Ouran High School Host Club – episode 8

May 28, 2006 on 11:35 pm | In Ouran High School Host Club | 30 Comments

“The Sun, the Beach and the Host Club”

Good times all around! Some comedy, but high drama most of all. The Rose of Versailles continues!

Pivotal scene discussed within; approach at risk

Our friends at the Host Club go to Okinawa, taking several clients with them. When a couple of ruffians get onto the beach and start harrassing the girls, Haruhi stands up to them, creating a rift among the club members.

This episode christens Haruhi “A-cup-chan”, the girl who can get away with drag as she has no chest. Apparently washboard chests can be disguised by way of frilly swimsuits … and thus important lessons are learned.

The issue of poverty and richness is very briefly touched upon here, when the twins complain that Kyouya hasn’t taken them to Fiji or some other exotic beach location; it’s because Haruhi can’t be expected to have a passport.They’re all class these clb members.

On the comedy, since the last episode I’ve noticed that Mori is a good source of visual comedy. If you look at him all throughout this episode, with his movements and facial expressions, he is delight in near silent gargantuan form. As the world fights and reconciles around him, he nonchalantly eats a crab!

Now, the drama: more serious stuff. I like Tamaki when he’s in serious mode, despite the fact that this is when he is in most danger of having his intentions misconstrued. A key way of showing concern for someone is by becoming a smouldering object of fury and, immediately after the deep sea saviour, Tamaki’s feelings are at their most intense.
Of course, several hours pass and he’s back to “normal”, but the feelings remain. The issue is not that Haruhi does things that a girl should not, but rather things that no one person should do by themself.

More interesting than that is Kyouya’s role in this episode. I was deeply concerned when he grabbed Haruhi and threw her into the traditional “I am going to rape you” position, which I most recently saw in Rose of Versailles (with a different motivation behind the outcome).
That Haruhi took such a situation so easily was what was strange. Can you really tell someone who is kneeling over your body “You wouldn’t do that, there’s no merit in it for you”? I don’t know the statistics, but I suspect that lots of women are raped by people they know, who they never thought would do something like that, and still can’t quite believe it even after the fact.
It’s to Bones’ credit that the scene was not played for laughs. While it can be shrugged off as a “playing the villain to be nice” segment, I like to think that it reveals a darker side of Kyouya: one that passes quickly, but is there nevertheless. Haruhi will recover from it because she has faith in the people she knows, and I doubt that it will come back to bite her in the course of the series.

Still, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

30 Comments

  1. Can you really tell someone who is kneeling over your body “You wouldn’t do that, there’s no merit in it for you”?”
    Well, apparently this is what Kyouya had also thought. What he hadn’t expected was that Haruhi knew him well enough to see through the act and realize that he just wanted to scare her and wasn’t going to actually hurt her. (Which was apparently the truth… I admit that the scene is a bit ambiguous, but I can think of no reason at all why Kyouya, of all people, would jump Haruhi like that, totally out of the blue. Even if he wanted to rape her, he wouldn’t do that while his friends, who all love her very much, are so near and could come in any time, especially if she called for help. Hell, he didn’t even lock the door.)

    So, rather than a real rape attempt, I think this was the moment when Kyouya realized the same thing the twins have already noticed (and what is becoming more and more prevalent in the manga): that Haruhi is special because they can’t “hide” from her, she sees through their acts and sees their real faces and intentions. I think he decided to scare her this way because being threatened with rape is much more terrifying than being beaten up, so he thought this would have the best effect.

    Comment by kuromitsu — May 29, 2006 #

  2. The one amazing thing is WHY DOES HARUHI NOT HAVE A PASSPORT. Is she that poor? Do passports cost money in Japan? Is she an illegal immigrant from a 3rd world country?

    Comment by tj han — May 29, 2006 #

  3. Dunno about Japan, but passports cost money in my country. Not much, but if I had to get one now, I couldn’t afford it.

    Comment by kuromitsu — May 29, 2006 #

  4. Passports are free in my country, suckers! (Passport photos are another thing, mind you. The bastards.) Yeah, I agree about Haruhi’s lack of a reaction, but it’s another facet of what makes her so fascinating and wonderful ( and sexy ). She’s so tough and unflappable, except when it comes to meteorological fluctuations, completely different from any other anime heroine, ever. I believe Kyouya to be innocent of any real malicious intent; this is a comedy after all, and haruhi is nothing if not a good judge of character.

    Did Kyouya get those pictures from her father? Will he be in the series? That would be awesome, from what I’ve heard, he and tamaki should get on like a house on fire.

    Comment by emma — May 29, 2006 #

  5. Ah, I’ve been trying to convey why I like Mori so much, and that paragraph above does it. I mean, all I could come up with was “Cause he’s awesome”. Thank you.

    Comment by Os — May 29, 2006 #

  6. 5th image down on the right column… I know what Tamaki’s really doing, but it looks so very wrong there XD and the twins are even watching him! Heh.

    Yeah. I have a dirty mind.

    Comment by Kylara — May 29, 2006 #

  7. That situation could have easily backfired. Imagine an attempted rape scene where the guy involved suddenly smiles and says “nanchatte!” Kyouya can’t do that, and so how he would have defused the situation is a mystery lost to the ages.
    It’s not that he wanted to rape her, because Haruhi’s observation was exact. Still, the idea before the audience realises that … it’s scary indeed.

    As for passports, I’ve got no idea. I think that the deal there is that she’s never been overseas before and presumably (as in Australia) there would be a waiting period for a passport to be processed by the government. Basically her past poverty may well have meant they didn’t have the time to waste now and settled on Okinawa.
    On top of that, it was just the twins showing off their lives in the lap of luxury, expecting so much. For a girl who dreams of ootoro, it’s a scary thing.

    PS. That “nanchatte!” thing actually happened in Sakura Diaries. If the “hero” of that story hadn’t realised he’d been a total prick and that you can’t laugh everything off, that show would have been truly awful.

    Comment by Alex — May 29, 2006 #

  8. I think that, instead of the money involved, it would be the hassle involved is why haruhi doesn’t have a passport. all those other rich kids would probably have people who’d see to the procurement of their passports so all that’d they will do is sign and take a picture.

    as for kyouya having evil intentions, I think he has some, though not particularly evil. all his moves are calculated and with reason. and i’m not so sure that he’s indifferent to haruhi’s “charm”. not that i’m saying that he’d actually rape her. no, no! I’m a kyouya fan, btw.

    Comment by amaterasu — June 24, 2006 #

  9. I think all of you are missing one major (in my opinion at least) option on his motive.
    Motive 1, Rape.
    Motive 2, Scare her.
    Motive 3, (the one I think) He likes her.

    If the author of this page doesn’t mind too overly I am going to make this a little analysis of Kyouya’s actions. Lets look at this one, bit by bit:

    Lets look at it from the rape angle first. He throws her into ‘the traditional “I am going to rape you” position’. Then kneels there waiting for her to say something. She then tells him he wouldn’t do that because he wouldn’t gain anything from it. A moment later he moves from on top of her. If his intent had been rape I highly doubt he would have dropped the idea so easily.

    Lets look now from the ‘he’s trying to scare her angle… Throws her into ‘the traditional “I am going to rape you” position’. Normally one would say he’s doing a good job at being scary. She however, doesn’t seem fazed and says he wouldn’t do that because he wouldn’t gain anything from it. He thinks a moment and realizes he has failed to frighten her and moves off of her. She says she understands why he did it. Sounds pretty good, right? but I’m not convinced… and here’s why.

    When she says, ‘you’re unexpectedly a nice person’. He seems genuinely confused by it. He looks at her questioningly with a ‘hmm?’ (he has no idea how what just happened could make him seem like a nice person). She explains what she thinks he was doing and he says nothing. He even seemed a little cold about intentionally not answering her.

    Now for my explanation of why I think he likes her. She asked him why he turned the lights off and he suggested her paying for the flowers with her body. Kyouya throws Haruhi into ‘the traditional “I am going to rape you” position’. I think that this is a *ahem* VERY forward way of Kyouya attempting to seduce her. Her reply is that he wouldn’t get any merits from sleeping with her. Not the response he was hoping for. He realizes she isn’t interested and he takes a decidedly thoughtful pose for a moment… do I detect a hint of disappointment? He clears his throat lightly and says ‘indeed’ in a small disappointed sounding voice. He also clenches his fist as he sits up, which to me is a giveaway that he is disappointed. He moves and she says that she understand what he was doing and that he took on a Villain’s character to teach her. All the while he neither confirms or denies it. Why? When it became obvious that she was not interested he decided to stop to save his pride and let her think what she wants.

    Just an interesting side thought but why would Haruhi say he would find no merits in it? either
    A. She thinks he’s gay or
    B. She doesn’t think he finds her attractive.
    If she thinks this it is likely because she doesn’t think of herself as good looking. She would also figure others don’t find her good looking.

    One must wonder what will happen… If he likes her will he try again? or was he really just trying to scare her? The part at the end were he says, ‘Merits eh… An interesting opinion in its own way.’ leads me to think that this is not the last we sill see of this little plot twist.

    Comment by LadyCera — July 19, 2006 #

  10. […] Before I get to this episode, I’d like to point out this lengthy comment left about the the controversial pivotal event of episode eight. I don’t agree with all of the sentiments expressed but I think it’s worth airing. […]

    Pingback by Anime Pilgrimage D/R » Ouran High School Host Club - episode 14 — July 20, 2006 #

  11. The main problem with this episode is that when Kyoya does what he did in the manga, there was a ton of dialogue that was cut out from the anime. So while it does look disturbing, it comes off from absolutely nowhere, which Haruhi, being fairly logical, can point out more clearly that it wouldn’t be in Kyoya’s nature to do so.

    Doesn’t change the fact that he’s hot tho. ^^

    Comment by DMJewelle — July 20, 2006 #

  12. i think kyouya wanted to scare haruhi because they are still playing that “find haruhi’s weakness” competition rite?

    Comment by ly — August 9, 2006 #

  13. What I’m wondering is, if Haruhi had believed him and shown signs of fear, would Kyouya have actually raped her? Personally, I think that if he had truly wanted to rape her, he would have (after taking the necessary precautions, of course). And yes, one of his lines in the manga “As a man, I could go after you at any time… And as a woman, you couldn’t stop me.” Creepy. It almost sounds like a hint that this wouldn’t be the only time he did something like this.

    Comment by CrazyInsaneAnimeFanGirl — September 20, 2006 #

  14. Oh! I noticed something else in the manga. Is it me, or are Kyouya’s pants about to come off? X3 Maybe he would have raped her after all…?

    Comment by CrazyInsaneAnimeFanGirl — September 20, 2006 #

  15. Geez, I’m just getting into the anime & now there’s talk of possible rape??? I really hope not… (if you have not seen Blood +, than do not read what I’m going to say)…..

    I watched Blood + and there’s a rape scene towards one of the main characters…it was a bit disturbing, espcially since he was young like 14 or so…I think that would tuen me away from Host Club, if that were true.

    Comment by tokyosista — October 13, 2006 #

  16. what haruhi means by the “there’s no merit in it for you” is that haruhi knows that on of the things kyouya loves most is money. Or something he finds useful in the future. kyouya wouldnt waste time on something like loving haruhi neither by force or willing

    Comment by rockshrine — December 4, 2006 #

  17. I agree with the theory that Kyouya’s primary motivation was that he likes her – he was trying to find her weak spot *so he would win their game*. He also may have wanted to show her the dangers her actions could expose her to if she keeps pulling stunts like she did on the cliff. Just a thought, of course.

    Comment by Rekka — December 25, 2006 #

  18. Since I too have not read the manga yet, that scene did appear to come from nowhere. It was startling but it was still related to the rest of the episode as to figure out what her weakness was. Kyouya definitely came off forceful But when you think about it, what could you really see him doing as a “scare tactic” when he’s usually making the common idle threat about her debt and the private police? There’s no telling what limits he will push. But that’s part of his charm. And yeah, once you get passed that O_O factor, there’s definitely a hint of him “testing the waters” to find out what sort of reaction she would have to him alone and away from the others. Yup.

    Comment by rmarie — January 12, 2007 #

  19. I didn’t really think Kyouya had any intention of trying to find her weak spot…after all, he was furnishing the prize to the “find Haruhi’s fear game”, so why would he want to win something he already had?

    It seems to me his strategy was intended to put Haruhi in her place, concerning issues of control. Haruhi’s lack of fear in certain circumstances has to do with her independence and her ability to control her emotions in most circumstances. For the most part she has a pretty composed and in-control personality. I think that Kyouya (and Tamaki) interpreted her behavior on the beach as being obstinate and overconfident. And Kyouya, being a similiarly in-control, cool character, sort of identifies with her on some level…but sees her as being naive. He wants to teach her that being able to control what happens to you isn’t always all that easy. Also he’s kind of creepy and power trippy and wants to show Haruhi that he’s in charge…

    But alas, I think that Haruhi’s reaction sort of proved to him that he really didn’t have power over her, because she obviously remained calm and cool and knew exactly what Kyouya’s motives were to begin with. (And If I were Haruhi I don’t think I’d really be all that freaked out by a super hot guy straddling me…*cough*)

    Though, I do like the idea of him trying to “test the waters” as rmarie described. I don’t think he would go so far as to force himself on her, but I definitely think that he’s at least attracted to Haruhi…which is why he thought it was kind of funny when she said there’d be no merit to him sleeping with her. But I really doubt he would actively try and pursue something more with her. Most of all because Kyouya is the one that pretty much manages the host club and holds the group together….can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if one of the guys actually hooked up with Haruhi? I think Kyouya would be well aware of the dangers involved.

    But alas, there’s always fanfiction, right?

    Comment by Natalie — January 12, 2007 #

  20. Aah, this episode. I remember it so well, especially since it has the Kyouya and Haruhi scene it that the KyouHaru shippers just squee about and say it plays in favors of their ship (which, if you think about it, IT DOESN’T).

    I actually liked this episode, since it showed a side of Kyouya you never (or rarely would ever) see, and it shows just how concerned Tamaki can be when it comes to those he loves.

    But concerning the scene with Haruhi and Kyouya… I don’t think it, at all, shows that Kyouya had an interest in her. He’s making a point to her, playing the villian for Tamaki’s sake and to get the blond’s point across to Haruhi. Just because she’s a woman and thinks she can take everything on on her own, that doesn’t mean that she can fight off a man who believes he could take advantage of her. This point is proven when he throws her to the bed and makes his point. He doesn’t do this because he has interest in her. He doesn’t do this because he believes there could be any merit in it by molesting her.

    He does it for Tamaki because, above all else, that blond comes first and he plays the villian for Tamaki’s sake.

    Haruhi even tells him that he would gain no merit out of molesting/raping her. His reaction? Amusement. He’s AMUSED by what she says because of how calmly she took his actions. And, if you think about, he’s agreeing with her about it.

    What would he gain out of sleeping with her or having his way with her? Nothing. He would lose all trust and friendship from Tamaki, the host club would fall apart, and the others would never trust him again. Not to mention Ranka would castrate Kyouya if he EVER found it. That and I’m pretty sure Kyouya would be disowned from his family, as well.

    Even if he does have an interest in her? It doesn’t have to be romantic. But if it is? He wouldn’t pursue it. Kyouya’s not the type to just throw everything away for someone he would gain no merit out of, even if this ‘merit’ would be love.

    He has a dark side, oh yes he does. We get a nice view of his ‘real’ self in episode 24 (which is the gayest episode ever, I swear, and Kyouya and Tamaki so have a thing going on behind closed doors). Also, if you really think about…most of the things Kyouya does is for Tamaki and Tamaki’s sake; most of his conversations with Haruhi revolve around Tamaki.

    If anything Tamaki is the bond that holds everybody together. He’s the support of the host club.

    If any shit goes down between him and Kyouya? There would be no more host club. Everything would end.

    Or, well, that’s just my view on it and how I feel about that scene (and any scene, really, that involved Kyouya and Haruhi. People disregard Tamaki’s feelings and the relationship he and Kyouya have, as well as Kyouya’s own personal goals and everything he has already done to get so far as he has).

    Comment by Sav — January 14, 2007 #

  21. haruhi and takami are perfect couple….

    Comment by dyk_daisy — February 17, 2007 #

  22. Kyouya’s not the type to just throw everything away for someone he would gain no merit out of, even if this ‘merit’ would be love.

    Comment by Hakura — April 19, 2007 #

  23. haruhi and takami are perfect couple….

    Or, well, that’s just my view on it and how I feel about that scene (and any scene, really, that involved Kyouya and Haruhi. People disregard Tamaki’s feelings and the relationship he and Kyouya have, as well as Kyouya’s own personal goals and everything he has already done to get so far as he has).

    Comment by Hakura — April 19, 2007 #

  24. i love you

    Comment by Hakura — April 19, 2007 #

  25. haruhi and hikaru are perfect couple!

    Comment by vale — May 14, 2007 #

  26. iloved

    Comment by kaka22 — May 15, 2007 #

  27. I rlly did think Kyouya was gonna rape her at the time! He looked like a stick figure looming over her like that…

    Comment by Lauren — September 22, 2007 #

  28. My opinion:

    (I read both the anime version and the manga version, and yes I prefer the manga XD)
    I believe that Kyouya did that to show Haruhi what Tamaki said was right in a not-so-straightforward way. But still, Kyouya still is the type who does not want to bother himself too much with stuff not concerning him, so why would he do that? That is also why I think he also actually likes Haruhi. In fact, it actually got pretty obvious. It’s not like, regardless of how cool you are, you will throw yourself on this weird girl whom you don’t even like just to try to let her patch with with your friends. Hmm? Oh, you can also read the opinions at http://www.ouran-koukou.org
    Sorry, me just too lazy to write more. 😛

    Comment by Kirroha — December 12, 2007 #

  29. If I may say something here,
    Kyouya did scare me when he did that, however her ‘you wouldn’t do that because it wouldn’t hold any merits for you line’ shows how much she trusts him.
    If he pulled something like that it would ruin everything, as someone already mentioned.

    The fact that he smiled and relaxed instantly proves it was just an act, as if it wasn’t he would retreat but continue a conversation on that topic, not comment on her reaction, if he did like her romantically, which I don’t think he does but we’ll see, he would have to have the brain of a pea to try and gain her affection THAT way.
    And we all know he’s smarter than that, if he does like her he would probably be the type to be more . . . subtle about it, probably hide it until the ideal time.

    So yeah, I don’t think there was any chance of anything serious happening, this show really isn’t like that, a more cute romance is its style.
    He may have ended up kissing her at most, but as I said, I don’t think he would be that blatant with his emotions.

    Comment by kai — September 19, 2008 #

  30. XD look at Mori’s face in the last picture. I love Mori. If only hewere real… T_T

    Comment by Alice — May 21, 2009 #

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Powered by WordPress with Pool theme design by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds. Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^