10 Anime That Are Way Better Than Their Titles Make Them Sound
6. Ouran High School Host Club
A silly, pastel-coloured, fun-filled romp with overly rich high school boys serving in a host club, this particular anime follows a poor student named Haruhi who's forced to serve in the host club to pay back the million-yen vase she broke on the first day, the boys of the club at first mistaking her for a male student.
The story itself is typical high school "reverse-harem" pretty-boy ensemble anime fare, but takes on a more serious, realistic, and emotional turn as it progresses, with the level-headed and pragmatic Haruhi opening the doors to each character's self-reflection and the dysfunctions hidden behind their well-to-do upbringing.
With each host club member slowly revealing the difficulties of their own home lives and the expectations placed on them as sons of rich families, they learn a lot from Haruhi, who rejects the shallower aspects of rich-kid schooling, her own home life involving a loving, drag queen father and a small shared apartment.
A compelling character drama hiding underneath a lot of situational comedy, Ouran High School Host Club offers up a lot more than its shiny, rose-petal covered facade and famously cheerful opening song, the duplicity in itself one of the anime's running themes.