Hiro Fujiwara’s Maid-Sama! and Bisco Hatori’s Ouran High School Host Club are shōjo anime series about a female (or possibly gender-fluid, in one case) protagonist serving as either a host or hostess in secret. These two series are regarded as modern classics in the shōjo anime community; however, which series is the better romance series of the two? Let’s find out!

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Strengths: Maid-Sama!

In Maid-Sama!, Misaki Ayuzawa secretly works as a part-time maid at a maid cafe to pay off her father’s debt and to support her mother and sister. She is also the class president of Seika High School. One day, Misaki’s mischievous classmate, Takumi Usui, discovers her double life, which results in her keeping a watchful eye on him so he doesn’t reveal her secret. However, Takumi has other motives for lingering around Misaki at the school and cafe...

One of the greatest strengths in Maid-Sama! is the character development of Misaki Ayuzawa. Misaki becomes more trusting of others, especially men, due to Takumi’s influence. For example, in Episode 2 “Maid-Sama at the School Festival!,” Misaki’s leadership transforms into bossiness. When Misaki refuses to listen to her male classmates’ proposals for the upcoming festival, the male students decide to rebel against her. Misaki scolds the male students but it backfires. Takumi tells Misaki that although she means well, she shouldn’t be so judgmental to her male peers. At times, Misaki's righteousness causes her to be biased. However, Takumi’s presence forces her to actively listen to others. As a result, Misaki learns to compromise and be open-minded, while still maintaining her independent and assertive nature.

Since this is a romantic comedy, the humor is impeccable. There are minor characters that provide some great gags, such as the “Idiot Trio,” who are complete fangirls of Misaki's maid persona and constantly spend their money at the maid cafe to see her. Yet in Maid-Sama!, the comedy mostly comes from Takumi’s flirtatious actions and witty remarks towards Misaki, which is indicated by his “cat-eyed” expressions. For example, Takumi finds opportunities to get close to her such as sneaking in a hug or a subtle kiss, resulting in Misaki blushing profusely. Takumi constantly teases Misaki to the point where Misaki sees him as a nuisance but he does this with the intention to rile her up and get her to notice him.

This brings us to anime's biggest strength of all: Misaki and Takumi's romance. Every episode has Takumi instigating flirtatious encounters with Misaki to the point where Misaki begins to recognize her own feelings for him as well. Yet the development of their relationship is challenged when we are introduced to Misaki’s childhood friend, Hinata Shintani.

Takumi feels threatened that someone else will take her away from him. As a result, Takumi clings closely to Misaki during the class trip, as well as when Hinata goes on a “date” with Misaki. It is at this point that Takumi realizes his jealousy and Misaki realizes that she needs to reassure Takumi of her feelings.

Most importantly for this genre, the last episode gives viewers a satisfying conclusion. Misaki and Takumi finally confess their true feelings for each other, which is cinched with a kiss, giving viewers a fairy tale, happy ending. Even though the anime is only a snippet of the manga series, viewers are left feeling satisfied: we have our main protagonists get together! And for a romance anime, it's important that we get that this kind of ending.

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Strengths: Ouran High School Host Club

In Ouran High School Host Club, Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student at the prestigious Ouran Academy, encounters the school’s host club, which is a club of six male students who entertain female students with sweets and tea. When Haruhi accidentally destroys an expensive vase, she must pay off the debt by becoming a male-presenting host for the club.

Ouran is an anime series about friendship. The main storyline isn’t centered on Haruhi’s romantic entanglements; rather, the series focuses on the host club’s antics and strengthening their friendship with each other. To do so, the anime series had specific episodes that developed the characters of certain host club members. For example, when he was younger, Kyoya Ootori was constantly pressured by his father to be like his brothers, but when Tamaki suggested that they start a host club, he finally feels a sense of belonging due to Tamaki's optimism and friendship. Similarly, when Haruhi starts working at the host club, she starts to have fun and also feels a sense of belonging. Her presence gives a positive influence on the other host club members, especially the Hitachiin twins who were never acknowledged as individuals until they met Haruhi. Through all this, we see how these host club members develop into young adults.

When it comes to comedy, Ouran does an excellent job in providing a fresh take on tropes, such as the “twincest” from Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin; the sweets-obsessed “boy loli” Mitsukuni "Honey" Haninozuka, and the “doting father figure” role played by Tamaki Suoh.

One other unique aspect of Ouran is how the series handles gender-bending and identity issues. In Episode 1 “Starting Today, You Are a Host!,” Haruhi states that she doesn’t categorize herself in gender-binary terms and is perfectly fine being seen as a guy or a girl. In Episode 10 “A Day in the Life of the Fujioka Family!,” the host club members, who live in luxury, visit Haruhi’s apartment and learn more about the "commoner"'s lifestyle, touching on issues surrounding social class. Ouran openly reminds viewers to acknowledge and accept people who may be different from us.

Weaknesses: Maid-Sama!

Maid-sama

When it comes to romance, Maid-Sama! does a fantastic job of hitting all the romance genre beats. One could complain, however, that it would have been nice to see some more side stories about the minor characters, but for a 26 episode series, it's best to leave out unnecessary storylines and just focus on the main romance. Also, those minor characters' main purpose is to help develop Misaki and Takumi's relationship.

The other complaint some viewers may have is Takumi forcing his feelings onto Misaki. There are moments when he oversteps his boundaries such as kissing Misaki's back without her permission but these instances are balanced out with moments where we see Takumi protecting Misaki. One great example is when he saves her from a potential assault at the cafe. When it comes to Takumi's flirtatious and playful teasing, it all depends on the viewers' level of comfort: some may see it as a flaw, others will not.

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Weaknesses: Ouran High School Host Club

Ouran Tamaki Coffee

The only flaw in Ouran is the fact that there isn't a lot of romance happening in this anime adaptation. As mentioned before, Ouran focuses mainly on the friendship storylines, which results in the romance aspect between Haruhi and Tamaki being sidelined. The only instances where we see some early romantic development between the two is when another potential suitor is involved. When their classmate, Kasanoda, has a crush on Haruhi, Tamaki becomes more possessive over her and begins to realize his feelings for Haruhi.

Ouran uses the spark of a possible love triangle to imply a subtle chemistry Haruhi and Tamaki, but it isn't enough to propel our protagonists to confess their feelings. Even though Ouran is categorized as a romance anime, the storyline lacks the romance elements of the genre and feels more like a slice-of-life comedy. In fact, this lack of romance is further illustrated in the last episode: the ending is ambiguous as we don't know who Haruhi ends up with, but rather, we see her dancing with every host club member. As a result, this unsatisfactory ending leaves viewers wanting more.

Which One Does Romance Better?

misaki takumi maid-sama

Both anime series have their merits. However, when looking at the romance aspect of each series, Maid-Sama! trumps over Ouran High School Host Club. Maid-Sama! is a better romance anime than Ouran because the main storyline focuses on the development of Misaki and Takumi's romantic bond for one another as opposed to Ouran, wherein the storyline is centered on the lives of all the host club members.

Also, Maid-Sama! left viewers with a happy, romantic ending whereas Ouran which left viewers in anticipation of the next host club adventure -- which never came. (Fans should turn to the manga instead.) Yet even though Ouran isn't much of a romance story comparatively, it still gives viewers a fun reverse-harem story with some interesting twists.

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