Stop me if you've heard of this one before. There's a new anime about a bunch of kids at a school. It follows their daily lives, exploits, attempts at relationships, and a lot of funny stuff happens in between. Sound like something you may have seen before? In many ways School Rumble wears cliché on its sleeve. The premise appears to lack originality and the characters seem to be nothing special at first. However, once you watch the first episode you'll realize that this show is indeed cut from a different cloth.

Originally airing in 2004, School Rumble is a 26 episode anime that came from a manga by Jin Kobayashi. The series was popular enough to warrant an OVA and second season so it's safe to say going in that it's not your typical high school comedy. On the contrary, School Rumbles is hilarious. During my stint as a reviewer and otaku extraordinaire I have sat down to watch several comedy shows. Out of all the series I have seen only a few have actually made me laugh out loud; this is one of them.

In many ways School Rumble does not break from tradition where the romantic school comedy is involved. Characters tend to stick with stereotypes but for the most part these faults adhere to the secondary support cast. The main crew in this show is something of a different breed.

In the first volume we were introduced to the eclectic cast that makes up this downright hilarious and oft bizarre show. Tenma Tsukamoto is a 16 year old high school student who has her eyes and heart set on a fellow classmate named Karasuma. At the same point Kenji Harima, the school bully, fancies himself as Tenma's future soul mate. It's a strange love triangle that perpetrates many unusual moments along the way. Last time around we watched as Kenji and Tenma attempted to express their feelings for the person they desire. From love notes to helping the other out by putting their name on a test and even trying to draw their emotions in art class, there were several hilarious moments that left me looking forward to this second installment.

With the cast and scene set the second volume is allotted plenty of time to expand upon the comedic love story with five additional episodes. Things begin with Tenma inadvertently getting herself locked into the school's gym closet which, if you have seen the show, I'm sure you can tell how she reacts to this. It's not quite as humorous as when she barred herself in the girl's bathroom on the last volume but it's still amusing just the same. The first episode goes on to feature Harima confessing his love of Tenma which kind of occurs accidentally. All is well though when he lands in the hospital and Tenma comes to visit him.

The next episode takes place by the side of a pool as the class of 2-C is charged with cleaning it up. Now, I'm sure if you have ever seen a high school comedy then you know that the "pool episode" tends to be all about fan service. Young girls in bathing suits and provocative poses are nothing new to anime of this variety. This show is different though. It handles things with tact and never gets out of control. In fact this episode even addresses something along these lines when someone is caught taking pictures of the girls!

After the pool incident the strange love story continues through to lunch period. One way to show you appreciate someone is to make a lunch for them or eat with them. With that being said it's only natural that Harima becomes dejected when he sees Tenma eating with Karasuma. It's quite funny to watch his reactions and his emotional protest about not going back to school because of it. This volume then goes on to feature nonsensical stories about a lost cat, Harima's manga aspirations, and his pretending to be God to get his way.

In between the stereotypical and slower moments School Rumble handles everything with different styles of humor. Sometimes it's the dialogue that will get you, other times it's the reactions of a character, or perhaps it will be slapstick; whatever the case if you have a funny bone you will laugh while watching this show. Admittedly the whole Harima chasing Tenma who is really after Karasuma who just wants to eat curry storyline does get a little old. Fortunately the series' humor helps to subdue the boredom that sets in with the plot. This second volume is a great continuation of a remarkably simplistic and brilliant show. If you are looking for a good comedy definitely check this one out!

The first season of School Rumble originally aired in 2004 and is presented on DVD with the full screen aspect ratio it was produced with. FUNimation did a decent job with the transfer here though there were a few flaws that cropped up during viewing. On the hole grain seems to cover several scenes and gives the show a somewhat fuzzy appearance. There are also a fair amount of artifacts and blocking that pop in at random intervals. In the end neither blemish is enough to detract from the find artwork and vibrant palette of the show but if you're watching on a larger television or HD set you'll notice them more prominently.

With 2.0 English and Japanese stereo tracks School Rumble is not an audio powerhouse. There isn't a lot of action here and most everything is dialogue based so I suppose a surround mix was unnecessary; though it would have helped matters a lot. For the most part things sound good with a fine presence on the soundstage but I do have to say that the volume felt a tad unbalanced. Some scenes were quieter than others and music tended to drown out the dubs. Speaking of which both languages do offer competent voice actors and fine dubbing quality all around.

The second installment of School Rumble includes a few extras but they aren't much better than the previous volume. Textless animations are included as well as trailers for other FUNimation products. Like the first disc for the show, the second offers a pair of interviews with two of the original Japanese voice actresses. The content in these interviews is mostly fluffy but there are a few cute moments in between that I appreciated.

School Rumble is a fun show that breaks the mold of what you'd expect from a high school romantic comedy. The characters are energetic and unique, the jokes are inspired, and just about everything in the series is endearing to a fault. The second volume worked off of the established formula quite well and these five episodes were a hoot. I do have to admit that the love triangle plot has started to grow annoying but the humor definitely helps to break up the monotony of it all. Overall this is a solid release from FUNimation and comes recommended.

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