We Need To Talk About Ouran Highschool host Club 

“A gender non-conforming girl boss and her five twinks” 😂😂😂😂

“A family really can be a gender non-confirming girl boss and her 5 twinks, and I think that’s beautiful.” that’s it my most favorite quote now

fun fact, haruhi was apparently confirmed by the creators to be nonbinary. which makes sense considering how often she repeats that she doesn't care about gender nor what people refer to them as. like in the first episode they literally say "i'm biologically a female but idc", fucking iconic.

The phrase "fanservise jumpscare" is genius. I remember being like 12, watching that ep and being absolutely bewildered by the scene. I feel so seen and validated all of a sudden lol

if you wonder who even likes Tamaki the answer is bisexual top women who are kinda into brats. also he comes across much more likable in the subbed version for the reasons you mentioned

As a girl, the reason Haruhi was appealing was not because she was "not like other girls" but was because she was realistic and relatable. She was the most realistic and most sane person there, especially considering that all the other girls in the show were an intentional parody of what people think girls are like.

Not to be the Tamaki defense force I think he def has some issues, but I think similar to Haruhi, Tamaki is the person who brought everyone together and actually listened to and realized their problems. And made attempts to help them. Which is why much of the boys tend to side with him even when he’s wrong.

ouran high school host club transed my gender and now im gay

While I love *most* of the Ouran High anime... Tamaki is much better in the manga~ Also, it takes a long time for the Manga to show who Haruhi would end up with, giving her scenes with most of the cast! My favorite part of the Manga, however, is on their 3rd spring festival, the author writes an apology letter to the reader basically reading "I know it doesn't make sense timewise, but I love these characters in this set of grades, so we are going around again!"

“A gender nonconforming girlboss and her five twinks” That’s it. That’s the whole show

I don't think using the "t" word was actually INTENDED to be a slur by Tamaki. Which could just means someone in the translation process REALLY missed the ball, and then everyone after that dropped it too. Or maybe a higher up who didn't know what the hell they were talking about changed the script. Either way, I don't think Tamaki actually meant it to be rude anymore than he meant to be that insulting using the phrase commoner. He's just an idiot. Either way, it did not age well.

My child self got knocked out the second you brought up ouran and Hetalia at the same time. I was so obsessed with haruhi cause she gave me such gender envy from their everything. my first gay ship being Kyoya and Tamaki and chibitalia, *tears*. I hope Maison de M gets translated asap for you!

My favorite line has got to be Kyoya's: "I just don't think I'm supporting cast, homosexual or otherwise." Idk there's just something about it. Probably that he just brushes off the whole gay statement in favor of the "this bitch seriously just called me a side character. i do all the work for this club and THIS is what i get"

You never spoke about Ritsu Kasanoda and his family of gang members and how he was open to the idea of being bi and his whole group/family being supportive. I think that is a major point as well- 'cause yes it was Haruhi he had a crush on but he was so willing to explore it and his supportive group were there with him on that journey. It was so sweet and one of the reasons Kasanoda (and Kaoru) is one of my faves.

Tamaki appeals to me as a certified himbo-enjoyer, something about a man who everyone can tell is in love whilst he himself is oblivious just does it for me. I also think there was an element of not "I can fix him", but "I can help him"; I think the former can only really apply in cases where the character is genuinely toxic, which I don't think Tamaki is (if you don't count the dub transphobia). Like the guy is just traumatised as hell, and has dealt with the separation from his mother by becoming incredibly protective of the people he cares about to the point of self-sacrifice. For context, the next host that appeals to me most is Mori, for similar reasons. While child-me did also enjoy Hikaru's whole romance subplot, his selfish, immature side in the anime had to lose out to the selflessness Tamaki displayed repeatedly. I could dismiss some of Tamaki's stubborn notions of "chivalry" on the basis that those are just his misguided attempts to protect those around him. For not having a focused backstory episode like the twins and Kyoya got, we get so much characterisation of Tamaki purely based on how he interacts with the other hosts. I generally have a tendency to like characters who think they don't deserve much, especially in romance stories where the other person helps them realise that they deserve happiness - in Ouran both Tamaki and Haruhi do this for each other. Maybe a little projection on my part, idk. I second the suggestion to watch Kamisama Kiss (although I've only ever watched it in sub, can't comment on the quality of the dub). If you're interested in checking out a shoujo classic, definitely try (in sub if you can, the dub is not great) Kare Kano, a genuine classic which was directed by motherfucking Hideaki Anno of all people (and it shows).

just finished the video actual masterpiece best video of 2022

I just need this anime to get the Fruits Basket treatment and for most of the manga to be made into an anime… without the problematic things of course.

I've only watched the anime too and I'm surprised to see that people dislike Tamaki, as he's my absolute favorite with Haruhi as a close second. Though he was initially annoying I quickly warmed up to him after seeing how... genuine he is as a person. He has a lot of flaws and his behavior often comes from a place of privilege, but he's a great example of how people aren't one-dimensional and how anyone can be kind. He's always the first character to jump up and help someone in need, sometimes even without considering himself first. Despite his antics he's a very selfless character who I feel is the heart of this group. Ouran's greatest strength in my opinion is how fairly it treats its characters, how each character grows and learns from each other, including Haruhi's growth because of the Host Club. It's a story about all of them widening their perspectives and overcoming prejudice on both sides. Also, I think Tamaki is wonderful for her, as they're essentially the embodiment of this message, and despite acting obnoxious when they're goofing around he's the one person in the Host Club who would put Haruhi's well-being and happiness even before his own in a heartbeat.

mindblowing how this video somehow got by completely without mentioning Tamaki and Kyouya calling each other Mommy and Daddy even once

lets go ive been so stoked for this video for so long

One thing Id say is that Tamaki's dad absolutely adores him. I dont think the anime really paints that picture but its tackled in the manga in depth. Its the grandmother who was the problem. But ur joke about Tamakis dad made me internally chuckle.

I was in the Ouran TRENCHES in 2012--it was one of the first anime I ever looked up fanfic for (all Tamaki/Kyoya or amorphous poly romance naturally)--so I really enjoyed this video! Thanks for providing fun and thoughtful analysis of one of my favorite messy early 2000s shojo series. Loved the discussion of geikomi and Maison De M too!

I'm pretty sure the reason Mori and Honey never get together is because it's implied they're cousins, both in the manga and in the anime it's mentioned that for centuries Mori's family served the Haninozukas. The families got merged by marriage but Mori still serves honey, Tamaki says it's "In Mori's blood". There's also a bonus at the end of one of the mangas where Hatori draws things that could never happen (I think in volume 2 or 3) and one of them is Mori and Honey falling in love, which implied that they were never going to be together pretty early on :( although I do wish they would've just been dating instead or something, Mori was always my favorite

Mori and Honey are literal cousins tho... they are very close because Mori it's there to protect him, they were raised like that, it's literally in the anime

I think part of the repeated slur issue is that said word was not widely recognized as a slur by general society at the time and was used more for "Transvestite". Just memories from the old people for context as to why it was allowed.

Tamaki deserved better than Vic Mcdingdong. Tamaki in the manga is an airheaded boy with good intentions, who grows as the series progresses, and Vic's take on him killed the dub for me (no matter how great Caitlin Glass's Haruhi was)

Me: “wow, what a well made nuanced video on such a wild subgenre of anime and what it actually means to people and it’s intent” Also me: “hmmmmm game full of big bara guys. good.”

Ok listen up. I don’t know about men, but every girl I know starts off HATING Tamaki, like you, but you end up totally falling in love with him. I don’t know how to explain it but he’s just so amazing…

I'm glad I only watched the sub of Ouran and didn't have to listen to my lovely bimbo (he's not beefy enough by a longshot to be a himbo) repeatedly say a slur. Yikes. (He is kind of insufferable, I don't disagree with your assessment of him entirely. But I found him fun. Shipped him with Kyoya. Sounds like I might have not liked him at all if I saw the dub version of him, though.)

the way haruhi talked about thier gender geninuely made me realize i was trans. like i had never seen a character be so careless about thier gender before, and especially seein a 'girl' character dress as a boy and not care how they're seen, made it especially resonate with me cause at the time i thought i was a girl. haruhis character means a lot to me they rlly made me actually think about how i feel about my gender, i related to them a lot. but yea saying that i dont think i could feel comfortable rewatching the show ghdjfj and i did not know they used the t slur in the dub wtf i watched the sub, i think tamaki was a least a little more likeable in the sub but yea he is annoying ghjd

"A family can be a gender non conforming girl boss and her harem of 5 twinks" is the best sum of ouran I've ever heard xD

Haruhi helped me through gender dysphoria in a way I didn't expect. I thought my distance from ultra-femme made me agender or something but really I'm just me. I'm a girl but honestly it doesn't matter to me how I'm perceived. If someone uses masculine or feminine or nb pronouns for me, they all feel fine. It made me comfortable being and identifying as a girl even if I didn't always feel like I fit in with what I knew to be a "girl". I get to define what that is for me. Idk. I just really loved Ouran and I'm glad I watched it at the time I did.

I watched Ouran back in 2012 before I had realized my own queerness and going back to it last year felt exactly like you described. Surprisingly ahead of its time, extremely uncomfortable at times, but overall like a warm, comforting hug in a media landscape that's often hard to relate to. Didn't see this ending on a segment about bara, but I'm so glad it went there. Niche queer hentai has seen me grow from adolescent to adulthood (now with expendable income to spend unwisely) and it so rarely gets talked about this lovingly. Definitely binge watching the rest of this channel now :D

I had a bootleg DVD of Ouran which used the Japanese dub with terribly translated subtitles. Despite this, I still vibed with this show during my young teenage years, and it was perhaps my first exposure to "gay" media. It helped me be okay with liking more feminine things, and I'll always appreciate that.

Honestly for me this show was very formative for me as a 19 year old who would realize that she was a girl for another 7 years. So much so that I completely forgot about all the really problematic shit in it and just felt such a kinship with the main character. Doesn’t excuse any of that in the slightest and glossing over it was probably more of a symptom of my half cooked egg brain that was compensating with axe body spay because maybe that would make me a real man, but I do remember it with fondness.

When I was younger and read the scene with kyoya assaulting haruhi, I never looked at him the same way, I hated him afterwards and still do

Rewatching Ouran for the first time since it came out back in 2017 with my girlfriend and getting smacked in the face by the transphobia was a real shock. I had completely forgotten it was there because I didn't see it as what it was as a closeted teenager.

I FEEL YOU WHEN YOU SAID YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING SLURS 😭😭 I LITERALLY HAD TO REPLAY IT TO MAKE SURE I HEARD CORRECTLY…Honestly, I don’t think it was intended for Tamaki to be a transphobic prick. Back then the t slur wasn’t really considered a slur to allocishets and was just “slang” to refer to trans people (I mean derogatory slang is like.. the definition of a slur but still). It’s a comedy anime so it’s kinda what I’d expect for at the time to just use a quick and (again at the time for some) loose term like that for comedic affect. Yeah in hindsight I do find it extremely odd that an anime that talks so much about gender and and gender expression actually used that, but to the people translating and making the dub they probably weren’t as interested in it as the creator was. Coupled with the fact that the slur g*psy was used and Haruhi’s father called himself the t slur too, I think it’s entirely on the English translators. Also, as a Tamaki lover I wanted to explain why in spite of his flaws I really like him. Basically, he has *huge* golden retriever energy. It’s very charming in a way? One minute he’s acting all princely and next he’s practically wagging his tail. He’s a softie at heart despite being literally spoiled rich. I also think in a way Tamaki is kind of a foil to Haruhi in a way? Haruhi doesn’t really go out of her way to change peoples lives but Tamaki does. Love him or hate him, he’s pretty selfless. No matter how spoiled rich he may seem he’s still very kind at heart and tries his best to help others with their problems and make them happy. Can he be annoying or a pervert? Absolutely. But again, it’s a comedy anime. And in media we can suspend our disbelief a lot more when it comes to stuff like this. Basically, Tamaki’s perverted was and protectiveness are very exaggerated but his sweet moments where the show is serious in tone are sincere. Hope you enjoyed my rant about the character my hyper romantic ass has been fixated on for the past few weeks

I think this is the first video essay I've seen to ever address bara themes as anything other than a passing joke. Thanks for this, it means a lot.

The newground gumshoe game jumpscare. You're so real for that. I felt seen.

Thank you so much for the shout out!

The kyoya scene in the beach episode impacted me so much 😅

Ah yes, the *other* Haruhi from my formative anime years. In terms of show and Haruhi, I prefer this one. This enbi queen, dang

I think its interesting (and funny in a messed up way) that one of my favorite shows ever has such blatant transphobia... and then I turned out to be a trans gay man. Still love it though, and Haruhi really kickstarted my gender journey

As someone who got into geikomi and "bara VNs" in the 00s trenches in the Anonib days it makes me really happy to see material from back them receiving attention Imediatelly recognized the character from Maison de M from the thumbnail. I really wish more MLM doujinshi and games from Japan had oficial or fan translations initiatives. It's sad that we didn't progressed that much in almost 2 decades. I remember the hype behind the translation for Maison de M and Hunk's Workshop.

Aaah, I love hearing other people's views of Ouran Highschool host club! I watched it when I was really young, and I remember admiring Haruhi's attitude on gender. Her quote about how she would rather have people know her for who she is, rather than what sex she was resonated with me. It made me feel seen. I'd like to share my first reactions to moments in Ouran! - I also really hated Tamaki, even as a kid, lol. I found his overly detailed fantasies about Haruhi super creepy, and I felt like Haruhi wasn't interested in him at all. I also just thought he was annoying. - I was too young to understand that Tamaki said a slur at Haruhi's dad, but I remember not liking how Tamaki was rude to him. I didn't know about trans people, or know about crossdressing that much, but I still thought he was cool. I felt like he was a lot like Haruhi, and I thought it was cool that he wore what he liked to wear, despite gender norms. And he was a funny, affection dad who loves his daughter. - I also really loved the lobelia girls, lol. I loved their theatrics. I also liked how they played with gender roles, such as dressing in masculine clothing, and how they weren't afraid to show that they like women romantically. - I also really disliked the scene where Kyoya assaulted Haruhi. Even as a child, I felt like it was really out of character and not right. So I generally skipped that part and pretended it never happened. - overall, young me watched Ouran to fangirl over Haruhi, lol. I rooted for her to not end up romantically with anybody. (part of the reason why might have been "eww, romance is gross" from child me, but it might have also been I was unconsciously crushing on Haruhi before I knew I was queer, lol)

Yeah… the dubbed version of Tameki does him dirty. I think you can chalk up most of that to 2000 era scripts English translation. I mean, just a few years before this came out, they made Sailor Neptune and Sailor Saturn cousins in the English dub and didn’t really cut the clearly romantic scenes. I admittedly can’t read Japanese but I don’t remember the English version of the manga had him using slurs

I don't even remember how I came across Ouran High School Host Club - but I think it helped me be more open to my own queerness in a time when there was no representation around me and when that outro hit in the video it's like all those memories came rushing back

this video actually rings so true to my experiences in some ways, though mine come from another angle. I ended up accidentally stumbling upon harem manga every once in a while when I was in middle school because tbh at our local library, nobody really checked what was in the manga section before they made it available to preteens. and I was the type who would go for any genre if it looked interesting. so I often had the experience of picking up a manga with a girl on the cover, wearing some pretty frilly outfit, and I'd basically play "magical girl or ecchi" roulette. and when it was ecchi, I'd basically have the experience of thinking "oh... this clearly wasn't made for me." but like, I'd still read it. what other options were there? Ouran High School Host Club was really groundbreaking to me, because not only was Haruhi the light of my young nonbinary life... Tamaki was also a very stereotypical shojo romantic lead. or at least, he was a parody of the "main boy" archetype, for comedic purposes. _and he still liked Haruhi._ like, sure, he may have done some light agonizing in the beginning, over the fact that he was attracted to boy mode Haruhi... but ultimately, he didn't need her to change and he didn't begrudge her masculine side. he found her adorable, even when she was a boy to him. and like... being nonbinary often feels as though you're not enough of anything to appeal to anyone. not man enough to appeal to straight women or gay men... not woman enough to appeal to straight men or gay women. you're a category that a lot of people don't really consider as more than an afterthought, because you're a non-standard option. and I think that, very intelligently, the boys in Ouran High School Host Club hit this sweet spot where they do a lot of shit that is gay as hell, but they do it in this kinda hetero-baiting way. the main clientele for the host club is girls who want to look at pretty boys, especially when the boys are out here performing some of the most homosexual behaviors they can come up with. and somewhere within the parody, something genuine emerges. all the gay shit, all the genderbending, all the androgyny by way of masculine beauty, or feminine handsomeness... it's all genuinely wanted. it's all genuinely seen in a positive light, and put on display for others as a feature, not a flaw. and it can make pinning down the actual sexuality of any of the characters into a slippery thing... but the ambiguity isn't uncomfortable. anyone who crushes on Haruhi gets dragged into a bit of her ambiguity, and the knowledge that the ambiguity is fine, is actually really important to me. because it's really all I have to hang my hat on. the bit about the dating sim at the end of the video made me feel... I dunno. very morose for a bit there. because like... it sucks when nothing is made for you, and it feels like there's no room for you in the world. especially when you're just a kid, and you can't see a path forward in life because nobody is making media that models the kind of life you're gonna live. stories aren't about you, and what you want is hidden, obscure, not documented... it leaves you with no choice but to make do in some very strange ways.

God this video was everything and incredibly relatable. It sent me back to my youth being a young weeb. I remember watching Ouran host club in middle school in three 7~10 minute parts uploaded illegally to RU-vid because my girlfriend recommended it. After that, looking at Bara manga and art online late at night, coming to terms with my gay identity. Hearing the guitar intro into Shissou at the end of the video had me all nostalgic and teary eyed. Excellent video dude.

I think that the closest that I felt pandered in a harem anime was Ristorante Paradiso. It's a pretty chill reverse harem with only older men. I recommend

The mention of the Gumshoe flash game unlocked some deep, buried memories.

the way Tamaki is my fav anime character of all time and this hurt my feelings 😭 lmao this was an amazing video though!!

It took me a long time to warm up to Tamaki. He just came off as so hyperactive and obsessive, always having small meltdowns when things don't go his way. He also seemed to be the most upset about Haruhi not conforming to gender norms. He mellows with time but it was a long road to get there. Personally, I thought Kaoru was best boy. He was the more mature twin and he did genuinely care about Haruhi.

I loved OHSHC (except the dated terminology towards lgbt community but I don’t hate on it much considering the year it came out and how they have positive relationships with the lgbt characters rather than antagonistic) even so I never watched it for the romance. I didn’t care for shipping, tamaki vs hikaru or any of that. What really got me into it was the characters had real personalities, they had backgrounds and growth, they got you invested in them without needing a love pentagon

I think given how conservative and generally not cool to queer people a lot of anime, ESPECIALLY ones from an older era, tends to be it is astounding how queer host club is. Like even with the cringe trans slurs, which as you stated is less prevalent in the subs, the fact that they have multiple gender non conforming, gay, Bi, and if you interpret it that way asexual characters one of which is THE MAIN CHARACTER is crazy for that time period. I think for a lot of queer people, myself included, it was a very influential piece of media. Also no hate I kind of love Tamaki. I am a sucker for a hot well meaning idiot plus he genuinely cares for even strangers he comes into contact with which I just find very sweet.

"a family really can be a gnc girlboss and her 5 twinks" had me rolling on the floor laughing 🤣

YOUR EDITING IS SO ON POINT.... i found myself so surprised at how sentimental i felt towards the harem genre as i watched, and your words captured those feelings perfectly!! wonderful work!!!

Ok so this is the first video of yours I've ever watched and I just wanted to thank you so much, I either have a really poor attention span or ADHD and how quickly you went between topics made me really happy that I could watch a video as long as 40 MINUTES. And the touch of the ohhc ending right at the end while you were talking in a sort of "this is it, huh?" Kind of tone made me so excited thinking about the last ep of ohhc anyways keep it up!!

I feel so represented by the Gumshoe thing. Maybe the real seminal work was the niche bara flash games we played along the way.

This was my first anime and changed my perception of my gender forever, love it

merlin is in the video : )

Aaand now I sincerely hope that eroge gets translated and you get to finish reading it. Cool vid, thank you!

Here from Hazel mentioning you on Drawfee! I'm same age as you so... same zoomer cusp vibes. But Ouran was one of my FIRST ever anime? but it was subbed I think? I really adore it still, but ye! Need more like it. Seems like you and I had very similar journeys with Bara and stuff growing up... sadly really weren't many options. oh my gosh Humplex/Newgrounds references, DAMN. But ye! This was a really great video essay! Awesome stuff! A lot of this stuff is what inspired me to become an artist myself! If you wanna watch a proper yaoi anime... maybe Junjou Romantica? That was sorta from our age? I'm gonna need to track down Maison De M, I've never played or encountered it outside of still images! Nostalgic Depressed Sluts forever

So glad hazel said to check this channel out, great stuff!

So glad Hazel sent me here. This video absolutely slaps. Excited to check out the rest of your stuff!

Honestly, Ouran did a lot for me as a kid. I didn't grow up in a homophobic or transphobic household at all but my family's still kinda uneducated about that stuff. Seeing a character giving not even an ounce of a fuck about their perceived gender opened my eyes to all the great possibilities that were out there for lil ol' elementary school me who didn't care for gender but felt socially pressured to express... something along the lines of traditional gender (got confused and chose the one I wasn't assigned at birth at first because it felt more neutral but oh well)

Our Ouran videos seem to be linked by the algorithm :) glad to see someone else retrospecting the series!

Absolutely loved this video, really hit me with some nostalgia of being an awkward weeb looking for myself in what I watched. Also I was so excited when I heard your accent and realised you were also Irish!

Great video! I loved hearing Hazel do a reading too!

beyond happy I stumbled onto your channel! it warmed my heart that you put so much dedication into not just talking about ouran, but other anime/visual novels that are related to the broad topic at hand which is harems. I was so entertained! also so happy to find more gay anime-related content creators. as a gay trans man, I am elated you make videos!

In highschool, my anime club somehow watched all of Ouran together. Its one of my favorite memories of that time. Really.. opened my eyes to some things for sure. Solid video! Love your stuff!

Ouran was something I loved as a kid and I feel like we all look back on with those rose-tinted nostalgia glasses if we watched it as a kid. It definitely deserves to be reinvented as a real queer flagship, though there's definitely a lot to be desired in the series as it is-- especially the anime dub. Oof. On the plus side, if I'm remembering right Bisco Hattori did confirm... somewhere?? that Kaoru is gay so uh... diversity win?

I loved this video so much! I typically stay away from video essays about Ouran because it's my favorite anime, but I loved all of your takes on it and the other pieces of media you mentioned

GAHHHH the last 10 min hit so close to home, so surreal to see someone talking about these niche VNs i searched for hours for as a teen

My little monster was the first anime I ever watched and fell in love with! As a fellow 25 year old it was really cool! Loved your video style and editing and great points! Host club definitely has its flaws but is my comfort anime! Great video 🥰

Remember watching the show in middle school and me and my cousin fell in love with it. We decided to watch it again last month and I completely forgot the t slur until watching it. I literally cackled because I forgot how poorly this dub aged. Really a mixed feeling when watching the show now as a trans girl.

I can't think of what to say in response to this, but I promise you I loved it. The use of the ED was fantastic! Keep doing what you're doing, it's genuinely fantastic.

I’m so glad I found you !! Can’t wait for more videos

Had to pause and take a break after the insane bit about the poppers and the IBS. I’m subscribing.

Found your vid throughout Thor, and I honestly loved it, I feel like gay harem anime is very rarely discussed, so this is pretty great

Ayyyy loved that you put Loco Roco music in the background at a certain part 💕

Hazel sent me here and i absolutely love your content! New sub for sure! ❤️

As a feminine, queer and non- monogamous person, I would really appreciate some suggestions of series that portray but DO NOT sexualize feminine, queer, and non-monogamous people, unlike A VERY BIG LOT of series that aged terribly like milk, that while also making myself very uncomfortable growing up with a lack of anything to look up to, like the transphobia and lesbophobia present in "Ouran Highschool Host Club", things that totally ruined the show for me.

I watched Ouran 12 years ago, when I was a closeted 14 year old transgirl, still a year away from coming out as transgender, and honestly Haruhi being so genderqueer and her drag queen bisexual dad was SO influential on me! Literally changed my life in ways I can not even articulate now. Formative by the very definition of the word! But i remember being uncomfortable with the slurs already, despite not even truly understanding why the demeaning tranny comment made me feel like that. It was a groundbreaking anime in many ways, but in others it really has not aged well... Not even through the representation of the trans-spectrum characters, just in the way they're treated as jokes by the MAIN romantic interest of Haruhi...

Lord your commentary in this is pure gold!!! I’m dying!!!

30 seconds in and I aggressively hit subscribe. Also, Tenchi Muyo is totally a Harem Anime. A GREAT one, but still a Harem Anime for sure lmao. I'm so glad I found your channel. Your jokes are...whatever is above A+? S Class? You got S Class humor and I'm here for it.

Oh hell yea , (specifically ive been wanting an analysis of ouran high school for a while and im super interested!!!)

God the bit about Maison de M reminds me of how much Morenatsu ended up meaning to me as a teen who was working through being both bigender and bisexual. I had found yuri pretty early on and fallen into yuri fan circles early too so while I had issues with being treated terribly by lesbophobes (and eventually biphobes) I generally had a grasp on being a girl who liked other girls. I never really vibed with BL or yaoi though and my BL loving friends in middle school being massive lesbophobes just ended up making it vibe even less. It took until high school when I learned about furries and started hanging out with gay furries that I started untangling more of the gender thing and my fascination with the big buff guys in the 80's action films I liked as a kid. Through things like sharing of gay Biker Mice from Mars fanfic and Morenatsu. And Morenatsu is just this unfinished gay kemono VN that I never really hear anyone talk about. But it ended up meaning a lot for me since it was the first time I ever got to really play as a guy into other dudes. And with a variety of guys to pine after! Several whom were the big guys I was more into! It meant a lot then and still does now that I'm further untangling stuff with my repressing of my gender and sexuality. I found out like two years ago that there was a fan made attempt to remake and finish the game. Even years after the game itself had been dead. I still haven't played Homecoming but at some point I think I'll poke around through it.

> see title > click > like > subscribe I’m ready to watch now

i watch one video and this is already my favorite channel ever

I remember watching Ouran as a 12 year old in 2012 and absolutely loving it without any thoughts on the problematic side to it, so it's very interesting to revisit it with actual critical thinking loll. Loved hearing your impression of it and your story with Maison de M. We all have our own niche pieces of media that we had to scoure the internet to find translations of -and being changed in the process lol

OMG that line about finding that dick gum shoe game spoke to my soul. I remember taking so long to find a gay romance that I actually vibed with. That eventually came for me in the form of Adastra back in 2020 (oh amicus my beloved). Still I'm glad there is at least someone else speaking on the loneliness of what its like to be a gay introvert, and having to go to the weird corners of the internet to even find anything anything you can relate to whatsoever.

thank you for making this!! i've never been so interested in a youtube video haha. i was a little too young at the time ouran was in the spotlight, but i eventually got around to it and i swear it was foreshadowing for my coming out.

i appreciate the use of Detective Gumshoe's theme when you started talking about bara. top tier

I would love to see your perspective on shonen ai, we need more queer anime essay creators Thank you 🖤, I definetely felt seen with your videos

I audibly gasped when you showed the gumshoe game, I have so many memories of trying and failing to beat that damn game as a kid.

this was so good bro and inspirational i had similar experiences with ouran and some weird yaoi and BL thanks so much for making this love you babe

im booting up the video!!! its gonna be so good i can tell

God this is gonna be long but- I'm currently a 17 straight cis girl and the dub of Ouran is my favorite anime ever. It was one of the first anime I watched when getting into it as a whole at 11, and was the first one I ever finished (mainly cause it was way shorter than the others shows I was watching at the time which were all shounen iirc). The thing you talked about with harem and a feeling of family/comfort, yeah that's the host club and it's members for me. I've seen most of the episodes of the dub more times than is probably healthy (except for ep 8, which I didn't like as a kid for reasons anyway so getting older and finding out others thought it was actual garbage too as well as the reasons it was so bad was interesting), and unfortunately just can't bring myself to watch the sub cause as a baby weeb I started out with dubs in general and the sub didn't sound right to me after falling in love with the show in English. So realizing when I got older that one of my favorite shows and character in said show were blatantly transphobic, and that my favorite host Kyoya is an assaulter was not fun, especially cause there's so much that's really great and still holds up imo. I desperately want a Fruits Basket style adaptation of the manga cause I'm like halfway done with it and it goes a lot more in depth with the characters and their relationships to one another (also the added bonus of Funimation redoing the translations to make the dialogue way less transphobic, that'd be nice too). TLDR: Love the show, wish parts of it had aged a lot better. Also if Haruhi didn't exist and wasn't amazing Tamakyo should've been endgame, especially since I found out that J Michael Tatum, Kyoya's voice actor and a gay man sees him as gay with a crush on Tamaki. It's such a good headcanon I literally can't believe it's not actually canon, and watching the show, specifically Kyoya's episode with that in mind explains so much (except ep 8 cause ew I hate it sm)