History Manga / OuranHighSchoolHostClub

* CosplayCafe: The titular "HostClub" is actually more like one of these because of all the outfits and G-rated service.

* HostClub: The Ouran High School Host Club itself is a PG-rated school club version of real host clubs, with its members providing conversations, flattery and entertainment for the school's female students. As Tamaki says, their real goal is to make girls happy, and they go out of their way several times to help resolve personal conflicts they notice their customers dealing with (romantic more often than not).

** When Shirou first meets Haruhi, he asks "Are you a crossdresser?" when he realizes that Haruhi acts more like a girl than a guy.

* {{Crossdresser}}: Played with until its [[JustForPun stitching ruptured]]. It's played straight with Ranka and Haruhi, subverted with Benibara, parodied/played for laughs with the host boys (consider that they are thoroughly bishounen and would have no trouble looking like girls in the average anime) and Kasanoda, and (shockingly) played somewhat ''seriously'' when Ranka appears without having shaved or made himself up. Oh, and lampshaded when the girls of Ouran talk about how much they'd love to see [[RecursiveCrossdressing Haruhi-kun in girls' clothing]]. Way too much fun.[[spoiler: In the end, when Haruhi reveals she's a girl by way of showing up in a dress and wig, people just assume she's a gay boy really into crossdressing.]]

* WidgetSeries: Much of the humor involves copious use of Japanese wordplay. So anyone who's ''not'' familiar with that might find the series to be a bit strange.

* {{Bokukko}}: Haruhi uses "boku", and occasionally "ore" for extra effect.

** The manga has another cultural festival where the goal is to cook curry. Each stop requires a test after which the participants can choose an ingredient from a selection of items. The tasks range from the [[AlwaysIdenticalTwins Hikaru-Kaoru-Guessing Game]] over the Black Magic Club's quiz on Curses and their origins to Kyouya's sadistic crossword puzzle.

* {{Bishonen}}: The narration at the beginning of the first episode uses the word.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** The "Alice in Wonderland" episode is incredibly toned down and shortered in the anime, having been longer and even wackier in the manga. For one, the story alternates between the twins and Tamaki also serving as Alice, not just Haruhi. As the twins explain, "Haruhi isn't curios enough to be Alice, she would never have followed the rabbit."

* AbnormalLimbRotationRange: Mori-sempai manages to turn his neck a full '''''180 degrees''''' in "Mori-sempai Has An Apprentice Candidate!" upon [[LateToTheRealization finally realizing that his character, up to that point, has had no major impact on the main plot]].

* MeaningfulEcho: Episode 17 is full of it, with Kyouya and Haruhi constantly quoting something the other said earlier to prove that the other is wrong about something or different than they believe. Especially Haruhi delivers not one, not two, but ''three'' meaningful echos to prove that Kyouya is actually a lot like Tamaki.

* BigFancyHouse: Several, given the excessive richness of most of the cast and most include TheThingThatGoesDoink.

** Chapter 55, where Tamaki tells Haruhi pieces of his childhood backstory, causing her to realize the reason he made the Host Club in the first place [[spoiler:was to honor his mother's wish of him always remaining in good spirits so she would be happy, to which he expanded on the wish by wanting to make other women happy as well]].

* SuprisinglyMovingSong: In a flashback, when 13-year-old Tamaki visits Kyoya's house for the first time, he plays a song on the piano for his family. Not only does Tamaki's playing move Kyoya's normally-stoic brothers to tears, but also Kyoya himself, who has been nothing but annoyed with Tamaki the entire time they've known each other.

** Tamaki spends some time of the show early on fantasising about a girly Haruhi and trying to transform her into such, and failing, simply for comedic purpose for the reader/viewer. However, as the story progresses and Haruhi finds herself [[spoiler:in love with him (while he remains completely clueless to this)]], she gradually turns more into a woman, all of her own. Benibara from the Zuka club points this out in Chapter 82, shortly after Haruhi [[spoiler:and Tamaki have become a couple]], that she now "completely looks like a girl". So in the end, Tamaki ''did'' succeed in making Haruhi more feminine, it just happened when he wasn't trying to.
** Also, when Haruhi first realizes her feelings for [[spoiler:Tamaki]], she briefly gets depressed when thinking how she looks like a boy, and subsequently thinks how [[spoiler:Tamaki only sees her as his daughter]]. Yep, you read it right.
** This is played straight when a transfer student [[spoiler:named Kanoya arrives at their school, who is introduced when Tamaki saves her from getting kicked by a horse, causing her to crush on him and continuously sticking with him the following days]]. The rest of the Host Club notice she bears some distinct physical resemblence to [[spoiler:Haruhi, and to add to it, she's completely onboard with Tamaki's "romantic fantasies" they present to her, making them realize it's the "real-life version" of the imaginary Haruhi in Tamaki's mind. Tamaki, however, states he doesn't think they're similar at all, and shows no interest in her whatsoever.]]

** Another in-universe example in Chapter 64 of the manga, where Tamaki is going through a trauma regarding his feelings, resulting in him first going to a zoo to look at tigers, and then arranging for the next Host Club activity to be at a riding center with horses. Thinking through this, the twins realize that putting together the words for the two animals (tora=tiger and uma=horse) you get "torauma" (in japanese becoming "trauma").

* RaceForYourLove: Or Race For Your Mother, in this case. In Chapter 80, the entire Host Club, including all their customers and the people Tamaki's helped throughout the course of the series, ensures that he arrives at the airport in time to [[spoiler:see his mother for the first time in three years, before she leaves again]].

** As far as the ladies go, Haruhi has a couple of brief scenes in a frilly bikini, although these are only {{Imagine Spot}}s by the guys as she wouldn't be caught dead in such garb. Renge wears a bikini in episode 7, and in episode 13, when Kirimi eats the mushroom and [[PlotRelevantAgeUp ages into a teenager]], she becomes quite buxom and her shirt bares her belly.

** As far as the ladies go, Haruhi has a couple of brief scenes in a frilly bikini, although these are only {{Imagine Spot}}s by the guys as she wouldn't be caught dead in such garb. Renge wears a bikini in episode 7, and in episode 13, when Kirimi eats the mushroom and [[PlotRelevantAgeUp ages into a teenager]], she becomes quite buxom and her shirt [[BareYourMidriff bares her belly]].

* {{Fiction 500}}: Most of the cast. The Host Club is absolutely stupid filthy rich, meaning that if RuleOfCool allows something, they will simply pay reason to take a hike. One character owns a beach, for example: an ''indoor'' beach. [[MemeticMutation People have gone as far as to call this anime prequel to Movie/CrazyRichAsians.]]

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Both in and out of universe: everyone thought/expected that whenever Tamaki'd get around to realize his true feelings for Haruhi, he'd get a grip on himself and become more mature towards her, [[spoiler:which he does... at first. A flashback shows him hilariously freaking out recalling how many times he called himself her father, thinking how much of an idiot he had been because of it. Afterwards he appears to have grown out of his said idiocy, only it turns out to have been a HeroicBSOD instead. After coming out of that however, he turns into a ''bigger'' idiot than he was before (again, surprising people both in and out of universe), as a result of celebrating his "new self" who "knows the meaning of love", bragging about how Haruhi most likely returns his feelings, or even if she doesn't, it's just a "love test made for him by God", which he keeps rubbing in all of the guys' faces, ''especially'' [[LoveTriangle Hikaru's.]] Then again (and thankfully), it only lasts for two chapters.]]