Ouran High School Host Club 🌸 Chapter 1 - Part 1 (桜蘭高校ホスト部)

[MissDagger]

Chapter 1 - Part 1

桜蘭高校ホスト部 Home Thread

Next Part: Chapter 1 - Part 2

Reading

Week	Start Date	Chapter	Page Numbers	Page Count
Week 1	May 20th	Chapter 1 - Part 1	3 - 26*	24

*ebook offset seems to be -2. So ebook page 3 is physical 5.

Because Ouran doesn’t see fit to have any page numbers at any point, I will include the last panel any time we stop in the middle of a chapter.

Last panel of the week, it is bottom left one on a right hand page

Vocabulary List

Ouran High School Host Club Vocabulary

Please read the guidelines on the first page before adding any words.

Discussion Guidelines

Spoiler Courtesy

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1. Any potential spoiler for the current week’s reading need only be covered by a spoiler tag. Predictions and conjecture made by somebody who has not read ahead still falls into this category.
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Posting Advice

Obs! Do note that the physical version seems to come with zero page numbers (yes, zero, I saw none while flipping through a good portion of the first volume). So alternative means of identifying page might be needed.

• When asking for help, please mention the page number (if you can), and check before posting that your question hasn’t already been asked. As the threads get longer, it becomes more convenient to use the Search function, which is located in the upper right corner of the forum. It is the magnifying glass which is near your profile picture! The best way to search is usually to type part of the sentence you are confused about, and select “in this topic”. This will show you all posts within the current thread which has that string of text.

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[MissDagger]

The おまけ on page 4 (directly after the chapter title page) is not directly related to the manga, so feel free to skip that without missing out. It talks about the mangaka’s first visit to a host club.

Also, I read like the first few pages and despite knowing everything that is happening because I’ve watched the anime many times, I had to look up a lot of words. Will add them to the vocabulary sheet tomorrow (unless something gets in the way).

So first chapter syndrome of a manga is strong in this one. (Gosh, I hope it is that. A spike of difficulty that will settle some, but preferably entirely. xD )

[snowwater]

@MissDagger

Also, I read like the first few pages and despite knowing everything that is happening because I’ve watched the anime many times, I had to look up a lot of words. Will add them to the vocabulary sheet tomorrow (unless something gets in the way).

I started reading the first 5 pages or so yesterday since I had some time and I completely relate to this, lol. I knew it was quite text heavy, but didn’t expect to have to look that many words! Hopefully it is recurring vocabulary and we get used to it indeed

[MissDagger]

Thanks to whomever started to fill in the vocabulary sheet!

FYI, page numbers for chapters will start on the title page (unless there is chapter pages beforehand, then it will start there). I went ahead and fixed the page numbers.

Since this manga lacks page numbers, don’t worry too much about it. I think we can all just agree that if we notice a page number is wrong, we’ll correct it without needing to say so. I just mentioned it this time, because not everyone knows how page numbers for manga usually work.

[taiyousea]

@MissDagger

Also, I read like the first few pages and despite knowing everything that is happening because I’ve watched the anime many times, I had to look up a lot of words.

I’m sooo glad to hear this, I’ve been adding so many words to the vocab list that I had to stop and second guess my vocabulary level for this series

on that note, I’m sorry if I’m ever adding too many words lol there are many combinations that I’ve never encountered despite their pieces being relatively simple

@MissDagger

I went ahead and fixed the page numbers.

thank you! my digital copy excluded the first few title pages so my count is off from yours by 2 i think? but I’ll follow the corrections you’ve made to keep it in line with the physical copy page count

[ChristopherFritz]

@MissDagger

because not everyone knows how page numbers for manga usually work.

@taiyousea

I’ve been adding so many words to the vocab list that I had to stop and second guess my vocabulary level for this series

If you’re wondering which words are worth learning for this series and which are safe to don’t take the time to learn, I have frequency lists for the first three volumes (bottom-right section of the page).

[MissDagger]

@taiyousea

thank you! my digital copy excluded the first few title pages so my count is off from yours by 2 i think?

Oh, my bad. I forget that electronic pages usually have an offset. And yes, 2 seems to be the right number. Physical pages seems to be +2 the ebook page number.

Also feel free to add more than one definition for every item. Japanese to English is rarely 1 to 1, so it is usually better to add a couple of synonyms that have the same meaning that is used in the context.

And great job! Adding words to the vocabulary sheet is a time consuming process. I appreciate any time someone spends on that.

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@ChristopherFritz The formula for coloring the page numbers seems to be broken and I have no idea how to fix it. Everything is becoming purple right now… Would you mind also checking the other sheets if they have the same problem? If so, it is probably in the template.

I knew I should have just asked you to make it for me as a favor. I was like “I will somehow break things”, and I was right. Sorry for the extra work.

I managed to fix it myself. The other sheets looks good. I just broke it on that one somehow.

Thanks for all your help with the spreadsheets. I might have fixed it this time, but you were the one who made the whole coloring thing work this awesomely.

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Also, another general thing about the vocabulary sheet. Make sure that if you had a phrase that is exist in a dictionary as a phrase/expression/idiom. Otherwise add the words separately. And remember to change verbs to dictionary form (not if their noun version is used, I guess, but if it is used as a verb).

[MissDagger]

If you guys also stumbled on うるおわす on page 8, that is because it is an alternative causative form.

From A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, page 391:

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In fact, when I have a bit more time, I’m planing to ask a few questions about page 8 because I couldn’t quite figure out what was happening in some sentences.

[snowwater]

I also had trouble with the speech in page 8, yikes.

Page 8

First bubble: it seems like our school traditions have a hurdle that is too high for the common people to surpass (?)
Second bubble: It seems our scholarship student has the nerves/is shameless (enough to come?)
… Ok, I really have no idea what the second one means. I’m trying to put the words together (a lot of them which were also new) but it feels a bit overwhelming for me.

[MissDagger]

Page 8

I marked my questions with numbers to make answering easier.

I used space every time it switched box, to make it visually similar to the manga. And new line when it changed from top to middle to bottom row of panels.

私立 桜蘭学院は 一に家柄二にお金 財ある者は暇を持ち
かくしてホスト部とは暇をもてあます高等部美麗男子6人が 同じく暇な女子をもてなしうるおわす
超金もち学校独自の華麗なる遊戯なのでありました

#1: Are these three lines, comprising 6 text boxes one long sentence? I first only transcribed the first two lines, but then when I saw the last box ended with a ます verb tense… I started to wonder if it all connects?

#2: Anyway, my question is more on certain parts of it. The bolded part in the first line is that list of two things modifying 財ある despite there being no の between お金 and 財? I feel like it is. So it is saying people/person with a fortune in family pedigree and money.

#3: My next question is about うるおわす at the end of the second line. I mentioned two posts ago that it is causative. But I’m still not quite figuring out what it means. うるおう in this instance is probably the definition of “to profit by; to receive benefits; to receive favors” (I hope so since that is what I put in the vocabulary sheet, the other definitions made no sense…). But someone is being made to receive benefits or favors seems weird. Or maybe it isn’t when I add the kind of favor/benefit, so the girls with lots of free time are made to receive the benefit of hospitality?

I’m so bad about figuring out who is actor and who is being acted on, and this sentence isn’t exactly making it easy. The girls are marked as objects by を so does that mean, they are the benefit/favor that is received by the host club? But then もてなし doesn’t seem to fit…

I’m so confused if that wasn’t clear.

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Kyouya says:
どうもうちの校風は庶民には敷居が高すぎるらしくてね
よほど図太い神経の持ち主でもなきゃ奨学特待生にはなれないだろうと言われてたんだ

@snowwater I’m also a bit confused about this, but I’ll try break downs on both bubbles and maybe that will make it clearer for both of us?

どうも Not entirely sure what this one is doing…
うちの校風は our school traditions/customs/spirit and this は is probably topic (right?)
庶民には common people with に particle plus another は so probably contrastive
敷居が高すぎる too difficulty to approach / too high a threshold
らしくてね seems like, right? (I don’t know if making らしい and adverb/てform here gives any additional info…)

よほど図太い神経の持ち主 possessor of nerves/sensitivity that is very bold / very nearly shameless; is よほど図太い modifying 神経 or 持ち主? This I’m not good at…
でも even(?) or something(?)
なきゃ first half of “must” that gets completed with なれない below?
奨学特待生には scholarship student and another には so is this contrasting with the one from the previous bubble?
なれない other half of must
だろう either “don’t you agree” or “seems”/“I think”, I’m too confused by the sentence(s) all together to have a good idea which one
と言われてたんだ to be called? plus のだ so explanatory.

So all together I think it might become something like this (I never try for natural translation and for this literal won’t work because I don’t know it well enough so…):

Our school’s customs/traditions would seem too high a threshold for commoners/common people,
for a scholarship student (it means that they) must have/be the possessor of very bold nerves (to overcome that threshold)

What this is missing: どうも, でも, だろう, and と言われてたんだ. But I think I got the contrasting element in there, hopefully how it applied correctly.

#4: Anyone able to clarify what I couldn’t figure out, and/or correct it all if I’m way off?

Thanks in advance!

Also, on the title page, doesn’t Haruhi’s outfit look a lot like Kasanoda’s host club outfit (anime)? (Volume 8 spoiler, if you’ve seen the whole anime it isn’t a spoiler)

And last edit: I fixed the spreadsheet coloring function I broke. I feel so powerful, but maybe I shouldn’t.

[ChristopherFritz]

@snowwater

First bubble:

First Bubble

@snowwater

it seems like our school traditions have a hurdle that is too high for the common people to surpass (?)

The topic is 「うちの校風は」, their school tradition, or school custom, or school spirits, depending on what definition you want to go with. The English release refers to their “elegant culture”.

This word doesn’t appear in any other manga I’ve read, so I can’t show other examples to give a sense of its usage.

@Goo Dictionary

その学校の、独特の気風。

“That school’s unique character.”

The use of 風 gives me the feel of “atmosphere” or “vibes”. I can see why the English translation used “culture” here.

「庶民(しょみん)には」 “regarding people”

「敷居(しきい)が高(たか)すぎるらしくてね」 “the threshhold (fitting) seems to be too high”

In other words, it’s too difficult for a commoner to fit in with the school’s culture (atmosphere).

@snowwater

Second bubble:

This one I don’t have a firm grasp on. I put together what I could, checked the English, and said, “I see where parts of the Japanese became parts of the English.”

@MissDagger

Page 8

@MissDagger

#1: Are these three lines, comprising 6 text boxes one long sentence?

Narration Boxes

When you see 財(ざい)ある者(もの)は, that’s a new sentence.

Box 1: Sets a topic.

Box 2: Comments on that topic (finishing the sentence).

Box 3: Sets a new topic and comments on it.

Box 4: New sentence, but begins with かくして meaning it’s continuing off the content of the prior one. “Something something something. Thus, something something.”

This author uses かくして from time to time, so if you’re not familiar with it, you’ll become familiar with it.

かくして seems to be used in narration.

(These are literally the only two instances I found in all the manga I’ve read.)

@MissDagger

comprising 6 text boxes

Are you counting the two overlapping boxes as two boxes?

Those two are a single sentence (continuing off of box three but can be considered its own sentence.)

The final box is a separate sentence.

@MissDagger

#2: Anyway, my question is more on certain parts of it. The bolded part in the first line is that list of two things modifying 財ある despite there being no の between お金 and 財? I feel like it is. So it is saying people/person with a fortune in family pedigree and money.

Keep in mind that the topic is the private Ouran Institute. The comment on this topic is 「一(いち)に家柄(いえがら)」 “first is lineage”. Family ties. 「二(に)にお金(かね)」 “second is money”.

In other words, you can expect most students to be in attendance to be there because of family connections.

Some of the top American colleges have a similar concept: if you are a graduate, your kids have a boosted chance of getting in.

But you can always buy your way in if you don’t have that family connection. That would be the second group of students, those whose families paid for them to be there.

The sentence ends there within that panel.

@MissDagger

The bolded part in the first line is that list of two things modifying 財ある despite there being no の between お金 and 財?

The next panel is a new sentence, so 財(ざい)あれ者(もの) is the new topic without any further modifiers.

@MissDagger

#3: うるおわす

Consider “to enrich” as a translation for 潤(うるお)す. This is the 「豊(ゆた)かにする。」 definition given by Goo Dictionary.

@MissDagger

The girls are marked as objects by を so does that mean, they are the benefit/favor that is received by the host club?

Think of the girls as the object that the boys are giving enrichment to.

The best reasoning I can give is that 潤す is transitive, so it needs to have an object that is being enriched.

@MissDagger

But then もてなし doesn’t seem to fit…

When considering that the enrichment is being done to the girls, then it follows that もてなす (to entertain), also a transitive verb that takes an object, is being done to the girls.

If that still seems a bit iffy, I recommend not thinking too hard about it until you see more situations like it.

But if you want to see another example sooner rather than later...

Consider Takeo, whose girlfriend, Yamato, sees him as such an incredible person that she worries another girl will steal him away.

One day, Takeo’s friend mentioned the effect that Takeo helping another girl had on Yamato, something Takeo was oblivious to.

Realizing this was hurting Yamato, Takeo vows to stop helping other girls:

「大和(やまと)意外(いがい)の女子(じょし)をオレは助(たす)けねえ！！！」

(Moments later, he proceeds to recover a lady’s purse from a purse snatcher, saves a cat that was stuck in the middle of a busy street, recovers a little girl’s balloon that got caught in a tree, and helps a little old lady by carrying her.)

@MissDagger

どうも Not entirely sure what this one is doing…

This is part of #4, correct?

My best guess is this Goo Dictionary definition:

３ 根拠や理由がはっきりしないまま漠然と推測する気持ちを表す。

In other words, vague speculation without clear evidence or reason.

The English release starts this line with “It is my determination”, which is funny as “determine” is defined as “ascertain or establish exactly, typically as a result of research or calculation.”

[MissDagger]

@ChristopherFritz

Consider “to enrich” as a translation for 潤(うるお)す. This is the 「豊(ゆた)かにする。」 definition given by Goo Dictionary.

Are you then suggesting that うるおわす was a typo, and it should have been うるおす? Because otherwise I don’t see how most of what you say fit, because you didn’t mention causative at all, and if it isn’t causative, then I wouldn’t have had trouble with it.

@ChristopherFritz

財(ざい)あれは

Also mentioning this more for other people reading this and potentially getting confused, you have a couple of typos there. It should be ある (this typo shows up later too) and you missed 者. Easily done and I wouldn’t have mentioned it unless I was afraid other people might get confused.

@ChristopherFritz

Box 1: Sets a topic.

Box 2: Comments on that topic (finishing the sentence).

Box 3: Sets a new topic and comments on it.

Box 4: New sentence, but begins with かくして meaning it’s continuing off the content of the prior one. “Something something something. Thus, something something.”

How confident are you on this? Because plenty of manga have sentences carry over from box to box. Basically it doesn’t make much sense to me, since it seems to skip ending on a verb twice (持ち is a noun after all or the masu version of て as and; neither valid ways to end a sentence), then nonpast form is picked for the next sentence and the last one ends on masu form.

Is it just that that is the only way it makes sense to you? What verbs would you say the first two sentences are dropping, or maybe the second sentence only drops ます.

I guess defining a new topic kinda suggests a new sentence.

I’m just trying to understand so I can figure it out myself next time.

@ChristopherFritz

Keep in mind that the topic is the private Ouran Institute. The comment on this topic is 「一(いち)に家柄(いえがら)」 “first is lineage”. Family ties. 「二(に)にお金(かね)」 “second is money”.

Okay, but that sentence actually means nothing at all without a verb. What is the verb that you imagine have been dropped? Because I can’t see how the additional meaning you talk about after the quote is reflected in the Japanese at all.

While I can see 私立 桜蘭学院は 一に家柄二にお金 財ある者は暇を持ち working as a whole sentence, for some reason dropping ます, or even letting it hang as an “and” because it is leading into かくして. To me, this just makes a lot more as a complete sentence. But if I’m wrong, I really need to understand in what way.

The meaning isn’t so important because I probably know the beginning of Ouran forwards and backwards by now (thanks to the anime). But I need to understand how the meaning comes to be, and if the text really is divided into 4 sentences, I need to understand how the reasoning works to get there.

@ChristopherFritz

In other words, vague speculation without clear evidence or reason.

The English release starts this line with “It is my determination”, which is funny as “determine” is defined as “ascertain or establish exactly, typically as a result of research or calculation.”

どうも is one of those words I’ve figured out that I’ll learn through seeing it in many many contexts, because it doesn’t seem to be that easily translated.

[MaraVos]

page 9, what do you suppose Tamaki means when he says 大貧民よ (after 麗しの世界へようこそ, right in the center of the page)?

page 8, first speech bubble

Could this どうも not be definition 5 from jisho?

5. in spite of oneself; try as one might; no matter how hard one may try (to, not to)​See also どうしても
   「あの人たちは、またストをやるんだろうか」「どうもそうらしいね」
   “Will they go on strike again?” “I’m afraid so.”

[javerend]

Did the reading for this week, and frankly a lot of the specifics of what was being said were way over my head Unlike a lot of the people here, I actually have neither read nor watched ouran. This is all entirely new to me! Enjoying the vibe of the series a lot so far though, and will try to stick with it

I’ll be enjoying watching you all pick things apart from the sidelines, but probably wont have too much to contribute.

[ChristopherFritz]

@MissDagger

Are you then suggesting that うるおわす was a typo, and it should have been うるおす?

I focused on うるおう’s having “to enrich” as a meaning. But this is indeed used in a causative form. Thus:

• うるおう = to enrich (someone)
• うるおわす = to cause (someone) to be enriched

Thus, the club causes girls to be entertained and enriched.

@MissDagger

you have a couple of typos there

Oops, I’ll go back and fix those. I probably shouldn’t try to reply so much while feeling under the weather… (But here I go!)

@MissDagger

How confident are you on this?

Not as confident as I was before checking the anime to see how it goes there.

There, it puts the first three boxes into one sentence, but it ends with 持(も)つ rather than 持(も)ち.

I agree with you that ending it in ち does sound to be leading into the next box. (I blame myself not spending enough time resting in bed when I should be this weekend…)

[MissDagger]

@ChristopherFritz

I probably shouldn’t try to reply so much while feeling under the weather…

Oh geez! Please get well soon!

Thanks for taking the time for help! Also take care of yourself, please.

@ChristopherFritz

I focused on うるおう’s having “to enrich” as a meaning. But this is indeed used in a causative form. Thus:

• うるおう = to enrich (someone)
• うるおわす = to cause (someone) to be enriched

Thus, the club causes girls to be entertained and enriched.

Ah okay, yeah, makes a lot of sense. Thanks. I really should go back and read into causative again, although we will get there with the dictionary club eventually. xD

@ChristopherFritz

Not as confident as I was before checking the anime to see how it goes there.

There, it puts the first three boxes into one sentence, but it ends with 持(も)つ rather than 持(も)ち.

I agree with you that ending it in ち does sound to be leading into the next box.

Okay, well, maybe you don’t feel so good (being sick and all), but at least it made me feel better that after you pointed out there were multiple sentences I could see how that worked, even if I disagreed with where they split. Meaning, I feel a bit less bad about my Japanese ability than I did after being so throughly confused how any of that worked.

I’ll just take the anime as canon on this.

[Gorbit99]

Man, the furigana quality in the digital version is rough to say the least. Not sure if there’s a name for the phenomenon of it being easier to look up unknown kanji by radicals than reading the furigana next to it, but I’ve certainly have been experiencing that for the past half an hour. Also took me a while to piece together the handwritten kana characters (especially そ). Still a ton left from this week’s reading.

[natarin]

@MissDagger

Page 8

I’ve now thought about this way too much, so I’ll throw in my two cents

here I go

First time around I really wasn’t sure how to break this up either, but after thinking about it some more and seeing your discussions I think I’ve made sense of it! For me adding in some commas helps it make more sense, the nature of English brain haha:

私立桜蘭学院は、一に家柄二にお金、財ある者は暇を持ち、かくしてホスト部とは暇をもてあます高等部美麗男子6人が、同じく暇な女子をもてなし、うるおわす、超金もち学校独自の華麗なる遊戯なのでありました。

Some of these commas are admittedly somewhat haphazard but some main points:

I think the 一に家柄二にお金 is a little bit of an aside that is talking about the 財ある者, but not like directly modifying it? More like saying “people with wealth/fortune, first in lineage and second in money” if that makes sense.

Also… after looking at it I think it is one sentence actually! Comparing it to the anime, they do split it into a few sentences more explicitly, probably for clarity having it spoken, but here I think it’s all one thing. The part that really convinces me of that is the pairing of ホスト部とは and であります. I could be wrong, but my intuition says that if you cut the sentence off at うるおわす then the sort of “defining” nature of とは doesn’t really make sense. Also like you said, only the last part ending in ます form makes more sense that way.

I will also note that when Tamaki says the equivalent of this in the anime, he pauses between もてなし and うるおわす, which doesn’t change that much really but it at least registers to me a little more nicely than having it be this one big weird manufactured verb

@MaraVos

page 9

I think it’s pretty much just him calling Haruhi a dramatic and rude nickname about being poor while welcoming to the world of beauty or whatever, like “welcome poor person!” but like extra (大) poor also probably a goof since 大貧民 is the name of a card game

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Also reading this has been a trip so far, I haven’t spent all that much time on it yet but wow they sure use a lot of interesting words and structures definitely the hardest thing I’m reading at the moment from what I’ve seen at least, which is honestly kind of wild but I guess that’s rich kids for you!

[DIO-Berry]

I hate trying to read the handwriting…

Page 9 I think

When Tomaki says

どんなのがお好(この)みかな？ワイルド系(けい)？ロリショタ系(けい)?

Is he asking if Haruhi’s type is wild(?? wildcard?) or lolishota (like lolicon and shotacon?)

Also, sorry, I added some words but lost track of the page numbers

[SeanBones]

The first week was definitely harder than I expected! Relied a bit on having watched something like 4 episodes of the show 13 years ago and the context clues present with the visuals.

Honestly, reading it is like 80% easy breezy totally fine, and then it will just hit you with one or two speech bubbles that seem to go out of their way to mess with you: I’m looking at you Kyoya, and your love of complicated words and grammar… Also, the handwriting, definitely the handwriting.

Overall, it seems super doable language-wise (as long as I can look stuff up) and time-wise, I just hope I get used to the humor presentation style cause I’m in this for the long haul!