The LGBTQ+ representation in the Ouran High School Host Club was pioneering and ahead of its time, but not all of it is worth celebrating.
It’s been more than a decade since the publication of Ouran High School Host Club, and many fans still consider it a classic. Apart from being a classic shojo and reverse harem series, Ouran High School Host Club’s portrayals of LGBTQ+ people were well ahead of their time. Haruhi Fujioka, the protagonist of the storey, is genderfluid, and her father is a queer drag queen. The series’ LGBTQ+ depiction, on the other hand, wasn’t always great. Some of these incidents were misinterpreted as jokes, negative stereotypes, or just inserted into the plot for comedic effect.
While viewers may have had a “kiss, kiss, fall in love” reaction to Ouran High School Host Club as a whole, one component of LGBTQ+ representation in the series was a glaring miss: the boys love representation. Let’s take a look at the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, and their troublesome “forbidden brotherly love” cliche.
To sell themselves, each member of the Ouran Academy Host Club has their own image or act to follow. As Kyoya puts it, the club members make use of their unique characteristics. It’s their “forbidden brotherly love,” which is practically twincest, in the case of Hikaru and Kaoru. They are affectionate and touchy with one another, from excessive embracing to touching each other’s faces, and they can go a little too near for comfort. Hikaru and Kaoru act like lovers to appeal to the Host Club’s clients, and the fact that they’re twins adds even more “spice” to their image.
The brothers use this stereotype to pander to their shipping-obsessed customers, who eat it up wholeheartedly. As a result, it’s possible to argue that the twins’ actions are merely in keeping with their mischievous characters and for the sake of fan service. While their stereotype adds hilarious value to the series, it’s also unsettling in equal measure. The gay actions are allegedly just for show to benefit the Host Club. However, there are times in the series when the “incestuous brothers” act extends beyond the club’s boundaries. Hikaru and Kaoru are seen sleeping next to one other, shirtless, in the Hitachiin mansion at the start of Episode 15. They are still affectionate with one another, as they are when they are participating in Host Club events.
Despite the fact that the twins are mostly doing this for the sake of entertainment, the message and consequences of their representation of their relationship may be damaging. It fetishizes incest in a way, especially as Hikaru and Kaoru regulars are shown fangirling with (actual) hearts in their eyes whenever the twins act as a pair. People who observe Hikaru and Kaoru doing the “forbidden brotherly love” act accept it and are even delighted by it throughout the series.
Apart from that, Hikaru and Kaoru could be seen as yet another example of queer-baiting in manga and anime. While they act as if they are sexually and romantically attracted to each other, it is unclear whether Hikaru or Kaoru are attracted to or interested in the same sex. Furthermore, they both develop feelings for Haruhi over time.
While it’s clear that Ouran High School Host Club is a satire of shojo and otaku culture, some of the issues and tropes in the show could still be damaging, even if they’re only there for entertainment or humorous value. In Ouran High School Host Club, highlighting Hikaru and Kaoru’s twincest act throughout the series was a significant failure for guys love representation. Given how beautifully Haruhi and Ryoji “Ranka” Fujioka were portrayed in terms of gender expression and identity, it’s possible that the same could have happened with BL. Instead, the Hitachiin twins became part of a lengthy list of damaging BL tropes, or BL representation went bad in manga and anime.
