Éclair Tonnerre is an anime-character of noble French birth and extreme wealth. She is the current heir to the French company, Grand Tonnerre Group, whose modern-day fortune is based in Finance and Business Management.
Personality
Éclair is a mysterious, strange girl whose actions are a facade. She is cold, haughty and manipulative; and though it seems that she is genuinely attracted to Tamaki, it is mainly infatuation based on his appearance and ability to entertain her, as she often seems exceedingly bored. She is unkind to the Host Club as a lot, especially to Haruhi of whom she is jealous.
Appearance
Eclair's Glasses.
Éclair's height is 5'4". She is beautiful with long chestnut-brown hair, vibrant blue eyes and a pale slender form. She often carries a pair of opera glasses with purple lenses, which she uses when she wants to see someone more clearly who's far away, or when she's talking to someone nearby, as a physical barrier.
Éclair also seems to always wear "fancy" clothes even in casual appearances, indicative of her noble birth.
Plot Involvement
Éclair comes to Japan to meet Tamaki after hearing many wonderful stories about him from his mother, Anne-Sophie de Grantaine, a housekeeper in the Tonnerre family's employ. Tamaki's grandmother, Shizue Suoh, knowing that the woman has the ability to buy out the Suoh holdings, seeks to align their families by arranging an engagement between the two young heir apparents. Tamaki agrees when he is told he will be allowed to see his mother again if he marries Éclair. At the conclusion of the anime and in a dramatic turn of events, Éclair releases Tamaki from his obligation because she understands both his heroic nature and his underlying love for Haruhi, who is in danger at that moment. Tamaki thanks Éclair for understanding his choice and acknowledges her single act of generosity (though it's unclear exactly what her true motives may be). Though she thinks him a fool, Éclair's final voiceover notes that even for someone like herself, a narcissist, Tamaki still smiled.
Relationships
Tamaki Suoh
Although Éclair travels to Japan to meet and to bring Tamaki back to France, it's quite evident that she starts to develop feelings for him. During her time in Japan, she takes advantage of him and he is manipulated into an engagement with her, but it's clear that he's not altogether happy about the arrangement, asking Éclair if she'll really be happy being married to him. In the end, he breaks off their engagement to return to Haruhi and the Host Club despite the sure knowledge that in doing so, he may never see his mother again but also certain that Anne-Sophie would not want him to become engaged to a woman he didn't love nor do so for mere political reasons.
Haruhi Fujioka
Haruhi is the first member of the host club to meet the Lady Éclair. At first, Éclair fails to realize that Haruhi is a girl but is still jealous of Tamaki's obvious affection for her. Haruhi remains courteous throughout her interactions with the wealthy Frenchwoman, but is clearly stunned and upset when she learns that Tamaki and Éclair are to marry. This begins her contemplation of her relationship to the blond and her ultimate decision to chase down the receding car taking Éclair and Tamaki to the airport. She risks her life to reprimand Tamaki for not understanding that everyone loves him and the Host Club (herself included), at which point she tumbles out of the carriage. Tamaki leaves Éclair, and the idea of seeing his mother again, to save her and return to Ouran.
Anne-Sophie de Grantaine
Anne-Sophie and Éclair seem to have a cordial relationship as Éclair has listened to many stories Anne-Sophie has shared with her about Tamaki's many virtues. Anne-Sophie is a housekeeper at Éclair's home, as revealed in the finale of the anime series. It is never revealed if Anne-Sophie knows of Éclair's plans, though it's doubtful she would ever agree to such a manipulative scheme. In the manga, Anne-Sophie is a piano teacher and Éclair does not exist.
Gallery
Trivia
- In French, éclair means "lightning" and tonnerre means "thunder." "Éclair Tonnerre" literally means "lightning thunder" or, if said in traditional Japanese format as "Tonnerre Éclair" - thunder and lightning. Haruhi's fear of thunder is a play on words and a genuine state of being for Haruhi.
Quotes
- (Referring to Tamaki) He's such a fool. (A)
- (Commenting on the Ouran's student art gallery) How pedestrian. (A)
- (To Anne-Sophie) Is he really that handsome like you said? (A)
- (To Tamaki) Play the piano for me, Tamaki.
- Even so, even for someone like me, he still smiled...