Haruhi Fujioka

Haruhi Fujioka is the main character of the Ouran High School Host Club series. She is a highly intelligent 1st-year student from a middle-class family ("poor" and "common" in the eyes of Ouran students) who attends Ouran Academy on scholarship based upon an entrance exam. As she is required to remain first in her class to keep her scholarship, her studies are very important to her.

Appearance
Before Haruhi attends Ouran Academy, she's described as a pretty girl as seen in flashbacks when she had long hair and wore a girl's uniform. However, upon entering Ouran Academy, this image changes drastically. When first introduced in the anime, she sports a nerdy, boyish look that differs greatly from her middle-school appearance. Having gotten gum in her hair just before school begins, she cuts it short and being unable to afford the expensive Ouran uniform, she wears shapeless, baggy clothing. With her messily-styled hairdo, large glasses (which once belonged to her grandfather) and masculine clothing, she's thought to be male and Haruhi does nothing to discredit this idea.

Apart from the few times that she dons a wig during cosplay, Haruhi resembles a cute, somewhat short boy with cropped brown hair and two large brown eyes. Her female clients often comment on her large and shiny eyes, likening them to a girl's; the shininess actually caused by contact lenses. Her natural affinity with people and sweet face cause many people, regardless of gender, to develop a crush on her. Haruhi is sometimes likened to her deceased mother, Kotoko; this resemblance is particularly notable when she dresses up as a female during some of the Host Club's schemes and events. Her true gender is revealed in the manga just before she leaves to study abroad and though most of the students are initially disbelieving, they soon accept and embrace the truth. Haruhi's appearance outside of Ouran Academy varies. She often wears simple T-shirts and Bermuda shorts when she is at home or a feminine dress coupled with jeans. Her father, Ryoji, doesn't give much thought to her clothing, although the anime suggests he tries to feminize her with girly clothing purchases. After Haruhi leaves for America, she grows her hair out until it reaches its original length. In the Epilogue, her hair has grown into a bob after three months and is past her shoulders by eight months. She keeps her hair long throughout college.

Haruhi's rose color in the Host Club is red. In Japanese culture, this signifies life and romance; an apt color for the heart and lifeblood of the series. In Western culture, the red rose is a symbol of beauty and perfection, which is how the other hosts view her. Throughout most of the world, it is the red rose that symbolizes true romance and a loving heart.

Personality
Two characteristics that define Haruhi are her straightforward nature and her belief that one's gender doesn't define one's choices. Having been raised under less affluent circumstances than her classmates at Ouran, she displays more practical and responsible qualities, and is not easily swayed by the charms of the hosts. Even when she first meets them, she only reacts nervously instead of becoming instantly infatuated like most other girls. Haruhi also has a deeper voice than other female students, has short hair and dresses androgynously most of the time, she is not easily recognized as female. Although she may be unflappable under normal circumstances, she suffers from Brontophobia (a fear of thunder), which terrifies her to the point of paralysis. Apart from this, she tends to have a peaceful nature, refuses to shirk work and is crazy about gourmet food, especially ootoro aka fancy tuna (which is sometimes used as a bribe to involve her in the crazier schemes of the Host Club). Without such bribery, however, Haruhi is described as "apathetic," especially when it comes to making decisions and, particularly, in regards to the Host Club itself. She is also rather oblivious when it comes to her own emotions; an example of this is her unawareness of her developing love for Tamaki over the course of the series.

Upon being designated a host, she becomes an immediate hit with the ladies due to her conversational skills and her charming smiles, gaining her the title of the "Natural" type. Though often exasperated with her fellow Host Club members, she cares deeply for them, in her own way. In return, the male hosts are quite protective of their "secret princess" and regard her with respect and affection in spite of any antics they may demonstrate.

Haruhi is born under the star sign of Aquarius, the Water Bearer. The positive traits of this sign are honesty, curiosity, innovation and amiability; the negative traits being inconsistency, disinclination, detachment, deviation tendencies and inefficiency.