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.

The second volume came along and continued the insane trend set by the introductory one. Tenma accidentally locked herself in the school's gym closet which eventually lead to Harima somewhat expressing his feelings accidentally. The two members of the show's love triangle wound up in the hospital through some bizarre circumstances but that's only part of the formula. The class of 2-C had to clean up the school's pool, a lost cat was thrown into the mix, and Harima had delusions of becoming a manga artist. All in all, the sophomore outing was goofy and somewhat idiotic but it worked very well.

That silliness continues strong into the third volume of the show with four episodes that will leave you in stitches if you appreciate the series' sense of humor. The first episode features some more girls in bathing suits and fan service that will undoubtedly make the guys happy. Things begin with Tenma and her friends heading to a water amusement park where they meet yet another boy named Nara. Like Harima, Nara falls head over heals for Tenma and eventually gets her to agree to a group date at the beach. Before they hit the sands Tenma and Karasuma have a little "moment" but it doesn't exactly go like Tenma plans (doesn't anything ever do?).

The beach date carries over into the second episode which turns out to be hilarious. Harima invites himself along for some fun in the sun though he secretly wants to keep an eye on Nara and Tenma. Through a series of circumstances our loveable brute loses his swim trunks and is buck naked when Eri walks in on him. In an effort to keep from looking like a pervert he holds on to her to keep her quiet but in good School Rumble fashion things get out of hand quickly. Once that awkward situation is resolved Harima spends his time intimidating Nara which was another highlight from volume.

The third episode on this volume continues the beach story but to be quite honest it was nowhere near as good as the previous adventure. Tenma and Harima have some fun moments but it alleviates to some frustration as a viewer. The rest of this installment focuses strongly on Tenma and her friends as they talk about a variety of topics and discover more about each other. It's kind of cute at times, boring at others, and in between there are some silly jokes but they were not quite as good as what we had at the beginning of this volume.

The love triangle continues though this installment spends more time focusing on Tenma and Harima than anyone else. Trust me when I say this was a good thing. They are the most interesting characters on the show and though they are downright idiotic at times in their approach to situations they have the best of intentions. School Rumble continues to be a fun show with a lot of personality and I really appreciated the continuing beach story in this volume. If you're in the market for a comedy series this one isn't to be missed. The zany cast and wild gags are sure to impress despite the fact that these kids are about as dumb as you can get.

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.

A sheet of magnets have been packed into the DVD case so if you like goofy anime inclusions you'll be pleased right off the bat. As far as what's on the disc is concerned there are some trailers and textless animations. Like the previous offerings this one also features a pair of interviews with some of the original Japanese voice actors. Once again these segments are very light in content but they are enjoyable enough to watch even if they don't provide any information or insight.

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 third volume breaks away from the somewhat episodic content with some storylines that run through these four episodes. The first two episodes here are absolutely brilliant with the other half being great but not quite as good. At this point the show feels like it has gotten past its growing pains and has found its groove. Highly Recommended comedy series!

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