Throughout its twenty-six episode run, Ouran High School Host Club does a fantastic job at introducing characters one way, and then either complicating or completely flipping the viewer's perception of them, making it incredibly enjoyable to watch, perhaps even more than once. One of the best examples of this would be that of Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, the twins who seem to be joined at the hip, but the differences between them become more apparent as they continue to grow, especially in the manga. They still have their similarities, of course, but not all is as it seems when it comes to these two.
So, today we'll be taking a look at five things that make the Hitachiin twins similar, and five things that strikingly set them apart.
10 Similar: Attitudes Before The Host Club
From the very beginning, Hikaru and Kaoru were always together, and never sought the help of others, or even the company of other people. Their origin story does a perfect job of explaining why while also managing to cut straight through the heart, as we're shown that the twins did try to open up, but no one else ever truly took the time to tell them apart and get to personally know them.
That is until Haruhi Fujioka comes along and shatters the 'world' the two had been hiding in for so long. This similarity, naturally, then fades over time as the two grow and begin accepting others.
9 Different: Levels Of Maturity
At first, it seems as if the two twins are mirror images of one another, but we quickly learn that isn't the case, and that they're actually much more realistically written than that. Though they both have a lot of emotional growth to do throughout the series, Kaoru definitely starts with a pretty clear advantage.
During the Karuizawa arc, Hikaru gets into a fight with Haruhi over a classmate that used to have feelings for her and acts incredibly immaturely. Kaoru states that he wishes that Hikaru could grow emotionally and learn to accept his own feelings while paying more attention to the feelings of others, showing a level of emotional maturity that still eludes Hikaru.
8 Similar: Stunted Social Skills
Being more emotionally mature doesn't mean that Kaoru is ahead of his brother in every aspect, and perhaps the clearest of these is just how socially stunted the two are. They really didn't have much social contact before joining the Host Club, and the other members state that it took as long as Haruhi joining for them to fully begin to open up, so for at least a year they were incredibly socially stunted.
It's especially clear in the episode "The Twins Fight!" in which the two get into an argument over always being confused for each other, and drag the entire club into their mess. This would be bad enough if it was just fueled by emotions, but it was actually a calculated prank on their part, showing a big disregard for the feelings of others.
7 Different: How Co-Dependent They Are
Hikaru and Kaoru are described as always doing everything together, and while that is true, Kaoru begins to mature much more quickly once their inner circle opens. This is acknowledged pretty clearly as time goes on, and we're shown that although Hikaru is described as being the 'leader' twin, he's actually much more dependent on Kaoru than his twin is of him.
It's an incredibly interesting dynamic, and it's great to know that the act they put on at the club really is just an act. Kaoru wants Hikaru to be able to blossom into his own person, while Hikaru seems content to keep their world at just him, Kaoru, and Haruhi. It's fantastic seeing it played out with all the twists and complications that follow because of this.
6 Similar: Natural Pranksters
One thing that is definitely the same between them is their natural love of playing pranks. Haruhi states in one episode that Hikaru seems just slightly more devilish than Kaoru, but this is still one aspect they're much more similar in. The two are happily willing to carry out incredibly elaborate pranks at the expense of others' feelings, simply because they find doing so to be quite amusing.
Especially in the manga that covers much more of their lives, the two grow out of this over time, but we'd like to bet they still pull harmless pranks every now and then.
5 Different: Selfish VS. Selfless
Throughout the series, Kaoru is shown to consistently put others' feelings and thoughts before his own, especially Hikaru's. This ends up coming to a head in the manga, where Kaoru has to help Hikaru realize his feelings for Haruhi, despite the younger twin also harboring feelings for her himself. This is in stark contrast to Hikaru's nature, getting angry, jealous, and over-emotional because he doesn't want to deal with his real feelings.
Haruhi rejects both of them in the end, so it isn't as if one twin loses her to the other, but it's still a pretty heart-wrenching storyline all things considered.
4 Similar: Their Tastes
Adding to the list of ways these two can seem like mirror images at times is their incredibly similar sense of taste, and we aren't just talking about the fact that they tend to wear matching outfits. Both of the twins' favorite foods are listed as "Italian, Anything Super-Spicy, and Maple Syrup," though Kaoru has syrup listed second, which could indicate that he has a slight preference for sweets over his brother. This makes sense, seeing as he's typically the sweeter and more understanding of the two.
3 Different: Their Favorite Subjects
It's stated during the anime when the twins are comparing their class schedules to Haruhi that the two take all of their classes together, but it doesn't mean that they get the most enjoyment out of the same subjects.
While never being directly stated in the anime, Hikaru's favorite subjects are listed as being Physics, Chemistry, and Math, whereas Kaoru enjoys English and modern Japanese Literature. It's interesting to see someone as emotional, devilish, and hot-headed as Hikaru taking an interest in STEM fields, if not a bit refreshing. On the other hand, Kaoru's favorites make a lot of sense given what we see of his personality when apart from his twin.
2 Similar: Their Road To Gaining Independence
We've stated before that Kaoru is much less dependent on his twin than the opposite, and in the anime, this is true without much debate. But Hikaru gets a lot more development in the manga, and it becomes apparent how similar they are when it comes to trying to search for their form of independence.
While Kaoru seems like he's the more independent one and closer to their goal, in the manga, it's Hikaru who takes the leap to become his own person by permanently dying his hair a darker shade to differentiate the two, showing how similar their desire for independence is.
1 Different: Their Rose Colors
It's been established that the two hosts, though they appear similar, are truly their own different people. This is indicated strongly through their rose colors, as each host gets a color to signify some of their personal traits. Hikaru's rose color is light blue, representing loyalty, and is shown through his almost self-detrimental loyalty to Kaoru despite it stopping him from growing at times.
Kaoru's, on the other hand, is orange, the color of happiness in Japanese culture, suiting the younger twin as he's also typically the more optimistic of the two.