Ouran
High School Host Club volume 18
Author:
Bisco Hatori
Viz
Media/Shojo Beat
200
pages
Spoiler
warning: Review contains spoilers for the entire Ouran High
School Host Club manga, all eighteen volumes. Read with caution!
Tamaki
wants to ask Haruhi out, but he's quickly overwhelmed trying to plan
the best first date in the universe. The members of the Host Club
volunteer to assist Tamaki in his endeavor, but can they save their
foolish king from himself? (Source: Goodreads)
It's
the end of Ouran High School Host Club. Volume eighteen is the final
volume of the series. It is so weird to even type such a
thing; Ouran seemed like the kind of series that could go on forever,
chronicling the romantic antics of Haruhi and the host club.
But in a
way, I'm glad it ended in this way and that the ending did not turned
out rushed or forced, but was natural and was something Hatori planned in advance. In fact, the eighteenth and final volume of
Ouran was, in one word, perfect.
This
is the volume that Tamaki and Haruhi's relationship blossoms like a
beautiful flower, and they finally realize they are in love. This is
also the volume that the host club finds its true path, Haruhi
asserts herself and chooses her own future, and the secret of
Haruhi's gender is revealed to the students of Ouran High School in a
way only the host club can pull off. And manga-ka Bisco Hatori pulls
it all of quite splendidly; honestly, I can't think of any long-term
Ouran fan who will walk around hating this series finale.
Certainly
the majority of readers want to know how Tamaki and Haruhi make it
out together. And I can honestly say that a canon Tamaki/Haruhi is
better than anything I could have ever imagined. They're perfect
together but their individual quirky personalities don't get lost in
the union. They support each other through everything, even when
Haruhi decides to move to America to study in Boston for a year –
but of course, Tamaki follows, as he did promise to stay by her side.
And Haruhi decides to make a more rounded person of herself so she
can stand by Tamaki's side as someone who deserves to be there.
Speaking
of which, the scene where Tamaki and Haruhi visit her mother's grave
is one of the most touching and lovely scenes out of the whole
series. Seeing Tamaki declare his love and respect for Haruhi shows
how much he's grown as a person since he first inducted Haruhi into
the host club. Naturally, he's still a little kid at heart, but
Haruhi has matured him in such a way, I'm sure he'll be a perfect
husband for her. And a totally adorable father because let's be real,
they are totally going to have babies and Haruhi's gonna be a lawyer
and Tamaki will be a stay at home dad and the host club boys will be
over at their house all the time like the big happy family they've
always been.
Perhaps
the one sore spot for me is how eager Bisco Hatori seems to pair
everyone in the Host Club off – and to girls, all of them. Of
course, readers do not have to accept her side comics at canon, but I
can't help but feel odd to see her pairing these male characters off
with female characters whose relationships with them were not as
fully established as, say, Tamaki and Haruhi's. I'd rather see Kyoya
with the “Carmen” from Spain than Miss Kurakano, but that's me –
or his long-time friend Hunny, but apparently I'm not supposed to
think this? Hunny is going to be with Reiko? This seems terribly
contrived, but okay. The frustrating part is, Hatori makes all of
these couples so adorable I have a hard time getting mad at her for
not making my prefered ships canon! Darn your rascally ways, Hatori!
Speaking
of Kyoya, his fans are gonna love the side story that's set in Spain.
It's really his crowning moment of awesome in this series, and it
wonderfully highlights his own relationship with his family and in
particular his father. I'm definitely with Bisco Hatori on the matter
of Kyoya; a man like him will never be satisfied unless he's working
from the shadows, pulling all the strings without impedment. That's
just the kind of guy he is; he can't help being the Sebastian to
Haruki's Ciel Phantomhive. Oh dear, that's quite a thought, I'm sure
the fujoshi readers of this blog just got really excited for
no particular reason, yes? Now picture Kyoya in a classic suit,
kneeling before Tamaki and saying in his usual voice with his usual
face, “Yes my lord” . . . okay, that's enough, you can stop
scribbling doujinshi of this scenario any time now! Actually, keep on
with this, kol kol kol.
Not
only has Hatori brought to the series finale the perfect blend of
humor, drama, and romance, but she has also brought her top game in
the form of her stunning artwork. She really excels at drawing
beautiful city and landscapes, so naturally this really comes out as
the gang go to Spain. The architecture and artwork and food of Spain
is beautifully rendered by Hatori's pen. She's also done a great job
at drawing Haruhi this volume, both in her usual host club crossplay
and in some really adorable outfits as she goes on outtings with
Tamaki. Sometimes, I see Haruhi and I get a case of the Tamaki –
all I wanna do is snuggle her and tell her how cute she is.
I
know I should feel more crushed reading the last of the Ouran series,
but it's like watching old friends go off and make their own lives;
seeing Haruhi and the host club study abroad in America and start
deciding what they really want to do with their lives makes me so
happy. I started reading Ouran High School Host Club after high
school, when I wasn't doing anything and felt adrift in life. Now as
I read the finale, I'm in my second year of college and considering
which school to pursue my bachelor's at; I kind of feel what Haruhi
has been going through, standing at a many-forked crossroads and
trying to figure out which path of many to take. I can only hope I
have the same strength of character as Miss Fujioka when it comes my
turn to choose my own path.
The
final proper chapter of Ouran ends with a photograph of the club
members smiling and laughing together and having a fun time; some of
the text that overlies it reads: “The springtime of their lives is
far from over!! Let's meet again someday!!” Although the doors to
the music room at Ouran High School will never open again with the
same dramatic swirl of rose petals, I'm sure we'll one day see Haruhi
and Tamaki and the rest of the hosts together one day in the future,
older and wiser but still the same friends we've always loved.
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