Rewatching Ouran High School Host Club For The First Time Since Middle School And 1) The Genre Awareness

haruhi !! <3

Kyoya: This is Haruhi. Haruhi loves her personal space.

*Tamaki hugging Haruhi tightly*

Kyoya: This is Tamaki. Tamaki also loves Haruhi’s personal space.

I always assumed Kyoya had implied feelings for Haruhi after finishing OHSHC but then I saw a Tiktok comment saying "I always thought he was in love with Tamaki actually" and my brain fucking exploded

I reached what you would call enlightenment when all their scenes together played like a movie in my head in one moment

That makes so much more damn sense I was like oh my god of course he does

I have always liked this part in the anime opening.

It's so satisfying seeing Kyoya bowing down to Haruhi.

Hell yeah! Bow down to your queen Shadow King

great expectations is so funny. dickens is hilarious.

Rewatching Ouran cause yes, and I like how Tamaki is smarter than he seems. Normally he's our favorite himbo who has the same iq as a bag of bricks, but he is pretty socially and emotionally smart. While he's oblivious to his feelings for Haruhi, it's hard to fault him for that, since that's due to his trauma. But in episode 2 of the anime, he was able to pick up the Princess Hanako was switching hosts to get Shima's attention. He also could tell the bitch from the 1st episode who's name I can't remember, lied about Haruhi attacking her and that she threw Haruhi's bag in the pond. He also has excellent grades according to the manga. And tends to be right, for the wrong reasons. Like when Haruhi got kidnapped in the manga. I really like Tamaki, he is best boy.

this has to be canon

the host club are the kinda guys who peek their heads out from around a door together

im pretty sure its a running joke in the kyokao fandom that they actively make each other worse which i think is absolutely hilarious (because like, yeah annoying capitalist x annoying capitalist) but what are some of the ways you think they improve each other? :D /gen

Great question!

I think Kyoya makes Kaoru more ambitious. Kaoru is smart enough to skirt by most of the time without much effort or forethought. I would not hesistate to believe that he and Hikaru are only doing like half their subjects and then taking tests for each other. I also think Kaoru is immature and nebulous about the future and what he wants from it.

Someone like Kyoya, who is very goal oriented and future focused would be somewhat of a motivating factor. Hikaru and Kaoru's decision to go to Tokyo University is more triggered by Haruhi and Nanako than Kyoya's still pending decision to stay in Boston, but I think Kyoya seeing what he wants and going for it is impressive. I think Kaoru would take his work more seriously, maybe take more of an interest in the business side of things if Kyoya made it more fun.

Meanwhile, I think Kaoru would motivate Kyoya to reevaluate what he thinks freedom means. Freedom is Kaoru's family motto and something Kyoya strives for and thinks he has- but has he? I think in the same way Tamaki makes him reevaluate the box his father has put him in, Kaoru would help recontextualise that a bit more. Yes, you don't have to be trapped in the expectations of your birthright, but maybe you don't need to be beholden to anyone's expectations of you- Kyoya himself said it doesn't matter as long as the people he cares about knows who he is, so maybe he should live by that instead.

The host club in general convinces Kyoya to have a bit more fun, but I think even Kaoru's specific situation- overshadowed by his elder brother, possibly disinherited due to reasons unrelated to merit- and the fact that Kaoru would be entirely unbothered by it would allow Kyoya to maybe reevaluate his options and pick ones that allow him that freedom. After all, those who live freely are the winners, right? And Kyoya wants to win.

I think this "Kaoru makes Kyoya a freer spirit" stops slightly short of Kaoru getting him on a motorbike at any point.

Basically, I think they mellow each other out. Kaoru works harder, Kyoya becomes less of a workaholic. Kaoru becomes a little more self-possessed, Kyoya becomes a little bit freer.

I also think, as me and @pilindiel were only discussing earlier, they mesh pretty well with each other's anxieties. They're two people who believe that they can only be love for the mask they put on, and two people who quite easily see through each other's masks. As long as the people you care about know who you are, nothing else matters- is as much about Kaoru as it is about Kyoya. It's an inadvertant, egotistical admission by Kyoya that he does know who Kaoru is and Kaoru does care about him, and vice a versa. Platonically, and bewildering to Kaoru at this point, but important nonetheless. Kyoya proves his point by even saying it and articulating it as a viewpoint that Kaoru would share- because he does know who Kaoru is, and nothing else about it matters.

But yeah, Kyoya believes that it is more important for the people he cares about to know him than it is for them to love him. And Kaoru is kind of into the whole evil scheming ambition thing so that negates that concern. And Kaoru meanwhile is terrified of being made obsolete and being left behind. Which is negated somewhat by Kyoya being the kind of guy with the dedication to stick to his convictions, one of which he has decided is the perpetuity of the host club. And one would be Kaoru too, of course.

Also just tacking on at the end because I'm rambling too much. I think Kyoya would make Kaoru more independent-- something Kaoru already strives for a bit more of, but there's nothing like giving someone a reason not to share a bedroom with their sibling anymore as that final push. And I think Kaoru would encourage Kyoya to be less self-isolating, less of a lone wolf. Mainly because he likes getting into other people's business. Kaoru loves teamwork <- freak.

annoying boy crush

family selfie !