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I was recently watching Ouran Host Club and it seems to centre around, how should I describe it?

Listening to girls talking about themselves and watching the girls go distraught in love over guys

But what exactly is a host club? I have never heard of such a term in my life. Is it real?

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  • Although it isn’t quite the same, the closest “host” club I can think of is a butler cafe, such as the Swallowtail butler cafe in Tokyo. They charge between $25 and $47 usd for an experience of being royalty by a butler who serves you tea and other luxurious food.
    – MRose
    Jan 30, 2021 at 4:15

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In Japan, a "host" (ホスト hosuto) is a male worker at a club whose job is to entertain a female clientele. The clubs at which hosts work are called "host clubs". Host clubs (and their cross-gender counterparts, hostess clubs) are not really found outside Japan or places with a large Japanese diaspora as far as I know, so it isn't surprising that you wouldn't have heard of them. See the Wikipedia article "Host and hostess clubs" for more details.

Having never actually been to a host club, I'm not in the best position to evaluate the one depicted in Ouran, but based on my secondhand understanding, the Ouran Host Club is sort of a less-seedy version of what you'd see at an actual host club.

That said, I'd bet you any amount of money that no actual high school in Japan (or anywhere else for that matter) has a host club. The very idea of a school allowing minors to do something of that sort is ludicrous, which is part of what makes Ouran so funny.

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  • In the Manga the Mangaka, Bisco Hatori, writes some notes on the side about how she worked on the series. in the early Volumes i think i remember her saying how she came up with the idea as a joke but then learned they actually existed, was going to post this as an answer but you beat me to it with a better answer so i figured i'd add it as a comment.
    – Memor-X
    Apr 13, 2014 at 23:23
  • Is this like Maid Sama?
    – Izumi-reiLuLu
    Apr 13, 2014 at 23:25
  • @Memor-X Really, now? If that's true, that's quite interesting (and slightly startling). If you can find where she said that, that'd be a useful addition to this answer (or as a separate answer, whichever).
    – senshin
    Apr 13, 2014 at 23:25
  • By the way do they only have host clubs in Japan?
    – Izumi-reiLuLu
    Apr 13, 2014 at 23:26
  • @MiharuDante Misaki (from Kaichou wa Maid-sama!) works at a maid cafe, which is a much tamer sort of establishment than a host(ess) club. Host clubs are proper nightlife establishments, while maid cafes are more "daylife", if you get what I mean.
    – senshin
    Apr 13, 2014 at 23:27

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