School Rumble

When I found this series on Funimation's YouTube channel I though it might be similar to Azumanga Daioh which I really enjoyed. There are a few similarities; they are both set in a Japanese high school and have a similar style of animation but that is about it. Instead of being subtle with no romance this is all about romance and is as subtle as a kick in the head... it is funny though, very funny.

The story follows the lives and loves of Class 2-C, the problem for the students is that everybody seems to be in love with somebody that doesn't love them back and few of them can find the courage to tell the objects of their desires how they feel anyway. The main characters are Tenma who is besotted with otherworldly Karasuma and tough guy Kenji Harima who only returned to school because he is obsessed with Tenma. There is quite a large cast of secondary characters but they are drawn in a way that makes it easy to remember who is who. While these may be secondary characters many of them appear in most episodes so they don't feel like lesser characters; they are all lots of fun.

While nobody is saying how they feel about each other everybody is jumping to conclusions about who likes who and almost always being wrong leading to a few amusing confrontations. While somewhat exaggerated most of their activities are believable although a few are pushing the boundaries of believability.

I'm not totally sure whether this is aimed at boys or girls, many of the romantic elements seem aimed at girls but the girls do appear in their bikinis in a couple of episodes and these look as they are meant to appeal to the male viewers... don't worry that is the limit of female flesh on show. I guess it might appeal to both equally. I'd certainly recommend it to anybody who likes madcap anime, it does for the school genre what Excel Saga does for the action genre.

These comments are based on watching the English dub of the series, I normally prefer my anime subbed but it was unavailable. I still thought the English voice artists did a good job though.

Even though the subject is not something particularly exciting for me, I can't help but keep watching this show. Really love the characters and their fun interactions. The drawings are nice, the high school ambiance is refreshing, and the story are pretty silly, yet without turning into non-sense.

The story is mainly about two characters. The boy loves the girl, and the girl loves another boy. Yet, all other characters in the story are interesting as well, and have more or less a love interest in mind. Most stories are pretty much about guys chasing girls and girls chasing guys, so if you're not into that sort of thing, then this show might not be your cup of tea.

Lastly, what I like most about this show is actually the music in the ending credit. For some reason, that song really sticks to me.

As a moderate American anime watcher, I have to say that "School Rumble" is a fantastic series. I mean, I was honestly shocked by how good it was. If you think this is just another school romance anime, you're wrong. This is actually a very comedic show. Yeah, it has teenagers in love, but the humor totally trumps it. Usually each episode is split into three small stories and the format worked for me. The humor in "School Rumble" is appealing because a good amount of it is funny no matter what language you speak. Apart from the usual Japanese pun jokes one finds in anime - which aren't even that funny when it's explained - "School Rumble" has gags which can be appreciated by anyone. The female lead, Tenma, is the most cartoon-like and off-the-wall of all the characters. I was really impressed by whoever did her voice. Usually I don't care much about the delivery of the Japanese voices since I don't know the language, but Tenma's actress really brought energy to the character. It kind of transcended the language barrier, I guess. The male lead, Harima, is totally different than most leading guys because he's a hulking biker brute who looks 20-something, but he's only 17. You don't see a character like that take the lead in a genre like "School Rumble" but it works and it's really funny.

What's great is how the supporting characters give life to the series. As the season progresses, more time is focused on them and they contribute greatly for more stories. Yeah, you have the typical girl-obsessed pervert, the tomboy, the rich blonde girl...but you also have the turtle-loving loner, the quiet girl who may be an international assassin during summer vacation, the shy girl who for some reason has hulk-like strength, and the kid who dreams of being the top bully at the school but is too much of a wimp/has too much bad luck to actually do it. And those are just a few characters out of many. Having a huge cast of varied characters is what made "The Simpsons" popular, and it works for "School Rumble." The best part? There is another series ("School Rumble: 2nd Semester") after this one. That's a little over 50 episodes of hilarious goodness. Even if you're not a hardcore anime lover, give "School Rumble" a try.

I just finished the first season and I absolutely loved it!!! Of the "slice of life" really light series this is the one I've liked the most.

I never thought I would like it this much.. At first I found animation a little different.. and found the characters, specially kenji like someone I would never like... I really didn't think it was going to be this good.... up till the first five minutes of the first chapter!! When I gave it a couple of minutes, I realized it was the funniest series I had ever seen.

Everything is so silly and many times stuff just doesn't make any sense, but believe me.. its great.. You must watch it. Also, in between the really silly stuff, there is a pretty interesting romantic story.. You get really fond of most the characters.. the girls are really really cute and Kenji is really... unlucky...

In the technical stuff the series is also good... Although animation is a bit strange, I ended up liking it a lot!! Opening and ending are great.. they tend to stick in your head... like those songs you just cant get out of your mind.. they are so cool and fun.. I guess what I liked the most is that I felt like a little kid while watching it... they make fun of the Power Rangers and a bunch of other animes... its so so so fun!!! Well.

I guess the main thing I wanted to say is that this is a top notch series.. and you should definitely watch it.

Im about to start the second term.. I hope to find it just as good.

If you enjoyed the first series of School Rumble I'm sure you will love this one too. Class 2-C are back and their adventures are just as insane as ever; Harima is still in love with Tenma, her sister Yakumo falls for Harima while helping him with his artwork and Tenma still likes Karasuma although she spends less time chasing him this series. The rest of the class get into adventures just as funny as those in the first series.

As well as episodes featuring their day to day lives there are many surreal episodes such as one where they appear to be fighting to the death to determine what they should do for their class's cultural festival.

I wasn't sure whether the first series was aimed at boys or girls, this one felt as if it was aimed more at boys as the level of fan service involving the girls was increased noticeable... although they didn't show too much, it was mostly suggestive.

I watched the series dubbed in to English and thought the voice actors did a really good job. While I don't think it is essential to watch the original series to enjoy this I suspect things would make more sense in the early episodes if you had seen it.