Haruhi, Haruhi, I Just Saw The Most Horrible Thing! I Was Just Posting Photos Of Us To Instagram-- But

i love him

i hate him.

Thoughts on Kyoya's development in the manga? It's nice to see him have more expressions and being unhinged towards the later chapters.

Manga kyoya is the food i was raised on

Where i really REALLY think the manga shines in the characterization of Kyoya is that it drives home that Kyoya is an important, complex, sympathetic character who is well liked by his peers for exactly who he is and has always been. There is not some secretly kind and sweet Kyoya hiding under the ambition and temper, in fact what is under there is even MORE ambition and at times a rage he physically cannot contain. And he is loved for it.

And I think this is a great creative choice with his character and one we know from the very beginning is intentional because of Renge. Her introduction serves to show who these characters aren’t going to be. In most stories, a character like Kyoya can only be liked by other characters (and the audience) if he is secretly sweet in some ways. Kyoya shatters this fantasy with a rock. There is no hidden sweetness.

This is not to say he doesn’t care, just that there is no gentleness to his care. As you say Kyoya becomes much more expressive and unhinged in some chapters of the manga because his emotions are finally so big he cannot keep them restrained at all- and it is very consistent that this is almost exclusively caused by or about Tamaki (there is only one instance I can think of where he gets particularly genuine and expressive and it’s entirely for himself, from the final chapter). But there is also a kind of care that Kyoya is consistently expressing through his work, because he is constantly putting in an extraordinary amount of work in service of the club and its members. And it takes him a while, almost to the very end of the series, to admit that he is doing this not because it will benefit his future career or the Ootori family, but because the club has become precious to him and he will do anything for it and its members.

And not only does Kyoya realize this, but even more progress for our beloved boy, he says so explicitly to Kaoru. (and Honey seems to psychically get the message too???) This I think is also one of the great strong suits of the manga over the anime: the anime really focuses in on just the relationships of characters to Haruhi or to Tamaki because of how much of the series had come out and because of needing to streamline things. The manga is much, much more about the relationships between all members of the club. Tamaki brought the pairs together, but these boys have spent two years getting to know and become friends with each other and they ALL see Kyoya for who he is and love him for it. They don’t match him and understand him as fundamentally as Tamaki does (the boys come in pairs for a reason), but they do get him better than he thinks they do and there are multiple scenes of characters other than Haruhi stunning him with how well they see through his shell.

The relationships to Honey and Kaoru are given the most attention and are the most interesting to me, but I will just discuss Kaoru for now because this is already long enough. Kaoru and Kyoya become each other’s default partner when their normal companion isn’t an option and they are really good at it. Kyoya recognizes capability and drive in Kaoru, which Kaoru always rises up to meet. And Kaoru is very vocal about complimenting Kyoya in such a way that clearly points out he sees Kyoya’s actual motives, which embarrasses Kyoya in exactly the same way that Tamaki and Haruhi are good at doing when they see right through him too. Kaoru respects Kyoya and also understands that everything he is doing is from an enormous amount of care for his friends. And unlike the way most people see the twins, Kyoya sees Kaoru as reliable and just as dedicated to their club/family as he is.

family selfie !

I just wanted to say that I admire you so much, lovely! you're such a sweetheart <3333 kisses!!!!!! xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxox

love you!!!! your writing is so good i read it and start hissing like im harry potter setting a boa constrictor on my cousin (IN A GOOD "this-hiss-too-cute" WAY) <33333 kiss kiss

the institution of family

*poor punctuation/grammar, what are capital letters again? :) mention of divorce, dysfunctional view of family, might not make sense, i wrote this while trying to fall asleep, therefore not proofread as i fell asleep, see that makes sense doesn't it?

i have only seen the anime, but ouran has taught me so much about the meaning of family. as a child of divorced parents, even though i am blessed to have always been safe and loved, family has always been a confusing, and borderline negative term. familial pressures and societal views have no doubt shaped my view of the institution of family growing up. according to (segments of) society, there was a formula to a functional family, and mine didn’t quite fit the bill. according to (members of) my family, the things I did should be based on the preferences of (said members of) my family, and the stress i faced was only collateral damage for the happiness of (or maximum peace between) everyone else. 

thus, i deduced that my family were merely people who felt a moral obligation to love me; whom i was bound to love in return because of my own moral obligations. I wasn’t satisfied with this answer, because if my family were merely people i was biologically related to, why are morals at play? the only explanation was that the term “family” meant obligations, expectations and responsibility. an obligation for your family to love you, and you them, an expectation to do what those who love you ask of you, and a responsibility to act in your family’s interest. familial love came with such strings attached. if that were the case, wouldn’t we all be better off without family? no strings attached, free to do as we please. it was harsh, but that’s how the world works, isn’t it? the only problem was that even I didn’t fully believe in this black and white world i created in my mind. 

the high-society families in ouran matched my understanding of family perfectly. obligations, expectations, responsibility. the family that encapsulates this in its entirety is none other than the ootoris: kyoya, as the third born son — obligations — has to do more than his brothers to please his father, yet should not outshine his brothers — expectations. That would be overstepping his role. his father frowned upon his involvement in the host club — responsibility. He should have prioritised his family’s preferences over his own and acted in the interest of his family. he accepts the burden of being an ootori, just as I accepted my own loaded definition of family, until we met tamaki.

I think Tamaki would love Chappell Roan but he'd also be totally unaware that her music is gay. No one would tell him because it's funnier that way

Young Anarka

I dunno… Like

Her past intrigued me the most out of all the adult characters, and I can't understand her mix with Jagged. Like, he cheated on her and she got pregnant? They had an open relationship? Or did they only share intimacy? Why did she never tell her kids about their father? And why didn't their father pay child support lmao…

Ouran High School Host Club as Flowers

Tamaki Suoh – Orchid

Elegant, rare, and attention-grabbing, orchids symbolize refinement and charm—just like Tamaki’s dramatic and princely nature.

Kyoya Ootori – Black Rose

Mysterious and sophisticated, black roses represent power and intrigue, much like Kyoya’s calculated and enigmatic personality.

Haruhi Fujioka – Camellia

Camellias symbolize humility and resilience, fitting for Haruhi’s grounded and hardworking nature despite being surrounded by luxury.

Hikaru Hitachiin – Red Tiger Lily

Red tiger lilies symbolize passion, intensity, and confidence. Hikaru, being the more hotheaded and emotional twin, fits this flower’s bold and fiery nature.

Kaoru Hitachiin – Orange Dahlia

Dahlias represent kindness, grace, and personal growth. Kaoru, the more mature and perceptive twin, embodies these qualities, as he is often more understanding and thoughtful compared to Hikaru.

Mitsukuni "Honey" Haninozuka – Cherry Blossom

Cherry blossoms represent innocence and fleeting beauty, much like Honey’s childlike charm and hidden depth.

Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka – Bamboo or White Lily

Bamboo represents strength and loyalty, which perfectly fits Mori’s quiet but steadfast presence. White lilies symbolize purity and devotion, much like his bond with Honey.

evan: wait what? You actually like me back?

barty, literally carving 'mine' into evan's chest with a knife: ......

I recently got reunited with my Japanese Ouran mangas and flipped to this:

And while my Japanese has gotten rusty, this made me laugh

Tamaki: …Sankyu (Thank you, katakana English)

Kyoya: You’re welcome.

The word for ‘you’re welcome’ in Japanese is what Kyoya used (Douitashimashite) however it is generally discouraged to use in response to ‘thank you’ as it can be perceived as rude. With that, I think Kyoya’s energy around his word choice was probably “you’re welcome you lovable idiot”

And in the English manga this little cultural context piece gets dropped, which is a bummer but maybe it’ll motivate me to get back into my Japanese practice?