Ouran High School Host Club is one of the most beloved Shoujo animes and is seen by many as a classic of the genre. Even though the show's first season ended way back in 2006, dedicated fans still watch the first season on Netflix while dreaming of a second season. In a recent interview at last year's Anime Expo, creator Bisco Hatori voiced her interest in seeing a season two come to fruition as well.
With all of the rumors flying around, it is no wonder that people are voicing their opinions on what would make a continuation of the show fly or flop. Here are 5 things fans would love to see in a new season of Ouran, and 5 that we could live without.
10 Want: A Continuation Of The Manga's Plot
Because the anime and the manga were being worked on simultaneously, episodes began airing faster than Hatori could write chapters of the manga. This put stress on Studio Bones to add to the story themselves, and they took liberties in creating an ending that neatly wrapped up the first season.
Since then, the manga continued, adding zany new storylines and deepening character relationships. The creators would have to figure out how to work around the anime's original ending, but using the manga as source material would offer an abundance of opportunities for new animated content, with arcs covering everything from athletic fairs to fashion design.
9 Don't Want: The Whole Manga Covered In One Season
Season one of Ouran covered as much content as was available to it at the time, but it still skips over and leaves out several stories from different chapters of the manga. While the season is excellent despite the exclusion of these potential scenes, its limited selection makes the show far less in-depth than its written sibling.
One of the worst things a new season could do is to try and speed through as much of the manga as possible while leaving out vital chapters that add profundity to the characters' experiences.
8 Want: A Complete Series Makeover
There's a lot of crossover between those who love Ouran with lovers of the Fruits Basket series, which aired in 2001. The latter Shoujo anime was very popular in its time, but it never completed the storylines it established and gradually became outdated.
In 2019, however, Fruits Basket was rebooted, and its modernized art style, animation, and promise of another season have made the new version of the show widely successful. Because Ouran is almost fourteen years old, it would make sense for Studio Bones to want to start the show from scratch in a similar fashion, giving them more liberty to revamp the series before giving us the long-awaited season two.
7 Don't Want: Different Voice Actors
One major problem with creating a new season so long after the original is that the original voice actors are also older. Their voices or style of speech may have changed too much over time, or they may simply be unavailable to be part of the series once again.
While a revamp of the show would eliminate the problem of consistency in how the characters sound, many fans of the English dub are deeply attached to the voice cast and cannot imagine them sounding any other way. In particular, Caitlyn Glass's voice for Haruhi is a staple for many who have a nostalgic connection to the show, and it wouldn't be the same without the care she put into Haruhi's character.
6 Want: The Sweet Spot Between Drama And Comedy
One major factor in the success of Ouran's anime is how well the show's creators balanced comedic and dramatic elements of the story. The show is mostly lighthearted and fun, and its characters push the limits of Shoujo stereotypes to bring out their funniest aspects.
When the show does get serious, it does so in a way that doesn't feel forced, as viewers learn that the stereotypical characters have depth and complexities. For a second season to be successful, it would have to be able to find the perfect combination of comedic and moving without leaning too much in one direction.
5 Don't Want: The Zuka Club
Out of all the plotlines that the anime follows, the worst has to be the Zuka club from Lobelia Academy, an all-female counterpart to Ouran High. They are a performance group and the idols of their school, but their singing is annoying and their acting isn't good. All that leaves them with is their strange flirting with fans and their obsession with stealing Haruhi away from the host club so that they can no longer "corrupt her."
Obviously representing overzealous radical feminists, their zest for gender equality is taken too far over the top. These characters are hardly likable, and getting rid of them for the new season would be a gift for all who don't want to sit through their grating scenes.
4 Want: Hikaru's Dyed Hair
In episode 5 of the first season, Hikaru and Kaoru dye their hair bright pink and blue to be told apart during their fight. The twins are two of the most compelling characters in terms of backstory, and they become more dimensional as they must sort out their competing feelings for Haruhi and what that may mean for their close-knit brotherhood.
Hikaru's character grows and changes even more throughout the manga, and he eventually dyes his hair dark brown to show his newfound individuality. Season 2 would have ample room to explore the depths of the twins' characters, and showing Hikaru with brown hair as opposed to its bright orange would certainly be poignant in the art of the animation.
3 Don't Want: Outdated Language
Despite being incredibly progressive in its representation of gender and sexuality, Ouran has certain problematic aspects that wouldn't fly with a modern audience. In particular, the show has cross-dressing male characters, such as Haruhi's father, who are labeled with a word that is today used as an offensive slur.
This might have been acceptable in 2006, but today's audience is more critical of this word choice, which negatively impacts the show's message about accepting gender fluidity. In a new season released in a new decade, it would be best to get rid of any language in the show that didn't age well.
2 Want: Season 3
This might sound greedy, but after waiting so long for a second season of this well-loved series, fans deserve a promise of the anime's continuation by the end of the second season. There is so much great content available to animate, and the story wraps up in such a fulfilling way that not completing the host club's story would be a tragedy.
Plus, there's enough anticipation for the show that undoubtedly the second season would be very successful, making a third season all the better for Studio Bones' reputation. A third season could be announced at the end of the final episode or even a bit later by press release, but leaving us hanging for another fourteen years would be far too cruel.
1 Don't Want: Any More False Rumors
It seems like every few months, a rumor begins to fly around the internet that the second season has been officially announced. One of the biggest was in 2016, when Hikaru's English voice actor, Todd Haberkorn, promised a convention audience that a season two would be happening that year, despite having no credible sources himself.
Many frantic Google searches and scouring of news pages have ended in deep disappointment, but fans still stay hopeful nonetheless. The reactions to these rumors prove just how popular the show truly is, and could be if it continued.