Ouran High School Host Club – episode 13

July 18, 2006 on 12:30 am | In Ouran High School Host Club | 5 Comments

“Haruhi in Wonderland”

This episode is way too much like hard work, with absolutely no ambient music until the end and almost no real humour to reach its point.

I’m fine when a comedy goes serious, but there’s a difference between serious and trying-too-hard to the point of being boring.

Haruhi has a dream which likens the Host Club to Ouran High’s “Rabbit Hole”. There, Haruhi finds that Ouran High is actually a series of machines that survive by harvesting humans, and the Host Club is the one cadre in this world that can fight for freedom Haruhi has musicless adventures that culminate in an examination of the parent-child relationship. Or something like that.

Yes, it’s funny to see Kyouya dressed as a giant, hookah smoking caterpillar, but cosplay alone can’t make something so leaden entertaining. This could have been more madcap in its adventurousness yet, for a story about eating bananas and having tea parties, it’s remarkably dour.

Lesser men may say that this spells the end of Ouran High School Host Club (because, you know, one subpar episode out of thirteen, with more still to come, is totally reason enough to lose all faith), but I still believe. We get a happy revelation at the end and a brief glimpse of Kyouya in drag.
The moralising and going through the motions it takes to reach that point aren’t really that worth it. Even Mori cosplaying as a mouse can’t bring it quite up to pace.

Secret Confession: I don’t like Haruhi’s female design because her eyes make her look dopey when they’re framed by that hair.

5 Comments

  1. Erm, to much <del/>, don’t you think so?

    Comment by Ashura — July 18, 2006 #

  2. I dunno about subpar episode, but the animation was DEFINITELY above-par this episode. 0o0

    I do agree with you about longhair!Haruhi. She was in the right mind to cut her hair. *nods*

    Comment by Minako134 — July 19, 2006 #

  3. Don’t understand why they couldn’t keep Haruhi’s long hair as it was in the manga. She looked much better there (basically extended version of her short hair if u can imagine it). I just thought this ep was kind of a drug-induced recap

    Comment by Starchild — August 15, 2006 #

  4. i agree with your opinion about this episode, i read the manga and the host club did visit the magical world that is Wonderland. But instead, the manga shows how funny it could be, with haruhi refusing to play the part of alice and passing it on to the other characters.

    Comment by rockshrine — December 4, 2006 #

  5. I love alice in wonderland & I love ouran its a perfect combination

    Comment by vale — May 14, 2007 #

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