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 fourth volume brought School Rumble back for some summertime fun as Harima got things started by working on a manga. To make a long story short, Harima and Mikoto hung out for a bit and Eri presumed that they were on a date. Afterwards there was some fireworks and Tenma's Tea Club got together for an outing. Once again taking a look at Harima, he and Yakumo have a conversation about Tenma which takes a turn for the worst when the terror of a girl arrives and thinks he is harassing her friend. The highlight of the volume was undoubtedly when some animal cosplay came into effect and Tenma became a wrestler. All along this has been a goofy show but somehow that moment took the cake.

This time around things get started on the silly track right away as an art project rumor circulates through the school due to the fact that nudity may be involved. Naturally the guys are all excited but once Tenma becomes involved somehow Harima and Hanai have their interest peaked. After that nonsense Yakumo finds herself involved in a mock wedding ceremony that Harima misinterprets. Our challenged friend gets confused by what's going on and makes an ass out of himself in good School Rumble fashion. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this is a funny show but the writers really don't take it to new places with regards to the humor.

The volume continues with whacky stories that range from Harima having his facial hair trimmed to as big gang fight that has mysterious results. Throughout it all these episodes were a lot of fun and it's safe to say that this series is unlike any other. The sense of humor really sets it apart and the characters are quite charming despite their ineptitude. With that being said this volume feels somewhat static in terms of content. Sure new characters are introduced and there are wild situations but in the end it's only more of the same if you have watched previous installments. That leaves the fifth volume of School Rumble feeling silly, yet dry and you won't be able to shake the feeling that the series isn't really going anywhere. Sure its fun and yes it's funny at times but we're up to episode 22 of the show and all along it has been the same style of humor and content. Plenty will appreciate this show and if you're looking at it just stagger how many episodes you watch at a time unless you want to get bored quickly.

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 whole, 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.

For the fifth volume another sheet of magnets has been included with the DVD, some textless songs are available, a promotional video for the series is on the disc, and there is an interview with one of the Japanese voice actresses. All around the bonus content matches expectations set by previous installments and it proves to be lightly entertaining.

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 fifth volume continues the trend set by previous installments by offering whacky situations, goofy characters, and a whole lot of misunderstandings that set up people looking like idiots. It's an amusing series but I for one have found that the charming elements have run dry thanks to the overuse of jokes and gimmicks. It's a steady comedy series that will win many over though some may be disappointed by the lack of innovation.

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