:: Ryoji "Ranka" Fujioka ::

Ryoji Fujioka (藤岡 涼二 Fujioka Ryōji?), Haruhi's father, works at an okama (cross dressing) bar under the name Ranka (蘭花?). He says that he was originally bisexual, but became a transvestite after his wife's death because he could never love another woman. In contrast to Haruhi's practicality and lack of interest in material things, he is rather bad with money, and buys girly clothing for Haruhi in the hopes of getting her to dress more cutely. He even repacks her suitcase for an overnight trip in episode 8 of the anime, replacing the clothes she had packed with a dress.

Haruhi's stubborn self-reliance causes her father to worry about her a lot; he would like to be more involved in her life and do more things for her, but she rarely lets him. However, the two of them do have a clearly loving relationship. While her father would like to be able to take care of Haruhi, it seems that often Haruhi ends up taking care of him instead, as shown in a flashback in which a very young Haruhi refuses to allow him to go to parents' day at her school because she wants him to stay home and rest instead.

There is a marked similarity between Haruhi's father and Tamaki, upon which several other members of the Host Club have commented. Partly because of this, and partly as a result of Tamaki's evident romantic affection for Haruhi, Ryoji has stated that he considers Tamaki an enemy, and seems to take some amusement in picking on him.

In a recent omake chapter of the manga, it is shown that Ryoji was very protective of his wife before they started dating and he found her to be a very "cool" person. He is described by some of the characters in the anime and manga to be prettier than Haruhi, even when she's wearing a dress.

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+ Athena updated @ 9:22 AM

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