Although Tamaki is considered to be the 'king' of the Ouran High School Host Clubit's no secret to Haruhi (or the viewers) that the true king— dubbed the Shadow King by the others— is none other than Kyoya Otori. He has the cool-headed intelligence needed to keep Tamaki's well-meaning, but often misguided, plans from getting too out of hand. He's also the member that makes the club possible in the first place, as he oversees all of the finances and ensures that the club can find ways to make the money they need, something which is completely out of Tamaki's skillset.

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Not only is he incredibly intelligent, but he has the cunning and business sense to back it up, thanks to his family history. Being the youngest out of a line of incredibly successful brothers, there's no end of pressure placed upon him to not only live up to their accomplishments, but surpass them in turn. By the end of the series, he's able to stop caring about his father's opinion and instead accept that he loves his role within the Club, even if it won't grant him familial recognition.

10 He And Tamaki Equally Benefit Each Other

tamaki hugging onto kyoya ouran

Upon first glance, it can be difficult to see what Tamaki brings to he and Kyoya's partnership as co-founders of the Host Club. After all, Kyoya's often the one who has to reign Tamaki in, and the club really wouldn't be able to keep functioning if it weren't for his wide knowledge regarding finances.

However, Tamaki actually contributes just as much, it's simply in a different way. While Kyoya helps keep the club running and Tamaki in check, it was Tamaki that broke the youngest-sibling shackles that kept Kyoya from being happy and helped him develop into a more humanistic person.

9 His Tendency To View Hardships As "Games"

kyoya smiling from ouran

Although Kyoya is a triple-threat— wealthy, highly intelligent and incredibly charming— it isn't as if a grand path in life is laid out before him. He has to work harder than anyone to be acknowledged as the youngest sibling of the prestigious Otori family, as he has to not only match his elder brothers' accomplishments, but surpass them as well.

However, this isn't something that discourages him, at least after Tamaki helps uncloud his mind. Instead, he likes to take challenges head-on, viewing them as a sort of game in which he'd then take great pleasure out of calculating exactly how he'd obtain victory.

8 He Suffers From Hypotension

kyoya side portrait from ouran

Kyoya is shown in the mall trip episode to be an incredibly late— and irritable— riser, and it can be easy to fully chalk this up to all the nights where he's up until late hours. However, a little-known tidbit about him is that he actually suffers from hypotension, or low blood pressure, which is what makes it so difficult for him to rise in the morning.

It can cause both extreme fatigue and unconsciousness, which is shown when Tamaki and the others were able to not only dress an asleep Kyoya but drag him all the way to the mall and finally dropping him on a bench without him ever waking.

7 He And Tamaki Have Equally Golden Hearts

tamaki and kyoya from ouran

At first glance, Kyoya and Tamaki couldn't seem more different. Tamaki is overly empathetic and emotional, inserting himself into everyone's problems because he wishes to help everyone. Kyoya, on the other hand, can come across as cold and indifferent unless situations directly benefit him.

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However, this isn't entirely true, and it's even more noticeable upon a re-watch as to just how similar they are. No matter who Tamaki wants to help or how outrageous his plans might seem, the Shadow King goes along with them with a smile. He's also been shown stopping an old woman from getting scammed, and though he made up a story as to how it was only because their companies had dealing with one another, Haruhi was quick to debunk this and point out that he's quite kind deep down.

6 He's A Scorpio-Sagittarius Cusp And His Personality Reflects That

kyoya smiling from ouran

Kyoya's birthday is November 22, meaning that he falls on the cusp of both Scorpio and Sagittarius. Upon further examination, pretty much all of his character traits can be perfectly summed up by the traits of these two signs.

The Scorpio traits that he embodies includes determination, fearlessness, loyalty, ambition, and secretiveness. Meanwhile, his Sagittarius side is reflected by his intellectual capacity, independence, wit, a competitive drive, and the tendency to be brutally honest.

5 His Assigned Rose Color Is Lavender

kyoya and purple roses ouran

Each member of the Host Club has a specific color of rose assigned to them, and each even come complete with their own meanings to suit their characters rather than being simply for aesthetic purposes. In Japanese color, lavender symbolizes privilege and wealth, both of which are incredibly fitting for the cunning money-manager.

In Western culture, it instead symbolizes enchantment and love at first sight, which might not seem fitting at first. However, he manages to maintain a cool and alluring demeanor while at the club, and Renge fell in love with him upon simply seeing his photo.

4 His Sister And Tamaki Are Actually Close Friends

tamaki sipping tea ouran

For viewers that only watched the anime, the only time they get to see Kyoya's sister is during his flashbacks from when he first met Tamaki and was rather annoyed by his extreme personality. However, in the manga, the two actually have quite the strong friendship, and she actually shares a common interest with him in that they both enjoy commoner's food.

The two of them pursue a tour of commoner's food together, and it's pretty endearing that the daughter of such a prestigious and serious family would enjoy such a thing.

3 He Has Three Bodyguards Tasked With Protecting His Life

host club gathered together ouran

In the anime, the private police force that guards Kyoya and answers to him is seen a few times, but it's always simply a large group of unnamed characters. However, in the manga, there are three specific people tasked with protecting his life when he's off-campus.

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They're three middle-aged men tasked with making sure nothing happens to Kyoya, and their names are Seizaburo, Aijima, and Hotta. It's a bit frightening imagining how much power and information the Otori family can access if they have to protect him so fiercely.

2 He Almost Wasn't In The Series At All

Kyoya Ootori smiling with his eyes closed (Ouran High School Host Club)

It's incredibly hard to picture what the series might be like if Kyoya wasn't around to complement Tamaki and help make sure the club's excellent financial standing remains. However, this was actually almost a reality for the series.

Bisco Hatori herself stated that if the first chapter of the manga had been cut by around ten pages, it's likely that Kyoya wouldn't have existed at all. Being one of the most beloved characters with some of the most memorable scenes from the entire series, it's near impossible to think of a series where he wasn't the club's dubbed 'Shadow King'.

1 He And Kaoru Are Close Friends—Just Not In The Anime

kyoya smiling with his eyes closed ouran

The anime for the series doesn't actually follow the full manga plotline, which is one of the main reasons why fans remain dying for a second season after all these years. In the anime, Kyoya and Kaoru don't even really share a personal conversation with one another, but they do this several times throughout the manga.

Kyoya is actually the person that Kaoru goes to when he's feeling conflicted over his blooming romantic interest in Haruhi. Near the end of the manga, when Kyoya is attempting to locate Tamaki's mother, it's Kyoya whom he vents to and shares his feelings- those which are typically reserved and completely hidden from others.

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