“People call me Kabukicho’s number one host, but I’ve paid a high price for my success. I’m embarrassed to say this, but…no one here can look his parents in the eye.” – Kyoshiro (Gintama)
Recently, in Japan, male host clubs have been featured very heavily in popular media. They have been featured in anime, manga, movies, documentaries, and even comedic skits. A lot of women are actually interested in & frequently venture these clubs. Why have they become such a phenomenon? Maybe because host clubs highlight certain flaws of people in regards to the idea of “paid companionship”.
For those unfamiliar with the concept of a host club, a host club is basically a place where women visit and sharp-dressed men talk to them. It is a variation of a hostess club. At host clubs, women pay for a certain amount of time to chat with these fellows. The men’s responsibilities are to entertain their guest, comfort them, & get them to order a variety of food & drinks. The starting pay for a host is not very good, but if they manage to generate huge sales from food & drinks, they can be insanely rich in a hurry. However, host clubs are technically not the best places in the world as there is a lot of seediness overall in forms of corruption & manipulation.
I had my first exposure with the concept of a host club from watching Gintama. However, I learned more about how they worked from playing Ryu ga Gotoku 2 (Yakuza 2 in the U.S.). The main character, Kiryu Kazama, had to be a host for one side-mission. The women he had to attract ranged from working women to a old lady to a prominent hostess. The responses I had to choose from to woo these women were pretty funny & interesting. At one point, I thought of hosts as “non-sexual male whores”.
According to a professor in Japan, host clubs are supposedly popular because:
- Men generally don’t like to listen to women’s problems.
- Women want to be loved and taken care of.
One host from Japan says that some women go because they have psychological problems, especially younger women who work in the adult nightlife industry. They want the same treatment that they give men at their jobs.
Host clubs highlight three flaws of people: we can be manipulative, we can be greedy, and most importantly, we can lack empathy.
Hosts have to manipulate women for their own monetary gain. Host clubs hire certain types of men (who don’t know any better) & use them for their own purposes to make money. It’s a vicious cycle & similar to prostitution. Women can be manipulative towards their hosts, because they have a chance to act as they truly are. They can be greedy because they are willing to spend all their money on their favorite host.
I truly believe that the lack of empathy by others is the biggest flaw these clubs highlight. Think about it. Do a majority of hosts, host club owners, and/or their female clients genuinely care about others? Hosts have to pretend to care about their female clients. This creates mental problems if they constantly pretend. Host club owners also don’t seem to care about hosts’ well-being since they require them to drink booze consistently (if at legal drinking age).
Female clients are ignored by a majority of male society. Face it, women in certain countries are still being looked down upon. They might want to be cared for, deep inside their minds. Sadly, their only possible solution could be a host club. One problem that can arise, though, is that they might only “care” about the hosts if they manage to satisfy all their desires.
There can be so much lying back & forth between a host & a female client to a point where it’s just ridiculous. Sometimes, there could be little reciprocation between the two.
A documentary on host clubs (entitled “The Great Happiness Space”) came out in 2006 and writer Jake Adelstein said it best in his review:
金の切れ目が縁の切れ目（Kane no kireme ga en no kireme)/The end of the money flow is the end of the relationship.
The sin of greed still flows within us and the nature of host clubs highlight it to a huge degree. Women pay lots of money and hosts expect a lot of money to create a “meaningful relationship”. It’s a wacky form of psychotherapy. The difference is that there is some empathy in actual psychotherapy.
You can say host clubs are a phenomenon because it’s quite enjoyable to see people’s interpersonal skills (or lack thereof) with the opposite sex, the problems that can arise from them, and the crazy measures taken to communicate with one another. We live in a world where we criticize those that can’t make friends or romantic partners normally.
I find it interesting that the popular anime/manga series, Ouran Host Club, has inspired people to form a host club similar to it. What does that say about people in general? That we shouldn’t lie to ourselves that we don’t need companions in life? That people are desperate for friends? Personally, you can’t live alone, but don’t go overboard in trying to make friends. What do you guys think?
Honestly, I can see why host clubs are generally frowned upon. Though you can also blame society for not being caring enough to others. Ironic, isn’t it? You frown upon one thing, yet your cruel nature causes others to act upon that one thing you despise.
What a wonderful world we live in, eh?
- Tony
You can see this article and much more at Manga Therapy: http://www.mangatherapy.com
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