Even though Ouran is definitely in my top 10 favorite manga, I'm going to be as honest as I can here. When I'm reading it, I notice a few mistakes or at least some things that could be improved but I still find it an enjoyable manga nontheless. There is a slight spoiler alert. Hopefully, you'll forget before you start the manga. Anyway, let's begin!

Overall Grade: 9/10 (actual: 8.5/10)

Story: 7/10

In the...let's say at least first 9 volumes of the series there's basically no substantial plot other than "a commoner girl attends a school for rich people and breaks a very expensive vase that belonged to group of handsome and rich young men; so she has to work off her debt by becoming a host and goes through tons of silly adventures with said group of handsome and rich young men." It's pretty much an episodic-type manga. It's not neccesarily a bad thing as many people enjoy manga like that, but judging from Bisco Hatori's comments she makes on the side, I get the feeling that she got too carried away with the arcs and forgot that this is a romance story here.

Also she attempted to write each chapter and volume to correspond with the seasons she was scheduled to release them in, thus making the characters not age or graduate several times. Sure, this is a popular thing to do in the States (I swear, I've seen at least a dozen South Park Christmas specials and they were like 8 years old each time) but it seemed like it was more of a cop-out than a literary tactic, if you ask me. Hate to spoil, but nearing the last several volumes, she actually started to focus on her intended story.

Art: 8/10

As I was reading each volume, I noticed a significant improvement in the character design. I mean, it was pretty obvious that she was an amateur in the beginning. The artwork didn't really cut it for me as I watched the anime before I read the manga. It looked very sloppy. However, at about mid-series, I think she reached the peak of her improvement and even then started to climb as a better artist. I really started to enjoy the artwork and even the male cast became more handsome and resemble the anime a bit more.

Character: 9/10

The characterization is what I love most about this series. With Ouran, you get your common shoujo male and female archetypes: the clueless female lead, her friend who helps her in the ways of romance, the prince, the megane, the shota, the stoic, the twins, and even the bad boy. BUT what makes them different is that they have this comedic and almost ironic twist about them. The clueless female lead doesn't have this "I'M GONNA DO MY BEST!!!1" attitude (it's more like "do I have to...?") and didn't come to high school in the hopes she'll get a boyfriend by the end of the year, instead she actually wants to study to become a lawyer. The prince isn't so princely in that he's pretty much a hapless idiot and the token funny character of the series. The megane, even though putting off the regular megane aura, might even have a sense of compassion and consideration for others. The shota is actually the oldest character in the series and the stoic.... well the only thing I could think of is that he barely talks ^^; The twins give off the incestually gay vibe (and turning on fangirls everywhere). The bad boy isn't even bad at all! He's actually super nice.

Another thing that's good about the characterization that I love is that we really get to learn and even delve into the pasts of each character. You can totally see why they act the way they do.

Enjoyment: 9/10

Even though the story is sub-par and the art lacks in the beginning, I can't deny that I love the series.I literally lol at some parts and cry at others. I've gotten fairly attatched to the characters that I hate to see them hurt and I enjoy following their stories.

SPECIAL NOTE:

If you just finished the anime and decided to read the manga from where it left off, DON'T. The anime ends at the first chapter of volume 9, BUT the anime mixes up chapters, skips other chapters, leaves out characters, and has a made-up ending. In other words, read from the beginning of the manga series. I don't care that you're lazy. Just do it.

Questions, comments? Feel free to drop by :D