Anime Pilgrimage RTT

Ouran High School Host Club – episode 12

July 11, 2006 on 3:49 pm | In Ouran High School Host Club | 3 Comments

“Honey-senpai’s not so sweet three days”

An incredibly funny episode let down only by the insanity of its moral. Not every episode needs a moral to be cool, and the one espoused in this episode is somewhat creepy.

Honey gets a cavity, so Mori starts acting very strict in regards to the Club’s sweet intake. This happens, of course, directly after Renge complains that Honey’s character is not dramatic enough, distinctly lacking in a dark side.

The portion of this story set before Honey wakes up is bottled hilarity, among Ouran High School Host Club‘s finest moments. The extent of Tamaki’s fears and the horror of rumour passed as fact (“I’M STILL SLEEPY!”) combine to form transcendent comedy. The situation was so effective that even Haruhi was swept up in the hysteria.

When Honey woke up, the problems began. The majority of the second half of the episode was funny, but the moral was so confusingly askew that it sent the entire situation into a horrifying tailspin. I’m fine with a story, concept or characer action hinging on stupidity, but the extent of the stupidity of this story’s crux goes too far.
I do not agree with Mori’s flagellation, and I am certainly confused as to where this leaves the relationship between himself and Honey. Essentially, Renge’s summary of the situation says it all without saying anything: “MOE!” How I’ve grown to hate that word.

Essentially this is a consistently hilarious episode and proof that you cannot trust people who complain about comedic nosedives in series after their first few episodes. Its dramatic core misses the spot, but even this is redeemed by the fact that the other characters are aware of that: all, or at least most, is forgiven.