya show him that there are already people at his home who know his good side; they do not mention it because they know he is not only kind-hearted, but also shy and easily embarrassed.

Due to Kasanoda habit of not knocking before entering a room, he becomes the first person at Ouran High outside the Host Club to discover that Haruhi is a girl. He had a confused crush on her prior to learning she is a girl and consequently falls in love with Haruhi and attends the Host Club as a customer. When he tries to admit his feelings to Haruhi, he is rejected with no ill intent, as she considers him an understanding friend (due to Kasanoda saying she could be at ease because he had come to see her so Haruhi could talk to someone who knew her secret). Since Kyoya tells Kasanoda that Haruhi must appear to be male for "special reasons", he resolves to not cause her any trouble by publicly stating they will be "friends" forever so she will not have to worry about being thought odd by associating romantically with him. Kasanoda does not realize that the special reasons consist of Haruhi's debt to the club.

Ever since that incident, though, his desire to have friends is fulfilled when everyone in the Host Club, hosts and customers, agree to become his friends. He joins the Gardening Society of the school and on multiple occasions gifts Haruhi with food he has grown. In episode 25 of the anime he is seen surrounded by female students, apparently embarrassed but not angry. He appears in numerous chapters helping the Host Club. In chapter 80 of the manga, Kyoya used both the police and Kasanoda's clan to secure a route to the airport so that Tamaki could arrive on time to meet his mother. In the volume 18 extras, he is shown dating Mei Yasumura, a friend of Haruhi's.

Voiced by: Wataru Hatano^[4] (Japanese), Christopher Sabat and Colleen Clinkenbeard (Young Kasonoda)^[5] (English)

Kanako Kasugazaki

Kanako Kasugazaki (春日崎 奏子, Kasugazaki Kanako^?) is the subject of help for the Host Club in episode 2 of the anime. Initially, Kanako was well-known for host hopping (changing hosts very often, the usual practice being for a girl to designate a permanent host), but she only did this to spite her fiancé, Tohru Suzushima, into paying attention to her. She was unsuccessful until Tamaki learns of their situation and decides to help. She makes a cameo appearance in episode 13 as the dodo from Alice in Wonderland and is seen waiting for her lost love to come back. In the anime, she is the first person Haruhi ever kisses, by accident, during a ball organized by the Host Club where they executed Tamaki's plan to bring Kanako and Tohru together. She appears in later chapters stating that Tohru is working hard in England and wishing to help Tamaki.

Voiced by: Natsuko Kuwatani^[4] (Japanese), Laura Bailey (English)

Shiro Takaoji

Shiro Takaoji (鷹凰子嗣郎, Takaoji Shirō^?) is the subject of help for the Host Club in episode 6 of the anime. He is a painfully honest person, first pointing out that one of Tamaki's clients looks like a carp (her lips are thick), next stating that the twins are homosexual and finally that Haruhi is a cross-dresser. He is in love with a girl in his grade who is moving away and asks to be taught how to make women happy; in his music class, he is supposed to play a duet with the girl he likes, but prefers to just hear her play. Tamaki teaches him the song so they can play together and the young lovebirds end up corresponding through mail. In the manga, he is later "loaned" to Kasanoda in an attempt to make him cuter. He made a cameo appearance in episode 13 as a mouse and appears in the later chapters of the manga complaining that Tamaki had yet to take him to an amusement park. In the anime, at the end of episode 6, Shiro's pose is a nod to his voice actor's more famous role as the titular character in Naruto.

Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi^[4] (Japanese), Brina Palencia (English)

Ayame Jōnōchi

Ayame Jōnōchi (城之内綾女, Jōnōchi Ayame^?) is Kyoya's and Tamaki's classmate and the class vice-chairman of 2-A. Ayame became Haruhi's tutor when Haruhi failed to rank at the top of her grade. Despite hating Tamaki for his eccentricities and the fact that he is always second in class (Ayame was consistently third after Tamaki came to Ouran), she has a crush on the Host Club President. Initially, she permed her hair straight, but after Tamaki's advice, she reverted to her natural wavy hairstyle and became a regular at the Host Club. She is known for her ability to speak for a long time in a single breath; as such, her nickname among the club members is "Morse Code Lady". In the anime, her appearances are limited to a cameo in episode 24, when Tamaki introduces himself to her.

Host Club rivals

Benio Amakusa

Benio Amakusa (天草紅緒, Amakusa Benio^?) is the President of the Zuka Club. She is nicknamed "Benibara-sama" at St. Lobelia's Girl Academy and is the most popular of the Zuka Club's ruling council. Benio is also known as "The Lady of the Red Rose", and was the anime's first openly homosexual female to be introduced. She is one of few people who have recognised Haruhi's gender upon meeting her. A "Benibara-sama's guardian club" was founded at St. Lobelia's just to make sure she does not get mobbed when walking down the school aisles. She has a large fan club devoted to her, as she flirts with girls with the same ease as Tamaki, with whom she shares personality traits such as over-confidence and a melodramatic nature. On one occasion, Benio claims that she is following in the footsteps of her mother, who was supposedly president of the Zuka Club in her day. This may have been nothing more than a lie, as her intentions were to lay down a ploy to steal Haruhi's first kiss in front of Tamaki as revenge for having defied the Zuka Club. In the manga, it was a ruse to show the foolishness of men. She refers to herself with the Japanese first-person pronoun boku, which is used predominantly by males, although in increasing usage by females (see Gender differences in spoken Japanese).

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese), Stephanie Young (English)

Chizuru Maihara

Chizuru Maihara (舞原千鶴, Maihara Chizuru^?), also known as "The Lady of the Lily", is the Vice-President of the Zuka Club. She appears to be the most placid member of the club's ruling council, but she never objects to any of the club's plans, rather assisting and making things worse. Chizuru believes that all men are a lower form of life and finds the Host Club's bewilderment at her immunity to their charms amusing.

Voiced by: Miho Yamada (Japanese), Jamie Marchi^[5] (English)

Hinako Tsuwabuki

Youngest member of the Zuka Club's leading council, Hinako Tsuwabuki (石蕗雛子, Tsuwabuki Hinako^?), also known as "The Lady of the Daisy", is in her first year of high school at Lobelia Girls' Academy. She is the most energetic of the three girls and, as acknowledged by Chizuru, seems to be very intelligent. Her club tends to bother Haruhi, thinking that she should not wear a boy's uniform and insisting that Haruhi should join the Zuka Club.

Voiced by: Yuko Sasamoto^[4] (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski^[5] (English)

Others

Ryoji "Ranka" Fujioka

Anime screenshot depicting "Ranka".

Ryoji Fujioka (藤岡 涼二, Fujioka Ryōji^?), Haruhi's father, works at a cross-dressing bar (okama) under the name Ranka (蘭花^?). He claims that he was originally bisexual, but became a transvestite after his wife's death because he could never love another woman. In the American dub, his sexual orientation is never stated, but he says that Haruhi's mother did not care that he was a cross-dresser and she was the only one that mattered. In contrast to Haruhi's practicality and lack of interest in material things, he is bad with money and buys girly clothing for Haruhi hoping she will dress more cutely. He repacks her suitcase for an overnight trip in episode 8 of the anime, replacing the clothes she had packed with a dress.

Haruhi's stubborn self-reliance causes her father to worry about her a lot; he would like to be more involved in her life and do more for her, but she rarely lets him. However, the two have a loving relationship. While her father would like to be able to take care of Haruhi, it seems that she often has to take care of him instead, as shown in a flashback in which a very young Haruhi refuses to allow him to go to parents' day at her school because she wants him to stay home and rest.

There is a marked similarity between Haruhi's father and Tamaki, upon which several other members of the Host Club have commented. Because of this, and as a result of Tamaki's romantic affection for Haruhi, Ryoji has stated that he considers Tamaki an enemy, and seems to take amusement in picking on him.

In one of the later extra chapters of the manga, it is shown that Ryoji was very protective of his wife before they started dating and he found her to be a very "cool" person. He is described by some of the characters in the anime and manga as prettier than Haruhi, even when she is wearing a dress.

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu^[4] (Japanese), Mike McFarland^[5] (English)

Kotoko Fujioka

Kotoko Fujioka (藤岡 琴子, Fujioka Kotoko^?) was Haruhi's mother, who died when her daughter was still very young. Haruhi remarks in the first episode that it has been ten years since her mother died, which makes her about five years old at that time. She was an attorney at law; Haruhi takes after her in some ways and she remains Haruhi's role-model. If the way in which Haruhi recalls her in her memories and dreams is accurate, she was a dedicated and loving mother who wished the best for her family. One can assume she was also open-minded to live with and love her husband, "Ranka". He states that Kotoko was both beautiful and intelligent and reveals that she was a closet fan of the St. Lobelia's Zuka Club of her day. In later chapters, it is shown that she was popular at her law school and, in a recent omake, that she found Ryoji to be strange and annoying, but all the same liked him from the first moment they met.

Voiced by: Mika Doi^[4] (Japanese), Jennifer Seman (English)

Yuzuru Suoh

Yuzuru Suoh (須王 譲, Suō Yuzuru^?) is the patriarch of the Suoh family and chairman of Ouran Academy. He is the 48 year old father of Tamaki and his hobbies are golf, theater and teasing his son. Yuzuru shares some of his son's characteristics. Despite knowing of his mother's loathing of Tamaki, he can do little to help the situation. To date, his only act of rebellion against his mother's wishes seems to be not breaking off his relationship with Tamaki's mother, instead divorcing the woman his mother had chosen for him. In the anime, he appears to be cold to Tamaki, though this might be to show that he does not favor his son as a student, as a scene in the anime shows photographs of Tamaki at different stages of life on his office desk. It also seems Tamaki gained his charms from his father. Tamaki is very serious in Yuzuru's presence, but the manga is a little different, showing Yuzuru as eager to tease his son at every opportunity, sending him red herrings in the middle of an investigation and telling tall tales.

Volume 9 reveals that Yuzuru knows where his wife is; it would not be hard for him to arrange a reunion. What the father had in mind was to have Tamaki surpass him in terms of capabilities, so that he may inherit the Suoh empire and force his grandmother to accept his mother. In the last episode of the anime, while the Host Club members are enjoying the last night of the festival, Kyoya's father, Yoshio Ootori, is with Yuzuru in his office at Ouran. Yuzuru says that the two might as well be friendly to each other like their sons, but after hearing from Yoshio that he is planning to have his son, Kyoya, marry Haruhi someday, he comments that they will never be friendly after all, hinting that he is planning the same thing for Tamaki and Haruhi. This conversation never took place in the manga.

Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue^[4] (Japanese), John Swasey (English)

Anne-Sophie Grantaine

Anne-Sophie Grantaine (アン ゾフィー・グランテーヌ, An Zofi Gurantēnu^?) is Tamaki's mother. Anne-Sophie was born in France and met Yuzuru Suou, Tamaki's father, in Paris while he was on a business trip. The two fell in love, and she became his mistress. When Tamaki was born she was forbidden by Yuzuru's mother to return to Japan with him.

Anne-Sophie raised Tamaki in France until he was fourteen, about three years before the start of the series. Anne-Sophie was often very sick. At the time, Yuzuru's mother was worried that the Suou family would be without an heir and offered Anne-Sophie money in exchange for allowing Tamaki to live in Japan, never to see his mother again. Faced with the failure and debt of her family's business, Anne-Sophie tearfully accepted, going into hiding after Tamaki's departure. No one knows where she is, though Yuzuru has some idea. During the second year school trip to France, Kyoya finds her and discovers that she is living quite healthily, thinking of her son every day. In chapter 77, they find out that Anne-Sophie suffers from systemic lupus erythematosus.

In chapters 80/81, she is finally reunited with Tamaki thanks to his friends who helped him get to the airport in time for her departure after a brief visit to Japan. Although she returns to France, she is no longer forbidden from seeing Tamaki.

In the anime, Anne-Sophie's situation is somewhat different. She works as the housekeeper of the Tonerre group and developed an intergenerational friendship with the family's daughter and heiress, Eclaire. She told young Eclaire a lot about Tamaki, which made her curious about what kind of person he could be, and thus she goes to Japan to visit him and tell him that, if he marries her, she'll make sure he's reunited with Anne-Sophie. In the end, the engagement is broken off, but Eclaire still intends to reunite them someday.

Shizue Suoh

Tamaki's grandmother, Yuzuru's mother and the Suoh matriarch. Introduced in the series as the main antagonist, she was responsible for bringing Tamaki to Japan and forbidding him to ever see his mother again. She is hateful and mean, being one of the only people Mitsukuni hates. She strongly dislikes Tamaki for being the child of her son's mistress and refers to him as a "filthy child". Strict and old fashioned, she puts the Suoh business before everything else.

Throughout the series, she also shows she has plans for Tamaki and the Host Club. In later chapters, thanks to the Suoh's lawyer, Kousaka, Shizue finally allows Tamaki to enter the main residence, though she still does not acknowledge him. Once he is there, she tells him of how he has messed up Haruhi Fujioka's life by making her hide her gender and deceive the whole school. She also forbids him from participating in Host Club activities, an order which Tamaki obeys.

As she starts living in the same residence as her grandson, Shizue is slowly charmed by his extravagant, yet kind self. Yuzuru orders her retirement after his and Yoshio Ootori's companies discover a medicine for Tamaki's mother, which causes her to seclude herself inside her room. Falling into depression, it is Tamaki who helps her regain her spirit by playing the piano for her, leading to the discovery that they have a lot in common, such as the same interests in movies and TV series.

After witnessing how far the Host Club goes to make Tamaki see his mother before she leaves, Shizue lets him go as long as he will come back to play the piano for her. After this, she also allows him to return to the Host Club and eventually accepts Tamaki's relationship with Haruhi. This exemplified, in chapter 82, when she forcefully had him dressed in her late-husband's (i.e. Tamaki's paternal grandfather) clothes before Tamaki went on a date with Haruhi.

Yoshio Ootori

Yoshio Ootori (鳳敬雄, Ōtori Yoshio^?), Kyoya's father, is the patriarch of the Ootori family. Yoshio is portrayed as a cold, calculating father. Kyoya tries hard to please him to become heir of the family, despite the fact that his father apparently shows no understanding for his children and has planned out the lives of his sons as his successors already. In the manga, he acknowledges Kyoya as a possible successor despite being the third son. In the anime, he states he has already decided Kyoya would inherit Ootori Medical from him (in the manga, he states it is a possibility), only to have his third son buy it and return it to his control without ever revealing his identity. He wants Kyoya to marry Haruhi in the anime.

Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki^[4] (Japanese), Kent Williams (English)

Fuyumi Ootori

Fuyumi Ootori (鳳芙裕美, Ōtori Fuyumi^?) is Kyoya's older sister. In the anime, she appears during Kyoya's flashbacks about his first meeting with Tamaki. She clearly cares for her younger brother and tries to help him in life. She is somewhat lacking in the areas of housework and organization as any time she tries to help Kyoya packing clothes they end up all over the place literally, but appears to be a kind-hearted person. The manga reveals that she is married, but returned home for a short visit. Her husband's surname is Shido (矢道^?). She and Tamaki are pursuing a tour of commoners' food together.

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue^[4] (Japanese), Christine Auten (English)

Misuzu Sonoda

Misuzu Sonoda (園田 美鈴, Sonoda Misuzu^?) is Ranka's colleague at the cross dressing bar. He runs a pension in Karuizawa, Nagano, where Haruhi works during summer vacation. He holds a contest among the hosts over who will be the most refreshing and able to stay at the pension; he is swayed by Kaoru and Hikaru after a display of "brotherly love" earns them "100 refreshing points". His real name is Isao (功^?). He was formerly a banker and has a love for making frilly Lolita-type clothing.

Voiced by: Yūichi Nagashima^[4] (Japanese), Sonny Strait (English)

Mei Yasumura

Mei Yasumura (安村 メイ, Yasumura Mei^?) is Misuzu's ganguro daughter, who hates her father for being a cross-dresser, as it was the reason her parents divorced and left her without a proper father figure for most of her childhood. Yasumura is her stepfather's surname, since Mei's custody was given to her mother after the divorce.

Misuzu gets the Fujiokas to keep an eye on his daughter for a while, as she keeps running away from him and refuses to stay at his house. During her stay at the Fujiokas, Haruhi secretly prepares meals for Mei using Misuzu's recipes, such as jam and demiglace sauce, which Tamaki obtains from Misuzu by working part-time at the pension. Mei eventually sees through Tamaki's plan and reconciles with Misuzu by requesting some more of his cooking.

One of Mei's favourite hobbies is creating her own fashions and loves seeing her clothes on other girls. Mei is so dedicated to this hobby that she is willing to wake up early in the morning to sew a new dress and sometimes gets so carried away that her homework is neglected. When she discovers that the mother of Hikaru and Kaoru is the famous designer Yuzuha Hitachiin, Mei persuades Haruhi to accept an invite to the twins' mansion so Mei can meet her idol in person. Yuzuha lives up to Mei's expectations and together they try to photograph Haruhi wearing cute outfits designed by Yuzuha.

From the moment she saw Tamaki, Mei developed a crush on him and enlisted Haruhi's reluctant help to attract his attention. Later, she suspects that Tamaki might be in love with Haruhi and vice versa, and she is the first to notice Haruhi's feelings towards Tamaki. As they become better friends, Mei provides Haruhi with love advice, using a girls' magazine to help Haruhi understand her relationship with Tamaki; her assistance gives Tamaki an advantage over Hikaru in confessing his feelings to Haruhi. In the volume 18 extras, Mei is shown dating Ritsu Kasanoda.

Mei is the only non-Host Club member to appear on any volume cover of the manga.

Éclair Tonnerre

An anime-only character. Éclair is the beautiful and shrewd heir to the France-based Grand Tonnerre Group, which in the anime employs Tamaki's mother as a servant in Éclair's house. Having heard a great deal about Tamaki from his mother, Éclair develops a crush on him and Tamaki's grandmother, who detests his mother, concocts a scheme to make him Éclair's husband. She tracks down Tamaki in Japan and convinces him to leave the Host Club, offering him a chance to see his mother if he complies with her wishes. She secures noninterference from the Ootori group by arranging for the Grand Tonnerre Group to buy Ootori Medical so as to control Kyoya's father.

She does not immediately recognize Haruhi as a girl, however she does believe that Haruhi is Tamaki's male lover. This leads her to try to drive a wedge between Haruhi and Tamaki, with some degree of success. In the end, Tamaki leaves Éclair in order to save Haruhi's life, but not before leaving a good impression by genuinely smiling at her and thanking her for letting him go. She then asks her driver to head toward the airport without Tamaki, speaking of how wonderful and pure-hearted Tamaki is since he could smile at her after all that she had done. She reveals that Tamaki's mother is now a servant (precisely, housekeeper) at her house and it is suggested that she may somehow arrange for Tamaki to see his mother again. This is her final appearance in the anime.

Her name is French for "lightning thunder" and is supposed to represent Haruhi's worst fears.

Yasuchika Haninozuka

Mitsukuni "Honey" Haninozuka's younger brother, whom Honey calls "Chika". He often feels overshadowed by his older brother and has grown a lasting resentment towards him for enjoying things that are cute and dropping out as the Karate Club's President. He is also very astonished by the amount of cake he eats in one night and how quickly he does so. His greatest ambition is to one day finally defeat his brother in combat, but in the end Honey easily defeats him, choosing the things he loves most over his brother's feelings, much to Mori's surprise.

Yasuchika's best friend is Satoshi Morinozuka, the younger brother of Mori. Both seem to be polar opposites of their older brothers, however, it is shown that underneath Chika's attitude, he is much like Honey, crying easily and collecting cute stuffed toy chicks and chick photo books. He goes to ninth grade while his older brother is at Ouran Academy.

Voiced by: Kei Watanabe (Japanese), Aaron Dismuke (English)

Satoshi Morinozuka

Satoshi is Mori's younger brother, Captain of the Kendo Club and member of the Karate Club.^{[citation needed]} He attends Ouran Middle School along with Yasuchika. Compared to Mori, Satoshi is talkative and cheerful. He takes his role as a Morinozuka seriously, going so far as to hit Yasuchika with a kendo stick when he is being rude. During one of his visits to the Host Club, the twins add Tabasco sauce to Satoshi's tea, which he then declares is delicious, leaving other characters to doubt that he has any taste buds. In contrast to Yasuchika's disdain for Honey, Satoshi adores his brother Mori and converts any criticism of Mori into something reasonably positive. He does not appear in the anime and has only appeared briefly in one of the later chapters of the manga.

Student Leaders

Kazukiyo Soga

Kazukiyo Soga (相賀 和清, Sōga Kazukiyo^?) is the Class President of 1-A, who suffers from nyctophobia (severe fear of the dark) and a fear of just about anything that is scary. He has romantic feelings for Class 1-A's Vice-President Momoka, whom he has known for years, but he is initially too shy to say anything. Hikaru and Kaoru comment that he is the kind of person with pure feelings who they cannot tease, possibly because he is more emotionally vulnerable than Tamaki. In the manga, he unwittingly caused Haruhi trouble with her scholarship when he ranked as the top student of his grade. Volume 6 reveals that his father is a famous politician.

Voiced by: Shigenori Yamazaki (Japanese), Kyle Hebert (English)

Momoka Kurakano

Momoka Kurakano (倉加野 百華, Kurakano Momoka^?) is the Class Vice-President of 1-A. She conducts class meetings with Kazukiyo and holds a new-found respect for him after he put up with the Halloween ordeal.^{[clarification needed]} She is a frequent client of Haruhi in the Host Club.

Voiced by: Tomomi Watanabe (Japanese), Carrie Savage^[5] (English)

Reception

IGN praised the Host Club characters for being well-animated in the show, as they are made simpler without losing the details. The characters there are not only well-drawn, but also well-written. Haruhi Fujioka is "actually written smart and acts smart", as opposed to other anime protagonists who are claimed to be smart without apparent evidence in the show.^[18]

See also

• List of Ouran High School Host Club episodes
• List of Ouran High School Host Club chapters

References

1. ^ Carlo Santos (2006-09-20). "Review: Ouran High School Host Club: G.novel 7". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ouran-high-school-host-club-gn-7. Retrieved 2008-07-11. "The Host Club characters aren't just there to play on bishōnen stereotypes, but are interesting in their own right." 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Hatori, Bisco (2006). "Chapter 14". Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 4. Viz Media. ISBN 978-1-4215-0192-5. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Hatori, Bisco (2005). "Chapter 4". Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 2. Viz Media. p. 7. ISBN 1-59116-990-9. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s} "Ouran High School Host Club". Ryu. http://seiyuu.info/extendedlisting.php?anime=Ouran+High+School+Host+Club. Retrieved 2008-05-01. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} "Funimation Announces Ouran High School Host Club Cast". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-04/funimation-announces-ouran-high-school-host-club-cast. Retrieved 2009-04-11. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} Hatori, Bisco (2006). "Chapter 15". Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 4. Viz Media. ISBN 978-1-4215-0192-5. 
7. ^ "Ouran High School Host Club Vol. 6." Viz Media. Retrieved on January 16, 2009.
8. ^ "Tamaki Suou." Funimation. Retrieved on January 16, 2009.
9. ^ ^{a b} "Cast.swf." Nippon Television. Retrieved on January 9, 2009.
10. ^ ^{a b} Carlo Santos (2006-09-20). "Review: Ouran High School Host Club: G.novel 7". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/ouran-high-school-host-club-gn-7. Retrieved 2008-07-11. "Cool, calculating Kyoya ..." 
11. ^ Hatori, Bisco (2005). "Egotist Club". Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 1. Viz Media. p. 173. ISBN 978-1-59116-915-4. 
12. ^ Hatori, Bisco (2006). Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 6. Viz Media. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-4215-0584-8. 
13. ^ "Ouran High School Host Club Shojo Beat Online Preview." Shojo Beat. Retrieved on January 16, 2009.
14. ^ "Kyouya Otori." Funimation. Retrieved on January 16, 2009.
15. ^ Hatori, Bisco (2006). "Chapter 16". Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 4. Viz Media. ISBN 978-1-4215-0192-5. 
16. ^ Hatori, Bisco (2006). "Extra: Senior Mori's Secret". Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 5. Viz Media. ISBN 978-1-4215-0329-5. 
17. ^ http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/archives/v4_3/darlington/
18. ^ D. F. Smith (23 October 2008). "IGN: Ouran High School Host Club Season 1 - Part 1 Review". IGN Entertainment. http://dvd.ign.com/articles/922/922943p1.html. Retrieved 22 September 2009. 

External links

• Anime official website – with character profiles (Japanese)