Parents' Guide to

Ouran High School Host Club

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Classic anime series pushes boundaries, suggestive content.

TV Netflix Anime 2017
Ouran High School Host Club Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

age 12+

Based on 6 parent reviews

age 13+

I watched this show with my 12 year old daughter and thought well of it. The show's story line itself was very good. However, things did tend to get a bit iffy. There are twins that are indicated to be sexually and/or romantically attracted to each other. This incest hinting may be disturbing for viewers under 13. There is also a kinda explicit scene that may spark question among younger children. This scene is where a male character pins a female character on the bed. There are few more things but should be fine for 13+ or under (if mature enough)
age 8+

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6 ):
Kids say (36 ):

This fun and edgy series, which is dubbed in English, is an early fujoshi, a humorous anime featuring a predominantly male cast and suggestive LGBTQ+ subtexts designed to appeal to gay relationship-loving (a.k.a. "shipping") fangirls. Haruhi's gender-ambivalent presence, which pushes against more traditional female shojo roles, is a big part of the overall narrative, especially as it relates to the young women the Host Club caters to. But the young men also challenge the stereotypical roles male characters play in traditional teen-oriented fantasy romances. Their over-the-top personalities and antics also serve as fronts that hide their own complex life stories.

Ouran High School Host Club, which was originally released in 2006 (and first aired in the United States in 2009), has an important place in Japanese popular culture, because it set the standard for the genre. Much of the narrative still works today, but some of the LGBTQ+-related humor feels a bit dated. At times, the overall innuendo is a little over-the-top for young Western teens, even though a lot of it will go over their heads. But it's entertaining, and it reveals how Japanese manga and anime storytellers have pushed the envelope and evolved.

TV Details

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