Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 2 [ペーパーバック]

Spring has come to Ouran High School, and spring is typified by cherry blossoms, and our six gorgeous hosts - and Haruhi - are hard at work, doing what they do best, dispensing attention to the lucky patrons of the Host Club! Tamaki is his usual charming self, the twins are causing the hearts of their lady guests to swoon with their brotherly devotion, Kyoyo is fattening the purse of the club with his collector photos of memorable occasions, and Mori and Hunny are working in tandem - Mori points out a gaffe on Hunny's part which is potentially disturbing, but the moment is saved! Tamake reveals a certain jealousy at the inequitable amount of time which the twins are allowed to spend with Haruhi, simply because they are in her class. But fortunately, a new crisis turns their attention in another direction - namely, her class is getting their physical exams! Surely all will be revealed at that time, that Haruhi is really of the female persuasion, which will blow her cover at the Host Club. Oh woe is them, what can they possibly do? Never fear, the Host Club is here! And although Tamaki seems to be toying with the idea of Haruhi coming out, in order to openly be with her, he realizes it is in the best interest of the club that her true gender not be revealed. Can they pull this off? How? This will take every bit of cunning and deceit which they possess to protect the honor of the "man" they all care about!

In Episode Five, Kaoru and Hikaru have way too much time on their hands; they've even taken to making composite images of Haruhi with Tamaki's body (a rather disturbing pastime, especially to Tamaki). The bored twins have a chance encounter, despite Tamaki's warnings, with the president of the Black Magic club. An offhand remark between the brothers sparks a terrible conflagration, and they go from being closerthanclose to being totally estranged. They start going to great lengths to maintain separate identities (although they still order the identical lunch at lunchtime), and their battle is tearing the Host Club apart. Haruhi is dragged into the cafeteria by the twins, against her will, and ends up being inundated with the rich kids' lunches, while Tamaki has fantasies of Haruhi making him box lunches! The infighting must be nipped in the bud, before it is allowed to affect the Host Club. Will it continue to escalate before it gets better, or will it all simply explode?

As Episode Six begins, a young boy approaches the portals of the Host Club, and enters to find them in full Arabian dress! His name is Shiro, and he has come with a mission - he wants the King (aka Tamaki) to accept him as an apprentice; he needs to learn how to charm women, and he needs to know stat! Tamaki agrees to take him into the club, and endeavors to teach him his slick and charming ways, but Shiro is painfully honest and rather tactless, such as when he compares one of the guests to a carp. Tamaki tries his best, but the boy is impatient with the lack of results. Curious as to the need for urgency in his actions, the Host Club go undercover to his school, to learn what's what with Shiro, to see what makes him tick, and why his time is so short.This entails going to his elementary school, and forcing Haruhi into a schoolgirl uniform with a very short skirt (to Tamak's great pleasure). As the saying goes, seek and ye shall find - what they find out about Shiro will color their perception of him and lead them on the path to helping him with his quest!

In the next episode, Kyoya has the gang over to his place for some R&R - well, not exactly his place, it's a members only swimming resort, run by the Ohtori group. Located underground in mid Tokyo, it is huge huge huge, has 10 pools and a number of other attractions! Haruhi is there against her will, having been dragged there by Kyoyo's agents, in a Bentley, after school. She doesn't dress out, doesn't want to swim, and wishes there was a wading pool. Of course the privileged members know nothing of what that is. Hunny, wearing a bunny-decorated flotation device, tries to lure Haruhi to the flowing pool with him. An unexpected mishap occurs, and Hunny disappears in a swoosh of water, leaving the rest of the Host Club in an uproar! Braving alligators and piranhas, they set off to rescue to rescue their little mate! Braving the Jungle Zone, they find themselves in the midst of a sudden squall and are forced to take cover, before they begin to organize themselves into a team. Haruhi reassures Mori that Hunny is fine, and an interesting question arises - why hasn't Tamaki expressed a desire to see Haruhi in a swimsuit? Thought provoking, no? Kyoya is forced to inform the Ohtori Aqua Garden HQ of the situation with regard to Hunny being missing - but somehow neglects to mention the others that are there too. Will Hunny be found, and will the others avoid being harmed in the process?

A bonus story in this volume is Romantic Egoist. Yurine is 17 years old, and has been going to the library every day for the past six months to get a glimpse of the guy she has fallen in love with, Terasaki, but doesn't have the nerve to approach. Weird twin sisters, Barako and Nadeshiko, approach Yurine with the solution to her problem, which they have been observing - they have a love potion which they guarantee will make the person who drinks it fall in love with the giving person for two weeks, and after that love will either have grown on its own or it won't. All Yurine has to do is to exchange the potion for his drink! The trouble is that she has trouble even going near him, much less doing anything quite that radical. While she is debatiing doing it or not, another guy, Nozomi, who is in Yurine's class, approaches her, and asks for a drink; without waiting for a response, he chugs the entire love potion - and then begins to act like he really likes her! What is she to do? He's like this slacker punk, the class clown, and most important of all, he isn't Terasaki! But he's drunk the potion, and he is obviously enamored of her - what's a girl to do? A weak girl like Yurine just goes along with it, because she isn't the kind to deliberately hurt anyone's feelings, and she begins to spend time with him, almost unwillingly. But once she actually listens to what he has to say, she learns that appearances can be quite deceiving. Now the question becomes, what will she do in two weeks time, when he stops wanting to be with her?

Another charming volume of the very popular Ouran Host Club. It simply drips with fun and humor and romantic moments. By now, you've come to know all the regulars, and they are each developing as personalities in their own right. This volume showcased the twins quite a bit - that was a fun story! Watching Tamaki's obsession with Haruhi is just great fun. The physical exam story has an unexpected twist, and so does Shiro's story. Host Club is not only funny, it's warm and fuzzy too. The artwork really showcases the stories well, and I can easily see why this series is so popular. The extra story was an unexpected treat, and having read it twice now, i will confess that it caused me to tear up both times. Don't hesitate to keep reading the Ouran High School Host Club, it's a very worthwhile read!

Spring is in the air, and so is the faint scent of insanity. And the second volume of Bisco Hatori's "Ouran High School Host Club" is about both of them -- the Host Club is still dealing with their customers' personal problems, when they aren't romping through expensive problems of their own.

First, the Host Club must deal with an inevitable obstacle: the health exam. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but now they have to keep Haruhi's true gender a secret AND deal with a mysterious doctor. Then the twins have their first ever fight, and it rapidly turns into a crazy feud involving lunches, hair dye and curse dolls -- and it might rip the Club apart.

Then a little boy arrives, demanding that Tamaki teach him how to charm women. Of course, the Club becomes curious about why he's so obsessed with this, and go undercover at the nearby elementary school. Finally, a day at a too-realistic swimming resort goes horribly wrong when Hunny is flushed down the pipes, and the gang has to set out into the jungle to find him.

And there's a bonus story about a teenage girl who is given a love potion by a pair of eccentric twins, so she can try to make her crush fall in love with her. But a punky odd guy ends up drinking it instead, leading to a very unexpected romantic connection.

"Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 2" is all about fleshing out the boys in the Club. Now that's introduced the main premise and gotten them through some funny little stories, Bisco Hatori shows us some new facets to their personalities -- Tamaki's kindness to a man estranged from his daughter, the twins' impishness, and Mori's quiet devotion to Hunny.

Additionally, Haruhi seems to be making some inroads into the clubs' minds and hearts... especially the King, who flip-flops constantly between wanting to be her protective "father" and wanting to see her in feminine pretty clothes.

But don't worry, there's still plenty of hilarity here -- Tamaki's rambling description of how he was "cursed" and begging Haruhi to check his naughty bits are gutsplitting. And as usual, the gang have plenty of insane schemes, silly costumes and attempts to charm the clientele with their selected acts.

"Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 2" is a fun extension of a very, very entertaining series, and leaves you hungry for whatever's next.

Still loving Host Club!
Tamaki is starting to get so over the top in his reactions, and Haruhi just shoots him down each time. Honestly I think all the boys in the club are funny, but I do have my favorites. (Although sometimes it varies by chapter) I especially got a kick out of the chapter were the twins are "trying" to be different from each other and go so far as to dye Hikaru's hair Flamingo Pink. (I soooo wish these frame were in color!!) But really the way they all interact and play off each other is great. I found myself laughing every time I turned the page. Don't get me wrong the boys have their sensitive sides as well, but that doesn't take away from the fun.
Although I am interested to see how the manga works out while it is "ignoring all graduations", basically meaning the characters will stay in high school indefinitely.
I also love the artwork! Some of the two page layouts are sooo amazing! Plus all the different costumes the boys end up wearing for their different events in the club. There's always at least one or two really detailed pics of them in costume. (Again really wishing I could see some in color!)
Also I really liked reading the authors side comments and the little mini toons at the end of each chapter. Plus there was a bonus story at the end of this volume. It's titled Romantic Egoist and it was really cute. (Love the twins in that one too!)
Can't wait to get to volume 3!